IN THIS ISSUE
Please Note the Date
MAI First Annual Convention is scheduled for June 22-24, 2007
At Adams Mark Hotel, Indianapolis
Details will be posted soon
Professor Faiz Rahman, 43, a native of Bangladesh, was an active member of the Islamic Center of Muncie for four years and a participant in The Muncie Interfaith Fellowship, sponsored by Ball State's Center for Peace and Conflict Studies.
The Fellowship is a group of individuals representing numerous faiths - Hindu, Jewish, Christian and Muslim, among others - who met regularly for inter-religious discourse.
Professor Rahman and his family - wife, Farzana, and sons Jamil, 9, and Ahmad, 6 left Muncie in August to accept a teaching position at Texas Tech University.
While in college at the University of Arizona, Rahman belonged to the Muslim Student Association. He came to the United States in 1991 and has lived in numerous parts of the country since, including Tucson, Ariz.; Los Angeles; New Jersey, and now the Midwest.
"I like to tell people that you do not have to be a religious leader to reach out in your community," Rahman said. "The emphasis needs to be on common people, and how we can come to understand one another. We may not agree with everything, but we can agree on most things."
While holding down his university job and raising a growing family, Rahman has been generous to give so much of his time to The Fellowship and the Islamic Center, said George Wolfe, director of BSU's Center for Peace and Conflict Studies.
"Faiz is good at explaining misunderstandings in respect to Islam," Wolfe said. "He's also good at discrediting those who misinterpret Islam for their own political ends."
Now, he has returned back to Indiana January 2007 to teach at Indiana University in Bloomington. We welcome him and his family wholeheartedly.
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Why should you intern with the Indiana Republican Party?
"I am currently serving my second internship with the Indiana Republican Party and the time spent working here has been a challenging and very rewarding learning experience that I will never forget.
-Lindsey Moss,
IUPUI
"The opportunity of a life-time, a spring board for your future."
-Brandon Dickinson,
Indiana University
"Having an internship with the Indiana Republican Party has been an invaluable experience for me. I worked with wonderful people while taking a step forward in my personal and career goals and had a great time while doing it!"
-Sarah Fritz,
Hanover College
For more information on
2007 Summer Internships contact: Cass Sponsel
at 317.685.1084
or
please submit your
Resume
Cover Letter
Minimum of 3 references
to: csponsel@indgop.org
Deadline for resume
submission:
MARCH 2, 2007
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INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES |
| Are you looking to gain experience working in the political field? |
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The Indiana Republican Party offers internships in various departments within our Indianapolis headquarters and throughout the state including:
Political Communications Fundraising
We're looking for people interested in and dedicated to the Indiana Republican Party. Candidates should have a good attitude, be a team player, and have an enthusiasm for learning. Experience is not required.
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How do our internships work?
Located in the heart of downtown Indianapolis, the Indiana Republican Party serves as the hub for State Party activities, including fundraising, campaign management, and media relations.
The Indiana Republican Party offers both paid and unpaid internships. Full-time and flexible part-time positions are available for fall, spring, and summer semesters in Indianapolis and throughout Indiana. Students are also given the opportunity to receive college credit.
Just minutes away from shopping, restaurants, the RCA Dome and Conseco Fieldhouse, the Indiana Republican Party offers a great internship experience for students of all skills interested in Republican politics.
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Visit our website: www.indgop.org/intern.php
47 S. Meridian Street, Second Floor Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: 317.635.7561 Fax: 317.632.8510
1.800.466.1087
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Macon, GA (WMAZ-TV) - Mayor C. Jack Ellis, a practicing Christian throughout his life, on Thursday said he's switched to the Islamic faith.
The mayor said the conversion also means he'll be going through the legal process of changing his name. His new name will be Hakim Mansour Ellis. The mayor said he kept his last name to maintain family ties.
"It's a personal decision, a private decision as to how one worships. But I do understand that I'm not a private person," Ellis said. "But being the mayor of the city, I think people have a right to know what I believe in, that I am a man of faith, and the faith I'm now a part of is the faith of Islam."
He now calls himself a Sunni Muslim. He made the switch, Ellis said, during his December trip to Africa. Rather than call it a switch, Ellis said it was like returning home.
"I went back to my roots I guess you could say," Ellis said. "I did convert to Islam in December of this past year in the country of Senegal. When I say, "back to my roots", Islam was in Senegal prior to the Africans being brought here as slaves."
Since converting, Ellis said he attends the Islamic Center on Bloomfield Road during Friday worship services. He also said he's practicing the Islam doctrine of praying five times each day.
Ellis said he discussed his decision with his family and siblings before making it public.
"Now, I'm sharing with my broader family, the Macon community who supported me when I was a Christian and trust that they will now," Ellis said. "I'm the same person even though I'll be changing my name."
Even though he switched religions, the mayor said he isn't ranking them.
"I'm not saying that one is better than the other," Ellis said. "We do believe that the prophet Mohammed was the last prophet as well as we believe Moses was a prophet."
Prior to the conversion, Ellis said he attended Unionville Baptist Church on Houston Avenue and before that Harvest Cathedral on Rocky Creek Road.
The mayor completes his second consecutive four-year term in December and isn't eligible for re-election. But Ellis said he might run for Georgia's 8th District congressional seat in 2008.
Steve Allen, chair of the Bibb County Democratic Party, said a person's faith is his or her personal choice. But because most of the 8th District is Christian and conservative, Allen said the mayor might have a more difficult time winning the 8th District.
Ellis said he hopes people respect his decision and will call him by his new name.
With more than 55 million items, the Library's Manuscript Division contains the papers of 23 presidents, from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge. In this article, Manuscript Division Chief James Hutson draws upon the papers of Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other primary documents to discuss the relationship of Islam to the new nation.
A selection from Jefferson's autobiography where he expresses satisfaction over the Virginia legislature's expression of tolerance in its Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom.
Many Muslims feel unwelcome in the United States in the aftermath of September 11, according to newspaper reports. Anecdotal evidence suggests that substantial numbers of Americans view their Muslim neighbors as an alien presence outside the limits of American life and history. While other minorities-African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans-were living within the boundaries of the present United States from the earliest days of the nation, Muslims are perceived to have had no part in the American experience.
Readers may be surprised to learn that there may have been hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Muslims in the United States in 1776-imported as slaves from areas of Africa where Islam flourished. Although there is no evidence that the Founders were aware of the religious convictions of their bondsmen, it is clear that the Founding Fathers thought about the relationship of Islam to the new nation and were prepared to make a place for it in the republic.
In his seminal Letter on Toleration (1689), John Locke insisted that Muslims and all others who believed in God be tolerated in England. Campaigning for religious freedom in Virginia, Jefferson followed Locke, his idol, in demanding recognition of the religious rights of the "Mahamdan," the Jew and the "pagan." Supporting Jefferson was his old ally, Richard Henry Lee, who had made a motion in Congress on June 7, 1776, that the American colonies declare independence. "True freedom," Lee asserted, "embraces the Mahomitan and the Gentoo (Hindu) as well as the Christian religion."
In his autobiography, Jefferson recounted with satisfaction that in the struggle to pass his landmark Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom (1786), the Virginia legislature "rejected by a great majority" an effort to limit the bill's scope "in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan." George Washington suggested a way for Muslims to "obtain proper relief" from a proposed Virginia bill, laying taxes to support Christian worship. On another occasion, the first president declared that he would welcome "Mohometans" to Mount Vernon if they were "good workmen" (see page 96). Officials in Massachusetts were equally insistent that their influential Constitution of 1780 afforded "the most ample liberty of conscience … to Deists, Mahometans, Jews and Christians," a point that Chief Justice Theophilus Parsons resoundingly affirmed in 1810.
Toward Islam itself the Founding generation held differing views. An evangelical Baptist spokesman denounced "Mahomet" as a "hateful" figure who, unlike the meek and gentle Jesus, spread his religion at the point of a sword. A Presbyterian preacher in rural South Carolina dusted off Grotius' 17th century reproach that the "religion of Mahomet originated in arms, breathes nothing but arms, is propagated by arms." Other, more influential observers had a different view of Muslims. In 1783, the president of Yale College, Ezra Stiles, cited a study showing that "Mohammadan" morals were "far superior to the Christian." Another New Englander believed that the "moral principles that were inculcated by their teachers had a happy tendency to render them good members of society." The reference here, as other commentators made clear, was to Islam's belief, which it shared with Christianity, in a "future state of rewards and punishments," a system of celestial carrots and sticks which the Founding generation considered necessary to guarantee good social conduct.
"A Mahometan," wrote a Boston newspaper columnist, "is excited to the practice of good morals in hopes that after the resurrection he shall enjoy the beautiful girls of paradise to all eternity; he is afraid to commit murder, adultery and theft, lest he should be cast into hell, where he must drink scalding water and the scum of the damned." Benjamin Rush, the Pennsylvania signer of the Declaration of Independence and friend of Adams and Jefferson, applauded this feature of Islam, asserting that he had "rather see the opinions of Confucius or Mohammed inculcated upon our youth than see them grow up wholly devoid of a system of religious principles."
That ordinary citizens shared these positive views is demonstrated by a petition of a group of citizens of Chesterfield County, Va., to the state assembly, Nov. 14, 1785: "Let Jews, Mehometans and Christians of every denomination enjoy religious liberty…thrust them not out now by establishing the Christian religion lest thereby we become our own enemys and weaken this infant state. It is mens labour in our Manufactories, their services by sea and land that aggrandize our Country and not their creeds. Chain your citizens to the state by their Interest. Let Jews, Mehometans, and Christians of every denomination find their advantage in living under your laws."
The Founders of this nation explicitly included Islam in their vision of the future of the republic. Freedom of religion, as they conceived it, encompassed it. Adherents of the faith were, with some exceptions, regarded as men and women who would make law-abiding, productive citizens. Far from fearing Islam, the Founders would have incorporated it into the fabric of American life.
James H. Hutson is chief of the Manuscript Division and the author of many books, including, most recently, "Religion and the Founding of the American Republic," 1998.
As American troops battle Islamic extremists in Iraq and Afghanistan and try to bring stability to the region, here at home the Pentagon is reaching out to Arab and Muslim Americans, trying to interest them in joining the U.S. military. At least 15,000 Muslims, including about 3,500 Arab-Americans, are already in uniform. In fact, Arab-Americans have been fighting, and dying, for this country since 1776. The Pentagon regards Arab-Americans as especially valued members of the U.S. military because of their important language skills and their understanding of the cultures of the Middle East. The armed services make efforts to accommodate their religious needs on base, such as building Islamic prayer rooms and hiring Muslim chaplains. But many Arab American soldiers say, 5 years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, they still feel they need to prove both their worth as soldiers, and their loyalty to the United States.
That sentiment prompted Marine Gunnery Sergeant Jamal Baadani to establish the Association of Patriotic Arab-Americans in the Military, or APAAM. The organization serves to empower Arab Americans "to stand up and say 'We are patriots.'" In reaching out to the American community at large, Baadani says, APAAM's goal is "to bridge the gap of misunderstanding" between Arab Americans and mainstream culture "so we can be united as Americans no matter where we come from."
Baadani says because so many people looked at the Arab American community with suspicion after 9/11, it was necessary to present solid proof that Arab Americans are no less patriotic than any other group in the society. So, Baadani says, APAAM documented a long history of Arab American military contributions to America.
"What we found was that the first Arab American to die for America was Private Nathan Badeen, a Syrian immigrant who died for this country on May 23rd, 1776, a month and half before the independence of this country." Baadani says Arab Americans have fought in every war the U.S. participated in since then. "In World War II there were over 15,000 Arab Americans who served this country to free the world of the German Nazi tyranny and Japanese imperialism."
Jamal Baadani says his group is trying to educate the American people, through appearances on TV and radio talk shows, at public events, and on the group's website, about the continuous military service and sacrifices of Arab Americans in all ranks of the military. That includes everyone from ordinary soldiers on the ground in Iraq to General John Abizaid, who for the past four years directed American military operations from the Horn of Africa, across the Middle East, to South and Central Asia.
Individual soldiers are also doing their part to educate Americans about Arab Americans military service. Mahmoud El-Yousef, a retired technical Sergeant with the Ohio Air National Guard, sent an open letter to American news outlets. "Dear America, I am an Arab American, but a proud American just like you," El-Yousef wrote. "Like anybody else, I don't always agree with our government polices, but don't be quick to judge me and call me names. On that dreadful day, September 11th, my duffel bag was already packed and I was waiting to answer the call of duty. Why was I ready? I also want a better and safer America just like you. When it comes to patriotism and loyalty, I am red, white and blue, just like you."
El-Youssef recalls how his life totally changed after he came to America as a Palestinian refugee in 1977. He says he was treated with dignity and respect and felt he had to show his gratitude to his new country.
He fought a legal battle to join the U.S. military in 1984 after an argument with an Army recruiter. When El-Youssef told the recruiter he was a U.S. citizen, but was born in Palestine, "He said, 'I am sorry, you have to be born in the U.S.'" El-Youssef recalls the recruiter told him to ask his representative in Congress, so he did. "I phoned my congressman and filed a complaint, demanded an apology, and let me tell you, within one hour I had a navy officer call me for an hour pleading and begging me."
El-Youssef, who speaks fluent German, English, and Arabic, served for ten years before joining the Ohio National Guard. Two years ago, shortly before he retired from the Guard, his eldest son enlisted in the U.S Army and served in Iraq.
The retired sergeant points out there are historical precedents for Arab Americans' struggle to win the public's trust. He notes that African Americans fought hard for their civil rights, and Japanese Americans worked tirelessly against official discrimination after Tokyo's attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II, and their own community under public suspicion. He says it is now time for Arab Americans, in the U.S. military as in civilian life, to stand up proudly and be counted as loyal and patriotic citizens.
Assalamu 'alaykum,
This Friday Feb 16th at 7pm, we will begin our Spring Semester with Seerah:
Life of the Prophet - The Madinah Period.
A major enhancement to the Seerah class taught by Shaykh Tewfik Choukri will be introduced.
A roadmap of all the sessions on the Battle of Badr will be presented.
This pictorial representation of the last eight weeks covering the Battle of Badr, will create a comprehensive view of the
key events of this battle and how each laid the foundation for the development of the Islamic political system.
This pictorial roadmap will be used to create context for the classes.
Insha'Allah, this will facilitate a great understanding of the topic and the linkage of each session.
Please plan to attend and make sure to be on time. The classes begin at 7pm sharp!
Shaykh Tewfik will start the discussion of the role of Shura (consultation) and its roots in the War Council
established in the planning of the Battle of Badr.
On Saturday Feb 17th at 10:30am, we will begin a new semester of the Advanced Arabic class.
This class will cover important Arabic texts on language and Fiqh (jurisprudence).
For more information, or to view the course posters, please visit our website at: http://www.legacyin.org
If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Jazak Allah Khair
Legacy Institute
9721 Kincaid Dr
Fishers, IN 46037
info@legacyin.org
317-842-7300
www.legacyin.org
The FIRST ISLAM AWARENESS MONTH Event is scheduled with Rami Nashashibi on "Malcolm X and Social Justice in Islam"
Wednesday, February 28th, 7 PM, Woodburn 120
Rami Nashashibi is the founding member and Executive Director of Inner-City Muslim Action Network,
a major social service group operating in the South Side of Chicago (IMAN, www.imancentral.org) and
a Sociology PhD candidate at the University of Chicago.
Come hear Nashashibi speak about how Islam can serve as a vehicle for social justice,
and specifically about how these ideals informed Malcolm X's participation in the U.S. civil rights movement.
Nashashibi is a lively and popular speaker who delivers many lectures each year, so you won't want to miss this event!
A detailed Schedule for Islam Awareness Month is to follow in the near future. Keep your eyes open for the exciting lectures we have planned for you this year!
THE MUSLIM STUDENT UNION AT INDIANA UNIVERSITY Room 476 of IMU
A Work Shop on Saturday, April 14, 2007, 12:00 PM
Speakers: Father Boniface Hardin, Imam Michael Saahir, and Sister Kandi Morrell
Presented by Millennium Scholar of the Liberal Arts Edward Curtis
Sponsored by
The IU School of Liberal Arts,
The American Academy of Religion, and
The Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture
N.E.L.C. N - 204
"Shi'ism and Politics"
Spring 2007, 2nd 8 - weeks
Monday / Wednesday 5:30 - 7:30
Instructor: Christopher Anzalone
BACKGROUND: With inter-communal violence still boiling in Iraq, the 2005 election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the continued reign of the revolutionary 'ulama in Iran, and the surprising military prowess during the summer of 2006 and continued political empowerment of Lebanon's Hizbu'llah, the relation of Shi'ism to politics both currently and historically has become an issue of increasing importance and interest to policymakers, scholars, and the general public. After centuries of political quietism Shi'i political parties have emerged as some of the most dynamic and popular Middle Eastern political movements.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: The course will provide students with a solid historical introduction to Shi'i history and a thorough understanding of modern case studies of Shi'i political mobilization. Political movements in Iran, Lebanon, Iraq, Bahrayn, and Saudi Arabia will receive particular attention.
Contact the N.E.L.C. Department at 5 - 4323 or the Instructor at canzalon@indiana.edu with questions.
You are invited to the 2nd Annual
House of Abraham Prayer Breakfast
Thursday, March 8, 2007, 8:30 a.m.
Martin University
2171 Avondale Place (Just West of 22nd & Sherman Drive)
Indianapolis, IN
Please join us for a complimentary breakfast and this opportunity to gather with the Indianapolis faith community to pray for the success of the
House of Abraham
Please R.S.V.P. by March 1st
317-921-2121, ext. 118
cwise@indyhabitat.org
Leave your name and number of guests attending with you.
I am that Hijab
That cloth, that fabric
That symbol, that fear
In people's eyes
Why does she wear it?
I am that cloth
Bound
Grippingly around her head
Secure but comfortable
Strong but delicate
Covering her hair, her ears, her neck
I am that fabric
Pinned
Gracefully around her head
Protective but alleviating
Simple but beautiful
Displaying the beauty within, the pride within, the soul within
I am that concept
Placed
Gloriously around her head
Fierce but merciful
Unyielding but blessed
Compelling the wearer to go on, the onlooker to pause, the bystander to ponder
I am that liberation
Wrapped
Graciously around her head
Desired but attained
Unseen but felt
Refusing the persecution, the unwanted glares, the harsh words
I am that freedom
That concept, that liberation
That symbol, that serenity
In her eyes
That is why she wears it.
Aatifa Shareef is a 10th grade honors student at Columbus Academy, Ohio. She graduated from the Islamic Foundation of Central Ohio Weekend School and is now also a student at the AlMaghrib Institute. Aatifa enjoys doing backstage crew for scholastic theatrical productions, playing soccer, ice skating, traveling, photography and learning foreign languages (currently Spanish and Latin). And yes she is a Hijabi Muslim!
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.
