Muslim Alliance of Indiana ::::

The Marion Superior Court Executive Committee has appointed Judge David Shaheed to Marion Superior Court 1, replacing Judge Cale Bradford, who will join the Indiana Court of Appeals on August 1, 2007.

Judge Shaheed currently presides over Criminal Court 14. He is also the Supervising Judge for the Marion County Drug Treatment Diversion Court as well as the Reentry Court.

"Judge Shaheed has prior experience as the presiding judge in Civil Division 5 and will add to the diversity of the Marion Superior Court, Civil Division," said Presiding Judge Gerald S. Zore.

Shaheed was appointed to the Marion Superior Court in September 1999 and elected to a six-year term in November 2002. After being appointed to the bench by Governor O'Bannon in 1999, Shaheed presided over Civil Court 5 until losing the election for judge in 2000. Prior to this, he worked as a Magistrate and Master Commissioner for the Marion Superior Court. During most of the time Shaheed served as a Commissioner and Magistrate, he worked in the Civil Division of the Court.

He has also practiced law with Lee and Clark. In addition, Shaheed held a number of legal positions in state government, including Special Deputy Attorney General, Staff Attorney for the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, and Chief Administrative Law Judge for unemployment insurance appeals division of Workforce Development. Judge Shaheed's background also includes legislative work as a Staff Attorney for the Democratic Caucus of the Indiana House of Representatives.

Judge Shaheed is a graduate of University of Evansville and Indiana University School of Law School-Indianapolis.

MAI Youth President attends MPAC Washington DC Summit

Shejea Khan, MAI Youth President at the MPAC Youth Summit in Washington DC

By Michelle Boorstein

Washington Post Staff Writer

Attending what Muslim American activists say is the highest-level meeting ever between Muslim American youths and U.S. officials, Mohamed Sabur couldn't help but notice a frustrating paradox.

Part of what motivated the 23-year-old to leave computer science for politics was anger at seeing his community constantly defined by extreme topics such as religious violence. And yet Sabur sat last week through unprecedented meetings with officials from the departments of Homeland Security, State and Justice, and one subject kept coming up: Muslim American youth radicalization.

"I'm trying constantly to figure out: How can I be a civically involved Muslim, interact with other Muslims as well as the government while not seeming like a sellout, like my allegiance is in one camp or another?" the native Minnesotan said Friday, just before dinner on Capitol Hill with the two dozen other participants of the first National Muslim American Youth Summit, which ended yesterday. The summit was organized by the Muslim Public Affairs Council, one of the largest U.S. Muslim advocacy groups, to expose future leaders to the workings of a government many Muslims feel speaks about them but not to them.

Six years into a serious political and religious awakening prompted by the Sept. 11 attacks, American Muslims know why such meetings haven't happened before. The community, 65 percent foreign-born, is just starting to build the type of institutions that can produce young Muslim civic leaders (some call this period "embryonic"). On the government side, things were just too brittle for a lot of invitations to be extended, officials say.

But what young Muslim Americans don't know, summit participants said, is precisely what to do with their newfound drive. Anxious to take the reins from their immigrant parents, they have questions unique to them and to today. Do they see themselves working on Capitol Hill, even though there are so few Muslim staffers? What is the overlap between Islam and the U.S. Constitution? Can they maintain credibility with their peers if they team up too much with an administration many Muslim and Arab Americans see as hostile?

The last question is familiar to the 27 participants of the summit, as the Muslim council is viewed as having the coziest links to law enforcement and the Bush administration among the handful of major Muslim American advocacy groups, other groups and summit participants say.

"When we go to the Pentagon, the community goes nuts; people are like, 'Are you guys becoming the Muslim mouthpiece for these agencies?' " said Safiya Ghori, the group's government relations director. "We are trying to be very transparent, but it is important for us to be here. There are always people who don't feel like engaging [with the government], but we feel that is our strategy."

The issue of acceptance flips quickly to that of language, and a term that many young Muslim Americans find loaded: "moderate." While Muslim council Executive Director Salam al-Marayati liberally uses the term, some members of younger generations bristle at the notion of getting an official stamp of approval and prefer "mainstream" -- though that, too, they say, is not well-defined and has become politicized.

An essay making the rounds among summit participants, "Why I Am Not a Moderate Muslim," argued that the push for "moderate" Islam implies that orthodox Islam entails violence.

"To be a 'moderate' Muslim is to be a 'good,' malleable Muslim in the eyes of Western society," read the essay by University of Cambridge master's student and Indiana native Asma Khalid that was published in the Christian Science Monitor.

Omar Sarwar, 25, came to the summit on a mission. Driven after terrorist attacks in the United States and Europe to "contribute to the future of this country," the Columbia University graduate ditched a career in banking to go back to school and study politics and religion. After two days of meeting with agency staff members, he was thinking he might have more influence at a think tank than in the government.

"These people aren't making policy. They're carrying it out," said the New Yorker, whose parents are from Pakistan.

"For me, this conference is about trying to find out what it means to be an American Muslim in terms of political and civic engagement. Trying to find out what it means to be a political Muslim but not the one on the cover of a magazine with a gun," he said.

Young Muslim Americans have a limited number of role models in top-level politics. There are none in top positions in the agencies represented at the conference. The summit met with U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the first Muslim elected to Congress, and the Congressional Muslim Staffers Association, which started about two years ago and estimates there are 25 Muslims working on Capitol Hill.

The event comes, not by accident, as attention is turning toward Muslim American youths. A Pew Research Center report released in May found a quarter of American Muslims ages 18 to 29 believe suicide bombings against civilians can sometimes be justified to defend Islam, while only 9 percent older than 30 believe that. Congress began holding hearings this spring on homegrown Islamic terrorism, which prompted the Muslim council to release a policy paper last month pressing for Muslim chaplains on every college campus, more influence for young Muslims in large organizations and the government to publicize its cooperation with Muslim leaders.

Watching recent reports about alleged terrorist plots in Fort Dix, N.J., and at New York's JFK Airport, "we began to get really nervous," and planned the paper and the summit, Ghori said. The Muslim council picked participants the organization learned about through Muslim activists and groups.

Summit participants said they were frustrated by the fact that Homeland Security staff members, despite expressing concern about homegrown terrorism, admitted to the group that they don't know enough about the threat to offer suggestions on how to help counter it.

Despite the heavy topic, the tone at the summit was also upbeat with the vibe of hopefulness that comes with a gathering of go-getters. On Thursday night, the group met at a Georgetown office for a coffee hour, to analyze the summit and play an ice-breaker game in which young people raced around the room to find people with whom they shared something in common. After 10 minutes, pairs shouted out their shared interests:

"We both like the Red Sox!"

"We're both Palestinian and we like Mos Def!"

"We both love property management!"

Sabur, whose parents grew up in East Africa, said he ultimately felt energized by the summit.

"Maybe this government isn't ready to seriously dialogue, but Muslim Americans need to continue to advance, to learn the importance of civic engagement," he said, "to make sure our youth grow up the way we want them to be, and [are] respected for who they are."

Pakistan Earthquake Rebuilding Efforts Committee Second Annual Fundraiser

Planting Seeds for a Better Future

The Pakistan Earthquake Rebuilding Committee and PAFA proudly present the 2nd Annual Fundraising Dinner.

Saturday, September 8, 2007
6:00 - 10:30 p.m.
$40 per person

Held at the beautiful Clowes Common at Park Tudor School

If you would like to make a donation to this cause, please visit http://www.tcfusa.org/.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT

http://pafaindy.org/

Muslim City-Councilman Abduallah resigns from seat

City-County Councilman Patrice Abduallah said he plans to resign his seat today after critics hounded him about whether he moved out of the district he represents.

Abduallah, 61, a Democrat elected in the 15th District in 2003, said he made an honest mistake when he listed his mother's home as his residence in council records and on his 2007 candidate forms.

His mother's house, where he is living while rehabbing his own house, is on the west side of the 1100 block of North Warman Avenue in the Haughville area. That puts the home in District 14, represented by Republican Marilyn Pfisterer.

"If it was on the other side of the street, it wouldn't be a problem,'' Abduallah said. "This technicality has cost me my council seat, and I'm upset about it. This situation is a tremendous blow to me."

Local Internet blogs have simmered recently with accusations that Abduallah moved out of his district. In an interview with The Indianapolis Star late Wednesday, he said Democratic Party officials asked him to resign.

Abduallah said it's a shame that pressure from the blogs and the media, rather than his constituents, led Democratic Party leaders to question his residency.

Marion County Democratic Party Chairman Michael O'Connor said he will hold a news conference this morning to address the situation. He said Wednesday evening that he did not know about Abduallah's decision to resign. O'Connor said he couldn't speculate on replacing Abduallah until today.

Deputy Mayor Steve Campbell said past case law indicates Abduallah's recent votes on the council will not be in jeopardy because of his residency status.

"Case law is pretty clear (that Abduallah's residency problem) won't overturn his votes," Campbell said. "It's not the first time it's happened in the history of legislatures.''

But Tom John, the county GOP chairman, said Abduallah's declaration of residency on his candidate form in January raises a host of questions. While stated residency can be difficult to challenge, John said the signed form with an address outside the district makes the case different.

"It's either sloppy or arrogant to not check if your stated address is in your district,'' Tom said. "Either way, he left the residents of District 15 without representation.''

John said council votes since January could be questioned and that Democrats may have lost their chance to name his replacement because of legal time limits.

The home Abduallah previously listed on his candidate and council forms was in the 900 block of North Sheffield Avenue, which is in the 15th District. Abduallah said he has been fighting for months with city inspection officials over the permits he needs to complete the rehab work. He said the city has stopped work 13 times.

While that work ran into city roadblocks, Abduallah said he has run into serious financial problems that kept him from paying his property taxes last year and again on Friday. Treasurer records show he owes $1,084 in taxes on his house on Sheffield.

"I'm delinquent on those taxes,'' Abduallah said. "I've really been going through some financial hardship recently."

He said the rehab work has been "a nightmare," but he recognizes that someone who decides how to spend tax money must also pay it.

"I'm going to pay my fair share because that's how we run the country," he said.

Abduallah said he didn't see any reason to fight to hold on to his seat until after the election because he doesn't want to misrepresent the district. He said Democratic officials want him to resign as soon as possible.

"I don't have an opportunity to correct my mistake," he said.

"It's bad for my family and community. But I'll live on for another day. I'll go out with grace, so maybe I can come back to the council later."

FACTS ABOUT PATRICE M ABDUALLAH

Patrice M. Abduallah

Party: Democratic.

Age: 61.

Elected to Indianapolis City-County Council: 2003.

Education: Bachelor's degree, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Personal: Married; four children; 14 grandchildren.

Past political experience: Ward chairman; precinct committeeman.

Abduallah's council record

· April 2005: Voted against a proposal to ban workplace discrimination against gays.

· May 2005: Voted in favor of a workplace smoking ban.

· June 2005: Voted in favor of a tax hike to fund a new Colts stadium.

· June 2006: Was the only council member to vote against a measure to make it easier for restaurants near the Downtown Canal to get liquor licenses.

· July 2006: Voted in favor of combining the Indianapolis Fire Department and the Washington Township Fire Department.

· Febuary 2007: Was among the state and local lawmakers who attended the Super Bowl with tickets sold to them at face value in a special offer from the Colts. More than 50 officials did this.

· April 2007: As a Muslim and an advocate of Muslim rights, worked to pressure White Lodging into changing its policy of not allowing Muslim women to wear hijabs, the traditional head covering for women mandated by Islamic religious teachings. White Lodging is a developer planning to build a Convention Center hotel in Downtown Indianapolis.

· May 2007: Voted against a plan for Indianapolis to give public subsidies to White Lodging. The plan passed with a 26-2 vote. The city was promised there would be no discrimination, but he wanted to delay the vote until those pledges were in writing.

· July 2007: Voted in favor of increasing county income tax by 65 percent for Mayor Bart Peterson's $90 million crime-fighting plan.

-- Star library