Vandals target Islamic Center
By ANGELA CARBONE
WEST SPRINGFIELD - The Islamic Center of Western Massachusetts has recently been the target of three attacks.
On March 21, the windows and windshield of a van parked at the center were smashed with a large stone while Islamic Society members were in the midst of their Friday prayer, Islamic Society President Dr. M. Saleem Bajwa said Tuesday. The front door of the center's new hall was shattered with another large stone on March 26. On March 28, two large windows of the main building were smashed with stones. These windows are high off the ground and would require some force to break.
In addition to the vandalism, the Islamic Center received threatening telephone calls.
Local police and the FBI have been called in to investigate.
West Springfield Police Sgt. Mark Sypek said yesterday that he wouldn't characterize the vandalism as hate crimes. "I haven't seen any graffiti that would indicate that," he said.
It is more likely that the destruction was carried out by teenagers, he said.
Bajwa agreed that the vandals could indeed be teenagers, but the effort it took to hurl the large stones is troubling. People at the center have suffered verbal attacks and finger-pointing before, but this destruction is more serious.
"This seems to be systematic and planned," Bajwa said. "The problem is, we don't know where it's going to stop."
The telephone call, captured on the phone's message machine, features a male voice attempting some kind of accent. The voice says: "You must renounce the violence that your people are perpetrating against the citizens of the free world or there will be hell to pay."
...
The more people learn about islam & they will learn about it when the jihad on our land will become so obvious that even the government & media will not be able to hide it these 'incidents' will pale in comparison to what will take place...
Moslems cannot live in peace with INFIDELS, it is forbidden in the koran and moslem never fail to live by the koran...
Pertinent Links:
1) Vandals target Islamic Center
Showing posts with label massachusetts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label massachusetts. Show all posts
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Thursday, March 06, 2008
DAR AL HARB-U.S.A.-MASSACHUSETTS: HARVARD ENGAGES IN SAUDI GENDER APARTHEID - HARVARD, WHORES FOR SAUDI PETRO DOLLARS
At Harvard, row over women-only gym session for Muslim students
BOSTON: In a test of Harvard’s famed open-mindedness, the university has banned men from one of its gyms for a few hours a week to accommodate Muslim women who say it offends their sense of modesty to exercise in front of the opposite sex.
The policy is already unpopular with many on campus, including some women who consider it sexist.
“I think that it’s incorrect in a college setting to institute a policy in which half of the campus gets wronged or denied a resource that’s supposed to be for everyone,” said student Lucy Caldwell, who also wrote a column in Harvard Crimson critical of the new hours.
Student Ola Aljawhary, who is Muslim and works out elsewhere on campus but is not one of the women who requested the change, rejected that argument.
“The majority should be willing to compromise,” she said. “I think that’s just basic courtesy. We must show tolerance and respect for all others.”
The trial policy went into effect on February 4, about a month after a group of six Muslim women, with the support of the Harvard College Women’s Center, asked the university for the special hours, spokesman Robert Mitchell said.
“We get special requests from religious groups all the time and we try to honour them whenever possible,” he said, noting that the school has designated spaces for Muslim and Hindu students to pray.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) At Harvard, row over women-only gym session for Muslim students
BOSTON: In a test of Harvard’s famed open-mindedness, the university has banned men from one of its gyms for a few hours a week to accommodate Muslim women who say it offends their sense of modesty to exercise in front of the opposite sex.
The policy is already unpopular with many on campus, including some women who consider it sexist.
“I think that it’s incorrect in a college setting to institute a policy in which half of the campus gets wronged or denied a resource that’s supposed to be for everyone,” said student Lucy Caldwell, who also wrote a column in Harvard Crimson critical of the new hours.
Student Ola Aljawhary, who is Muslim and works out elsewhere on campus but is not one of the women who requested the change, rejected that argument.
“The majority should be willing to compromise,” she said. “I think that’s just basic courtesy. We must show tolerance and respect for all others.”
The trial policy went into effect on February 4, about a month after a group of six Muslim women, with the support of the Harvard College Women’s Center, asked the university for the special hours, spokesman Robert Mitchell said.
“We get special requests from religious groups all the time and we try to honour them whenever possible,” he said, noting that the school has designated spaces for Muslim and Hindu students to pray.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) At Harvard, row over women-only gym session for Muslim students
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
DAR AL HARB-U.S.A.-MASSACHUSETTS: JUST HOW FAR HAS HARVARD BEEN DHIMMIFIED?!? READ BELOW...OTHER UNIVERSITIES READY TO BE DHIMMIFIED
Harvard Sets Women-Only Hours for Gym, Complying With Muslim Students' Request
In response to a request by female Muslim students, Harvard University has created women-only workout hours at one of its campus gyms. The decision has angered some students at the Ivy League university.
Since Jan. 28, the Quadrangle Recreational Athletic Center has been open only to women from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays.
The change was prompted by a request from the Harvard College Women's Center, which was approached by six female Muslim students, said Robert Mitchell, communications director of Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
"It was done for religious purposes, but it's not closed to other women who may want to participate," he said.
Ola Aljawhary, a student and a member of the Harvard Islamic Society, said the women-only gym is needed.
"These hours are necessary because there is a segment of the Harvard female population that is not found in gyms, not because they don't want to work out, but because for them working out in a co-ed gym is uncomfortable, awkward or problematic in some way," she told Boston University's Daily Free Press.
...
Harvard has made many accommodations for students' religious needs, Mitchell said. Those include prayer areas for Hindu and Muslim students as well as the rescheduling of exams to accommodate religious holidays.
"This is just yet another of what we thought was a reasonable request for some special times because of religion, not because of gender," Mitchell said.
The women-only hours are being tested on a trial basis and will be evaluated at the end of the semester, he said.
Reports of the Harvard decision have sparked discussion in student publications across the country, including the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where an athletics department spokesman said such a measure would be "hard to pull off" in the campus' primary gym.
Pertinent Links:
1) Harvard Sets Women-Only Hours for Gym, Complying With Muslim Students' Request
In response to a request by female Muslim students, Harvard University has created women-only workout hours at one of its campus gyms. The decision has angered some students at the Ivy League university.
Since Jan. 28, the Quadrangle Recreational Athletic Center has been open only to women from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays.
The change was prompted by a request from the Harvard College Women's Center, which was approached by six female Muslim students, said Robert Mitchell, communications director of Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
"It was done for religious purposes, but it's not closed to other women who may want to participate," he said.
Ola Aljawhary, a student and a member of the Harvard Islamic Society, said the women-only gym is needed.
"These hours are necessary because there is a segment of the Harvard female population that is not found in gyms, not because they don't want to work out, but because for them working out in a co-ed gym is uncomfortable, awkward or problematic in some way," she told Boston University's Daily Free Press.
...
Harvard has made many accommodations for students' religious needs, Mitchell said. Those include prayer areas for Hindu and Muslim students as well as the rescheduling of exams to accommodate religious holidays.
"This is just yet another of what we thought was a reasonable request for some special times because of religion, not because of gender," Mitchell said.
The women-only hours are being tested on a trial basis and will be evaluated at the end of the semester, he said.
Reports of the Harvard decision have sparked discussion in student publications across the country, including the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where an athletics department spokesman said such a measure would be "hard to pull off" in the campus' primary gym.
Pertinent Links:
1) Harvard Sets Women-Only Hours for Gym, Complying With Muslim Students' Request
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
DAR AL HARB-U.S.A.-MASSACHUSETTES: GENDER APARTHEID AT HARVARD
To accommodate Muslim students, Harvard tries women-only gym hours by Abbie Ruzicka
Harvard University has moved to make Muslim women more comfortable in the gym by instituting women-only access times six hours a week to accommodate religious customs that make it difficult for some students to work out in the presence of men.
Men have not been allowed to enter the Quadrangle Recreational Athletic Center during certain times since Jan. 28, after members of the Harvard Islamic Society and the Harvard Women's Center petitioned the university for a more comfortable environment for women.
Harvard Islamic Society's Islamic Knowledge Committee officer Ola Aljawhary, a junior, said the women-only hours are being tested on a trial basis. The special gym hours will be analyzed over Spring Break to determine if they will continue, she said.
Aljawhary said that she does not believe that the women-only gym hours discriminate against men.
"These hours are necessary because there is a segment of the Harvard female population that is not found in gyms not because they don't want to work out, but because for them working out in a co-ed gym is uncomfortable, awkward or problematic in some way," she said.
Though the policy was in part initiated by the school's Islamic group, Aljawhary said women-only hours are not a case of "minority rights trumping majority preference" and said women of different faiths have showed interest in the hours.
"We live together in one community, it only makes sense for everyone to compromise slightly in order for everyone to live happily," she said. "This matter is simple: Can't we just display basic decency and show tolerance and inclusion for people not a part of the mainstream majority?"
Harvard junior Nick Wells said he believes the women-only hours are inconvenient for the residents that live near the facility and discriminate against men.
"It is unfair to impose a stringent policy that inhibits [students] from using their own facility in order to further a useless policy that doesn't have any real effect," he said.
"I don't mind that Harvard is trying to give space to women and religious minorities, it's just that it seems that it's not making a real effort," Wells said. "Just one that is impractical and purely symbolic at the cost of people like myself."
Wells lives near the Quad, and said the response to and use of the women-only gym hours so far has been underwhelming.
Harvard freshman Kyle Harasimowicz said women-only gyms have been successful and women-only gym hours fill the same need.
"I guess as long as the time is divvied up fairly, there should be no issue," he said.
Boston University Islamic Society President Mohamed Serageldin said he thinks women-only gym hours would benefit Muslim women at BU.
"Because the FitRec is co-ed, [a Muslim woman] would most likely be compromising her modesty. He said modesty can be compromised on both the part of the man and the woman when physical action is involved."
BU's Fitness and Recreation Center facilities manager Alex Southall said FitRec's design easily accommodates sectioning off areas for groups.
"It depends on the arrangement with the particular group, so we aren't playing favorites with space, but the FitRec does have the capability to section off for special use," he said.
Pertinent Links:
1) To accommodate Muslim students, Harvard tries women-only gym hours
Harvard University has moved to make Muslim women more comfortable in the gym by instituting women-only access times six hours a week to accommodate religious customs that make it difficult for some students to work out in the presence of men.
Men have not been allowed to enter the Quadrangle Recreational Athletic Center during certain times since Jan. 28, after members of the Harvard Islamic Society and the Harvard Women's Center petitioned the university for a more comfortable environment for women.
Harvard Islamic Society's Islamic Knowledge Committee officer Ola Aljawhary, a junior, said the women-only hours are being tested on a trial basis. The special gym hours will be analyzed over Spring Break to determine if they will continue, she said.
Aljawhary said that she does not believe that the women-only gym hours discriminate against men.
"These hours are necessary because there is a segment of the Harvard female population that is not found in gyms not because they don't want to work out, but because for them working out in a co-ed gym is uncomfortable, awkward or problematic in some way," she said.
Though the policy was in part initiated by the school's Islamic group, Aljawhary said women-only hours are not a case of "minority rights trumping majority preference" and said women of different faiths have showed interest in the hours.
"We live together in one community, it only makes sense for everyone to compromise slightly in order for everyone to live happily," she said. "This matter is simple: Can't we just display basic decency and show tolerance and inclusion for people not a part of the mainstream majority?"
Harvard junior Nick Wells said he believes the women-only hours are inconvenient for the residents that live near the facility and discriminate against men.
"It is unfair to impose a stringent policy that inhibits [students] from using their own facility in order to further a useless policy that doesn't have any real effect," he said.
"I don't mind that Harvard is trying to give space to women and religious minorities, it's just that it seems that it's not making a real effort," Wells said. "Just one that is impractical and purely symbolic at the cost of people like myself."
Wells lives near the Quad, and said the response to and use of the women-only gym hours so far has been underwhelming.
Harvard freshman Kyle Harasimowicz said women-only gyms have been successful and women-only gym hours fill the same need.
"I guess as long as the time is divvied up fairly, there should be no issue," he said.
Boston University Islamic Society President Mohamed Serageldin said he thinks women-only gym hours would benefit Muslim women at BU.
"Because the FitRec is co-ed, [a Muslim woman] would most likely be compromising her modesty. He said modesty can be compromised on both the part of the man and the woman when physical action is involved."
BU's Fitness and Recreation Center facilities manager Alex Southall said FitRec's design easily accommodates sectioning off areas for groups.
"It depends on the arrangement with the particular group, so we aren't playing favorites with space, but the FitRec does have the capability to section off for special use," he said.
Pertinent Links:
1) To accommodate Muslim students, Harvard tries women-only gym hours
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - MASSACHUSETTS: IMAM (MOSLEM) ARRESTED ON IMMIGRATION FRAUD - - - MOSLEMS SEETHING & PROTESTING OUTSIDE THE COURTHOUSE IN BOSTON
Mosque leader accused of immigration fraud
Imam's arrest sparks protest outside court
By Shelley Murphy
The spiritual leader of a mosque in Sharon was arrested yesterday on federal immigration fraud charges, sparking a protest outside the courthouse in Boston by a group of religious leaders and civil rights advocates who called the case a witch hunt.
Muhammad Masood, 49, imam of the 1,500 member Islamic Center of New England, is accused of lying repeatedly to federal immigration officials between 2002 and 2006 in a bid to obtain a green card and ultimately become a US citizen.
The criminal charges follow administrative charges brought by immigration officials last year. That case also drew wide protest from local Muslim leaders, who have accused authorities of ignoring efforts to smooth relations with members of various cultures.
A detailed affidavit filed in federal court alleges that Masood told authorities that after attending a master's degree program in economics at Boston University in the early 1990s, he returned to his native Pakistan for two years, as required by law, before returning to the United States in 1993 and later applying for residency.
But, the affidavit says, Masood never left Boston, and records show that he continued to live in Boston University housing with his wife and children, even though he was no longer a student. He was cited for a couple of traffic violations and was present when his fifth child was born in Boston in 1992, the affidavit indicates.
Authorities also allege that Masood did not disclose that he had collected state health benefits from 1997 to 2005 and initially denied ever being charged with any crimes, although he later acknowledged that he had been arrested for shoplifting in Norwood in 2000. The charge was later dismissed.
"This is an apparent witch hunt," said Bilal Kaleem, executive director of the Boston chapter of the Muslim American Society, who stood outside the federal courthouse yesterday with about 40 other supporters during a press conference denouncing Masood's arrest.
Kaleem said that Masood had been interrogated by the US attorney's office for six hours last week and was threatened with jail and "humiliation," unless he cooperated by providing incriminating information against mainstream Muslim leaders in the Boston area.
Kaleem described Masood as an upstanding man of high integrity who was charged with criminal violations after he insisted he had no incriminating information to offer.
In response to the allegations, the office of US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan released a statement saying: "The characterization of this as a government witch hunt is regrettable, as the detailed allegations contained in the complaint affidavit demonstrate there is a clear factual basis for the charges against Mr. Masood."
US Magistrate Judge Joyce London Alexander released Masood on a $10,000 unsecured bond and scheduled a hearing Aug. 9 on the charges.
Boston lawyer Norman Zalkind, who represents Masood, said his client surrendered yesterday after learning that the criminal complaint had been issued and will plead not guilty at his arraignment.
Masood's supporters criticized federal prosecutors for seeking criminal charges since he had already been arrested last November on immigration violations that were being handled administratively through the federal immigration court.
In November, Masood and his 24-year-old son, Hassan, were arrested along with 31 others by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in a nationwide crackdown on an alleged scheme to provide religious worker visas to immigrants who were supposed to be working full-time secular jobs but were not.
The immigration fraud charge brought against Masood last fall was dropped, but he is facing a hearing Oct. 11 on charges that he overstayed his visa in the 1990s.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Mosque leader accused of immigration fraud
Imam's arrest sparks protest outside court
By Shelley Murphy
The spiritual leader of a mosque in Sharon was arrested yesterday on federal immigration fraud charges, sparking a protest outside the courthouse in Boston by a group of religious leaders and civil rights advocates who called the case a witch hunt.
Muhammad Masood, 49, imam of the 1,500 member Islamic Center of New England, is accused of lying repeatedly to federal immigration officials between 2002 and 2006 in a bid to obtain a green card and ultimately become a US citizen.
The criminal charges follow administrative charges brought by immigration officials last year. That case also drew wide protest from local Muslim leaders, who have accused authorities of ignoring efforts to smooth relations with members of various cultures.
A detailed affidavit filed in federal court alleges that Masood told authorities that after attending a master's degree program in economics at Boston University in the early 1990s, he returned to his native Pakistan for two years, as required by law, before returning to the United States in 1993 and later applying for residency.
But, the affidavit says, Masood never left Boston, and records show that he continued to live in Boston University housing with his wife and children, even though he was no longer a student. He was cited for a couple of traffic violations and was present when his fifth child was born in Boston in 1992, the affidavit indicates.
Authorities also allege that Masood did not disclose that he had collected state health benefits from 1997 to 2005 and initially denied ever being charged with any crimes, although he later acknowledged that he had been arrested for shoplifting in Norwood in 2000. The charge was later dismissed.
"This is an apparent witch hunt," said Bilal Kaleem, executive director of the Boston chapter of the Muslim American Society, who stood outside the federal courthouse yesterday with about 40 other supporters during a press conference denouncing Masood's arrest.
Kaleem said that Masood had been interrogated by the US attorney's office for six hours last week and was threatened with jail and "humiliation," unless he cooperated by providing incriminating information against mainstream Muslim leaders in the Boston area.
Kaleem described Masood as an upstanding man of high integrity who was charged with criminal violations after he insisted he had no incriminating information to offer.
In response to the allegations, the office of US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan released a statement saying: "The characterization of this as a government witch hunt is regrettable, as the detailed allegations contained in the complaint affidavit demonstrate there is a clear factual basis for the charges against Mr. Masood."
US Magistrate Judge Joyce London Alexander released Masood on a $10,000 unsecured bond and scheduled a hearing Aug. 9 on the charges.
Boston lawyer Norman Zalkind, who represents Masood, said his client surrendered yesterday after learning that the criminal complaint had been issued and will plead not guilty at his arraignment.
Masood's supporters criticized federal prosecutors for seeking criminal charges since he had already been arrested last November on immigration violations that were being handled administratively through the federal immigration court.
In November, Masood and his 24-year-old son, Hassan, were arrested along with 31 others by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in a nationwide crackdown on an alleged scheme to provide religious worker visas to immigrants who were supposed to be working full-time secular jobs but were not.
The immigration fraud charge brought against Masood last fall was dropped, but he is facing a hearing Oct. 11 on charges that he overstayed his visa in the 1990s.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Mosque leader accused of immigration fraud
Sunday, June 10, 2007
DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - MASSACHUSETTS: A MUEZZIN CALL HEARD IN BOSTON
First call to prayers at the largest mosque in New England
BOSTON -- Thousands of worshippers gathered in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood Saturday to celebrate as construction workers lowered a bronze cap on the minaret of the largest mosque in New England.
Some Muslim women and men had tears streaming down their faces and others raised their hands in prayers as a large copper cap was hoisted by crane to the top of the structure -- symbolizing the near completion of construction after years of legal wrangling.
The muezzin -- a man appointed to call Muslims to prayer -- broadcast a symbolic call that drew at least 2,000 people to pray on the grounds of the Islamic Society of Boston's mosque.
Worshippers, however, must wait for at least six months before they could pray inside the 70,000-square-foot mosque because of ongoing construction, officials said.
Saturday's gathering also sought to raise funds for the $14 million mosque and a related Cultural Center. Some worshippers donated cash, jewelry and other possessions.
In a dramatic gesture, a grade-school girl walked up to the podium, took off what appeared to be gold bracelets and gave them to the man leading the public fundraising drive. A real estate agent also pledged an unspecified percentage of his future earnings for the cause.
The event comes about two weeks after two sides in a legal dispute about the construction of the mosque agreed to drop legal actions against each other.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) First call to prayers at the largest mosque in New England
BOSTON -- Thousands of worshippers gathered in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood Saturday to celebrate as construction workers lowered a bronze cap on the minaret of the largest mosque in New England.
Some Muslim women and men had tears streaming down their faces and others raised their hands in prayers as a large copper cap was hoisted by crane to the top of the structure -- symbolizing the near completion of construction after years of legal wrangling.
The muezzin -- a man appointed to call Muslims to prayer -- broadcast a symbolic call that drew at least 2,000 people to pray on the grounds of the Islamic Society of Boston's mosque.
Worshippers, however, must wait for at least six months before they could pray inside the 70,000-square-foot mosque because of ongoing construction, officials said.
Saturday's gathering also sought to raise funds for the $14 million mosque and a related Cultural Center. Some worshippers donated cash, jewelry and other possessions.
In a dramatic gesture, a grade-school girl walked up to the podium, took off what appeared to be gold bracelets and gave them to the man leading the public fundraising drive. A real estate agent also pledged an unspecified percentage of his future earnings for the cause.
The event comes about two weeks after two sides in a legal dispute about the construction of the mosque agreed to drop legal actions against each other.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) First call to prayers at the largest mosque in New England
Saturday, June 09, 2007
DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - MASSACHUSETTS: NOT ALL CHRISTIAN & MOSLEM HISTORY IS 'HOSTILE'
Christian-Muslim history not all hostile
...
While "it's not like they're all coming together and singing 'Kumbaya,' " Syriac Christians found crossroads of cooperation with their Muslim rulers, he says. Excerpts from a recent interview with Penn follow.
Q Obviously you speak or read Syriac. How many people do these days?
A Very, very few. It is a liturgical language in various Syriac churches. We're talking, in terms of Western scholars, a few hundred. In terms of the United States, there may be a few dozen people who are working in Syriac Christianity.
Q What documents are you studying?
A They're literally cowhide. Most of them no one has looked at in over a thousand years. A number are copies of copies of copies, written only 400 or 200 years ago, copies of stuff that are a lot more ancient. There's one story of a person who allegedly was martyred by Muslims because they thought he was a convert to Christianity. The veracity of the story is questionable, but it's important because it tells us what people [were] talking about.
Q I'm assuming none of these ancient writers was gracious enough to leave "A History of Muslim-Christian Relations." The documents you're reading -- are they Scripture, business records, diaries?
A Some are attempts at writing history. Outside of the Koran, [these are] our earliest accounts of Islam. We have letters from [Christian] bishops and patriarchs, everything from talking about "how do we try to decrease taxes" to "how can we use Muslim rulers to help minimize the threat of other Christians who we don't like." We have a number of apocalypses -- think of the Book of Revelation, but updated -- talking about the end of the world. A number of Syriac Christians believe that the rise of Islam is the harbinger of the end of time. We get story collections about different holy men. We also have collections of canon law.
Q The $64,000 question: What have you learned that we didn't know?
A You get tons of different depictions of Muslims. Some are antagonistic: They will talk about Muslims as horrible conquerors, murderers, sexual perverts, God's wrath, as a people that God will eventually destroy. At the same time, we can have, for example, a Christian bishop in the 650s who writes that Arabs aren't opposed to Christianity, they respect our religion, honor priests and holy men. We have records of Muslim rulers helping fund Christian monasteries.
I came across a document that I really don't think anyone has read in a thousand years, which is an extended prayer by a Christian on behalf of a Muslim ruler, claiming that the ruler is chosen by God to lead the Christians, just as God chose Moses and David to lead Israel. We have, in the seventh century, canon law saying that Christians could perform a kind of last rites over a Muslim, that Christian priests can exorcise and heal Muslims using Christian relics. . . . We have stories about a bishop who goes out in the middle of the night because there's a Muslim thief who's stealing only because he's poor. The bishop gives him a lot of money to start a new life. It's almost like a "Les Mis" story. It's not all altruistic. Christian bishops often see their main opponents not as Muslims but other Christians. What you don't get is Christians who are being extensively martyred for their faith.
Q What implications for our current situation [does] this suggest?
A It's so quick for us to try to put the encounters of two religious traditions into a five-second sound bite, a "clash of civilizations." This research suggests that even from its very beginning, Christian and Muslim relations were not solely antagonistic. I'm beginning to get hints that there is overlap. [Sources] talk about folks they call Christian who proclaim that Jesus isn't the Messiah. You have folks Muslim rulers consider Muslim, yet the person is confessing Jesus as the Messiah.
Pertinent Links:
1) Christian-Muslim history not all hostile
...
While "it's not like they're all coming together and singing 'Kumbaya,' " Syriac Christians found crossroads of cooperation with their Muslim rulers, he says. Excerpts from a recent interview with Penn follow.
Q Obviously you speak or read Syriac. How many people do these days?
A Very, very few. It is a liturgical language in various Syriac churches. We're talking, in terms of Western scholars, a few hundred. In terms of the United States, there may be a few dozen people who are working in Syriac Christianity.
Q What documents are you studying?
A They're literally cowhide. Most of them no one has looked at in over a thousand years. A number are copies of copies of copies, written only 400 or 200 years ago, copies of stuff that are a lot more ancient. There's one story of a person who allegedly was martyred by Muslims because they thought he was a convert to Christianity. The veracity of the story is questionable, but it's important because it tells us what people [were] talking about.
Q I'm assuming none of these ancient writers was gracious enough to leave "A History of Muslim-Christian Relations." The documents you're reading -- are they Scripture, business records, diaries?
A Some are attempts at writing history. Outside of the Koran, [these are] our earliest accounts of Islam. We have letters from [Christian] bishops and patriarchs, everything from talking about "how do we try to decrease taxes" to "how can we use Muslim rulers to help minimize the threat of other Christians who we don't like." We have a number of apocalypses -- think of the Book of Revelation, but updated -- talking about the end of the world. A number of Syriac Christians believe that the rise of Islam is the harbinger of the end of time. We get story collections about different holy men. We also have collections of canon law.
Q The $64,000 question: What have you learned that we didn't know?
A You get tons of different depictions of Muslims. Some are antagonistic: They will talk about Muslims as horrible conquerors, murderers, sexual perverts, God's wrath, as a people that God will eventually destroy. At the same time, we can have, for example, a Christian bishop in the 650s who writes that Arabs aren't opposed to Christianity, they respect our religion, honor priests and holy men. We have records of Muslim rulers helping fund Christian monasteries.
I came across a document that I really don't think anyone has read in a thousand years, which is an extended prayer by a Christian on behalf of a Muslim ruler, claiming that the ruler is chosen by God to lead the Christians, just as God chose Moses and David to lead Israel. We have, in the seventh century, canon law saying that Christians could perform a kind of last rites over a Muslim, that Christian priests can exorcise and heal Muslims using Christian relics. . . . We have stories about a bishop who goes out in the middle of the night because there's a Muslim thief who's stealing only because he's poor. The bishop gives him a lot of money to start a new life. It's almost like a "Les Mis" story. It's not all altruistic. Christian bishops often see their main opponents not as Muslims but other Christians. What you don't get is Christians who are being extensively martyred for their faith.
Q What implications for our current situation [does] this suggest?
A It's so quick for us to try to put the encounters of two religious traditions into a five-second sound bite, a "clash of civilizations." This research suggests that even from its very beginning, Christian and Muslim relations were not solely antagonistic. I'm beginning to get hints that there is overlap. [Sources] talk about folks they call Christian who proclaim that Jesus isn't the Messiah. You have folks Muslim rulers consider Muslim, yet the person is confessing Jesus as the Messiah.
Pertinent Links:
1) Christian-Muslim history not all hostile
Thursday, May 31, 2007
DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - MASSACHUSETTS: THE ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF BOSTON CLAIMS VICTORY IN THEIR FIGHT WITH THE DAVID PROJECT
I am not quite sure how the ISB can claim victory when just on Tuesday, May 29th 2007 we had the following report:
Islamic Society of Boston Drops Lawsuits Against David Project, Concerned Citizens, Boston Herald and Fox, Abandoning All of Its Claims Without Receiving Any Payment
David Project to Continue Public Records Lawsuit to Force Disclosure ofEvidence on Boston Redevelopment Authority-Islamic Society Land Deal
...
Victory and Celebration at MAS Press Conference on ISB-David Project Settlement at ISB Mosque Site
BOSTON, May 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Muslim American Society
(MAS) Freedom Foundation - Boston, the public affairs arm of MAS, the
largest grassroots Muslim organization in the United States, held a press
conference to declare victory in the fight to protect the building of the
Islamic Society of Boston's Cultural Center, the largest mosque in New
England.
Muslim leaders stood shoulder to shoulder with Christian, Jewish and
other community leaders at the picturesque entrance to the new mosque to
show support for the Muslim community and to celebrate the settlement
between the ISB and the David Project. This was a fitting unveiling for the
mosque, which will not only serve as a place of worship, but also as an
inter-religious center that will focus on interfaith dialogue, research and
positive engagement between diverse cultures and faith traditions.
The Islamic Society of Boston's Cultural Center has been faced with a
multi-level campaign of negative reporting and disinformation. These
efforts resulted in a lawsuit initiated by the David Project, and filed by
James Policastro. The lawsuit sought to stop the completion of the Islamic
center by challenging the city's sale of land to the ISB. Consequently, a
lawsuit was filed on behalf of the ISB against the David Project, Inc.,
Citizens for Peace and Tolerance and other related defendants.
Organizations and individuals present represented the religious and
ethnic diversity of Boston. This included Jewish organizations such as
Workmen's Circle, Jesuit Priest Father Raymond Helmick (who is also a
professor of conflict resolution at Boston College) and members of
African-American faith communities. Well-known Boston community activist
Mel King stood with MAS and denounced the attacks on the mosque.
Howard Cooper, Chief Counsel for the ISB fielded questions by members
of the press and gave details concerning the case. MAS is pleased with the
settlement and emphasized that they had accomplished their goal of stopping
the debilitating and deliberate attempts to prevent the construction, and
to tear down the new mosque. Imam Mahdi Bray, Executive Director of MAS
Freedom Foundation, spoke of the settlement as a cause for celebration, a
chance to right a wrong and move forward. This will allow the Muslim
community to re- focus their efforts on building and sustaining lasting
relationships with other faith members of the Boston community.
The group agreed that not only is this a victory for the ISB and the
Greater Boston Muslim community, it is also a triumph for civil rights and
the 1st Amendment. This settlement sends a clear message that all faiths,
including Muslims, have a right to establish places of worship without fear
of intimidation or reprisal. MAS also stressed the importance of looking
forward and moving on. Bilal Kaleem, Executive Director of MAS Boston
stated, "This will allow us to move forward and continue building
meaningful partnerships and cooperation with all faith and ethnic
communities in working for good in Boston."
Pertinent Links:
1) Victory and Celebration at MAS Press Conference on ISB-David Project Settlement at ISB Mosque Site
Islamic Society of Boston Drops Lawsuits Against David Project, Concerned Citizens, Boston Herald and Fox, Abandoning All of Its Claims Without Receiving Any Payment
David Project to Continue Public Records Lawsuit to Force Disclosure ofEvidence on Boston Redevelopment Authority-Islamic Society Land Deal
...
Victory and Celebration at MAS Press Conference on ISB-David Project Settlement at ISB Mosque Site
BOSTON, May 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Muslim American Society
(MAS) Freedom Foundation - Boston, the public affairs arm of MAS, the
largest grassroots Muslim organization in the United States, held a press
conference to declare victory in the fight to protect the building of the
Islamic Society of Boston's Cultural Center, the largest mosque in New
England.
Muslim leaders stood shoulder to shoulder with Christian, Jewish and
other community leaders at the picturesque entrance to the new mosque to
show support for the Muslim community and to celebrate the settlement
between the ISB and the David Project. This was a fitting unveiling for the
mosque, which will not only serve as a place of worship, but also as an
inter-religious center that will focus on interfaith dialogue, research and
positive engagement between diverse cultures and faith traditions.
The Islamic Society of Boston's Cultural Center has been faced with a
multi-level campaign of negative reporting and disinformation. These
efforts resulted in a lawsuit initiated by the David Project, and filed by
James Policastro. The lawsuit sought to stop the completion of the Islamic
center by challenging the city's sale of land to the ISB. Consequently, a
lawsuit was filed on behalf of the ISB against the David Project, Inc.,
Citizens for Peace and Tolerance and other related defendants.
Organizations and individuals present represented the religious and
ethnic diversity of Boston. This included Jewish organizations such as
Workmen's Circle, Jesuit Priest Father Raymond Helmick (who is also a
professor of conflict resolution at Boston College) and members of
African-American faith communities. Well-known Boston community activist
Mel King stood with MAS and denounced the attacks on the mosque.
Howard Cooper, Chief Counsel for the ISB fielded questions by members
of the press and gave details concerning the case. MAS is pleased with the
settlement and emphasized that they had accomplished their goal of stopping
the debilitating and deliberate attempts to prevent the construction, and
to tear down the new mosque. Imam Mahdi Bray, Executive Director of MAS
Freedom Foundation, spoke of the settlement as a cause for celebration, a
chance to right a wrong and move forward. This will allow the Muslim
community to re- focus their efforts on building and sustaining lasting
relationships with other faith members of the Boston community.
The group agreed that not only is this a victory for the ISB and the
Greater Boston Muslim community, it is also a triumph for civil rights and
the 1st Amendment. This settlement sends a clear message that all faiths,
including Muslims, have a right to establish places of worship without fear
of intimidation or reprisal. MAS also stressed the importance of looking
forward and moving on. Bilal Kaleem, Executive Director of MAS Boston
stated, "This will allow us to move forward and continue building
meaningful partnerships and cooperation with all faith and ethnic
communities in working for good in Boston."
Pertinent Links:
1) Victory and Celebration at MAS Press Conference on ISB-David Project Settlement at ISB Mosque Site
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - MASSACHUSETTS: THE ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF BOSTON DROPS ITS LAWSUIT
Islamic Society of Boston Drops Lawsuits Against David Project, Concerned Citizens, Boston Herald and Fox, Abandoning All of Its Claims Without Receiving Any Payment
David Project to Continue Public Records Lawsuit to Force Disclosure of
Evidence on Boston Redevelopment Authority-Islamic Society Land Deal
BOSTON, May 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The David Project has
announced that the Islamic Society of Boston ("ISB") and its officers have
withdrawn all of their claims against all of the citizens who raised
concerns about the ISB, its funding and its leadership, as well as all of
their claims against the Boston Herald, Fox-TV and the various journalists
whose investigative pieces about the ISB in 2003 and 2004 disclosed
damaging information about the ISB and its controversial land deal with the
Boston Redevelopment Authority ("BRA"). The ISB and its officers have
abandoned all of their claims against all of the defendants they sued 2
years ago, without payment to the ISB or to any of its officers of any
money whatsoever.
The ISB's decision to drop all of its claims against all of the 17
defendants it sued back in 2005 alleging "defamation" and accusing them of
conspiring to violate its civil rights comes just months after the
defendants -- who included a Muslim cleric, a Christian political science
professor and the Jewish daughter of Holocaust survivors, as well as Boston
civic leader William Sapers and national terrorism expert Steven Emerson --
had begun, through their lawyers, to conduct discovery into the ISB's
financial records, its receipt of millions of dollars in funding from Saudi
Arabian and other Middle Eastern sources, its contributions to certain
organizations and the records of certain of its officers and directors. The
ISB's abandonment of its lawsuits comes only weeks after two of its
original Middle Eastern Trustees, Walid Fitaihi of Saudi Arabia and Ali
Tobah of Egypt, suddenly resigned as Trustees just before they were
required to submit themselves to the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts
court hearing the case.
The David Project, whose public records litigation against the BRA
forced the public disclosure of evidence regarding the below-fair-market
land deal between the BRA and the ISB and the role played in that deal of
BRA Deputy Director Muhammed Ali Salaam, will proceed exactly as before
with its litigation, seeking the remainder of the documents presently
withheld by the BRA. That litigation, The David Project v. Boston
Redevelopment Authority, is on file in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston.
"We were determined from the beginning to act the way citizens should,
by asking questions about this matter and by refusing to be intimidated
into staying silent," said David Project founder and President Charles
Jacobs, "and we intend to continue as we have before. Indeed, the evidence
that has emerged about the transaction, about the BRA's failure to do due
diligence into those whom it chose to subsidize and about the funding and
the leadership of the organization that received this public subsidy is of
extremely deep concern. That evidence not only vindicates the reporting of
the courageous journalists whose investigative work broke the story back in
2003 and 2004, but validates many times over the concerns expressed by the
good and decent citizens -- Muslims, Christians and Jews -- who refused to
stay silent."
"Those citizens were vilified by the ISB for having had the courage to
speak out", said Jacobs. "The ISB's abandonment of its claims without
payment of one dollar to them, coming as it does as the ISB was ordered to
turn over evidence, speaks more eloquently than anything else could about
the truth of what these citizens said, about the validity of their
concerns, and about the lack of merit to the ISB's allegations that they
had been 'defamed' and had been financially 'damaged'. Above all, the ISB's
ultimate abandonment of its lawsuits speaks eloquently about the importance
of refusing to be bullied and intimidated into silence."
"This has never been about the right of all people to worship, and to
construct houses of worship, which is an important right possessed equally
by all people, warranting great respect," said Jacobs. "What it has been
about is specific evidence about specific leaders of a specific
organization, and about evidence regarding the funding of that organization
and those whom it, in turn, was funding. The threat of Islamic extremism in
the United States and elsewhere is a real one. Many of the most courageous
and forceful individuals speaking out about this threat are themselves
Muslims, and they deserve the support of all of us. The victory we have
achieved in this case is a victory for many, but perhaps especially for
them, as it bolsters and encourages them, and sends a message on their
behalf that intimidation will not work."
Pertinent Links:
1) Islamic Society of Boston Drops Lawsuits Against David Project, Concerned Citizens, Boston Herald and Fox, Abandoning All of Its Claims Without Receiving Any Payment
David Project to Continue Public Records Lawsuit to Force Disclosure of
Evidence on Boston Redevelopment Authority-Islamic Society Land Deal
BOSTON, May 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The David Project has
announced that the Islamic Society of Boston ("ISB") and its officers have
withdrawn all of their claims against all of the citizens who raised
concerns about the ISB, its funding and its leadership, as well as all of
their claims against the Boston Herald, Fox-TV and the various journalists
whose investigative pieces about the ISB in 2003 and 2004 disclosed
damaging information about the ISB and its controversial land deal with the
Boston Redevelopment Authority ("BRA"). The ISB and its officers have
abandoned all of their claims against all of the defendants they sued 2
years ago, without payment to the ISB or to any of its officers of any
money whatsoever.
The ISB's decision to drop all of its claims against all of the 17
defendants it sued back in 2005 alleging "defamation" and accusing them of
conspiring to violate its civil rights comes just months after the
defendants -- who included a Muslim cleric, a Christian political science
professor and the Jewish daughter of Holocaust survivors, as well as Boston
civic leader William Sapers and national terrorism expert Steven Emerson --
had begun, through their lawyers, to conduct discovery into the ISB's
financial records, its receipt of millions of dollars in funding from Saudi
Arabian and other Middle Eastern sources, its contributions to certain
organizations and the records of certain of its officers and directors. The
ISB's abandonment of its lawsuits comes only weeks after two of its
original Middle Eastern Trustees, Walid Fitaihi of Saudi Arabia and Ali
Tobah of Egypt, suddenly resigned as Trustees just before they were
required to submit themselves to the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts
court hearing the case.
The David Project, whose public records litigation against the BRA
forced the public disclosure of evidence regarding the below-fair-market
land deal between the BRA and the ISB and the role played in that deal of
BRA Deputy Director Muhammed Ali Salaam, will proceed exactly as before
with its litigation, seeking the remainder of the documents presently
withheld by the BRA. That litigation, The David Project v. Boston
Redevelopment Authority, is on file in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston.
"We were determined from the beginning to act the way citizens should,
by asking questions about this matter and by refusing to be intimidated
into staying silent," said David Project founder and President Charles
Jacobs, "and we intend to continue as we have before. Indeed, the evidence
that has emerged about the transaction, about the BRA's failure to do due
diligence into those whom it chose to subsidize and about the funding and
the leadership of the organization that received this public subsidy is of
extremely deep concern. That evidence not only vindicates the reporting of
the courageous journalists whose investigative work broke the story back in
2003 and 2004, but validates many times over the concerns expressed by the
good and decent citizens -- Muslims, Christians and Jews -- who refused to
stay silent."
"Those citizens were vilified by the ISB for having had the courage to
speak out", said Jacobs. "The ISB's abandonment of its claims without
payment of one dollar to them, coming as it does as the ISB was ordered to
turn over evidence, speaks more eloquently than anything else could about
the truth of what these citizens said, about the validity of their
concerns, and about the lack of merit to the ISB's allegations that they
had been 'defamed' and had been financially 'damaged'. Above all, the ISB's
ultimate abandonment of its lawsuits speaks eloquently about the importance
of refusing to be bullied and intimidated into silence."
"This has never been about the right of all people to worship, and to
construct houses of worship, which is an important right possessed equally
by all people, warranting great respect," said Jacobs. "What it has been
about is specific evidence about specific leaders of a specific
organization, and about evidence regarding the funding of that organization
and those whom it, in turn, was funding. The threat of Islamic extremism in
the United States and elsewhere is a real one. Many of the most courageous
and forceful individuals speaking out about this threat are themselves
Muslims, and they deserve the support of all of us. The victory we have
achieved in this case is a victory for many, but perhaps especially for
them, as it bolsters and encourages them, and sends a message on their
behalf that intimidation will not work."
Pertinent Links:
1) Islamic Society of Boston Drops Lawsuits Against David Project, Concerned Citizens, Boston Herald and Fox, Abandoning All of Its Claims Without Receiving Any Payment
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - MASSACHUSETTS: A HARVARD PROFESSOR ENVISIONS 'ISLAMIC DEMOCRACY'
Saudi donations to universities are paying off big time:
Envisioning Islamic democracy
Boston, Massachusetts - Islam is often perceived as a potential threat to democratisation, and justifications for this view tend to repeat ad nauseam the idea that for Islam, there is no separation between politics and religion.
In the West, politics based on individual rights (as opposed to the common good) and religion as independent of the state have marked the triumph of a liberal vision of the self within a secularised public arena. No similar movement has taken place in the Muslim world. It may be tempting, then, to consider the absence of this development as evidence that the Muslim mind is resistant to secularisation in toto.
...
Muslims want to be democratic on their own terms [In other words, when moslems move to the West, they want Westerners to accomodate them & allow them to practice shari'ah, the very shari'ah that they had just escaped from...I have a suggestion for moslems immigrants that are contemplating on moving to the West & expect us to change: DON'T BOTHER COMING, IF YOU WANT SHARI'AH, STAY WHERE YOU ARE AT...The professor is nothing more than an islamic apologist & handmaiden, used by islam to fill the minds of young Americans, soon to be our leaders with the idea that islam is no danger to The West...ed. A.I.] Is the professor a moslem, and for Muslims living both in the West and in Muslim-majority societies, this means that they want religious norms to be visible in their personal, daily lives. Moreover, this means that members of democratic, Muslim-majority societies would want religious norms to regulate public social life.
This raises legitimate concerns about the recognition and freedom of other religious minorities within a social system dominated by Islamic references. In some ways, American (more than European) democracy may reflect key elements of an Islamic democracy: sovereignty of the people, separation of church and state, and socio-political acknowledgment of the importance of religions to private citizens and public social life.
It is crucial that Western politicians and intellectuals acknowledge processes of modernisation and democratisation that include Islamic references, while striving to protect religious and cultural minorities and guarantee freedom of expression. Without these safeguards, it is impossible to envision any democracy, Islamic or otherwise.
and
Professor Jocelyne Cesari (islamic apologist & handmaiden) defends Tariq Ramadan (grandson of the found of the Moslem Brotherhood, the precursor to Al-Queda)...
You can read more here:
Tariq Ramadan & Jocelyne Cesari: Al Qaeda linked 'scholar' and apologist propagate hoax of Islamophobia at EPC conference
Pertinent Links:
1) Envisioning Islamic democracy
Envisioning Islamic democracy
Boston, Massachusetts - Islam is often perceived as a potential threat to democratisation, and justifications for this view tend to repeat ad nauseam the idea that for Islam, there is no separation between politics and religion.
In the West, politics based on individual rights (as opposed to the common good) and religion as independent of the state have marked the triumph of a liberal vision of the self within a secularised public arena. No similar movement has taken place in the Muslim world. It may be tempting, then, to consider the absence of this development as evidence that the Muslim mind is resistant to secularisation in toto.
...
Muslims want to be democratic on their own terms [In other words, when moslems move to the West, they want Westerners to accomodate them & allow them to practice shari'ah, the very shari'ah that they had just escaped from...I have a suggestion for moslems immigrants that are contemplating on moving to the West & expect us to change: DON'T BOTHER COMING, IF YOU WANT SHARI'AH, STAY WHERE YOU ARE AT...The professor is nothing more than an islamic apologist & handmaiden, used by islam to fill the minds of young Americans, soon to be our leaders with the idea that islam is no danger to The West...ed. A.I.] Is the professor a moslem, and for Muslims living both in the West and in Muslim-majority societies, this means that they want religious norms to be visible in their personal, daily lives. Moreover, this means that members of democratic, Muslim-majority societies would want religious norms to regulate public social life.
This raises legitimate concerns about the recognition and freedom of other religious minorities within a social system dominated by Islamic references. In some ways, American (more than European) democracy may reflect key elements of an Islamic democracy: sovereignty of the people, separation of church and state, and socio-political acknowledgment of the importance of religions to private citizens and public social life.
It is crucial that Western politicians and intellectuals acknowledge processes of modernisation and democratisation that include Islamic references, while striving to protect religious and cultural minorities and guarantee freedom of expression. Without these safeguards, it is impossible to envision any democracy, Islamic or otherwise.
and
Professor Jocelyne Cesari (islamic apologist & handmaiden) defends Tariq Ramadan (grandson of the found of the Moslem Brotherhood, the precursor to Al-Queda)...
You can read more here:
Tariq Ramadan & Jocelyne Cesari: Al Qaeda linked 'scholar' and apologist propagate hoax of Islamophobia at EPC conference
Pertinent Links:
1) Envisioning Islamic democracy
Thursday, May 17, 2007
DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - MASSACHUSETTS: "JIHAD VIA LAWSUIT" IS BEING WAGED BY THE ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF BOSTON
Islamic Society of Boston uses litigation to silence its critics
Please visit the site and follow the links to information from there...EYE OPENING, especially if you are not aware of "jihad via lawsuit" that is raging in America's courtrooms, etc...
Please visit the site and follow the links to information from there...EYE OPENING, especially if you are not aware of "jihad via lawsuit" that is raging in America's courtrooms, etc...
Monday, April 23, 2007
DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - MASSACHUSETTS: HARVARD BLOVIATES ABOUT THE "FAIRNESS & LACK OF EXPLOITATION" WHEN IT COMES TO ISLAMIC FINANCE
The Global Impact of Islamic Finance
By: by Jin-ah Kim & Ahmad Y. Bassam, Contributing Writers
Posted: 4/23/07"This is a historical event. We haven't ever had any events about Islamic Finance at HBS that I am aware of," said Samuel L. Hayes III (HBS, '61), Jacob Schiff Professor Emeritus. Hayes was a principal contributor to the Harvard Islamic Investment Study and the author of seven books, including Islamic Law and Finance.
Hayes, the first speaker of the panel, explained basic concepts and principles of Islamic Finance to the audience. Islamic Finance refers to a system of finance or banking that is consistent with Islamic law (Shariah) principles. His "Islamic Finance 101" started with the guiding principles of the Prophet Mohammed, the historical founder of Islam: "Be fair with all others," and "one party cannot exploit the misfortune of others."
As a result, usury (the collection and payment of interest), in addition to any forms of speculation trading in financial risk is prohibited because it is considered gambling, which is also forbidden. Hayes pointed out that Islamic finance places emphasis on a philosophy of investing which closely resembles the idea of "socially responsible investing." Islam does not permit the investing in businesses that are considered unlawful (haraam) and contrary to Islamic values such as those related to illicit drugs, weapons, alcohol, pornography and terrorism. Moreover, Islamic law prohibits borrowing money by using collateral and selling account receivables, which are commonly used financial practices by companies. Hayes said that businesses run by Islamic principles pay monetarily for their religious devotions.
...
I am surprised that they just don't come out and say that the islamic way of doing business is so much better and more responsible than the "Western" way of doing business...
How much $$$$ have the Saudis' donated to Harvard?!?
Pertinent Links:
1) The Global Impact of Islamic Finance
By: by Jin-ah Kim & Ahmad Y. Bassam, Contributing Writers
Posted: 4/23/07"This is a historical event. We haven't ever had any events about Islamic Finance at HBS that I am aware of," said Samuel L. Hayes III (HBS, '61), Jacob Schiff Professor Emeritus. Hayes was a principal contributor to the Harvard Islamic Investment Study and the author of seven books, including Islamic Law and Finance.
Hayes, the first speaker of the panel, explained basic concepts and principles of Islamic Finance to the audience. Islamic Finance refers to a system of finance or banking that is consistent with Islamic law (Shariah) principles. His "Islamic Finance 101" started with the guiding principles of the Prophet Mohammed, the historical founder of Islam: "Be fair with all others," and "one party cannot exploit the misfortune of others."
As a result, usury (the collection and payment of interest), in addition to any forms of speculation trading in financial risk is prohibited because it is considered gambling, which is also forbidden. Hayes pointed out that Islamic finance places emphasis on a philosophy of investing which closely resembles the idea of "socially responsible investing." Islam does not permit the investing in businesses that are considered unlawful (haraam) and contrary to Islamic values such as those related to illicit drugs, weapons, alcohol, pornography and terrorism. Moreover, Islamic law prohibits borrowing money by using collateral and selling account receivables, which are commonly used financial practices by companies. Hayes said that businesses run by Islamic principles pay monetarily for their religious devotions.
...
I am surprised that they just don't come out and say that the islamic way of doing business is so much better and more responsible than the "Western" way of doing business...
How much $$$$ have the Saudis' donated to Harvard?!?
Pertinent Links:
1) The Global Impact of Islamic Finance
Friday, March 16, 2007
DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - MASSACHUSETTS: JIHAD VIA LAWSUIT - - - MOSLEMS SUING TO SILENCE CRITICS
Boston: Islamic group sues scholar for libeling Muslims
By MATT RAND,
JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENT
Unable to shake off allegations of connections to Egyptian Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) has done the Massachusetts equivalent of calling in the Marines: it has summoned the trial lawyers.
Qaradawi, considered to be a supporter of suicide bombings, is being sued in a Boston court for libel against Muslims. And the Islamic Society of Boston has not only sued an "Islamic cleric, a Christian political science professor and the Jewish daughter of Holocaust survivors," says The David Project, a Jewish group that educates and trains students and the Jewish community about Israel that is a defendant in the lawsuit, along with The Boston Herald, Investigative Project head Steve Emerson and Fox 25 News. They have also twice subpoenaed the Anti-Defamation League, which declined comment.
Photocopies of Islamic Society of Boston IRS tax returns from 1998, 1999, and 2000 which list Qaradawi as a trustee are included as evidence in the statements of several of the defendants being sued for libel. At the same time, notarized 1993 documents from the City of Cambridge also list Qaradawi as a trustee.
Lawyers on behalf of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in late February filed "friends of the court" briefs for the Islamic Society of Boston, accusing the defendants of seeking to "demonize and vilify" US Muslims. The American Jewish Congress was one step ahead, having filed a "friend of the court" brief for the David Project and other defendants last October.
At the same time Georgetown University scholar John Esposito filed his own affidavit which sought to distance the Islamic society of Boston from radical Islamic groups, saying that the defendants "misleadingly attempt to suggest a link" between the ISB and Wahhabism.
Suggesting he sought to set the record straight on the Islamic Society of Boston, Esposito goes on to say that he intends to correct the "gross mis-characterizations" cited by the defendants "...as their apparent excuse for attacking the ISB [Islamic Society of Boston] and its leadership."
However, Emerson, who in his written statement to the court worried that Boston might be looking the other way when it came to Islamic extremists, was the subject of much of Esposito's negative comments.
Emerson wrote in his affidavit that he was concerned that "Boston public officials" were worried "they may be subsidizing the significant expansion of a particularly extremist and minority sect of Islam."
...
David Project Welcomes American Jewish Committee Criticism of Islamic Society of Boston's Lawsuit
BOSTON, March 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The David Project, a non-
profit educational organization which combats anti-Semitism and other forms
of bigotry, today welcomed the American Jewish Committee (AJC)'s public
criticism of the lawsuit filed by the Islamic Society of Boston against an
Islamic cleric, a Christian political science professor, the Jewish
daughter of Holocaust survivors and various non-profit organizations,
journalists and citizens, including the David Project. The AJC statement
was posted on the AJC website this morning, at http://www.ajc.org.
"The American Jewish Committee is a preeminent international
organization with a history of fighting for pluralism, tolerance and dialog
among people of different religions and ethnic backgrounds," said Charles
Jacobs, President of The David Project. "It has richly earned its
reputation for progressive values. Like the David Project, it has worked
closely with moderate Muslims to build on the common ground that exists
between people of different religions who deal with each other in good
faith. The AJC has done groundbreaking research on the nature and extent of
Islamic anti-Semitism. Like the David Project, it has warned against the
extremely serious threat posed abroad and at home by radical Islam,
including support for extremism."
"No organization has worked harder to promote genuine dialog among
people of different faiths than the American Jewish Committee." Jacobs
stated. "No organization has more vigorously worked for civil rights or
with more devotion for the cause of tolerance."
"That is why it is a matter of national significance," Jacobs said,
"that the national leadership of the AJC has condemned the Islamic Society
of Boston's lawsuit. It is a lawsuit brought against citizens who in our
view raised important, legitimate, and well-substantiated concerns about
the past and present leaders of the ISB, and about the evidence that
certain of those individuals have been supportive of extremism."
Jacobs said, "The ISB, funded with millions of dollars from Saudi
Arabia and elsewhere in the Middle East, appears to seek to frighten
journalists and citizens alike with this lawsuit, using its immense
financial power to chill the most fundamental exercise of freedom of
speech."
"While apparently seeking to bully critics on one hand," Jacobs said,
"the ISB invokes the platitudes of 'dialog' and 'reconciliation' on the
other. While professing to be interested in transparency, on one hand, it
retaliates against journalists who write critical articles about it, on the
other."
"The AJC is no stranger to important battles of principle, even ones
that may be unpopular in certain quarters," said Jacobs. "That is why the
David Project is especially pleased to have its support in defending itself
against the Islamic Society lawsuit, and the dangers that such a lawsuit
presents."
Pertinent Links:
1) Boston: Islamic group sues scholar for libeling Muslims
2) David Project Welcomes American Jewish Committee Criticism of Islamic Society of Boston's Lawsuit
By MATT RAND,
JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENT
Unable to shake off allegations of connections to Egyptian Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) has done the Massachusetts equivalent of calling in the Marines: it has summoned the trial lawyers.
Qaradawi, considered to be a supporter of suicide bombings, is being sued in a Boston court for libel against Muslims. And the Islamic Society of Boston has not only sued an "Islamic cleric, a Christian political science professor and the Jewish daughter of Holocaust survivors," says The David Project, a Jewish group that educates and trains students and the Jewish community about Israel that is a defendant in the lawsuit, along with The Boston Herald, Investigative Project head Steve Emerson and Fox 25 News. They have also twice subpoenaed the Anti-Defamation League, which declined comment.
Photocopies of Islamic Society of Boston IRS tax returns from 1998, 1999, and 2000 which list Qaradawi as a trustee are included as evidence in the statements of several of the defendants being sued for libel. At the same time, notarized 1993 documents from the City of Cambridge also list Qaradawi as a trustee.
Lawyers on behalf of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in late February filed "friends of the court" briefs for the Islamic Society of Boston, accusing the defendants of seeking to "demonize and vilify" US Muslims. The American Jewish Congress was one step ahead, having filed a "friend of the court" brief for the David Project and other defendants last October.
At the same time Georgetown University scholar John Esposito filed his own affidavit which sought to distance the Islamic society of Boston from radical Islamic groups, saying that the defendants "misleadingly attempt to suggest a link" between the ISB and Wahhabism.
Suggesting he sought to set the record straight on the Islamic Society of Boston, Esposito goes on to say that he intends to correct the "gross mis-characterizations" cited by the defendants "...as their apparent excuse for attacking the ISB [Islamic Society of Boston] and its leadership."
However, Emerson, who in his written statement to the court worried that Boston might be looking the other way when it came to Islamic extremists, was the subject of much of Esposito's negative comments.
Emerson wrote in his affidavit that he was concerned that "Boston public officials" were worried "they may be subsidizing the significant expansion of a particularly extremist and minority sect of Islam."
...
David Project Welcomes American Jewish Committee Criticism of Islamic Society of Boston's Lawsuit
BOSTON, March 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The David Project, a non-
profit educational organization which combats anti-Semitism and other forms
of bigotry, today welcomed the American Jewish Committee (AJC)'s public
criticism of the lawsuit filed by the Islamic Society of Boston against an
Islamic cleric, a Christian political science professor, the Jewish
daughter of Holocaust survivors and various non-profit organizations,
journalists and citizens, including the David Project. The AJC statement
was posted on the AJC website this morning, at http://www.ajc.org.
"The American Jewish Committee is a preeminent international
organization with a history of fighting for pluralism, tolerance and dialog
among people of different religions and ethnic backgrounds," said Charles
Jacobs, President of The David Project. "It has richly earned its
reputation for progressive values. Like the David Project, it has worked
closely with moderate Muslims to build on the common ground that exists
between people of different religions who deal with each other in good
faith. The AJC has done groundbreaking research on the nature and extent of
Islamic anti-Semitism. Like the David Project, it has warned against the
extremely serious threat posed abroad and at home by radical Islam,
including support for extremism."
"No organization has worked harder to promote genuine dialog among
people of different faiths than the American Jewish Committee." Jacobs
stated. "No organization has more vigorously worked for civil rights or
with more devotion for the cause of tolerance."
"That is why it is a matter of national significance," Jacobs said,
"that the national leadership of the AJC has condemned the Islamic Society
of Boston's lawsuit. It is a lawsuit brought against citizens who in our
view raised important, legitimate, and well-substantiated concerns about
the past and present leaders of the ISB, and about the evidence that
certain of those individuals have been supportive of extremism."
Jacobs said, "The ISB, funded with millions of dollars from Saudi
Arabia and elsewhere in the Middle East, appears to seek to frighten
journalists and citizens alike with this lawsuit, using its immense
financial power to chill the most fundamental exercise of freedom of
speech."
"While apparently seeking to bully critics on one hand," Jacobs said,
"the ISB invokes the platitudes of 'dialog' and 'reconciliation' on the
other. While professing to be interested in transparency, on one hand, it
retaliates against journalists who write critical articles about it, on the
other."
"The AJC is no stranger to important battles of principle, even ones
that may be unpopular in certain quarters," said Jacobs. "That is why the
David Project is especially pleased to have its support in defending itself
against the Islamic Society lawsuit, and the dangers that such a lawsuit
presents."
Pertinent Links:
1) Boston: Islamic group sues scholar for libeling Muslims
2) David Project Welcomes American Jewish Committee Criticism of Islamic Society of Boston's Lawsuit
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - MASSACHUSETTS:
Visitor promotes nuanced view of Islam
By Jason Feifer TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil is in town from Malaysia, and went to the Islamic Society of Worcester for a prayer service on Friday. Afterward, as he was chatting with other attendees, some asked him why he hasn’t grown a beard.
Mr. Adil is clean-shaven, and was surprised by the question.
“It is not a must for everybody to have it,” he said, recalling the incident yesterday. “For them, it is compulsory. My belief is different.”
These are the sorts of nuances — the way Islam, like other religions, isn’t the same to every follower — that Mr. Adil can show best. He is a Fulbright Scholar visiting Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner on a mission to counter American stereotypes of Islam that have developed since Sept. 11.
A lecturer at the Centre for Islamic Thought and Understanding at Mara University of Technology in Malaysia, he’s here as part of a Fulbright program called Direct Access to the Muslim World. From now until March 10, he’ll be in the region talking to groups and classes about Islam.
Today, he’ll be speaking to students at B. F. Brown Arts Vision School and St. Bernard’s High School, both in Fitchburg.
As he tries addressing Americans’ misunderstandings of the religion, Mr. Adil often introduces something more complex: an Islamic world that is full of debate and countering philosophies, no different from what happens in Christian or Jewish communities.
For example, he said he is frequently asked about the way some Islamic women are dressed in head-to-toe black hijab. It’s a custom that may run counter to American values, and some Americans see it as enforced and abusive.
Mr. Adil said that in some countries, such as his native Malaysia, the hijab is not mandatory, although some women wear it because of social pressures. But the larger issue, he said, is the way Islamic law is hypocritically applied: There are requirements for how men and women should dress, but some countries only enforce it for women, he said.
He last came to America in 1996, and found a country relatively tolerant of Islam. After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, though, he saw that change. As he watched CNN from his office in Malaysia, he saw Americans grow fearful of an Islam that had been defined by radicals.
On this trip, he said, he expects to talk with people who are confused by Islam, or who wrongly believe it’s inherently violent or vengeful.
...
Brainwashing via NUANCE, I would think the people in Massachusetts are going to fall for that hook, line and sinker they have voted for the NUANCED JOHN F. KERRY and the alcoholic Teddy Kennedy...
Pertinent Links:
1) Visitor promotes nuanced view of Islam
By Jason Feifer TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil is in town from Malaysia, and went to the Islamic Society of Worcester for a prayer service on Friday. Afterward, as he was chatting with other attendees, some asked him why he hasn’t grown a beard.
Mr. Adil is clean-shaven, and was surprised by the question.
“It is not a must for everybody to have it,” he said, recalling the incident yesterday. “For them, it is compulsory. My belief is different.”
These are the sorts of nuances — the way Islam, like other religions, isn’t the same to every follower — that Mr. Adil can show best. He is a Fulbright Scholar visiting Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner on a mission to counter American stereotypes of Islam that have developed since Sept. 11.
A lecturer at the Centre for Islamic Thought and Understanding at Mara University of Technology in Malaysia, he’s here as part of a Fulbright program called Direct Access to the Muslim World. From now until March 10, he’ll be in the region talking to groups and classes about Islam.
Today, he’ll be speaking to students at B. F. Brown Arts Vision School and St. Bernard’s High School, both in Fitchburg.
As he tries addressing Americans’ misunderstandings of the religion, Mr. Adil often introduces something more complex: an Islamic world that is full of debate and countering philosophies, no different from what happens in Christian or Jewish communities.
For example, he said he is frequently asked about the way some Islamic women are dressed in head-to-toe black hijab. It’s a custom that may run counter to American values, and some Americans see it as enforced and abusive.
Mr. Adil said that in some countries, such as his native Malaysia, the hijab is not mandatory, although some women wear it because of social pressures. But the larger issue, he said, is the way Islamic law is hypocritically applied: There are requirements for how men and women should dress, but some countries only enforce it for women, he said.
He last came to America in 1996, and found a country relatively tolerant of Islam. After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, though, he saw that change. As he watched CNN from his office in Malaysia, he saw Americans grow fearful of an Islam that had been defined by radicals.
On this trip, he said, he expects to talk with people who are confused by Islam, or who wrongly believe it’s inherently violent or vengeful.
...
Brainwashing via NUANCE, I would think the people in Massachusetts are going to fall for that hook, line and sinker they have voted for the NUANCED JOHN F. KERRY and the alcoholic Teddy Kennedy...
Pertinent Links:
1) Visitor promotes nuanced view of Islam
Sunday, February 25, 2007
DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - MASSACHUSETTS: A FUNKY DEAL, A LAWSUIT AND THE NORTHEASTS BIGGEST MOSQUE
Boston Muslims win case to build mosque
By Khalid Hasan
WASHINGTON: A Muslim group has won a court battle which, if lost, would have prevented it from completing the construction of a mosque.
The Islamic Society of Boston said in a statement at the weekend that a Massachusetts superior court judge had ruled that the lawsuit brought against the Society, the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the Roxbury Community College, was without merit and had been dismissed. The court ruled the lawsuit was improperly brought by James Policastro, directing that if the plaintiff had any legitimate issue with the project, he should have taken part in the multi-year public process which led to the project’s approval.
Jessica Masse, the Society’s inter-faith coordinator, said: “We are very pleased that the court put an end to the legal campaign against the Islamic Society of Boston.”
Pertinent Links:
1) Boston Muslims win case to build mosque
By Khalid Hasan
WASHINGTON: A Muslim group has won a court battle which, if lost, would have prevented it from completing the construction of a mosque.
The Islamic Society of Boston said in a statement at the weekend that a Massachusetts superior court judge had ruled that the lawsuit brought against the Society, the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the Roxbury Community College, was without merit and had been dismissed. The court ruled the lawsuit was improperly brought by James Policastro, directing that if the plaintiff had any legitimate issue with the project, he should have taken part in the multi-year public process which led to the project’s approval.
Jessica Masse, the Society’s inter-faith coordinator, said: “We are very pleased that the court put an end to the legal campaign against the Islamic Society of Boston.”
Pertinent Links:
1) Boston Muslims win case to build mosque
Thursday, February 01, 2007
DAR AL HARB - U.S.A.- MASSACHUSETTS: A MOSLEM EQUITY FIRM VIOLATING IRS TAX CODE
U.S. Probes Equity Firm Tied to Islamic Investors
By David Cho
Washington Post Staff Writer
The counterterrorism division of the Justice Department is investigating whether a private equity firm in Boston that manages hundreds of millions of dollars for Muslim investors overseas violated tax laws.
The investigation of Overland Capital Group was disclosed in a filing with U.S. District Court in Boston and reported by the Wall Street Journal yesterday.
The filing claims that Overland and a subsidiary of Dar Al-Maal Al-Islami Trust (DMI), a financial group in Geneva, conducted acts "that implicate potential violation of the Internal Revenue Code." The filing does not mention terrorism, though it was submitted by a U.S. attorney who works in counterterrorism.
Subsidiaries of DMI, an umbrella organization for Islamic financial institutions, have been named as suspects in probes by U.S. counterterrorism agencies. DMI also is a defendant in a civil lawsuit brought by families of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, who claim that it funded al-Qaeda. DMI has denied those claims and noted that none of its officials has been charged with terrorism-related crimes.
DMI officials say it has no direct relationship to Overland. But corporate filings in the U.S. show that the firms have a joint venture called First Leasing Bank in Bahrain. The Journal reported that DMI's chief executive headed some of Overland's investment ventures.
DMI was founded in the early 1980s by Prince Mohammed al-Faisal al-Saud, a member of the Saudi royal family. It caters to investors who want to follow the Koran, which prohibits the collection of interest payments.
Overland was founded in October 2001 and has investments worth $1.5 billion, mainly in real estate, according to its Web site. Chief executive James M. Godec said in a written statement yesterday that Overland "followed both the letter and the spirit of the law in every instance" and that he would "vigorously defend our reputation."
The filing came to light through litigation between Overland and a former employee, Laird A. Fairchild, who claimed that he was wrongfully dismissed. Fairchild cooperated with federal investigators after his termination, an act that Overland said violated his confidentiality agreements with the company.
Overland and the DMI subsidiary sued to compel Fairchild to reveal to them what he had told federal investigators. Through its filing in Boston, the Justice Department obtained a court order that allowed Fairchild to remain silent.
Geoffrey Harper, Fairchild's attorney, said yesterday that U.S. attorneys went to "elaborate lengths" to make sure that Fairchild would not reveal what he told government investigators. He said the Justice Department has concerns beyond the tax practices of Overland and DMI.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) U.S. Probes Equity Firm Tied to Islamic Investors
By David Cho
Washington Post Staff Writer
The counterterrorism division of the Justice Department is investigating whether a private equity firm in Boston that manages hundreds of millions of dollars for Muslim investors overseas violated tax laws.
The investigation of Overland Capital Group was disclosed in a filing with U.S. District Court in Boston and reported by the Wall Street Journal yesterday.
The filing claims that Overland and a subsidiary of Dar Al-Maal Al-Islami Trust (DMI), a financial group in Geneva, conducted acts "that implicate potential violation of the Internal Revenue Code." The filing does not mention terrorism, though it was submitted by a U.S. attorney who works in counterterrorism.
Subsidiaries of DMI, an umbrella organization for Islamic financial institutions, have been named as suspects in probes by U.S. counterterrorism agencies. DMI also is a defendant in a civil lawsuit brought by families of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, who claim that it funded al-Qaeda. DMI has denied those claims and noted that none of its officials has been charged with terrorism-related crimes.
DMI officials say it has no direct relationship to Overland. But corporate filings in the U.S. show that the firms have a joint venture called First Leasing Bank in Bahrain. The Journal reported that DMI's chief executive headed some of Overland's investment ventures.
DMI was founded in the early 1980s by Prince Mohammed al-Faisal al-Saud, a member of the Saudi royal family. It caters to investors who want to follow the Koran, which prohibits the collection of interest payments.
Overland was founded in October 2001 and has investments worth $1.5 billion, mainly in real estate, according to its Web site. Chief executive James M. Godec said in a written statement yesterday that Overland "followed both the letter and the spirit of the law in every instance" and that he would "vigorously defend our reputation."
The filing came to light through litigation between Overland and a former employee, Laird A. Fairchild, who claimed that he was wrongfully dismissed. Fairchild cooperated with federal investigators after his termination, an act that Overland said violated his confidentiality agreements with the company.
Overland and the DMI subsidiary sued to compel Fairchild to reveal to them what he had told federal investigators. Through its filing in Boston, the Justice Department obtained a court order that allowed Fairchild to remain silent.
Geoffrey Harper, Fairchild's attorney, said yesterday that U.S. attorneys went to "elaborate lengths" to make sure that Fairchild would not reveal what he told government investigators. He said the Justice Department has concerns beyond the tax practices of Overland and DMI.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) U.S. Probes Equity Firm Tied to Islamic Investors
Monday, January 29, 2007
DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - MASSACHUSETTS: HARVARD OPENS MOSLEM INDOCTRINATION CENTER FOR FUTURE LEADERS OF AMERICA
Harvard starts Islamic Studies programme
The new Islamic Studies Programme at Harvard University named 'Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Islamic Studies Programme' has been inaugurated.
The Islamic Studies Programme was established with a $20 million gift from Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.
Prince Alwaleed's donation to Harvard University's Islamic Studies programme was made in 2005 and Roy P Mottahedeh, Gurney Professor of History in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences was appointed inaugural director of the programme.
The new programme will build on Harvard's strong commitment to the study of the religious traditions of the world. It will also augment Harvard's existing strength by increasing the number of faculty focused on Islamic studies, providing additional support to graduate students, and making rare Islamic textual sources available in digital format, said a Harvard official.
'I am pleased to support Islamic Studies at Harvard and I hope that this programme will enable generations of students and scholars to gain a thorough understanding of Islam and its role both in the past and in today's world,' said Prince Alwaleed.
'Bridging the understanding between East and West is important for peace and tolerance.'
Scholarship on the Islamic tradition at Harvard currently encompasses a broad range of disciplines, from religious studies, history, and law, to art and literature. This gift will make it possible to add strength in important disciplines such as the history of science and new areas of study, such as Islamic Inner-Asian, Southeast Asian, or South Asian studies.
Pertinent Links:
1) Harvard starts Islamic Studies programme
The new Islamic Studies Programme at Harvard University named 'Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Islamic Studies Programme' has been inaugurated.
The Islamic Studies Programme was established with a $20 million gift from Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.
Prince Alwaleed's donation to Harvard University's Islamic Studies programme was made in 2005 and Roy P Mottahedeh, Gurney Professor of History in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences was appointed inaugural director of the programme.
The new programme will build on Harvard's strong commitment to the study of the religious traditions of the world. It will also augment Harvard's existing strength by increasing the number of faculty focused on Islamic studies, providing additional support to graduate students, and making rare Islamic textual sources available in digital format, said a Harvard official.
'I am pleased to support Islamic Studies at Harvard and I hope that this programme will enable generations of students and scholars to gain a thorough understanding of Islam and its role both in the past and in today's world,' said Prince Alwaleed.
'Bridging the understanding between East and West is important for peace and tolerance.'
Scholarship on the Islamic tradition at Harvard currently encompasses a broad range of disciplines, from religious studies, history, and law, to art and literature. This gift will make it possible to add strength in important disciplines such as the history of science and new areas of study, such as Islamic Inner-Asian, Southeast Asian, or South Asian studies.
Pertinent Links:
1) Harvard starts Islamic Studies programme
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - MASSACHUSETTS: BOSTON REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES FUNKY DEALINGS WITH MOSLEMS & THEIR ACCESS TO CHEAP LAND FOR THEIR MOSQUE
BRA seeks to block mosque questions
Urges court to halt subpoenas
By Charles A. Radin and Matt Viser,
Globe Staff
January 23, 2007
The Boston Redevelopment Authority went to court yesterday to prevent four of its key officials from having to answer questions under oath about a deal in which a city-owned parcel of land was transferred to an Islamic group for construction of a mosque.
Lawyers for the city's most powerful agency argued in Suffolk Superior Court that critics of the mosque project at Roxbury Crossing had no right to depose the BRA officials about the project or obtain more documents than those already provided to the David Project, a nonprofit Jewish advocacy group.
Leaders of the David Project have questioned the BRA's deal with the Islamic Society of Boston, under which the society is building the mosque. They have also suggested the BRA is trying to keep details of the arrangement secret by blocking the release of public information.
...
The David Project and other organizations and individuals also have questioned the suitability of the Islamic Society to run what would be New England's largest mosque.
They are being sued for defamation by the society, which accuses them of engaging in a conspiracy to block construction of the mosque.
Lewis said the BRA has thousands of documents stored "willy-nilly" in boxes that are not labeled, a storage method he said was intended to keep the documents from being easily accessible and to increase the costs of access.
He said the questioning of the subpoenaed BRA officials will enable the David Project to understand what documents are available, and in what form, without going through massive and expensive searches of what the BRA says are more than 2,000 boxes of unindexed documents and thousands of e-mails the BRA says cannot be searched easily.
The subpoenaed BRA officials include Robert Tumposky, deputy director for management information systems; Muhammad Ali-Salaam, deputy director for special projects; Patraap Patrose, deputy director for urban design; and Kevin Morrison, the agency's general counsel.
Ali-Salaam is a central figure in the battle over the mosque because of his long association with the project and his trip to the Middle East with members of the Islamic Society leadership in 2000, during which, according to an Islamic Society publication, he helped raise funds for the project.
He also has been subpoenaed to give a deposition on Feb. 7 in a suit brought against the mosque deal by Boston resident James C. Policastro, who asserts that the arrangement between the BRA and the society violates the constitutional separation of church and state.
Morrison has been questioned once by David Project lawyers, who cited his answers in court yesterday in urging Judge Van Gestel not to block the depositions and to order the BRA to take steps to protect documents and e-mails relevant to the mosque deal.
Jeffrey Robbins, general counsel for the David Project, said that Morrison's deposition to date shows that the BRA has made no serious effort to comply with public-records laws.
Samuel Tyler -- president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, a business-funded watchdog group -- said that, in general, the BRA does not make information on development deals readily available. "Information from the BRA, particularly financial information, is very limited," he said.
Previous stories:
City of Boston, Islamic Society Pressed on Fundraising Trips to Middle East by The David Project
BOSTON, Dec. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The David Project, a non-profit educational initiative, today called upon the Boston Redevelopment Authority ("BRA") and the Islamic Society of Boston to reveal who paid the expenses for BRA Deputy Director Muhammad Ali-Salaam's fundraising trips to the Middle East. Mr. Ali-Salaam, a public employee, was asked by the Islamic Society to travel to the Middle East to help it raise funds for the Islamic Society's mosque project. Deputy Director Ali-Salaam, the official responsible for overseeing the BRA's sale of publicly-owned property to the Islamic Society for construction of a mosque and Islamic cultural center, has also been identified by the Islamic Society as one of its principal fundraisers in the Middle East for the mosque project, even as he was managing the sale of the public asset to the Islamic Society at a price dramatically below fair market value."The public integrity and conflict-of-interest concerns raised by Mr. Ali-Salaam's apparent dual role in this transaction are obvious," said Charles Jacobs, President of The David Project. "At least one of Mr. Ali-Salaam's trips for the Islamic Society came shortly before the Islamic Society was permitted to acquire public land from the BRA at a 91 percent discount from market value. The refusal by either the BRA or the Islamic Society to address these concerns is extremely disturbing to anyone who cares about good government and the accountability of public servants and public agencies."
Public records show that in December 1999 the Islamic Society of Boston paid Mr. Ali-Salaam's airfare for a 10-day trip to the United Arab Emirates to help it raise money to purchase the public property from the BRA and to develop the mosque on the property. However, the BRA and the Islamic Society have refused to disclose who paid for the other costs of the trip, including hotels, restaurants, entertainment and other expenses. The BRA and Islamic Society have also refused to identify who hosted the BRA official during this trip and the Middle Eastern donors with whom he met for the purpose of soliciting funds on behalf of the Islamic Society.
"A 10-day stay in the United Arab Emirates is not inexpensive," said Jacobs of the David Project. "The costs of hotels, restaurants and other expenses were likely in the thousands of dollars. The public is entitled to know who paid for the BRA Deputy Director to travel to the Middle East to raise money for the Islamic Society. The public is also entitled to know who the Middle Eastern donors are from whom the BRA Deputy Director solicited money on behalf of the Islamic Society while on the public payroll."
Mr. Ali-Salaam was successful in his attempts to raise funds for the Islamic Society, according to the newsletters published by the Society in early 2000. According to these newsletters, $3 million was raised for the mosque project. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Ali-Salaam stated in writing that the estimated fair market value of the public land sought by the Islamic Society was $2,010,966, but the BRA agreed to treat the estimate as only $401,000. The BRA then proceeded to deed the property to the Islamic Society for only $175,000 in actual funds -- representing a 91 percent discount off the fair market value of the property. The BRA provided the discount to the Islamic Society even though the Society owned millions of dollars worth of properties encumbrance-free in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and even though the Society represented to the BRA that it could raise $24 million, principally in overseas funds, to construct the mosque on the land.
...
and
Group opposed to Roxbury mosque sues BRA for documents
By Charles A. Radin, Globe Staff
The David Project, a non profit Jewish advocacy organization, yesterday charged in Suffolk Superior Court that the Boston Redevelopment Authority is withholding public records related to the authority's sale of land to the Islamic Society of Boston for construction of a mosque.
The organization asked the court to order the BRA to surrender the documents, in particular copies of e-mails written and received by BRA deputy director Mohammad Ali-Salaam regarding the Roxbury land deal, and documents relating to travel by Ali-Salaam to the Middle East on behalf of the mosque project.
Susan Elsbree, spokeswoman for the redevelopment authority, said the authority is ``confident the court will find that the BRA has complied with all public records requests."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) BRA seeks to block mosque questions
Previous Story Links:
1) City of Boston, Islamic Society Pressed on Fundraising Trips to Middle East by The David Project
2) Group opposed to Roxbury mosque sues BRA for documents
Urges court to halt subpoenas
By Charles A. Radin and Matt Viser,
Globe Staff
January 23, 2007
The Boston Redevelopment Authority went to court yesterday to prevent four of its key officials from having to answer questions under oath about a deal in which a city-owned parcel of land was transferred to an Islamic group for construction of a mosque.
Lawyers for the city's most powerful agency argued in Suffolk Superior Court that critics of the mosque project at Roxbury Crossing had no right to depose the BRA officials about the project or obtain more documents than those already provided to the David Project, a nonprofit Jewish advocacy group.
Leaders of the David Project have questioned the BRA's deal with the Islamic Society of Boston, under which the society is building the mosque. They have also suggested the BRA is trying to keep details of the arrangement secret by blocking the release of public information.
...
The David Project and other organizations and individuals also have questioned the suitability of the Islamic Society to run what would be New England's largest mosque.
They are being sued for defamation by the society, which accuses them of engaging in a conspiracy to block construction of the mosque.
Lewis said the BRA has thousands of documents stored "willy-nilly" in boxes that are not labeled, a storage method he said was intended to keep the documents from being easily accessible and to increase the costs of access.
He said the questioning of the subpoenaed BRA officials will enable the David Project to understand what documents are available, and in what form, without going through massive and expensive searches of what the BRA says are more than 2,000 boxes of unindexed documents and thousands of e-mails the BRA says cannot be searched easily.
The subpoenaed BRA officials include Robert Tumposky, deputy director for management information systems; Muhammad Ali-Salaam, deputy director for special projects; Patraap Patrose, deputy director for urban design; and Kevin Morrison, the agency's general counsel.
Ali-Salaam is a central figure in the battle over the mosque because of his long association with the project and his trip to the Middle East with members of the Islamic Society leadership in 2000, during which, according to an Islamic Society publication, he helped raise funds for the project.
He also has been subpoenaed to give a deposition on Feb. 7 in a suit brought against the mosque deal by Boston resident James C. Policastro, who asserts that the arrangement between the BRA and the society violates the constitutional separation of church and state.
Morrison has been questioned once by David Project lawyers, who cited his answers in court yesterday in urging Judge Van Gestel not to block the depositions and to order the BRA to take steps to protect documents and e-mails relevant to the mosque deal.
Jeffrey Robbins, general counsel for the David Project, said that Morrison's deposition to date shows that the BRA has made no serious effort to comply with public-records laws.
Samuel Tyler -- president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, a business-funded watchdog group -- said that, in general, the BRA does not make information on development deals readily available. "Information from the BRA, particularly financial information, is very limited," he said.
Previous stories:
City of Boston, Islamic Society Pressed on Fundraising Trips to Middle East by The David Project
BOSTON, Dec. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The David Project, a non-profit educational initiative, today called upon the Boston Redevelopment Authority ("BRA") and the Islamic Society of Boston to reveal who paid the expenses for BRA Deputy Director Muhammad Ali-Salaam's fundraising trips to the Middle East. Mr. Ali-Salaam, a public employee, was asked by the Islamic Society to travel to the Middle East to help it raise funds for the Islamic Society's mosque project. Deputy Director Ali-Salaam, the official responsible for overseeing the BRA's sale of publicly-owned property to the Islamic Society for construction of a mosque and Islamic cultural center, has also been identified by the Islamic Society as one of its principal fundraisers in the Middle East for the mosque project, even as he was managing the sale of the public asset to the Islamic Society at a price dramatically below fair market value."The public integrity and conflict-of-interest concerns raised by Mr. Ali-Salaam's apparent dual role in this transaction are obvious," said Charles Jacobs, President of The David Project. "At least one of Mr. Ali-Salaam's trips for the Islamic Society came shortly before the Islamic Society was permitted to acquire public land from the BRA at a 91 percent discount from market value. The refusal by either the BRA or the Islamic Society to address these concerns is extremely disturbing to anyone who cares about good government and the accountability of public servants and public agencies."
Public records show that in December 1999 the Islamic Society of Boston paid Mr. Ali-Salaam's airfare for a 10-day trip to the United Arab Emirates to help it raise money to purchase the public property from the BRA and to develop the mosque on the property. However, the BRA and the Islamic Society have refused to disclose who paid for the other costs of the trip, including hotels, restaurants, entertainment and other expenses. The BRA and Islamic Society have also refused to identify who hosted the BRA official during this trip and the Middle Eastern donors with whom he met for the purpose of soliciting funds on behalf of the Islamic Society.
"A 10-day stay in the United Arab Emirates is not inexpensive," said Jacobs of the David Project. "The costs of hotels, restaurants and other expenses were likely in the thousands of dollars. The public is entitled to know who paid for the BRA Deputy Director to travel to the Middle East to raise money for the Islamic Society. The public is also entitled to know who the Middle Eastern donors are from whom the BRA Deputy Director solicited money on behalf of the Islamic Society while on the public payroll."
Mr. Ali-Salaam was successful in his attempts to raise funds for the Islamic Society, according to the newsletters published by the Society in early 2000. According to these newsletters, $3 million was raised for the mosque project. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Ali-Salaam stated in writing that the estimated fair market value of the public land sought by the Islamic Society was $2,010,966, but the BRA agreed to treat the estimate as only $401,000. The BRA then proceeded to deed the property to the Islamic Society for only $175,000 in actual funds -- representing a 91 percent discount off the fair market value of the property. The BRA provided the discount to the Islamic Society even though the Society owned millions of dollars worth of properties encumbrance-free in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and even though the Society represented to the BRA that it could raise $24 million, principally in overseas funds, to construct the mosque on the land.
...
and
Group opposed to Roxbury mosque sues BRA for documents
By Charles A. Radin, Globe Staff
The David Project, a non profit Jewish advocacy organization, yesterday charged in Suffolk Superior Court that the Boston Redevelopment Authority is withholding public records related to the authority's sale of land to the Islamic Society of Boston for construction of a mosque.
The organization asked the court to order the BRA to surrender the documents, in particular copies of e-mails written and received by BRA deputy director Mohammad Ali-Salaam regarding the Roxbury land deal, and documents relating to travel by Ali-Salaam to the Middle East on behalf of the mosque project.
Susan Elsbree, spokeswoman for the redevelopment authority, said the authority is ``confident the court will find that the BRA has complied with all public records requests."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) BRA seeks to block mosque questions
Previous Story Links:
1) City of Boston, Islamic Society Pressed on Fundraising Trips to Middle East by The David Project
2) Group opposed to Roxbury mosque sues BRA for documents
Sunday, January 21, 2007
DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - MASSACHUSETTS
Lawyers ask for evidence in case of Islamic charity
BOSTON— A judge has taken under advisement defense requests to unseal evidence and information in the federal government’s case against two men accused of lying about the activities of an Islamic charity. U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV listened to the arguments presented Friday by government prosecutors and defense lawyers.
Norman S. Zalkind, a lawyer for Emadeddin Z. Muntasser of Braintree, said the government has revealed at least three unindicted co-conspirators who allegedly gave money to overseas terrorist organizations on behalf of Care International Inc. The defense has asked that the government turn over evidence involving those unnamed conspirators, in addition to tax forms filed by various charities with the Internal Revenue Service.
Mr. Zalkind said Michael C. Andrews, lawyer for the other defendant, Muhammed Mubayyid of Shrewsbury, supported his position and that he was arguing for both men. “There is an unfairness with this kind of case,” Mr. Zalkind said. “Give us what you got.”
The defense said it wanted information that could be used against its clients, and tax documents of other charities that may have disclosed they were funding jihadi activities.
Mr. Muntasser and Mr. Mubayyid are awaiting trial on accusations of misleading the government about the activities of Care International Inc. Mr. Muntasser is also represented by Malick W. Ghachem, Harvey A. Silvergate, Susan R. Estrich and Elizabeth A. Lunt. Mr. Ghachem told the court Friday that after aggressive and costly efforts to obtain standard tax forms filed by nonprofit organizations, they have been told by the IRS that records beyond seven years are not publicly accessible.
U.S. prosecutors said turning over the requested files, if they exist, would entail scouring thousands of documents, placing “a significant burden on the government.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney B. Stephanie Siegmann said there was no evidence that the tax documents would help the case and called it “a fishing expedition.” Mr. Zalkind said the government was speculating on information the defense had gathered about other organizations.
Judge Saylor asked for Ms. Siegmann to talk with the IRS’ chief counsel to determine whether tax documents exist or if they are hard to obtain in the next two weeks.
“If you could make a couple of phone calls to figure out what we are talking about, then at that point I would feel more comfortable (making a decision),” Judge Saylor said. Also at issue is where the trial will take place.
Ms. Siegmann said that selecting a jury pool in Boston, where there may be more Muslims, shouldn’t be the reason for a transfer from Worcester.
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Pertinent Links:
1) Lawyers ask for evidence in case of Islamic charity
BOSTON— A judge has taken under advisement defense requests to unseal evidence and information in the federal government’s case against two men accused of lying about the activities of an Islamic charity. U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV listened to the arguments presented Friday by government prosecutors and defense lawyers.
Norman S. Zalkind, a lawyer for Emadeddin Z. Muntasser of Braintree, said the government has revealed at least three unindicted co-conspirators who allegedly gave money to overseas terrorist organizations on behalf of Care International Inc. The defense has asked that the government turn over evidence involving those unnamed conspirators, in addition to tax forms filed by various charities with the Internal Revenue Service.
Mr. Zalkind said Michael C. Andrews, lawyer for the other defendant, Muhammed Mubayyid of Shrewsbury, supported his position and that he was arguing for both men. “There is an unfairness with this kind of case,” Mr. Zalkind said. “Give us what you got.”
The defense said it wanted information that could be used against its clients, and tax documents of other charities that may have disclosed they were funding jihadi activities.
Mr. Muntasser and Mr. Mubayyid are awaiting trial on accusations of misleading the government about the activities of Care International Inc. Mr. Muntasser is also represented by Malick W. Ghachem, Harvey A. Silvergate, Susan R. Estrich and Elizabeth A. Lunt. Mr. Ghachem told the court Friday that after aggressive and costly efforts to obtain standard tax forms filed by nonprofit organizations, they have been told by the IRS that records beyond seven years are not publicly accessible.
U.S. prosecutors said turning over the requested files, if they exist, would entail scouring thousands of documents, placing “a significant burden on the government.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney B. Stephanie Siegmann said there was no evidence that the tax documents would help the case and called it “a fishing expedition.” Mr. Zalkind said the government was speculating on information the defense had gathered about other organizations.
Judge Saylor asked for Ms. Siegmann to talk with the IRS’ chief counsel to determine whether tax documents exist or if they are hard to obtain in the next two weeks.
“If you could make a couple of phone calls to figure out what we are talking about, then at that point I would feel more comfortable (making a decision),” Judge Saylor said. Also at issue is where the trial will take place.
Ms. Siegmann said that selecting a jury pool in Boston, where there may be more Muslims, shouldn’t be the reason for a transfer from Worcester.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Lawyers ask for evidence in case of Islamic charity
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