april 13th 2010 issue

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FREE!Email: [email protected] Tel: 718-554-7620VOL. 2 - NO. 55

www.TriStateMuslims.com News, Events, Jobs, Pictures, Videos, Discussion, and lots more!We’re Online!

April 13, 2010

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MUNA Youth and the Muslim Alliance of NewYork (MANY) are proud to be partners in pre-senting the 1st ANNUAL YOUTH CONFER-ENCE scheduled for May 22, 2010. It is de-signed for the Muslim Youth and their familiesin and around New York City. This is the firstNEW HORIZONS event and the theme is “IS-LAM: OUR CHOICE.”

MANY is an organization which began earlierthis year, uniting the MSA’s and other Islamic/Muslim clubs that are within public high schoolsfrom all over New York City. For more informa-tion, please visit http://www.facebook.com/l/7692a;weareoneofmany.org. MUNA Youth (asubdivision of Muslim Ummah of North

America) is a national organization with a chap-ter in NYC dedicated towards providing Mus-lim Youth with a community of brothers andsisters that strive for the sake of Allah in Dawah,Organization, Education and Purification andSocial Service for the community at large. Formore information visit http://www.munayouth.org.

The event is for the entire day with some of thebest Muslim speakers/scholars/entertainers in thecountry set for attend and hold discussions atthis event. In addition, representatives from someof the top colleges [NYU, Columbia, Fordham,CUNY] and some of the most successful pro-

NYC Youth ConferenceMUNA Youth and MANY partners for the first

Every year athletes and their fans gather onMemorial Weekend at the Northeast IslamicGames. This year is not different, just bigger asmore than 2200 athletes and thousands of spec-tators are expected to participate in the 4th An-nual Islamic Games on May 29-30 in SouthBrunswick, New Jersey. In 2009, the IslamicGames attracted more than 2000 male and fe-male athletes in 186 teams competing in a widerange of sports and athletics. This year the Gamesare expected to attract even more athletes andthousands of spectators.

“We are ready for the biggest and best IslamicGames so far,” remarked Mr. Nausrudeen, Presi-dent of the Islamic Games.

“After so many years, the Games has become astaple for many Muslim communities, schools,teams and athletes,” added Mr. Nausrudeen

While the Northeast Islamic Games remains thelargest, the Games are also held in Michigan,Florida and Houston.

“The growth of the games is in every direction,from the level of participation of women to theintensity of the comptetion to the cities we haveadded as well as our own capacity to plan andmanage professional sports and athletic pro-grams,” said Mr. Mohammed Khaku, Vice-Presi-dent of Islamic Games.

The 2010 Islamic Games works in partnershipwith many organizations such as MUNAYouth, Islamic Society of Central Jersey who has un-dertaken to manage the preparation and sale offood and beverages; Council for the Advance-ment of Muslim Professionals, SingleMuslim.com, Muslim Consultative Network,

Islamic Games 2010

Bigger, Better

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South Asian Softball League, Muslim SportsClub and many others.

Sponsors for the 2010 Islamic Games includeAmana Mutual Trust Funds, Islamic Relief andTri-State Muslim Media.

“The excitement is certainly there, we have seenan upsurge of interest in the Islamic Games,whether it is the more than 20,000 hits per dayon our website or the calls that comes fromaccross the USA or the interest in the Businesscommunity to sponsor teams. This is a healthyindication that we are doing something right,”said Mr. Khaku, who has successfully managedthe 2009 Soccer tournament of more than 50teams.

“It’s Memorial Weekend, and we are planning afull week-end of activities for everyone. There’s

competition for adults and as well as kids asyoung as they come, plus fun and rewardingactivities for the rest of the family,” said Mr.Nausrudeen.

The action packed 2-days would also includelots of food, drinks, fun activities and vendorsfrom across the Tri-State Area.

Many Muslims, male and female, participate insports and athletics at all levels, the IslamicGames allows such athletes to meet, networkand compete with each other. All events are man-aged by professional and certified officials andreferees. Medals and trophies are awarded for

A survey carried out by SingleMuslim.com, theworld’s leading internet-based matrimonial ser-vice for the Muslim community, has revealedthat nearly half of the site’s users have a softspot for doctors and teachers.

SingleMuslim.com, an interactive community ofmore than 400,000 people seeking potentialmarriage partners, recently polled its membersto find out if there are any professions that theyare particularly attracted to.

Over 3,280 users responded to the survey andresults released today (7th April 2010) show anoverwhelming preference for doctors (24.75%)and teachers (24.71%).

Engineers came in a distant third place, with 9.2%of the vote. Surprisingly, lawyers - generally seenas high-earning, reputable professionals - rankedfourth in the survey, with just 9% of the vote,narrowly ahead of dentists (8.45%) and accoun-tants (7.82%).

SingleMuslim.com’s Managing Director, AdeemYounis, said: “Doctors and teachers have manypositive traits in common. They’re confident,outgoing, and generally have great communica-

Marriage Survey is Just What theDoctor Ordered

tion skills and a good way with people. Theyalso work towards the same goal: to help im-prove other people’s quality of life.

“Both professions command significant respectin the wider community, and a good doctor orteacher can make a world of difference tosomeone’s future.

“It’s really not surprising that they are seen asideal marriage partners.”

The survey also showed that, with 4.5% of thevote, bankers were the least popular marriagechoice.

Adeem Younis said: “Given the current financialclimate, and the bad press that bankers have beengetting lately, it’s hardly a shock to find themout of favour at the moment.

“My advice for anyone considering which ca-reer path to choose is simple: follow your heartbecause there is nothing quite as satisfying asknowing that you’re working in the job you love.

“But if it’s a marriage partner you’re after, youmight want to consider a career in medicine orteaching!”

1st and 2nd place in the team sports while medalsup to 4th place would be awarded for track &field and other individual events.

Registration fees are only $15/person and al-lows athletes to participate in as many events asthey wish. Registration can be done online atwww.islamic-games.com. Registration Forms canbe downloaded from www.islamic-games.com.Registration deadline is May 10, 2010. Hotelinformation is available on www.islamic-games.com

For more general information, rules, regis-tration and hotel call 718-554-7620; [email protected] or visitwww.islamic-games.com

fessionals [from different industries] will holdWorkshops in college and career planning.

SPEAKERS1. Khalid Latif2. Abu Yousuf3. Imam Siraj Wahhaj4. Imam Abdul Malik5. Nouman Ali Khan6. Imam Syamsi Ali7. Mohammed Hanini8. REPRESENTATIVES FROM VARIOUSPROGRAMS/ORGANIZATIONS THATPROVIDE ENRICHING ACTIVITIES FORTHE YOUTH

ENTERTAINMENT1. NATIVE DEEN!2. The Funnymentalists [Baba Ali, Aman Ali,Asif Ali]3. Gaith Adhami4. No Beats Necessary5. Tahani Salah

There is a maximum capacity for this event 700people, so tickets will be going fast.. The orga-nizers for this event strived their very best tomake this event as affordable as possible, sodon’t miss out on a chance like this, tickets areONLY $20!!! Tickets will go on sale MondayApril 19th, 2010.

There will be free snacks all day long. There is a

promotion of 10 free tickets to those that con-firm as guests on Facebook through a RANDOMselection process, that will begin on April 25and end of May 5. So confirm on Facebook, butonly if you really are going to come.

THERE WILL BE A FREE ISLAMIC RAFFLEON THE DAY FOR ALL THOSE THAT AT-TEND THE EVENT. PRIZES ARE AS FOL-LOWS:

1. A Netbook! [mini-laptop]2. $100 American Express Gift Card3. $50 American Express Gift Card4. $25 American Express Gift Card5. $25 American Express Gift Card

Feel free to contact us at with any questions,and don’t forget to spread the word and inviteyour friends. Remember, this event is open toall.

Bigger, Better... from page 1MUNA Youth and MANY partners... from pg 1

ATTENTION BUSINESSES:If you would like to sponsor a team at the 2010 Islamic Games

send us an email at [email protected]

ATTENTION TEAM COACHES/MANAGERS:If you would like to be sponsored for the 2010 Islamic Games

send us an email at [email protected]

On behalf of the organizing committee (Mus-lims for Peace), President, VP, Chairman, Boardof Directors, members and staff, to be part ofthe Prophet Muhammad Day (saw) event atRutgers University, I take this opportunity toexpress our sincerest appreciation for to MustafaAbdi for his contribution and making this eventa super success. More than 800 persons at-tended the event and about 2000 others watched

it on two different web cast sources. Excellentspeeches by Lesley Hazleton, author of “Afterthe Prophet”, Shaikh Ammar Nakshawani fromUK and Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani.It is through your support that we are able tocontinue to strengthen our programs, and to de-velop new interfaith projects to serve our mem-bers and the community.

Prophet Day Peace Confrence atRutgers: A Great Success

EVENTS AT THE 2010 Islamic Games:- Basketball- Soccer- Volleyball- Cricket- Softball- Flag Football- Track & Field- Archery- Tennis- Table Tennis- Martial Arts- Arm Wrestling- Marathon- Kids competition/games

All events are male and female from ages8 to adults.


Tel: 718-554-7620 E-mail: [email protected]: www.tsmmedia.netMailing address: P.O. Box 5232, Kendall Park, NJ 08824

Please send Letters, Articles or ad requests [email protected]

Articles, letters, and comments expressed in the Tri-State are not necessarily shared by the Editor or thePublisher. All submissions are subject to editing for reasons of space and clarity. The Tri-State Muslim isdistributed FREE and is produced bi-weekly. It is a newspaper by, for and about Muslim in NY, NJ, PA, & CT.The magazine offers coverage of the ideas, issues, events and stories of concern to Muslims in the Tri-StateArea. All contents maybe reproduced with appropriate acknowledgement. TSM Media Reserves the right toreject ads and articles as deem necessary.

By JIM ARMSTRONG, AP Sports WriterOSAKA, Japan (AP)—Two important thingshaven’t changed for Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf inthe 14 years since he set off a firestorm of criti-cism by refusing tostand for the nationalanthem before NBAgames.

He’s still a devout Mus-lim and playing basket-ball.

Abdul-Rauf is now inJapan, the latest stop ofa globe-trotting careerthat became necessaryin the aftermath of be-ing booed, inundatedwith hate mail and sus-pended by the NBA for refusing to stand for“The Star-Spangled Banner” in March 1996.

“It was close to impossible to play in the U.S.after that,” Abdul-Rauf said. “The doors wereshut, but I said the NBA wasn’t the only showin town and I was going to make use of my God-given talent even if it meant playing inTimbuktu.”

He has found his latest refuge in Japan’s fledg-ling professional league, where he is settling inwith the expansion Kyoto Hannaryz as the high-est-profile player in the league’s five-year his-tory.

Kyoto’s 14-26 record and two recent losses tothe three-time champion Osaka Evessa under-score the challenges Abdul-Rauf and his team-mates face.

“Whether things are going well for us or not it’sjust a question of being consistent, constantlychipping away and not allowing others to dic-tate what we do,” he said.

The 41-year-old guard has certainly shown the

willingness to stand up to those who would im-pose their will on his.

Abdul-Rauf, then known as Chris Jackson, wasa two-time All-American at Louisi-ana State Univer-sity before beingtaken third overall inthe 1990 NBA draftby the Denver Nug-gets. He convertedto Islam a year later.

“I had a lot of ques-tions with myChristian back-ground while grow-ing up,” Abdul-Raufsaid. “I felt like I

was being someone I wasn’t meant to be.”

Abdul-Rauf was consistently among the Nug-gets’ best players, and narrowly missed settingan NBA record for free-throw percentage whenhe shot 95.6 percent during the 1993-94 cam-paign.

He was having his best season in 1995-96, aver-aging 19.2 points and 6.8 assists per game, whenhis career changed forever after he stopped stand-ing for the national anthem, saying it conflictedwith his Muslim beliefs.

The Denver media picked up on it and when theteam played at Chicago in March, fans booedand jeered him, and the scrutiny of his actionsintensified.

The NBA suspended Abdul-Rauf—the ban last-ing only one game after he and the league reacheda compromise that allowed him to stand but closehis eyes and pray during the playing of the an-them.

There’s more, read it atwww.TriStateMuslims.com

Former NBA Star Abdul-Rauf HasKept the Faith

The Pennsylvania chapter of the Council onAmerican-Islamic Relations (CAIR-PA) todaythanked the Delaware Division of Motor Ve-hicles (DMV) for its “prompt and appropriateaction” in offering an apology toa Muslim driver in that state whowas initially refused the right totake her driver’s license photo-graph wearing a religious headscarf, or hijab.

The Muslim driver was report-edly told that she had to removeher hijab because of “nationalsecurity policy.” During the in-cident, another driver waiting inline for a photograph allegedly said “send themback to Afghanistan.” The 16-year-old driver,who is of Arab-American heritage, was so trau-matized that she broke down in tears.

After being contacted by CAIR-PA, a top DMVofficial apologized to the Muslim driver and said

staff at agency offices statewide have been re-minded of existing policy allowing religious at-tire such as hijab. The Muslim driver will also beallowed to re-take her photograph, with hijab,

free of charge at a different facil-ity.

“We thank the Delaware Divisionof Motor Vehicles for its promptand appropriate action in re-sponse to this incident and offerthe Muslim community’s assis-tance in helping to re-train DMVstaff on issues related to religiousdiversity,” said CAIR-PA CivilRights Director Moein

Khawaja.

Khawaja noted that Delaware DMV policystates: “A Muslim woman may wear a head scarfas long as it does not hide her facial features orinterfere with the digital driver license facial rec-ognition technology.”

Delaware DMV Apologizes toMuslim Over Hijab Incident


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WASHINGTON, DC (MASNET) Mar. 29,2010 - On Sunday, March 28th, 2010, U.S. fed-eral authorities arrested nine members of a shad-owy, armed militia group known as the Hutareewho describe themselves as “Christian warriors”committed to “take up arms to fight alongsideJesus”. The arrests, which took place in Michi-gan, Ohio and Illinois, were followed on March29th with indictments charging these militiamembers with conspiring to kill police officers.In addition to this conspiracy, the Hutaree grouphad reportedly made numerous threats againstMuslims, much of it evident in their rhetoriccalling for armed confrontation with the “Anti-Christ”.

Muslim American Society Freedom joins otherMuslim, civil rights, and pro-justice organiza-tions in America in expressing our extreme con-cern over these arrests, and our greater concernover the rise of anti-government, racist, and po-litical extremist organizations in the UnitedStates. Muslim individuals, and Islamic organi-zations throughout the country, note the alarm-ing growth of

armed organizations that openly profess anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, and racist sentiments,and that legitimize armed resistance to the au-thority of our government.

Moreover, this open rhetoric of hatred is nowamplified in a variety of mass-media outlets thatgive credence to the notion that the constitu-

tional right for citizens to bear arms is, in fact, alicense to use violence, or the threat of violence,to stifle political and social progress and to op-pose the right of some groups in civil society toparticipate freely, and legally, in the life of thenation.

MAS Freedom does affirm the right of all peopleto free political expression, as well as the rightof all people brought before the bar of justice tobe presumed innocent until they are provenguilty. But we are alarmed by the proliferationof the number of anti-government, armed forma-tions in the United States, which according to arecent report issues by the Southern PovertyLaw Center, increased by some 363 new groupsin 2009 alone, and now include some 932 identi-fiable organizations that oppose immigrants,Muslims, people of color, and the legitimateauthority of the United States government it-self.

Neither racial hatred nor violence are intrinsic toChristianity. And indeed, all people of conscienceand faith must challenge the rights of any reli-gious minority to distort the teachings of reli-gion for their own unrighteous and unlawful,purposes. But we also call on the authorities ofour government to pay more attention to thereal, and deadly, threat to this nation posed bythe rise of armed, right wing, and “home grown”extremism that falsely wraps itself in the cloakof patriotism.———————————————————

MAS Freedom: Concerned OverExtremist ‘Christian Militia’ Arrests

Teaneck Community Hosts IslamicFinance Seminar

The Teaneck community hosted Guidance Resi-dential, Zayan Takaful, University Islamic Fi-nance and the Law Firm of Omar Mohamedi onSaturday April 10 2009 at Dar-ul Islah in Teaneck.More than 100 members of the community cameout to hear the various businesses present theirproducts which are uniquely tailored for Ameri-can Muslims. Over the years, Islamic Fanance

products have become more and more accept-able alternative to the mainstream financial prod-ucts. This is as a result of product developmetthat meets American and Shairah standards aswell as aggressive marketing. The host commu-nity is one of the largest and oldest in NorthernNew Jersey. New Jersey is the fastest growingstate for Muslims with a heathly profile

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People should be hired or not hired because oftheir skills and merit, not because of their faith.And people should not be forced to choose be-tween their faiths and their jobs.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohib-its discrimination in public and private employ-ment. It also requires employers to make rea-sonable accommodation of employees’ religiousobservances and practices, unless doing so wouldcause the employer undue hardship. The CivilRights Division has responsibility for bringingsuits under Title VII against state and local gov-ernmental employers. Under § 706 of Title VII,individual cases of discrimination against stateand local governmental entities must be filed inthe first instance with the Equal EmploymentOpportunity Commission, which can refer casesto the Civil Rights Division. The Civil Rights

Religious Discrimination in EmploymentDivision then opens a supplemental investiga-tion, if warranted, to determine if a lawsuit isappropriate. When a pattern or practice of dis-crimination by a governmental entity is alleged,the Civil Rights Division may file suit on itsown volition under § 707 of Title VII.

Recent Cases:· United States v. Los Angeles County Metropoli-tan Transit Authority: The Civil RightsDivision filed suit against the LA MTA over itspolicy of refusing to accept bus driver applica-tions unless the applicant indicated that he orshe was available to work 24 hours per day,seven days a week. The suit alleged that thispolicy discriminated against Sabbath-observantJews and Christians and others who refrain fromwork on certain days for religious reasons, byfailing to make any effort to provide them withthe religious accommodation Title VII requires.The Civil Rights Division reached a consentdecree that requires the MTA to accept the ap-

plications of Sabbath-observant applicants; pro-vide applicants with information about their ac-commodation rights; permit drivers to swap as-signments with other drivers, and when no ac-ceptable assignment is possible either throughuse of seniority rights or swaps, permit driversto take temporary leaves of absence; and pro-vide information about religious accommodationin marketing literature and in its training pro-grams for supervisors.

· United States v. New York Metropolitan TransitAuthority: The Civil Rights Division filed suitagainst the NY MTA alleging that it has dis-criminated against Muslim and Sikh bus and sub-way drivers by refusing to permit them to wearheadscarves and turbans. The suit alleges thatthe Muslim and Sikh drivers were forbidden towear these religious headcoverings with theiruniforms, while other MTA workers were al-lowed to wear non-regulation headgear, such asbaseball caps, without penalty.

· United States v. State of Ohio: The Civil RightsDivision and the Equal Employment Opportu-nity Commission (EEOC) filed suit against Ohiostate agencies and their employee union over itsrefusal to accommodate certain employees’ reli-gious objections to supporting the union throughcompulsory fees. The suit alleged that employ-ees who are members of churches that have “his-torically held conscientious objections to joiningor financially supporting” unions are permittedto pay an amount equal to the union service feeto a charity mutually agreeable to the employeeand the union. However, the suit alleged thatOhio has refused to extend this exemption tostate employees with sincere religious objectionsto supporting the union, but who do not belongto such churches. The case arose out of a com-plaint from an employee of the Ohio Environ-mental Protection Agency, who is Presbyterianand objects to supporting the union because healleges that the union and its affiliates supportabortion and same-sex marriage. The partiessettled the case with a proposed consentdecree on September 1, 2006.

· Baker v. The Home Depot: The Civil RightsDivision filed a joint friend-of-the-courtbrief with the Equal Employment OpportunityCommission, arguing that offering an employeeonly the morning off to attend worship serviceson the Sabbath was not a reasonable accommo-dation under Title VII when the employee’s faithrequired refraining from work altogether on theSabbath. The court of appeals agreed on April19, 2006, and remanded the case to the trial courtto determine whether permitting the employeeto refrain from work on the Sabbath would be anundue hardship for the defendant.

Individuals who believe that they have been un-lawfully denied an employment opportunity orotherwise discriminated against by an employershould contact the Equal Employment Oppor-tunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC may becontacted by calling 1-800-669-4000 or 1-800-669-6820 (TTY).

Forty Hadith No: 28

www.fortyhadith.iiu.edu.my

It was narrated on the authority of AbuNajih al-Irbad bin Sariyah, radiyallahu'anhu, who said:The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu'alayhi wasallam, delivered anadmonition that made our heartsfearful and our eyes tearful. We said,"O Messenger of Allah, it is as if thiswere a farewell sermon, so advise us."He said, "I enjoin you to have Taqwa ofAllah and that you listen and obey,even if a slave is made a ruler overyou. He among you who lives longenough will see many differences. Sofor you is to observe my Sunnah andthe Sunnah of the rightly-principledand rightly-guided successors,holding on to them with your molarteeth. Beware of newly-introducedmatters, for every innovation (bid'ah) isan error."[Abu Dawud & Al-Tirmidhi, who says it

is an authentic hadith]


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When Zainab Illyas first met her husband Ifrazeleven years ago in Sri-lanka, she had no ideathat they’d have to live apart for two years be-fore they got married. During those years Zainabwrote Ifraz many love poems and thereon beganher writing career. Zainab has a Diploma inMontessori Education and Child Psychology andprior to rais-ing a familywas a teacher.

When theirson Zaki wase i g h t e e nmonths old,he pointed toa stuffed toycaterpillar in atoy store andcalled it“Papparri”.Zainab and her husband bought Zaki “Papparri”and a few days later she wrote the story about“Papparri, the caterpillar” for him. That was sixyears ago and since then Zainab has written overten children’s stories and is in the process ofwriting a novel!In November of 2009, Zainab decided to publish“Papparri” and so she opened up her own Pub-lishing company. She met Theresa Finnelli, ayoung and truly talented illustrator, who took agreat interest in Zainab’s story and helped bringit to life.

Zainab believes that a good children’s storyshould not only entertain them but also educatethem in a fun and interesting way. Her goal is toteach children the importance of good manners,politeness, caring and sharing, teamwork, havingpositive attitudes, being thankful, believing andhaving confidence in oneself and in whatever youdo and getting along with family and friends.She instills all these good qualities in her ownchildren everyday.

Zainab’s next book “Little Laila Lafir” is a storyabout a girl whose manners go missing on her 5th

birthday and will be out this summer. Please visither website www.zaigirlpublishing.com for moreinformation. Zainab Illyas resides in Dumont,NJ with Ifraz and their three beautiful children.

Zainab... PuttingLessons inStories

by Aisha GawadWhen I say I work in an Arab neighborhood, Imean an Arab neighborhood - where mosque loud-speakers announce Jummah prayers, where shop-keepers close early on Fridays, where the guy atthe 99 cent store insists on speaking to you inArabic even though you have repeatedly toldhim that your Arabic is a disgrace to the race,where there is a fish market and a shisha cafe(sometimes in one) on every corner, where thelocal Chinese food joint has a sign outside thatsays “No Pork. No Wine” with a photo of theflames of Hell printed behind it. Do you get whatI mean?

So you’d think I would have my pick of the bestpita, labna, and hummus in New York, right?Pita and labna - maybe. Hummus - sadly, dis-

gracefully - not. I know hummus is one of thosestereotypical foods that Arabs are supposed toeat more than they actually do, but I literally eatthat much hummus. I could eat it with a spoonand call it dinner.

I had such high hopes when I started working inthis neighborhood. I had dreams of eatinghummus sandwiches at my desk, trying not tospill the tahina-chick pea goodness all over mykeyboard. My first letdown was at the mostfamous local Arab grocery called Balady’s. It isa lovely, Palestinian-owned shop. And it sellsSabra hummus, an Israeli brand widely boycottedby most pro-Palestinian boycott, sanctions, anddivestment groups for its direct support of theIsraeli army.

As some-one whotries to ad-here to suchp r o d u c tboyco t t s ,purchasingit wouldwound myconscienceand my ap-petite. It makes me wonder if the store-ownersknow about Sabra’s background and choose tosell it anyway or if they are unaware.

Over the next few weeks, I tried just about ev-erywhere I could think of. I either found more

Sabra, or similarlygross, chemicallypackaged products, orshabby attempts atthe homemade kindwith either no flavorat all or so much garlicthat it cleared out thestubborn cold I hadbeen harboring forweeks.

This is stupid, I know. Just get over it, you tellme. Well, I can’t and I won’t. If Arabs can’tmake the best hummus in town, then who can?

I’ll tell you who - the Puerto Ricans. For thetime being, I buy my hummus from a PuertoRican grocery in my overwhelmingly PuertoRican neighborhood and bring it to work in anoverwhelmingly Arab neighborhood.

Oh, the shame. If I ever invest in a blender, I’llmake it myself and start hawking it on the streets.And if it comes to that, then someone, pleasestop me.

Hunting for Hummus in Arab Brooklyn


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By Parvez Ahmed, www.Altmuslim.comThroughout the current economic and financialcrisis one contrarian statistic has stood out. Fi-nancial assets offered by the Islamic FinancialServices Industry (IFSI) and generally classifiedas “Shariah-compliant,” were less affected bythe crisis. Economist Loretta Napoleoni duringa lecture at the University of New Mexico pro-claimed, “Islamic finance ... [a] system [that]could help us to get out of the current crisis.”Writing in the influential Turkish daily Today’sZaman, columnist Ibrahim Ozturk declared, “Is-lamic finance has entered a bright new stage ofdevelopment, emerging after the global financialcrisis as a more equitable and efficient alterna-tive to the Western approach.” The widely readArabic daily Asharq Al Awsat opined, “Islamicbanks are untouched by the current crisis due tothe nature of Islamic banking especially that itdoes not deal in debt trading and distances itselffrom market speculation that takes place in Eu-ropean and American banks.” How do such claimsstack up against reality? Is Islamic finance dif-ferent enough from conventional finance to avoidits pitfalls?

The IFSI, which has marketed itself as being analternative to the conventional financial system,has come a long way from its rather modest andrelatively recent beginnings. The IFSI was re-cently estimated by Moody’s to be worth $700billion and projected by the Islamic Develop-ment Bank to be $2.8 trillion by 2015. By 2015,majority of the IFSI will be geographically cen-tered in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)region while the South Asian region will provideabout 15 to 25 percent of the total services. The

IFSI encompasses almost all of the institutionaland architectural features of the conventional fi-nance industry. However, it should be noted thatthe size of IFSI relative to the Conventional Fi-nance Industry (CFI) is very small (about 2 per-cent). In other words the IFSI has not been suf-ficiently stress tested to proclaim its efficacywhen applied to a broader set of economic situ-ations.

One distinguishing feature of IFSI has been itsinsistence that in complying with Shariah (thejurisprudence of Islam) it considers dealing withinterest as totally unacceptable. The avoidanceof interest reflects verses in the Holy Quran(3:130; 2:175; 4:161) which forbid riba, mostoften and commonly translated as interest rates.The IFSI contends that it has replaced interestrates with rate of profit on equity, profit sharingfinance and markup transactions.

In practice the contracts of the IFSI fall short ofthe “interest-free” claims it makes. IFSI con-tracts do allow for presence of interest ratesmostly indirectly but sometimes directly albeitin small measures. Islamic mutual funds for ex-ample allow investment in stocks of companiesthat use interest based debt (current practicesallow 33 percent debt-ratios). Sukuks, describedas Islamic bonds, guarantee a fixed rate of return,which to most financial observers look like in-terest. In murabaha, Islamic jurists opine thathome buyer (mortgagor) is involved in credit salesand not a loan contract (as in traditional mort-gages). Yet murabaha loan documents use theconventional terms like “note,” “loan,” and “in-terest” to describe its features much like any


Is Islamic finance a solution?Islamic finance has a role to play in the world of finance. But to do so, inno-vations based on Shariah-arbitrage should be de-emphasized and a moreholistic vision should be developed that will resonate with all people of con-science, not just Muslims.

home mortgage contract. Moreover, the mark-up used in murabaha is usually benchmarked toa conventional interest rate.

This has given rise to what Rice University’sMahmoud El-Gamal pejoratively calls Shariah-arbitrage, defined as the practice of extractingpremium rents from participants in a captive-market for products labeled and perceived to beShariah compliant. The paradox is not merely ofacademic interest. Among the producers and us-ers of Islamic financial products there is perva-sive skepticism. A unique insight about this per-ception is gathered from recent research on theattitude of customers and bankers using IFSI. Asignificant majority (6 in 10) believe that thedevelopment of Islamic banking has more to dowith being faithful to Islam than any other crite-rion (although the proponents of Islamic financeoften cite the superiority of IFSI is due to itspurported commitment to social justice andwelfare). Nearly 7 in 10 believe that the “rate ofprofit” or “markup profit” charged by Islamicbanks do not differ much from interest basedtransactions offered by the CFI. Potential pa-trons (7 in 10) are unwilling to transact with theIFSI because they do not find much differencebetween the IFSI and the CFI.

In discussing how bankruptcy courts are likelyto rule on foreclosures under IFSI contracts likeijarah (lease-based transactions), murabaha (costplus markup sale) and musharaka (partnershipcontract), legal experts observe, “We would notanticipate that this type of foreclosure woulddiffer materially from that of a conventionalmortgage foreclosure. ... The ‘borrower’ holdsall the benefits and risks of ownership in aMusharaka transaction as well.” As such in bank-ruptcy and foreclosure proceedings, IFSI pro-viders have the same legal protections as thoseafforded to CFI institutions in debt based trans-actions.

The current state of IFSI is prohibition driven

primarily centered on taking existing CFI con-tracts and pronouncing the Islamicity or lackthereof for those contracts. The IFSI then pro-ceeds to institute contractual changes that alterthe structure of the contract to make them con-tractually Shariah-compliant without address-ing any of their possibly inherent fault lines.This process is enabled by Shariah-boards, whichpronounce the Islamicity of such contracts. TheShariah-boards are beset with agency problems(conflict of interest) as they are not subjected todisclosure rules equivalent in scale and scope tothose for corporate boards, which many argueare in urgent need for more reform and transpar-ency themselves! According to a recent study,the top 5 Shariah-scholars makeup 15 percentof the entire universe of Shariah board positions.Only 180 scholars are involved in nearly 1000Shariah board positions. This stifles innovationsand fosters unhealthy imitations.

One thing is clear, if Islamic Finance is to remainrestricted to Muslims then not only will IslamicFinance not save the day but it will also pervertthe mission of Prophet Muhammad, describedin the Quran (21:07) as a mercy to all humanity(creation, to be precise). The emphasis on theprohibition based aspects of Shariah have led tomissed opportunities to promote the maqasid orobjectives of Shariah whose aims are not prohi-bition-driven but rather, inclusive and egalitar-ian. The maqasid or objectives of Shariah is toprotect and preserve life, mind, faith, propertyand offspring, which according to the notedAndalusian Islamic scholar Abu Ishaq al-Shatibiis a set of objectives that are common to all reli-gions and must be the transcendent frameworkto evaluate all Islamic law, social obligations andcontracts (financial or otherwise). The attain-ment of these goals require the development of apositive and inclusive vision, which can trulyaddress the many shortcomings that plagues the


By Brother Ibrahim Abu KhalidWhen we possess knowledge, we know that thetrials in life can be passed, since Allah does notplace a greater burden on us than we can bear.With knowledge, we know that these trails, oncepassed, will bear fruits in the form of pleasingour Creator, rising in ranks towards Him, cleans-ing us of our sins, and strengthening our Imanfurther...

Allah’s Apostle (s.a.w) said: “Strange are theways of a believer for there is good in everyaffair of his and this is not the case with anyoneelse except in the case of a believer for if he hasan occasion to feel delight, he thanks (God), thusthere is a good for him in it, and if he gets intotrouble and shown resignation (and endures itpatiently), there is a good for him in it.” [SaheehMuslim]

There is a disease that is consuming the enthusi-asm of our youth, the determination of our el-ders, the spirit of our mothers. It’s a disease thathas really taken its foothold this century, andgrown rapidly. It’s the disease of pessimism.

The consequence of our pessimism is that wehave committed ourselves to whinging more thenacting. A great deal of our talks, articles, Khutbahsand lessons seem to be concerned with how badthe West is treating us. How they do not reallyunderstand who we are. How we are being dis-criminated upon. This feeling of alienation bythe West is disturbing considering that as read-ers and followers of the Qur’an, this treatmentcomes as no surprise and is a characteristic ofthe true followers of Allah’s religion.

The Nature of Being a MuslimIslam raised a despotic people from the clenchesof injustice and spiritual destitution to that ofthe greatest power the world had ever seen. Butthis honour and victory came at a price, for ev-erything which has worth in Allah’s Eyes has aprice. The companions paid that price with theirmoney and their blood. They faced persecutionfrom their own family, and bore hunger bravely.

The following incidences provide a useful in-sight into the positive attitudes the Prophet(s.a.w) displayed and his companions adopted.

1- A close companion of the Prophet (s.a.w)Abu Talha, had a son who was very sick. AbuTalha would each day arrive home and enquirefrom his wife as to the health of their son. Oneday their son died, and Abu Talha at that timewas not at home. When his wife saw that he wasdead, she washed and shrouded him and placedhim somewhere in the house. When Abu Talhacame, he asked about his son’s condition, andhis wife said that he was in peace.

Abu Talha slept with his wife that night. Hiswife informed him about the death of their sonin the morning. When Abu Talha informed theProphet of what happened to them, Allah’sMessenger said, “May Allah bless you bothconcerning your night (that is, may Allah blessyou both with good offspring). And indeed, Al-lah blessed Abu Talha and his wife with ninesons, all of whom became reciters of the Qur’an[Saheeh Bukhary].

This story illuminates the patience the Com-panions had. The wife bore the death of her be-loved son patiently, and furthermore kept theknowledge of his death hidden from the fatherfor a more appropriate time. This virtuous actwas blessed by Allah, with offspring who wouldserve as a blessing for their parents in the Here-after.

2- A female companion had a husband whom shedearly loved. He died however and she was verydepressed over his death. So she sought advice

Positivism: The Right Mentalityfrom the Prophet (s.a.w), who taught her to re-cite a Du’a beseeching Allah to replace her losswith something better than it. She obeyed theProphet (s.a.w), and Allah answered her call, byproviding her with a husband better than anywomen could have - the Prophet (s.a.w) him-self.

3- Perhaps one of the greatest shows of opti-mism came after the Prophet (s.a.w) had beenstoned in Ta’if. Bleeding profusely and emo-tionally hurt, he was visited by the Angel of theMountains which encompassed the valley ofTa’if. He was offered the choice to have thosepeople who denied his message to be crushed.He (s.a.w) however refused to assign thesepeople to destruction, citing that their offspringmay become believers. And indeed, this fore-sight eventuated.

The Guaranteed VictoryAs believers, we are guaranteed victory no mat-ter what our condition is, and that’s what makesus special. If we become ill, our sins fall awayfrom us like leaves fall from a tree. If our childdies, he or she will wait for us in the Hereafterand intercede for us until we enter paradise. If

we fight in a war, we will either win, or die asmartyrs, which is a greater victory in itself.

So the question begs to be asked, why then areMuslims so pessimistic?

Clearly this stems from a lack of knowledge andtrust in Allah. For when we possess knowledge,we know that the trials in life can be passed,since Allah does not place a greater burden on usthan we can bear. With knowledge, we knowthat these trails, once passed, will bear fruits inthe form of pleasing our Creator, rising in rankstowards Him, cleansing us of our sins, andstrengthening our Iman further. The trust in Al-lah will make us certain that nothing is lost withAllah, no fear we experience, nor pain, sadness,anguish or distress.

Indeed, Allah Says “So verily along with everyhardship, is relief”. This means there has to behardship, in whatever form it takes, in the formof death, loss or poverty, divorce, difficult rela-tives, or persecution.

Time to ActIf this Ummah persists in complaining ratherthan acting, we’ll get nowhere. We already know

that the Kufaar hate us, and have known this forcenturies, and have known that they never willlike us. If these people persecuted their ownprophets, why wouldn’t they persecute us to-day? Allah has already warned us about theirfeelings towards us: “And verily the Jews andChristians will never be pleased with you untilyou follow their religion.”

And this emotion should be carried forth in allaspects of our lives, for if the companions hadresigned themselves to the trials of life, theywould never have succeeded.

Rather, we should feel delight for the faith wehave embraced, continue our struggle to spreadand establish Allah’s Word on this earth no mat-ter the consequences, and whenever grief hitsanyone of us, remember the Hadith: “Strangeare the ways of a believer, for there is good inevery affair of his, and this is not the case withanyone else except in the case of a believer for ifhe has an occasion to feel delight, he thanks(God), thus there is a good for him in it, and if hegets into trouble and shown resignation (andendures it patiently), then there is a good forhim in it.”


Firstly: Arrogance is a blameworthy character-istic which is the feature of Iblees and his co-horts in this world, those on whose hearts Allaahhas placed a seal.

The first one who showed arrogance towardsAllaah and His creation was the accursed Iblees,when Allaah commanded him to prostrate toAdam and he refused and was arrogant, and said,“I am better than him (Adam), You created mefrom fire, and him You created from clay.”

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):“And surely, We created you (your father Adam)and then gave you shape (the noble shape of ahuman being); then We told the angels, ‘Pros-trate yourselves to Adam’, and they prostratedthemselves, except Iblees (Satan), he refused tobe of those who prostrated themselves.

(Allaah) said: ‘What prevented you (O Iblees)that you did not prostrate yourself, when I com-manded you?’ Iblees said: ‘I am better than him(Adam), You created me from fire, and him Youcreated from clay’” [al-A’raaf 7:11-12]

Arrogance is one of the characteristics of Iblees,so whoever wants to be arrogant should realizethat he is acquiring a characteristic of the devils,and that he is not acquiring a characteristic of thenoble angels who obeyed their Lord and felldown prostrate.

Moreover, arrogance may be the cause of a per-son being deprived of Paradise and may meanthat the Lord of Glory will not even look at him,as it says in the following two ahaadeeth:

How Should a Person Come OverArrogance?

1 – It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibnMas’ood that the Prophet (peace and blessingsof Allaah be upon him) said: “No one who hasan atom’s-weight of arrogance in his heart willenter Paradise.” A man said, “O Messenger ofAllaah, what if a man likes his clothes and hisshoes to look good?” He said, “Allaah is Beauti-ful and loves beauty. Arrogance means rejectingthe truth and looking down on people.”Narrated by Muslim, 91.

2 – It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar(may Allaah be pleased with him) said: TheMessenger of Allaah (peace and blessings ofAllaah be upon him) said: “Whoever lets hisgarment drag along the ground out of pride,Allaah will not look at him on the Day of Resur-rection.” Abu Bakr said: “Sometimes my gar-ment slips down on one side, unless I pay atten-tion to it.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace andblessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “You arenot doing that out of pride.”Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3465

Secondly:Pride is an attribute that is not befitting for any-one except Allaah. Whoever seeks to competewith Allaah in that, Allaah will destroy him, wreakvengeance on him and make things difficult forhim.It was narrated that Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri andAbu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allaah(S) said: “Might is His garment and pride is Hiscloak; whoever seeks to compete with Me con-cerning them, I will punish him.”


By Reshma Memon YaqubI hadn’t planned to wash the corpse.But sometimes you just get caught up in themoment.

Through a series of slight miscalculations, I amthe first of the deceased woman’s relatives toarrive at the March Funeral Home in west Balti-more on this Mon-day morning. Thebody of thewoman whom ev-eryone in the fam-ily refers to sim-ply as Dadee,which means“grandmother” inUrdu, is scheduledto arrive at 10a.m., after being re-leased from Howard County General Hospitalin Columbia. I get to the funeral home at 10 a.m.and make somber chitchat with the five womenfrom the local mosque who have volunteered tohelp with funeral preparations, which includeswashing the deceased’s body.

According to Islamic practices, family membersof the same gender as the deceased are expectedto bathe and shroud the body for burial. Butbecause it’s such a detailed ritual and because somany second-generation American Muslim fami-lies have yet to bury a loved one here, mosqueshave volunteers to assist grieving families. Thesewomen have come from the Islamic Society ofBaltimore, where Dadee’s funeral prayer service


The Muslim Custom of bathing theDead, She Found a Deep Sense ofReward - and Shaved Off 40 Sins

will be held this afternoon.

When the body arrives at 11:30 a.m., I am stillthe only family member here, and the body-washers naturally usher me in to join them forthe ritual cleansing. It feels too late to tell themthat technically I’m not a relative. When I firstmet the women an hour ago and spoke to them

in my halting Urdu, itseemed unnecessary toexplain that I was onlyabout to become Dadee’srelative. That she was thevisiting grandmother ofthe woman engaged tomarry my youngerbrother. That she hadflown in from South Af-rica just 10 days earlierto attend the upcoming

wedding. That the only time I’d ever seen Dadeewas last night at the hospital, a few hours aftershe died of sudden cardiac arrest, and then Ihadn’t even seen her face. When I had arrived atthe hospital after getting the call from my brother,a white sheet was already drawn up over Dadee’sface and tucked around her slight, eight-decade-old frame.

But the body-washers are understandably in abit of a hurry. They’ve been kept waiting. Andthese genuinely kind women, five middle-agehomemakers, have their own responsibilities toget back to. I call my brother’s fiancee to tell her

Minimum RequirementsGood Islamic character withsound knowledge of Islam.Legal status with valid So-cial Security number.Proficiency in the Englishlanguage (a must for all aca-demic subject teachers).Preferably one year experi-ence in the applied position.

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By KIRK SEMPLE - New York TimesA federal appeals court had ruled in his favor.Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hadissued an order that paved the way for a visa.And so, on Wednesday afternoon, Tariq Ramadanstepped off a plane at Newark Liberty Interna-tional Airport for his first visit to the UnitedStates since 2004, when the Bush administra-tion barred him from entering, asserting he hadcontributed money to terrorist enterprises.Enlarge This ImageMichelle V. Agins/The New York Times

Tariq Ramadan, a professor of Islamic studies atthe University of Oxford, at the airport in New-ark on Wednesday.Related

* Patriot Act Faulted in Denial of Visa forMuslim Scholar (October 26, 2007)

But for Mr. Ramadan, one of the foremost Euro-pean scholars of the Islamic world, there wasstill one last hurdle: a closed-door session withthree immigration agents, one after the other,who asked him where he planned to go, whomhe planned to meet and what he planned to dis-cuss.

Two hours after his plane from Paris landed,Mr. Ramadan, wearing a dark suit and a smile ofrelief, cleared customs and shook hands withtwo representatives of the American Civil Lib-erties Union, which had litigated his case, andMuna Ali, an assistant of his who lives in theUnited States.

“How are you, Muna?” he asked.

“You kept us waiting,” she said, with good hu-mor. “What’s new?”

The group split up into two cabs, and Mr.Ramadan, 47, boarded one with Jameel Jaffer, arepresentative of the civil liberties union.

If Mr. Ramadan was flustered or annoyed bythe immigration stop, he did not betray it. “Iwas expecting this,” he said calmly.

In a telephone interview the night before, he saidhe had anticipated the moment when he wouldcome face to face with the American governmentin the form of the immigration officer. His planwas to approach that encounter with “a peace-ful mind.”

His admission into the country, he said, wasgood for two reasons: “Just to clear my name,”he said, “and for the work that we’re doing.”

“The important thing is the substance, to be intouch with many people,” he added.

In the summer of 2004, Mr. Ramadan, a Swisscitizen, was preparing to travel to the United

States to become a tenured professor of religion,conflict and peace-building at the University ofNotre Dame when the Bush administration re-voked his visa.

The government cited a provision of the PatriotAct that allows the barring of foreigners who“use a position of prominence within any coun-try to endorse or espouse terrorist activity.”Officials eventually pointed to Mr. Ramadan’sdonations of about $1,300 from 1998 to 2002 toa Swiss-based charity that the Treasury Depart-ment later categorized as a terrorist organizationbecause it gave money to Hamas, the militantPalestinian group.

Mr. Ramadan, now a professor of Islamic stud-ies at the University of Oxford, contended hewas unaware of any links between the charityand Hamas or terrorist activities. The professor,who had visited the United States dozens oftimes, said he believed that the organization wasinvolved in legitimate charitable activities.

The civil liberties union challenged the exclusionin a lawsuit filed on behalf of Mr. Ramadan andthree organizations that had invited him to speak:the American Association of University Profes-sors, the American Academy of Religion andPEN American Center. His lawyers argued thatthe exclusion was an illegal form of censorship,motivated by the professor’s political views andcriticism of American policy.

Last year, a federal appeals court in Manhattanreversed a lower court ruling that had upheld theexclusion, and in January, Mrs. Clinton signedthe order effectively lifting it.

His five-day visit will involve a series of meet-

At Last Allowed, Muslim Scholar Visits the USA


Ingredients * 4 cups flour * 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds, ground * 1 pinch salt * 1 tablespoon granulated sugar * 1 tablespoon instant yeast * 1 cup clarified butter * 1 1/2 cups milk * 2 cups dates, pitted * 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg * 1 egg white * 1 cup sesame seed

Directions1) Mix flour, ground fenugreek, salt, granulated sugar andinstant yeast in a large bowl.2) Add the clarified butter; mix with your hands until wellincorporated.3) Heat the milk until warm; add gradually to flour mixture.4) Knead to form a soft dough.5) Cover with a damp cloth for 1/2 hour.6) Put the dates in a bowl; add nutmeg; knead with yourhands.7) Take a small piece of dough; pat down onto work sur-face.8) Take a smaller piece of dates and roll it with your handsto form a small rope.9) Place the date rope in the middle of the piece of doughand enclose it with the dough and roll into a rope; makesure the date is entirely covered with dough.10) Shape your rope into an 'S' and place on a baking sheet.epeat with the remainder of dough and date filling.11) Brush your 'S's with egg white; sprinkle with sesameseeds.12) Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for12 to 15 minutes or until golden in color.

A young couple was nearing their first weddinganniversary. Although they were poor, both ofthem wanted to give the best possible gift to theother.

The woman knew her husband had a pocketwatch that he kept for sentimental reasons,though it had broken many years ago. Sheplanned to somehow buy a chain for the watchso that he could wear it as it was intended.

The man knew his wife cherished her thick andlong hair, though she wished she could do morewith it. He planned to get her a pretty brooch sothat she could wear her hair in a new style.

The day of their anniversary approached andboth husband and wife were beaming with prideas they thought of the reaction the other wouldhave upon recieving their gift.

When the man gave his wife the hair brooch, shebegan weeping uncontrollably. She then removedthe scarf that she had put on to cover her nowshort hair. She had sold her long beautiful hair toa wig maker in order to afford her husband's gift.And as he unwrapped his gift, he cringed be-cause he saw it was a chain for a pocket watch.Earlier that week he had sold his old pocket watchsimply so he could afford his wife's gift.

After the tears, together, they laughed at theirfoolishness.

THE MORAL:Both had given up their prized possessions tomake the other happy, and the result was, nei-ther was happy. Sometimes certain acts seemso giving, but in reality they are not. And some-times acts may seem selfish, but in reality, theyare not. Pray to Allah for clarity. Ameen.

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