IN THIS ISSUE
Muslim Alliance of Indiana Retreat
Islamic Center, Plainfield, Indiana
Saturday, September 16, 2006
The RETREAT aims to bring together Muslim community leaders from around Indiana
to foster networking and dialogue about the future of the Indiana Muslim community.
|
Opening Session
10:00 - 10:30 |
Welcome and Introduction - Alia Shah |
Session I
10:30 - 11:00 am |
"Indiana Muslim Economic Development Task Force"
Anwar Shah, Azher Khan, Wajid Safdar, Babar Suleman, Mariyam Khan, Ashraf Lakhaney, Dr. Abdul Basher, Dr. M. Majid, Akhter Ali Khan, Khadijah Shareef. Aliyah Al-Ghani
|
Session II
11:00 - 11:45 pm |
"Galvanizing Muslim Participation in Local Politics"
- Patrice Abdullah, City-County Councilman, District #15
"Civic Alliances-Religious, Social, Humanitarian"
- Imam Michael Saahir of Nur-Allah Islamic Center
|
| - LUNCH BREAK - |
Lunch
12:00 - 12:45 pm
1:00 - 1:30 pm |
Lunch Keynote:
Ann DeLaney, author, Politics for Dummies
Moderator: Dr Ibad Ansari |
| 2:00 pm |
Zuhr Prayer |
Session III
2:15 - 3:30 pm |
Special FBI Agent Kyle Scheatzle
Eric Holcomb, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs
- Paul Okeson, Deputy Secretary of State and Chief of Staff
- Personal Interaction
- Formation of Muslim Delegation to Governor's Office |
| 3:45 - 5:00 pm |
"American Muslim Relations with Media"
- Dr. Shahid Athar
"The Future of Indiana Muslims"
- The Honorable David Shaheed,
Marion County Superior Court Justice
|
Strategic Session
5:15 - 6:30 pm |
"Islam and Civic Engagement"
- Dr. Rashid Shaker
Open Discussion Among Muslim Leadership: Developing a Strategic Plan
|
|
Asr Prayer |
Dinner
7:00 - 8:30 pm |
Keynote Speaker: Professor AbdulKader Sinno,
Professor of Political Science, Indiana University, Bloomington
"Muslim Representation in U.S. Politics:
Understanding and addressing the Challenges"
|
|
Maghrib Prayer |
Objective of the retreat is to:
- Interact with both Republican and Democratic party leaders
- Interact with Muslim leaders from across Indiana
- Learn political process in action at grassroots level
- Formulate consensus opinion with open dialogue and discussion
- MAI Agenda for the future activities
- Muslim delegation to quarterly meet with Governor's office
- Other functional committees as appropriate
- Constitution and by-laws for the future MAI officials
This is an open invitation to all Indiana Muslim Community Leaders and Activists. It is hoped that there
will be few members from each Islamic Center in Indiana, so that there is adequate representation from each
community (with ethnic and national diversity). This is crucial for the future of individual Muslim, their families and
the community.
Program is Free, but Registration is advised online on our website: www.muslimalliancein.com
or by contacting Alia Shah at muslimalliancein@gmail.com.
210 Woodburn Hall, 1100 E. 7th St, Bloomington, IN 47405 - 812-855-5885 - asinno@indiana.edu - www.sinno.com
Abdulkader Sinno is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington. He received his PhD from UCLA and was a CISAC Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University. His first book manuscript, titled Organizing to Win: How Organizational Structure Affects the Outcome of Civil War, is currently under review at a major academic press. It develops a new theory to explain the evolution and outcomes of civil wars, ethnic strife and other territorial conflicts. He uses synergistic methodologies in this research project-involved studies of consecutive Afghan conflicts anchored in his field research and a statistical study of all conflicts from North Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. He is a fluent speaker of Arabic and French and has some knowledge of Hebrew. He has researched and traveled extensively in the Middle East and North Africa. He organized a September 2005 conference at Indiana University on Muslims in Western Politics and is preparing a new book manuscript on Muslim representation in Western liberal democracies. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on Middle Eastern politics, Muslims in the West, conflict processes and state building, research design, and comparative politics.
BACKGROUND
- US & Lebanese citizen. Born in Beirut, Lebanon.
- Obtained firsthand exposure to politicized ethnicity and religion by working for relief organizations in Pakistan & Afghanistan and by living in Lebanon through its long civil war.
- Traveled extensively in more than twenty countries.
- Fluent in Arabic and French. Basic Hebrew (two years).
- Developed business organizations and designed corporate strategies for three years (1998-2000).
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS & EDUCATION
- Assistant Professor of Political Science & Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, Indiana University, 2003-present
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for International Security & Cooperation (CISAC), Stanford University, 2002-03.
- Lecturer, Department of Political Science, Stanford University, Winter 2003.
- Ph.D. in Political Science, September 2002, UCLA.
Dissertation: Organizing to Win in Afghanistan & Beyond: How Organizational Structure Affects the Outcome of Strategic Interaction in Politicized Group Conflicts.
- M.A. in Political Science, March 1997, UCLA.
- B.A. in Jewish Studies, August 1994, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Highest honors.
Senior thesis: The Hillula in Israel.
- Additional training: Institute for Empirical Implications of Theoretical Models (EITM), Washington U, 2004.
For further details visit www.sinno.com
Eric Holcomb, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs in Governor Mitch Daniels administration, is speaking in the afternoon session of the MAI Retreat.
Mr. Holcomb, born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, is a graduate of Hanover College.
He served 6 years in the US Navy, 3 of which were in Lisbon, Portugal at a NATO Wartime Headquarters.
After his service, he went to work for US Congressman John Hostetter in Indiana's 8th Congressional District as his campaign Manager and District Director for 7 years.
In June, 2003, he went to work for Mitch Daniels for Governor as his Political Director.
MAI encountered Mr. Eric Holcomb initially during MyMitch compaign in Ramadan 2004, where he graciously accepted Iftaar invitation at Islamic Center in Plainfield, Indiana. Subsequently, he invited MAI at Governor Mitch Daniels inauguration as Governor of the State of Indiana. He was instrumental arranging Muslim Day at the State Capital on Friday, April 29, 2005. Despite busy legislative schedule, a diverse Muslim representation was able to interact Governor Mitch Daniels, Lt Gov. Becky Skillman, House Speaker Brian Bosma, Supreme Court Justice Boem, Judge Scott-Director of Indiana Civil Rights Commission and Paula Parker-Sawyers, Director of Office of Faith-based Initiative and its officer David Liebel. Juma'a prayer of offered at the State capital, led by Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed, the Secretary General of ISNA.
Mr. Holcomb has been instrumental to facilitating first Indiana Governor's Iftaar on October 20, 2005, where more than 80 Muslims from around Indiana interacted personally with Governor Daniels. Gov. Daniels gave tour of his office and open the door for continuing relation with Muslim community. Muslim community is very thankful for this initiative.
Mr. Holcomb currently serves as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs. He has encouraged and facilitated Muslim community interaction with political leadership. He has offered interaction of Muslim delegation with Governor Mitch Daniels office on a quarterly basis. A delegation will be formulated during open afternoon session. This will be great opportunity to convey Muslim concerns and priorities with the administration.
Let us offer a warm welcome to Mr. Holcomb. He has been guiding light to Muslim Community.
Ann Delaney is author of Politics for Dummies, is keynote speaker at the MAI Retreat (luncheon).
Ann DeLaney is the former chair of the Indiana Democratic Party. She served as Campaign Manager and spokesperson for then-Governor Evan Bayh's re-election campaign in 1992.
Ann Delaney currently serves as Executive Director of the Julian Center, a United Way Agency that provides shelter and counseling to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Indianapolis. She was appointed by Former U.S. President William J. Clinton to serve as a Standing Trustee for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in the Southern District of Indiana.
For several years, she contributed a periodic column to the Indianapolis Business Journal. Ann is a frequent speaker and lecturer. She is perhaps most widely known for her weekly contribution to political discourse as a panelist on the political roundtable television show, Indiana Week in Review.
MAI greatly appreciates Mrs. Ann DeLaney's acceptance to speak at the luncheon and steer the Muslim community into political arena.
Whether you understand politics or not, it still affects your life in very real ways. But American politics can be confusing. What's a caucus? How do primaries work? How can you sift through all the babble to get to the truth?
Politics For Dummies offers all these answers and more. And it's not just for political novices; even those with a firm understanding of politics can use this book to fill out their knowledge of the little complexities - from how the Electoral College works to campaign contribution limits. If you have little or no knowledge of politics, don't worry. Most people need answers just like you do, that's why this book helps you:
- Pick the candidate who best represents your views
- Donate time or money to a campaign
- Let your representatives know how you feel
- Run for office yourself
This simple, friendly guide offers the kind of straight talk on politics you won't get from a politician. It covers the nuts and bolts of the political process so you'll have a working knowledge of the system. It shows you how to get involved at the grass-roots level and explains the rationale behind the two-party system. It helps you parse the propaganda to get at the truth and offers a complete explanation of presidential politics. Politics For Dummies covers these topics and many more:
- How public opinion polls work
- How money influences policy
- Why your opinion really does count
- How to donate to political campaigns and causes
- Contacting your representatives
- Politics on the Internet
- Choosing parties and candidates
- Lobbyists and special interest groups
- How candidates sell themselves
- How negative campaigning works
- What happened in the 2000 presidential election
You'll also find fun and helpful extras like famous political quotes, the ten things you should teach your children about politics, and voting requirements for every state. Democracy won't work for if you don't participate in it. So pick up Politics For Dummies, get informed, and get involved. Your country will thank you!
Washington, DC - Today Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement in honor of Laylatul Meraaj, Muhammad's ascent to Heaven:
"Yesterday Muslims in America and around the world celebrated a very special day in the Islamic calendar, the ascent of Mohammad to heaven. Traditionally, Muslims celebrate this day with reflection and prayer.
"Muslim Americans continue to make tremendous contributions to our nation and I am proud that America is a country of diverse faith and beliefs. On this special holiday I send greetings and best wishes to all Muslims."
Muslim organization elects Imam Mohamed Magid as Vice-President
ISNA, 8/24/06
Plainfield, IN 08/23/2006 - The Islamic Society of North America (www.isna.net) the largest religious organization representing Muslims in North America -- has elected Dr. Ingrid Mattson as its President. She is the first woman to head the organization.
Dr. Mattson, who earlier served as the first female ISNA Vice President, is Professor of Islamic Studies and Director of Islamic Chaplaincy at the Macdonald Center for Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford Seminary in Hartford, CT. Dr. Mattson, who was born in Canada, studied Philosophy at the University of Waterloo, Ontario (B.A. '87) and earned a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from the University of Chicago in 1999.
Dr. Mattson has written articles exploring the relationship between Islamic law and society, as well as gender and leadership issues in Muslim communities. Her forthcoming book, The Qur'an: Its History and Place in Muslim Societies, is being published by Blackwell Press. Dr. Mattson lives in Connecticut with her husband and two children.
ISNA members also elected Imam Mohammed ibn Hagmagid - popularly known as Imam Magid -- as the organization's Vice-President. Imam Magid is Executive Director and Imam of The All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS; www.adamscenter.org). He is Chair of Fairfax Faith Communities in Action, a member of The Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington Assembly, and Board Member of the Fairfax Youth Partnership. Imam Magid lives in Nothern Virginia with his wife and five children.
Since its establishment in 1963, The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) has been active in bringing people and communities together. Its goal has consistently been one of bridge-building between the Muslim community and the American society at large. ISNA is an association of Muslim organizations and individuals that provides a common platform for presenting Islam, supporting Muslim communities, developing educational, social and outreach programs and fostering good relations with other religious communities and civic and service organizations. ISNA organizes dozens of annual national and regional conferences. The ISNA National Convention held annually over Labor Day weekend attracts 40,000 attendees.
CONTACT: Mohamed Elsanousi, Director of Communication and Community Outreach,
Phone: 317-839-8103, Email: melsanousi@isna.net
08-13-06 15:17
ISNA
The Fiqh Council of North America is an independent body, comprised of qualified Islamic scholars in North America. The Council communicates with experts and consultants to meet expected needs for rulings and advice in various areas of Islamic life in North America.
ISNA's Majlis Ash-Shura, the highest policy making body of ISNA, has resolved to follow the Fiqh Council's position on the issue of determining the beginning of the Islamic lunar months for North America.
Position of the Fiqh Council of North America
The Fiqh Council of North America after careful research, deliberations and discussion has adopted a new position regarding the determination of the beginning of the Islamic lunar months. This position is based primarily on the following Fiqhi premises:
- Sighting the Hilal (ru'yah) is not an act of 'ibadah in itself; it is rather a means to know with certainty about the beginning of the new month related to Islamic 'Ibadat.
- Ru'yah as a means was indicated and used by the Prophet -peace be upon him- because he himself said that the Ummah at that time was not literate and did not know how to write or to calculate (complicated astronomical data).
- Some classical jurists were willing to accept the calculations.
- Some classical jurists refused to allow calculations in this matter because in their time astronomy and astrology were not quite distinct sciences. Jurists were suspicious that astronomical predictions may not be based on exact science but on whims, conjectures, superstition etc.
- During the last century an increasing number of Muslim jurists indicated that calculations could be used to negate erroneous reports of crescent sighting. Some jurists were of the opinion that calculations could also be used as a positive method to determine the new Islamic lunar months.
- There are now many Muslim astronomers who have been working for many years to develop a global lunar Islamic calendar. Fiqh Council particularly appreciates the efforts of its consultants Dr. Imad ad-Dean Ahmad, Dr. Khalid Shaukat, Dr. Muhib Durrani and Dr. Ahmad Salamah.
- Dr. Salah Soltan and Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Shah also presented scholarly papers to give thorough evidence from Fiqh Perspective that the use of calculations is not against the Sunnah of the Prophet -peace be upon him.
The Fiqh Council of North America considered the following factors in making its decision:
- Use of calculations in determining the Islamic dates is not against the Sunnah.
- Reliable astronomical methods are now available to provide a sound basis for the determination of the Islamic dates of Ramadan and the two Eids.
- Shari'ah is based on ease and considers the convenience of people.
- Announcement of Islamic dates ahead of time will reduce a lot of hardship,chaos and confusion that happen every year at the time of the beginning of Ramadan and the two Eids.
- Announcement of Islamic dates will help Muslims to plan their activities in advance, facilitating their ability to take off from work or school. Many other benefits will result from this.
- Announcement of these dates will also remove unnecessary financial burdens from the Muslim community in North America.
- Muslim of America will become more united in their celebrations.
- Muslims of America can also work to have their Islamic holidays officially recognized.
- The Muslim community of North America will lead the way towards the development of a unified global Islamic calendar for the whole Muslim world.
- The Fiqh Council will continue working with the Imams and scholars of the communities to develop a consensus in this matter. It is, however, hoped that whether some of us agree or disagree with this position, we shall all recognize the validity of ikhtilaf in this issue and that the Ummah should be united in brotherhood despite any legitimate fiqhi differences.
Fiqh Council of North America Decision on Determining the Islamic Lunar Calendar
A special conference on Hilal Sighting was organized by the Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) on 10 June 2006, in Virginia, attended by a number of jurists, Imams, astronomers and other concerned Muslims. A number of research papers dealing with the juridical and astronomical aspects of the topic were presented and discussed. After further teleconferences and communications among the members and astronomical consultants, the following is concluded:
- It is decided to use astronomical calculation to determine the beginning of the Islamic lunar months with the consideration of the sightability of the crescent anywhere on the globe.
- To determine a lunar Islamic calendar, a conventional point of reference must be used. The International Date Line (IDL) or the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) may be used.
- The new Islamic Lunar month begins at sunset of the day when the conjunction occurs before 12:00 Noon GMT.
Brief Explanation:
- Discussion of a number of research papers led to the conclusion that the use of calculation both in negation as well as affirmation of the beginning of the new Islamic Lunar months has a firm basis in the Qur'an and Sunnah as well as in the opinion of some classical and contemporary jurists. For more details please see the website of ISNA at www.isna.net
- The new moon (i.e. time of conjunction) is when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun closest to the Sun-Earth line. This time of conjunction is precisely predictable by astronomical calculation.
- The conjunction before 12:00 Noon GMT would give enough time to the new moon to be visible (weather permitting) somewhere on the globe before the end of the night in North America.
For more information please check the links below.
Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) Contact Resource:
Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi
drsiddiqi@aol.com
Dr. Mohhamad Adam Elsheikh
melsheikh@aol.com
Please contact Dr. Nazif Shahrani, if interested to be nominated
M. Nazif Shahrani
Professor of Anthropology, Central Asian and
Middle Eastern Studies
Indiana University, Bloomington
Phone: 812-855-4858/2233
Fax: 812-855-7500
E-mail: shahrani@indiana.edu
Web: www.indiana.edu/~afghan
From: "Kira Christie" <kchristie@aidemocracy.org>
Date: August 17, 2006 11:29:55 AM EDT
To: DHakken@indiana.edu
Subject: Request for Nominations for Young Leaders Summit (Attn: David James Hakken)
Reply-To: "Kira Christie" <kchristie@aidemocracy.org>
I am the director of programming at Americans for Informed Democracy, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that seeks to raise global awareness among the next generation of leaders. I am writing to let you and your students at Indiana University know about our organization's Young Leaders Summit on Western-Muslim World Relations, which is taking place at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on September 9th. The summit will bring together young global leaders from across the Midwest for a day of workshops, speakers, and discussions on how young people can be involved in improving relations between the West and the Muslim World. The Summit seeks to commemorate the fifth anniversary of September 11th by bringing young leaders together to think constructively about the next five years. Thanks to generous support from the Ford Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Open Society Institute, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the summit is free for selected students, including tuition and meals.
We would be most grateful if you could share our call for applications below with your students. In addition, I wanted to see if you knew of one or two outstanding students at Indiana University who you would like to nominate for this important conference. While the Summit is generally selecting students by competitive application, we would be glad to accept several outstanding students from Indiana University without a formal application based on your nomination. If you know of students who you think would be qualified, please send me the name and e-mail of the student(s) who you would like to nominate. We'll then send them a special invite to the conference.
With best wishes,
Kira Christie
Americans for Informed Democracy (http://www.aidemocracy.org/)
+1 (203) 773 1202
P.S. I realize that this e-mail is reaching you over the summer and you may not yet have students to send this to. Nominations will be taken through September 4th, so potentially you can have nominees in early September.
Call for Applications:
Young Leaders Summit on Western-Muslim World Relations
Students at Indiana University wishing to make a difference in the world are invited to apply for the Young Leaders Summit on the Future of Western-Muslim World Relations, which is taking place on September 9th at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The summit will bring together young global leaders from across the U.S. Midwest for a day of workshops, speakers, and discussions on how young people can take positive action to improve Western-Muslim World relations five years after September 11th. Students will hear from top experts and then have the chance to weigh in with their own view on the future of this critical global relationship. Confirmed speakers for the summit include Gideon Rose, Managing Editor of Foreign Affairs and former Associate Director of the National Security Council. Click here to see the schedule of the Young Global Leaders Summit.
At the Summit, students will learn strategies for talking about global issues with Americans and techniques for organizing town hall meetings in their communities as part of a national series on Western-Muslim world relations called Hope not Hate. Students will also have the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with a diverse group of young leaders, equipping them with the knowledge, support and structure to implement these ideas in their neck of the woods.
Thanks to the generous support of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Open Society Institute, Ford Foundation and Hewlett Foundation, the summit is free for selected participants, including tuition and food. Travel to the conference is at the participant's expense, but Americans for Informed Democracy will do its best to set up car pools for participants coming from the Northeast or mid-Atlantic.
TO APPLY TO THE CONFERENCE, VISIT WWW.AIDEMOCRACY.ORG/ISLAMWEST.CFM
Address : 45 Court St. City: New Haven St: CT Zip: 06511
David Hakken
Information Ethnographer
Professor of Social Informatics
Director of International Activities
School of Informatics
Room 1033 Eigenmann Hall
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN 47406
dhakken@indiana.edu
812-856-1869 office; 812-391-2966
http://www.informatics.indiana.edu/research/profiles/dhakken.asp
As many of you know, the Defense Department is considering holding a nuclear weapons test near Bedford, Indiana next year. The "Divine Strake" test would simulate the use of a low-yield nuclear weapon against an underground target. The test would release a mushroom-shaped dust cloud 10,000 feet into the atmosphere and release an explosive yield equivalent to 593 tons of TNT--100 times the size of the Oklahoma City bombing.
To encourage religious leaders in the area to speak out against the test, Faithful Security is working with the Friends Committee for National Legislation to distribute a sign-on statement for religious leaders in Indiana (heads of congregations, faculty from religious schools, and denominational staff).
With only few days of turn-around time on the letter, your help could get it out to clergy in Indiana for their signature. We'll be delivering the letter in person to Senator Lugar and Senator Bayh's staff on Friday, September 1st, so the deadline for signatures is Thursday, August 31st at 5 PM.
Please help us gather signatures by sending the following link to your networks in Indiana: http://ga3.org/campaign/divinestrake.
Thanks!
Jessica Wilbanks
Co-Coordinator, Faithful Security:
The National Religious Partnership on the Nuclear Weapons Danger
www.faithfulsecurity.org
1875 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 1012
Washington, DC 20009
202-587-5232 410-713-0335 (cell)
jwilbanks@faithfulsecurity.org
MUSLIM ALLIANCE OF INDIANA is dedicated to empower Muslims through social engagement and developing awareness of public issues among Muslims and connecting 280,000 Muslim Hoosiers with the leadership.
To learn more about past activities and accomplishments, please visit at www.muslimalliancein.com
To be involved with MAI mission, please contact muslimalliancein@yahoo.com
To strengthen and disseminate the vision, please forward this message to others in Indiana or send email list to muslimalliancein@yahoo.com
This is intended for Muslim Hoosiers and friends promoting peace and harmony, mutual respect and making Indiana strong. If you want to be off this list, please advise.
Thank you.
