From Green Zabiha:

Cows:    Cows are fed grass, right? You would be correct in thinking that, after all they were created to eat mainly grass, but in modern factory farming that is not a viable (read: profitable) option. So no grass, instead they are fed grain, which their body has a difficult time digesting, so much so that many are in a perpetual state of disease which is why we need to pump antibiotics into them to keep them alive. If that was all it’d be bad enough, but that is just the beginning.

Grain isn’t exactly cheap, and in an effort to find ways to feed animals more calories cheaply, Factory farms turned to protein rendering. Rendering takes meat scraps and waste products (carcasses, bones, fat, entrails, organs etc.) and through a process ‘renders’ it into liquefied edible protein.

So, back to our cows. The government allows cow feed to include

1. pork(!)
2. cow fat (!)
3. blood (!)
4. poultry and
5. horse to name a few things

…

Chicken: When I asked the Controlling Officer what the restrictions were on chicken feed, he chuckled and said ‘I don’t know of any real restrictions for poultry feed’.  You can feed them ground up chicken, pork, beef, whatever. He mentioned in his State ‘we have large poultry processor and their chicken waste goes to rendering plant and most goes back to the processer for feeding the chickens’.  So in the case of cows, we’ve turned a ruminate (grass feeder) into a meat eater, and the chicken into a cannibal (though the cow does get to eat cow fat). He did mentioned there were ‘only’ 9 or 10 drugs that can be given to poultry used for meat, and 3 for egg producing hens. And there is supposed to be a drug ‘withdrawal’ period, the poultry should be off the drugs for a time before going to slaughter. Who knows if that happens, probably hard to even detect or enforce.

Alhamdulilah, we’re blessed here in the twin cities to have Holy Land Grocery that sells meat that is vegetarian fed.  It isn’t organic and probably still comes from a quasi factory farm, but at least it isn’t pork fed.

Somali Man Pleads Guilty in Terrorism Case

Back in October 2007, while he was living in Minnesota, he said he met “some guys,” as he put it, who were talking about going back to Somalia to fight the Ethiopian soldiers who invaded Somalia. From October to December, they met secretly in Minneapolis.

Ahmed said he knew he would be fighting with Al-Shabaab. That’s the hard-line Islamic group that is creating much of the violence we’re seeing in Somalia today. But back in 2007, the group had some popular support because the fighters were taking on the Ethiopian occupation, and some people saw their cause as nationalistic.

…

After the hearing, Ostgard told me Ahmed stayed in Somalia from December 2007 until April 2008, but Ahmed left the camp before the U.S. officially declared Al-Shabaab a terrorist group in March of 2008. Ostgard said the fact that Ahmed left Al-Shabaab before the designation helped Ostgard negotiate the deal with prosecutors. “He would have faced more serious charges” if Ahmed left after March 2008, Ostgard said.

This next story just makes me shake my head.  People are looking for insediousness everywhere.  To me, it just looks like they’re making a mountain out of a mole hill.   The right wing blogs I read are like oooo, let’s play 6 degrees of seperation, Ellison to TIZA to MAS to the Muslim Brotherhood, zmog, terrorism! 

Rep. Ellison’s trip under increasing scrutiny

Islamic nonprofit paid for Rep. Ellison’s pilgrimage to Mecca

Ellison fires back over Strib story on Mecca trip

For those not from around these parts, TIZA has been the target of much scrutiny over the years, which has crested now with lawsuits and countersuits.

Inver Grove Heights charter school sues Education Department

Charter school countersues over ACLU religion claims

I wish I had something original to report on the goings on here in the Twin Cities, but unfortunately, I’m learning most of what I know from the news, just like everybody else.

I can mention one little tidbit – as I’ve mentioned before, I occasionally attend a masjid that was mentioned in connection with the missing men.  According to AbuS, the imam has now taken a strong stance supporting the current somali government and against the insurgents.

The indictment against 2 somali men, one currently of the twin cities, another a former resident, has been unsealed.

According to the indictment, federal investigators allege the men “provided material support and resources, namely personnel, including themselves, knowing and intending that the material support and resources were to be used in preparation for and to carry out a conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim or injure persons in a foreign country” from September 2007 through December 2008.

Also, AbuS and I watched this video piece that was in the NYT article I linked toyesterday.  In it, one of the interviewees made a good point – al Shabab was/is something that transcends clan lines and united it’s participants towards the common goal of achieving some kind of peace.  As an outsider, I can’t even begin to understand the importance of clans and clan divisions in the somali community.  I know they exist, but I cannot wrap my head around the concept that the clan is more important than your fellow muslim brothers and sisters, and the peace and stability of your home.

It would seem to me that what needs to be done now is to find another organization that transcends the clan culture and that will work for peace, without using terrorism.  Does that exist?  Allahu Alem.

I wish our community could be well known for our charity or a large number of converts or something.  I’m even longing for the days of the taxi drivers, guide dogs, flying imams and incedious charter schools.

We made the New York Times yesterday – A Call to Jihad, Answered in America:

Most of the men are Somali refugees who left the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul in two waves, starting in late 2007. While religious devotion may have predisposed them to sympathize with the Islamist cause in Somalia, it took a major geopolitical event — the Ethiopian invasion of their homeland in 2006 — to spur them to join what they saw as a legitimate resistance movement, said friends of the men.

For many of the men, the path to Somalia offered something personal as well — a sense of adventure, purpose and even renewal. In the first wave of Somalis who left were men whose uprooted lives resembled those of immigrants in Europe who have joined the jihad. They faced barriers of race and class, religion and language. Mr. Ahmed, the 26-year-old suicide bomber, struggled at community colleges before dropping out. His friend Zakaria Maruf, 30, fell in with a violent street gang and later stocked shelves at a Wal-Mart.

If failure had shadowed this first group of men, the young Minnesotans who followed them to Somalia were succeeding in America. Mr. Hassan, the engineering student, was a rising star in his college community. Another of the men was a pre-med student who had once set his sights on an internship at the Mayo Clinic. They did not leave the United States for a lack of opportunity, their friends said; if anything, they seemed driven by unfulfilled ambition.

Just to be a bit glib, what kind of minnesotans are these guys?  Starbucks?  Pshhh, if they were really minnesotans, it would be all about Caribou.  Imposters!

Even among the world’s jihadists, the young men from Minneapolis are something of an exception: in their instant messages and cellphone calls, they seem caught between inner-city America and the badlands of Africa, pining for Starbucks one day, extolling the virtues of camel’s milk and Islamic fundamentalism the next.

This however is a good question we should all be asking ourselves.  But, did they need to go to fight?  These boys had the potential to bring their education back to Somalia and rebuild a shattered society.  Instead, they’re helping to destroy it. 

“Allah will never change the situation of a people unless they change themselves,” Mr. Hassan, the engineering student, wrote in a Facebook message he posted on April 15. “Take a sec and think about your situation deeply. What change do you need to make?”

And from our local papers, we find 2 more Minnesota muslims have died in Somali recently -  Relative confirms death of fourth young man from Minnesota in Somalia.

We finally have two senators and it’s about time!  Now I have to dig out my picture with Al Franken

Coleman concedes Senate race; Pawlenty to sign certificate

*busts out another happy dance complete with pot stirring*

In case anyone (besides me) actually enjoys reading legal opinions, the Supreme Court’s Opinion can be found here.

Somali Mall Murder Case now with Jury

According to the charges, Abdillahi wanted revenge for the April 2008 shooting death in Minneapolis of his cousin, but because he believed the shooter had fled the country, he decided to kill that man’s friend instead.

Somali activist tried to stop missing boys from traveling

St. Paul, Minn. – People who know Abia Ali say she is a voice of conscience in her community.

At a rally last week against Minneapolis street violence, she held a bullhorn on the steps of City Hall, urging her fellow Somalis to help police solve a fatal shooting that took place in front of a popular community center.
Proud graduatesA sturdy woman wearing a blue hijab that drapes over her head and body, Ali used her faith to make the case for putting the killer behind bars.

“If you get away with this — in front of Allah, you will not get away,” Ali said to the crowd. “Come forward, and please tell what you saw right there.”

…

But lately, she has felt the spotlight of a federal investigation. The FBI is looking into whether the young men were recruited to fight with an Islamic militia that the U.S government considers a terrorist group. The disappearances have also triggered secret grand jury proceedings.

Ali has heard that FBI agents, working on what she says are false leads, have been asking about her in connection to the case. Agents have been showing Ali’s photograph while conducting interviews as part of their probe, according to some of the young people who attend Abubakar.

Ali said she’s even heard talk in her community that she was the one who sent the boys to fight in their homeland, a country where anarchy and violence are the rule. She denies the accusation.

“It’s very sad,” she said, pausing to dab away tears with the hem of her skirt. “It’s hurting me so much. I’ll be the last person on earth encouraging violence. I’m against violence.”

The truth, Ali said, is that she tried to prevent the boys’ trips to Somalia, even before the disappearances began to garner headlines.

 Click on the link above to read it all.  May Allah (swt) continue to protect this sister’s good work.

Other recent Minnesota Muslim news:

• Charges dropped in shooting of Augsburg student
• Young Somali men escape homeland, but not violence
• Somali students from Augsburg College refused visas by Egyptian government
• CAIR – Somalis take to the street to protest group’s actions vs. Demonstrators support area Muslim group
• Burnsville mosque fills gap for Islamic community - this is a branch of the masjid near our home.  In fact, I think Amin Kader is the imam who married us.

111 days for an act of domestic terrorism?  And the possibility of it being reduced to a misdemeanor????

I hate to be one of those people who is constantly talking about how muslims get a bad rap in the media, but if this were a muslim who was shouting ayat after crashing his truck in the PP building (or anyplace else for that matter), wanna bet he’d get longer than 111 days?  Heck, muslims don’t even need to crash their truck into a building to get beat down.  Merely being muslim is enough.

Excuse me while I go weep at the stupidity and inequality of our justice system.

Cottage Grove man gets 111 days in Planned Parenthood crash‘

A Cottage Grove man who drove his truck into the front of a Planned Parenthood clinic on the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision legalizing abortion was sentenced to the 111 days he has already served.

If Matthew Lee Derosia, 33, follows rules of his probation for the next five years, his conviction will be reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor, Ramsey County District Judge John Van de North ruled Tuesday.

Derosia pleaded guilty to one count of criminal damage to property in the Jan. 22 incident at the clinic at 1965 Ford Parkway in St. Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood. When police arrived, he was standing by the truck, holding a crucifix and shouting Bible verses, according to the criminal complaint in the case.

No one was injured in the crash.

Derosia was later celebrated in a list of “prisoners of Christ” on an anti-abortion Web site.

*wipes tears of laughter from eyes*

Courtesy of a poster on twincities.com:

Arrrgh Matey!

Oh… who is that lawmaker sailing out to the sea?
(Siefert! Squarepants!)

A grandstanding dodger of state issues is he…
(Siefert! Squarepants!)

When real legislation complicates his small mind
(Siefert! Squarepants!)

He pulls out a non-issue, the xenophobic kind!
(Siefert! Squarepants!)

EVERYBODY…

SIEFERT, SQUAREPANTS

SIEFERT, SQUAREPANTS

SIEFERT! SQUAREPANTS!

And from guy behind Kamis Apparel:

Minn. lawmaker: No funds to ‘pirate lovers’

“Taxpayers shouldn’t be supporting those who support and defend people who attack Americans,” Seifert said in a statement with the headline: “Seifert: No taxpayer support for pirate lovers and terrorists.”

…

Seifert said he’s researching how much money has gone to support Jamal’s group over the last few years, and so far, he has found one public safety grant for a few hundred dollars.

The pirate is currently being represented by a PUBLIC defender.  I wonder who pays for a PUBLIC defender?

Lots of stuff to share today: 

I think there is scarcely a muslim community in the US that has not been helped by Imam Siraj at one point or another.  It’s high time we give back.

Via Indigo Jo, an article on the civil war in the right wing islamophobe blogosphere.  I must have a bit of a masochistic side, because I semi-regularly browse several of the blogs mentioned.  This story gave me warm fuzzies.

Faraz Rabbani has been putting out some mashaAllah excellent podcasts.  Two new ones in the last 2 days, one on the significance of wudu, and the other on the goal of seeking sacred knowledge.

 And out of Minnesota, the war on pirates hits close to home.  The director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, Omar Jamal, is out in New Yorktrying to get a lawyer for the young pirate.  Back home, (republican) Marty Seifert isn’t too happythat someone is actually, you know, helping the wheels of justice progress.  The right to an attorney?  Pshhh, who needs an attorney?  He wants government funding to the SJAC taken away. 

See, here’s what I don’t get.  We have a system here in the US, a justice system.  You either work within it (legally) or outside of it (illegally).   If someone wants to work within the system, they’re bad and must be punished?  What exactly are we suppose to do with this accused pirate?  Turn him over to a lynch mob? 

While taking my noon walk through the skyways, I happened upon an odd site.  A man had set up shop outside one of the myriad of Caribou Coffee shops that populate the area.  He was dressed in a suit, and was typing away on his lap top while sipping from a steaming cup.  Usual enough sight, eh?  Well, this man had a giant poster board leaning against the table that said “I need a job.”  His resumes were available to take from a pouch below the sign.

I almost started crying right there in the midst of the lunch crowd.

I’m coming undone with all the bad economic news surrounding me.  663,000 jobs lost in March.  The husband’s was one of them.  There goes all the plan I had been making.  Home prices dropped 20% in January alone here in the Twin Cities.  If we had both kept our jobs, we could have bought a house by year’s end.  We could be making hajj this year.  We could start to have kids.  Could have, would have, should have….nada.

Allah (swt) is the best of planners (3:54), so whatever the plan is, it is for the best inshaAllah.  Just sometimes it’s hard to see what is best when everything is is going downhill.

*mope*

…indictments near?

Somali man’s return to Minnesota sets community abuzz

Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, said Saturday that the 22-year-old man was recruited for jihad before a change of heart led him to return in recent months. Jamal wouldn’t confirm the man’s identity, saying that he and his family fear for their safety and are in hiding. Others identified him only as Kamal.

The disappearances of perhaps a dozen young men from the Twin Cities have traumatized and divided the local Somali community.

…

Farhan (Omar) Hurre, director of the Abubakar As-Saddique mosque in south Minneapolis, said Saturday that he knows of at least 10 people within the Somali community who received subpoenas in the past two months.

…

While FBI director Mueller never said where Shirwa Ahmed was influenced, much of the focus has been on Twin Cities mosques, and Abubakar specifically.

Somalis Missing From Minn. May Have Returned

Now, as many as four of the men have returned from Somalia, and NPR’s Dina Temple Raston, who has been reporting on this story tells host Renee Montagne that sources say the men have been seen around the Somali community in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis, but now it appears they have gone underground.

“It is unclear whether they are under protective custody or whether their parents are keeping them under wraps just to keep them safe,” Raston says. The FBI initially thought that the men who returned to the U.S. were dangerous, but after interviews with two of them, investigators no longer think that is the case.

…

A grand jury has been convened, indicating the FBI has some suspects in its crosshairs, but those proceedings are secret. So far, the grand jury has brought some indictments, but there could be more, as the grand jury is still working. Details of the indictments are sealed, as is the investigation. Similar investigations have also been convened in San Diego and Boston.

Ok, also, I somehow managed to miss this story – Probing the Somali-Minneapolis Terrorist Axis – um yeah, does that title weird anyone else out?

Just the other day I was saying alhamdulilah that I live in Minnesota.  Here, we have no problem with hijab on our driver’s license, while sisters in other states like Oklahoma have faced discrimination.

Or should I say we HAD no problem.  Apparently, Steve Gottwelt, a republican state representative, has introduced a bill to bad headgear on drivers licenses.  He claims it’s to deter gang bangers from using their clothing to obscure their identity, but there’s no exception for people who cover their heads due to a religious belief.  There is an exception for people with medical conditions and ”deformities,” so why none for hijabs, turbans, kufis, kippahs and the like? 

I can’t imagine for a second that this would pass, but it does hint at an underlying anti muslim sentiment is creeping into the open.

Two muslim related stories on my NPR station here today:

 Was Bridges TV Beheading an Honor Killing?

With an excerpt from Sh. Hamza’s khutbah last Friday and a short interview with him.

Somalis worried after suicide bomber details emerge

As federal authorities continue to investigate the disappearances of a number of young Twin Cities men, some Somalis say the climate feels similar to the months following 9/11.

Mueller on Monday told the independent Council on Foreign Relations that authorities believe Ahmed, a naturalized U.S. citizen, “was radicalized in his hometown in Minnesota.”

…

Sharmarke Jama, 26, said many Somali-Americans bitterly opposed the 2006 Ethiopian invasion of their homeland. Jama, and his friend, Ramla Bile, said they heard stories about the Ethiopian troops raping Somali women and looting property. And they said it’s not surprising that some Somali-Americans were moved to action.

“But you heard it in the sense of, ‘I want to go back to Somalia and bring change,’” Jama said. “But then the suicide bombing changed the dynamics. I think it scared a lot of people. It was seen as something so anti-Somali.”

…

And now, Bile said wonders what the general public might think of Somalis in Minnesota.

While she was riding a light-rail train recently, Bile said she overheard a group of men harassing a teen-age Somali boy, telling him that his people were terrorists and that they didn’t deserve to be here.

 

 

US congressmen express shock at Gaza devastation

Ellison, a representative from Minnesota, harshly criticised restrictions on the delivery of desperately needed goods into the coastal strip that has been under a crippling Israeli blockade imposed after the Hamas takeover.

“People, innocent children, women and non-combatants, are going without water, food and sanitation, while the things they so desperately need are sitting in trucks at the border, being denied permission to go in,” he said.

“The stories about the children affected me the most,” said Ellison. “No parent, or anyone who cares for kids, can remain unmoved by what Brian and I saw here.”

Rep. Ellison heads to the Middle East

Ellison spoke with MPR News from the ruins of a high school that he said American taxpayers had helped build.

“Why would this school, the American International school get bombed?” he said. “Just thinking about these seniors and all the kids that go to this school and how we’re trying to create kids with a democratic and liberal education, and how now all those dreams have just collapsed with this building.”

Homeland Security to meet with Somali community leaders

Officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are visiting Minneapolis this week. The agency says it wants to build better relationships with the area’s Somali community, which has been shaken by the recent disappearances of young men.

Minnesota Somali Religious Leaders Welcome New Unity Government in Somalia

Somali imams and religious leaders in Minnesota fully support the process of peace, reconciliation, and unity that lead to the election of President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. Minnesota enjoys the largest number of Somalis in the nation and we add our voice to strengthen the peace process. Cognizant of the significance of this historic moment for stability, we propose the following:

1. The government and people of Somalia – inside the country and outside – must work together for peace and unity.
2. The new government and the Resistance forces must resolve the differences through peaceful negotiations, and work together for the benefit of the people.
3. The Somalis as Muslim people must desist from extending the civil war, and forgive one another.
4. The new government must work for justice and equality to achieve peace.
5. The government must apply Islamic Law as the basis of the constitution.
6. Somalis must rely on themselves in determining the future of the country to avoid foreign interference.
7. Somali scholars and intellectuals must realize the special responsibility placed upon their shoulders in determining the future of the nation.
8. The government must act quickly to provide relief the suffering of the displaced people inside and outside the country.
9. The Somali religious leaders in Minnesota are willing to play a constructive role in mediating the conflicting groups in the country, if needed.

The story that’s been playing here in Minnesota for some months has now made it to the big time – NPR.

Just hours before President Barack Obama took the oath of office, the FBI had word from overseas of a possible terrorist attack. The threat was linked to a Somali hard-line jihadist group called al-Shabab, or The Youth.

The threat came at a time when the FBI was focused on what looked like a massive recruitment effort of young men from Somali communities in the U.S. As many as two dozen of them have disappeared from Minneapolis alone in the past year.

Federal agents are worried these young men are training in Somalia and could end up returning to the U.S. to launch a terrorist attack.

The most recent disappearances happened last November, on Election Day. That’s when 17-year-old Burhan Hassan and six of his friends seemed to vanish. As the rest of the Somali community in the Twin Cities’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood were watching the election returns, the boys slipped away, boarded a plane and headed to Africa.

It’s surreal to hear places you know well talked about on the national news. The Towers?  Been there.  Minnesota Dawah Institute?  Been there too.

So now this is the question to ask – will these kids keep the fighting in Somalia, or will they bring it back to the US?  The later appears to be the FBI’s fear.

…funny, no mention of his religion.

On the 36th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, a man smashed his SUV into the entrance of the Planned Parenthood office in St. Paul this morning.

…

Several employees were in the building at the time, said Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Kathi Di Nicola. She said the SUV hit the front door of the clinic two or three times, damaging the clinic’s front door and surrounding stonework.

When Di Nicola arrived at the clinic, she said the man had gotten out of the SUV and was pacing around it, holding a crucifix and chanting. “He was agitated and he was saying, ’shut down this Auschwitz,’ ” she said.

Hmm, carrying a crucifix…I bet he was one of dem dang muzzie terrorists!

-20F/-40F windchill.

Brr.

that is all

…an epic story of cold weather, near crushing defeat and then finally triumph?  No?  Oh, too bad, you’re going to hear it anyways.

I live in an apartment. Occasionally, they’ll let us know that they’re going to plow the parking lot and our cars have to be out at 8 am. No big deal, I’ll just take the car to work instead of the bus. 6 am, and the car…won’t…start.  Not ever rev rev rev, no go.  Like seriously short “eh eh eh,” no catch at all.  And, no one around to be me a jump.

6:30 am, no one around to give me a jump, etc etc etc.

Did I mention that with the wind, it’s -35 or 40?

So I stayed home from work to plead my case with the landlady. They have the choice of a $50 fine or towing. Please just give me the fine, I begged, I’ll take my shovel and shovel around and under my car, so you can’t tell the difference. Nope, we’re going to tow. Nope, we’re going to tow. Nope, we’re going to tow. She was seriously heartless. She’s like, I have a car too, and I got it moved. Well, excuuuuuuuse me for not being able to afford a new car. I’ve already had to put $1000 worth of repairs into it last year, and I have some more work that needs to be done. arguh!

At this point, I’m a blubbering mess.  The Squeakster attempts to calm me by jumping on my lap and butting my hand to snuggle with her.  Ah well, better go watch my car get towed.  Outside.  In the artic breeze.

I called up my husband at work (who doesn’t know how to drive and doesn’t know anything about cars) and called my landlady every name in the book in between sobs.  I’m trying not to swear, the husband doesn’t like when I swear, but I was so shaken up, he didn’t even point out the string of filth I was uttering.  That helped relieve my stress a bit, but my car was still stuck. So I call my dad up at work. He suggested I try to jump it, since it was too slow to catch apparently. Now it was 8:30 and there was no one around to give me a jump.

The temperature may have crept up to -32 by now.

Ah, but there is the little corner grocery store that I’ve been avoiding since I was nearly assaulted a few months ago. The owners are muslim and like me well enough. Maybe they’ll give me a jump.

So I dash over, frozen to the bone after being in and out of the cold for the better part of 2 hours, and ask for a jump. There’s only one guy in the store and for another moment, I’m almost crying again. But, thank God, but he lets me take his car!

This is the first time I’ve jumped my car by myself, so I hook it up like my friend’s husband did last time – both clamps on the borrowed car, red one on my battery and black one on the chasse. Nothing happened.

Call my dad, crying again. He suggests I put the black one on the battery and listen for their battery to go down. Ah ha, there are sparks, it’s working.

Thank God, it starts while I’m on the phone with my dad. I just completely break down and keep mumbling thank God, thank God, thank God, which freaks my dad out, lol. I’m kind of the religious freak in the family.

Now I have another dilemma. I have 2 running cars, one that I have to return. I can’t turn off my car, otherwise it may not start again. And my purse is up in the apartment. Thankfully the very nice Russian maintenance guy happens to be walking by. I run up and ask him if he can watch my car. He doesn’t understand English very well, and thought I wanted help pushing it. Luckily through gesturing, he understands and I manage to return the car and get my stuff.

Thank God. Now I have to bake cookies for the guy at the store and the maintenance guy. Maybe I’ll make cheese cake…and buy a new battery for my car.

Via Sufi News and Sufism World Report:

“You’d believe me if I said I was from Minnesota, right?” asks Charlie Sanders, noting his appearance, at the top of his new solo show.  “But if I told you I was raised Muslim. you’d think I was kidding. ”

…
Sanders draws in the audience by recalling, with hilarious acuity, the confusion of his teenage peers in the early ’90s. Spike Lee had just made Malcolm X; when some of the African-Americans at Sanders’s school found out he was Muslim, they accused him of posing, of trying to co-opt something “black.” Then he recited a prayer in perfect Arabic, and they lionized him.

…

The piece teems with misguided characters searching for meaning.  In spite of this – or pehraps because of it – Sanders offers no message.  His disinterest in dogma might mirror a decision to leave behind the religion of his youth (he admits he’s agnostic now).

I’m disapointed by that last bit – would love to see more practicing muslims creating “halal theater.”  The husband is in theater, if only as an accountant for one, lol.  It does mean we get lots of tickets to lots of shows though

Did a little googling, and found that he’s posting as “Bacon Shakin” on an improv board.  It would be interesting to see the show, if only to try to suss out why someone raised in Islam in the same environment I’m in would leave.

As I’ve written, several young somali american men have disappeared from the Twin Cities in this last year.  Their concerned family members report that these men call them to say that they’re in Somalia, and from what can be gathered, they’re there to fight the jihad.

So what’s the problem, if they’re simply fighting for freedom in their homeland and not killing innocent people?

For starters, the fiqh of jihad.  When my husband arrived in the US, a white convert approached him in the masjid and attempted to engage him in a conversation about jihad and how he hoped he would be able to go and fight soon.   The husband was suspicious that the man was possibly an informant, trying to snag him in some kind of drag net.  He simply told the man that first he needed to learn the fiqh of jihad, and then he walked away.

The fiqh of jihad is complicated and places a lot of rules and restrictions on what a fighter can and cannot do.  There would be a lot less slaughtering of innocent civilians and a lot more noble fighting if these men actually took the time to learn what the beloved Prophet (saws) taught his companions about fighting.

These young men snuck away to fight without telling their parents, and caused them much worry and distress.  Is this what the Prophet (saws) advised?

Ab Sa’eed Khudri (ra) narrated that a person migrated to Rasulullah (saws) from Yemen. He enquired of him: “Do you have anyone in Yemen?” He replied: “Yes, my parents.” “Did they grant you permission?” he asked. He replied: “No”, upon this he said: “Return to them and seek their permission. If they agree, you may wage Jihad or else do good unto them.”[Ab Dawud]

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Amr (ra) reports that a person came to the Holy Prophet (saws) seeking permission to go for Jihad. He asked: “Are your parents alive?” “Yes”, he replied. Upon this he declared: “In them both you should make Jihad.” (Meaning that you should wage Jihad by serving them since this entails the same reward as Jihad) [Bukhari, Muslim and Tirmizi]

Mu’wiyah bin Jahimah (ra) reports that Jahimah once came to Rasulullah (saws) and said: “O Rasulullah! I intend to go into Jihad. I’ve come to you seeking your good counsel.” He asked him: “Is your mother alive.” “Yes,” he replied. Rasulullah (saws) then said: “Hold fast onto (serving) her as paradise lies near her foot.” [Ahmad, Bayhaqi, Nasaie]

Ibne Umar (ra) narrates that the Holy Prophet (saws) stated: “As a measure of good behaviour unto your parents, by you relaxing on the bed making them laugh and they making you laugh is more superior than you waging Jihad with a sword in the path of Allah azza wa Jalla.” [Kanzul - Umm'l]

Certainly, I’m no faqih, but I’m pretty certain that the parties that are recruiting these men from area masjids aren’t either, because there seems to be a pretty clear consensus among the ulema about how one should deal with their parents before partaking in jihad.

“Obeying parents is an individual obligation (fard `ayn), while Jihad (fighting in the Cause of Allah) is a collective obligation (fard kifayah). So, the former takes precedence over the latter. Hence, one is not allowed to participate in Jihad without seeking the consent of one’s parents. Consequently, parents can prevent their son from fighting, if they consider it too dangerous.

Al-Qastalani states that the majority of scholars maintain that one is not allowed to set out for Jihad if his parents or even one of them do not agree. But this is only applicable if parents are Muslims and Jihad does not become an individual obligation (fard `ayn).

Therefore, kindness and obedience to one’s parents are preferable to Jihad, for as we know, the former is an individual obligation, while the latter is a collective one, so long as there is no urgency.

For example, when `Abbas ibn Mirdas wanted to participate in Jihad, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told him – on knowing his mother to be elderly – that he was to take care of his mother, because obeying her would lead him to Paradise.

Al-Bukhari also reported in his Sahih (Authentic Collection of Hadith) that Ibn Mas`ud asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “O Allah’s Messenger! What are the best deeds?” The Prophet replied, “Performing prayer on time.” Ibn Mas`ud asked, “Then what?” The Prophet said: “Obeying one’s parents.” Ibn Mas`ud said, “Then what?” The Prophet said, “Jihad.”

Thus, we see that the Prophet made kindness and obedience to parents a priority over Jihad. It is also reported, on the authority of `Abdullah ibn `Amr ibn Al-`Aas that a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to take his permission to fight in the cause of Allah. The Prophet asked him whether his parents were alive. The man said that they were. Hence, the Prophet said: “Taking care of them equals Jihad.”

Moreover, it is reported in the Authentic Books of Hadith, on the authority of Zayd ibn Khalid, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever provides a fighter in the Cause of Allah with the necessary equipment for Jihad gains the same reward equal to that of the fighter.”

‘Providing for a fighter in the Cause of Allah’ means supporting him whether financially or physically. So, the Prophet stated that such a person receives the same reward as the fighter, even though he is not actually involved in fighting. This is because without such support one can not afford Jihad.”

Terror suspect’s case drags on 5 years after arrest in Minneapolis

On a cold December morning five years ago, FBI agents knocked on the door of a basement apartment in northeast Minneapolis, and Mohamed Abdullah Warsame answered.

He let the agents in to talk, and later they took him to another location to talk more. He hasn’t been home since.

For five years, Warsame, now 35, has been awaiting trial on charges that he provided material support to Al-Qaida. A Canadian citizen of Somali descent, he has done most of the waiting alone in a jail cell, under special restrictions that limit his contact with the outside world.

…

Warsame’s case may be cited as the debate rages about what to do with detainees if Guantanamo closes, said Robert Chesney, a Wake Forest University professor who compiled the data on 108 defendants. Warsame’s is the longest pretrial detention of the post-9/11 terrorism prosecutions that Chesney has found.

…

Warsame, who was a student at Minneapolis Community and Technical College at the time of his arrest, is charged with lying to federal agents about traveling to Afghanistan in 2000 and later sending $2,000 to an associate he met at a training camp there. Authorities contend Warsame once dined next to Osama bin Laden and fought on the front lines with the Taliban.

The U.S. attorney’s office, which is prosecuting the case, declined to comment.

A defense attorney said early in the case that Warsame was searching for a Muslim utopia and went to training camps because he was out of money and needed shelter. The attorney said someone had lent Warsame money to get back to North America and the money he sent was repayment.

It is cold.

That is all.

…why do I continue to live here?  I pulled into a parking space outside my apartment today and the people in the van next to my car shot me looks of death when I went around to the passenger’s side to get my grocery bags.  Oops, I interrupted a drug deal.

This July when our lease expires, we’re out of here inshaAllah.

…see, I told you I’m no good at sticking with things!  Too many things that I read/hear and I think, ah, gotta blog about that!

Congressman Ellison makes his pilgrimage to Mecca
Rep. Ellison completes “hajj” pilgrimage to Mecca

“It was transformative. It was a wonderful experience,” Ellison said in a telephone interview today. “I learned a lot about myself, about my faith.”

He said that word soon got around that he was a congressman — some people had recognized him from TV — and he wound up talking to groups of 60 or 70 people.

“I didn’t want to turn it into a politics thing,” he said. “I was trying to play it low. I really wasn’t trying to play the role of the public official.”

Ellison said he talked to the groups about “the importance of calling on your spiritual journey, and that whether you’re a postman or businessman or a congressman, we all need to do what we do better. With more purpose and more focus, and a greater sense of serving humanity and looking out for the poor and stuff like that.”

Ellison says he was struck by the diversity of the people who made the journey, seeing people from many different parts of the world.

“You had people of all backgrounds, all races, all descriptions,” he said. “You had people there who were clearly well-to-do, you had people who were desperately poor,” but everyone was “kind of the same.”

People were encouraged about the role the U.S. will play under President-elect Barack Obama, Ellison said. The fact that Obama’s middle name is Hussein and he had a Muslim father came up in conversation.

“People think that the (incoming) president might have a higher level of sensitivity,” Ellison said.

The comments on the articles are typical, expected and sadly amusing. 

This American Life – Act One. You Gotta Ask Yourself One Question: Do You Feel Clucky? Well…Do ya, Punk? 

Still available for a free download, so get it while it lasts!  I listened to this via podcast over Thanksgiving.  Amusing story about a taweez and a chicken in Afghanistan.

Egyptian Students Explore America In ‘Chicago’

Former Egyptian presidential candidate Alaa Al Aswany is a journalist and the Arab world’s best-selling fiction writer. He makes his living as a dentist in Cairo, which affords him an intimate look at the everyday lives of Egyptians — who often inspire his works.

His latest book, Chicago: A Novel, follows several recent Egyptian emigres as they study at the University of Illinois and their professors, who emigrated to the U.S. decades earlier.

Al Aswany says he drew from his own experiences as a student at the University of Illinois in the 1980s. And he tells Weekend Edition host Liane Hansen that the experience had a big impact.

“I learned something very important in my life in America … what I call the know-how of success. How do you become a successful person?” Al Aswany says he took this knowledge back to Egypt and applied it to his writing.

Holiday Cow shopping in Kabul

Finding A Connection To Judaism During the Eid

The Chabad center they led is about a mile from my grandmother’s apartment in Mumbai. That is where I learned what it means to be a Muslim.

I traveled to India 10 years ago with my friend Kevin, a Jew. My grandmother treated him like family from the moment he walked in the door. Every morning, she would call for Kevin to come into her room. She would hold his head in her lap and whisper Arabic prayers over him, asking God to keep him safe, to guide him on the straight path, to help him be a mercy upon the world.

When she saw Kevin’s books on Judaism, she could hardly contain her excitement. “He is ‘Ahl al kitab,’ ” she would say — meaning he was part of the Abrahamic tradition, a son of the patriarch. My grandmother knew there was a Jewish community in Mumbai and ordered my cousin to track it down so Kevin could have Shabbat dinner. That’s when I first learned there were Jews in India.

My grandmother told us a story about the Prophet Muhammad. A funeral caravan passed him one day, and he was told that it carried the body of a Jew. The prophet stood up to show his respect.

I’m temporarily emerging from my self imposed hiatus to comment on local news that’s become international.  The curious case of the disapearing Minnesota Somalis has made it big time.  It was even on CNN arabic, according to my husband.

I went to the Minnesota Dawah Center, one of the masjids being investigated, on Friday night for an eid get together.  It was rather nice.  We played trivia (I won a hat) and we had somali food for a late dinner.  The only talk while I was there was about teenagers and keeping them engaged with Islam. 

It does appear the masjid is being harassed by local authorities.  An inspector came out this week and found that the sprinkler system was deficient, and that they have to make $20,000 in improvements on it by the end of the year, or risk being condemned.  Granted, the sprinkler system probably does need improvements, but the timing is suspect.  This masjid has been in place for probably 2 years, and it’s being worked on and improved every time I’ve been there.  To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time they’ve received a letter threatening condemnation.

So now the question is – donate money to a group that is possibly being investigated, or let the mosque close?  In general, it does good things for the community – it provides a place for young muslims to come and hang out, it educates people, and has social events to keep kids out of trouble.  But then there’s the suspicion of terrorism hanging over head.

*sigh*

from MPR:

 St. Paul, Minn. — Khalifo Shali said she has heard the talk that her 21-year-old son joined the insurgents in his homeland.

While it is true Abdul Mohamud left St. Paul for Somalia last month, Shali said he went for medical reasons — not to become a terrorist.

“My son is sick. He [will go] on a little vacation and maybe visit his family.”

Shali said her son has struggled with bipolar disorder for years. With his doctor’s blessing, she sent him to back his homeland for three months to visit relatives and seek traditional medicine.

Her husband, Dahir Guled, said rumors are feeding rumors in the Somali community about the missing men. And he’s worried the allegations will forever damage his stepson’s name, and maybe those of others who have gone back to their homeland for other reasons.

“People making allegations are a disease, actually. They spread rumors without proof,” Guled said.

Their son attended a storefront mosque called Islamic Da’wah Center. Monday, on the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, worshippers said their prayers on a red carpet along rows marked by masking tape.

The mosque leader, Imam Hassan Mohamud, said the reports of missing men have put a cloud over the holiday. He had to postpone a big feast because he was busy answering calls and talking to other imams about the issue.

“They disrupted our Eid. People are living in fear instead of happiness.”

Mohamud has even heard of others accusing his mosque of recruiting and training men to fight overseas. He said that claim may have affected yesterday’s fund-raising for the mosque, on a traditional day of giving.

Didn’t hear anything about this at the immigrant and african american dominated masjids that I’ve attended recently.  The husband says that he’s heard some people who’ve heard people say that minnesota somalis should go back to Somalia, without right out saying they should go to fight.

I think they’re talking about the Minnesota Dawah Center.  I’ve been there a few times, most recently for Laylat al Qadr.  They always have very tasty food, but unfortunately, the women’s section is usually full of chatter, and I can never hear the program. 

More recent news coverage:

• Somali Leaders Concerned for Families Missing - MPR
• Families of Somalis missing from Minnesota Speak Out - MPR
• Missing Somalis’ Families speak out, fear their kin have been brainwashed - Pioneer Press
• Holy War Rumors worry local Somalis - Pioneer Press

Somalis’ Holy Trip Ends at Airport

Sheikh Abdirahman Ahmed of Abubakar As-Saddique, a large mosque in the Cedar-Riverside area of Minneapolis, and the mosque’s youth coordinator, who did not want to give his name, were not allowed to board a flight at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, but were not told why. The youth coordinator said others in a group that planned to make the trip — a hajj, or spiritual pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina– also were not allowed to board, but he did not know how many people were involved.

Mahir Sherif, a California attorney who represents Abubakar as well as other Somali mosques across the country, said there are many possible reasons why the men are on the federal Transportation Security Administration’s “no fly” list, which as of mid-August contained about 50,000 names. But he suspects that the reasons are linked to stories circulating in the Somali community that the mosque has been used to indoctrinate and train young men to return to Somalia — stories that Sherif strongly denied Sunday.

I haven’t been to this masjid and only heard rumors in passing about a Minnesota Somali returning to Somalia to become a suicide bomber.  

Earlier this year, my sister ate at a restuarant that was attacked in Mumbai last week.  In 2005, a hotel my husband was considering working for in Sharm el Sheikh was bombed.  It’s frightening when these international events hit close to home, and unfortunately, this is another such incident.

Want to follow the story?  Don’t get your news recycled in the national media, hashed and rehashed by pundits.  Go straight to the best local news coverage in the state – Minnesota Public Radio.

206 votes people.  206 out of 2,885,502 votes cast.  2 0 6.  .007%.  Don’t ever say your vote doesn’t matter.

Minneapolis Somali community facing dark web of murders

At first, Asha had not wanted Ahmednur to volunteer at Brian Coyle. There had been stabbings and shootings in the neighborhood, and Asha feared for his safety. But Asha’s husband, Ahmed Ali Ulusow, a respected elder of the Twin Cities Somali community, thought his son should serve his people. Ahmednur had big ambitions: to work for the United Nations, and, ultimately, to become president of Somalia. He’d even set up a Facebook group for his campaign. “Somalia will be ruled by me in the upcoming years, so I might as well start campaigning now,” he wrote on the group page. He promised to reunite the country and rid it of “qabil minds,” a reference to the clan warfare that catapulted Somalia into civil war in 1991 and continues to tear it apart today. “Islam means peace,” wrote Ahmednur, “and peace we will live in.”

At Brian Coyle that day, Ahmednur helped the other kids finish their homework in the computer lab. As he was supervising little kids in the gym, 16-year-old Ramadan Abdi Shiekhosman came in, wanting to play basketball. Ahmednur told him to come back later, when the younger kids finished. Shiekhosman allegedly got angry, shoved him, and left.

At 5 p.m., Ahmednur finished his job at Brian Coyle for the day and walked into the sunny parking lot. According to the charges against him, Shiekhosman confronted Ahmednur, pulled out a dark-colored handgun, and struck him over the head. The young gunman fired one shot into the back of Ahmednur’s head and then ran away.

(MINNEAPOLIS, MN 11/13/08) ­ On November 14, 2008, the Abuubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center will host a community forum called “Threats to Our Youth: Gangs, Drugs, Homicides, Dropping Out” to address recent incidents in the Somali community.

WHEN: Friday, November 14, 2008, 6 p.m.
SPEAKERS: Representatives from Abu Bakr Islamic Center, Abu Bakr Islamic Center youth program, CAIR-MN, Dar ul Hijrah Islamic Center, and Minneapolis Police.
LOCATION: Abuubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center, 2824 13th Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55407

May Allah (swt) bless and protect these people as they work to confront the troubles facing our community.  Amin.

Exciting time in Minnesota, doncha know!  I neglected to see Barack when he’s been in the Cities.  The last time, the line was over a mile long by the time I got to downtown Saint Paul, and it looked like it was going to rain.  Um yeah, asthma aggrivation to the max.  kthxby.

Looks like I have a last chance to revel in a large political gathering.  Wouldn’tcha know, I work like 3 blocks from here.  From the Franken campaign email:

President Bill Clinton is coming to Minnesota for Al Franken, the Obama campaign, and the rest of the Democratic ticket Thursday evening and we’d love for all of you to be there.
This is a huge opportunity to hear from the last great President of this country – someone who understood that real economic prosperity doesn’t trickle down from Wall Street and the wealthy, it’s built with American jobs and tax cuts for the middle class. It’s also a great chance to get fired up for the BIGGEST GOTV EFFORT IN MINNESOTA HISTORY!

Here are the details:
WHAT:Rally to Get Out The Vote with Former President Bill Clinton, Al Franken, and the Obama campaign
WHEN:THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30 — doors open at 7:00 pm, rally begins at 7:30 pm
WHERE:Minneapolis Convention Center, Hall A
(Parking available across the street)

This will be a FREE event — and if you’d like to come, all you have to do is RSVP!
JOIN PRESIDENT CLINTON, AL FRANKEN, & THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN – CLICK HERE TO RSVP!

In other news, I have next Tuesday morning off to vote

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 I'm sorry Hollywood, why should I care what you have to say about the senate seat in my state?  Are you residents of Minnesota?  When did you last visit?  Do you have any business interests here?   When was the last time you had hot dish or ate a deep fried pickle off a stick?Please bugger off.

Looks like this is becoming a weekly thing.  I think I’m going to change the name of it though – ah minnesota, doncha know.

Judge’s Email Raises Questions

Hennepin County District Judge and Minnesota Supreme Court candidate Deborah Hedlund received an e-mail Monday with the subject line, “Can Muslims Be Good Americans?”

The e-mail came to Hedlund and several other people from Matt Look, owner of Ramsey-based Look Signs, with whom Hedlund was negotiating for some lawn signs.

…

In her reply message to Look — which she inadvertently sent to all original recipients — Hedlund wrote: “Matt, We speak the same language. And I still need to let voters know they have a choice to ‘Seek Justice, Vote For Experience’ for the Minnesota Supreme Court.”

She goes on to discuss negotiations for the signs she wants him to make.

Hedlund said Tuesday that she did not read the message about Muslims and that her comment about speaking “the same language” referred to the fact that she believed she and Look had a deal on the signs.

*Looks around for rolling eyes smilie*

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"I know him, he's an arab."

"No ma'am, he's a decent family man, citizen..."

So if one is an arab, he's not a family man? Arabs aren't decent people?

McCain Volunteer Sends Out "Obama is an Arab" Letters

Quinnell: I still do. Yeah. I’m not alone. I go to Burnsville, the main Republican headquarters and I do a lot of work over there. A lot of sending out mail and talking to people. And all the people agree with what I’m saying to you about Obama.

...

Quinnell: Yeah , but he’s still got Muslim in him. So that’s still part of him. I got all the stuff from the library and I could send you all kinds of stuff on him. In fact….Bush: What did you think about McCain said. He said he’s a decent person.Quinnell: Well he did have didn’t have (unintelligible) I think McCain wanted to (unintelligible) I don’t think he wanted to say anything against him. You know he didn’t want to cut him down. That was my way of thinking. I don’t think he wanted to cut him down. So he just kind of brushed me off.

In Lakeville, McCain tamps down hostility

McCain found himself in the odd and uncomfortable position of defending an opponent who is pulling away in many polls at the end of a week when he and running mate Sarah Palin stepped up their own attacks against Obama — often inspiring outbursts at raucous rallies, complete with cries of “terrorist” and “off with his head.”

The Minnesota gathering lacked that kind of harshness [rahma adds: ah, good ol Minnesota nice. We'll smile in your face, but stab you in the back], but sustained booing greeted many of McCain’s attempts to discourage the crowd’s fear and anger. Of the 21 questions posed to McCain during 45 minutes of give-and-take, one-third challenged him to take on Obama more aggressively, with a few making incendiary comments.

This is why I’m not moving to the suburbs. Yes, it would be nice to have a big yard, a newer house, etc etc etc. But this kind of thinking is rampent out there. Nope, instead I think I’ll stick to the Twin Cities proper, preferably in the 5th congressional district represented by Keith Ellison.

Muslim Rep. Ellison preaches peace, democracy, here and abroad

Minnesota is home to a fair number of African immigrants, so Ellison’s work on Africa is local as well as international. This year, he hosted a forum in Minnesota on the Horn of Africa, with the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Africa subcommittee, New Jersey Democrat Donald Payne.

“We had these immigrant communities from Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Kenya voice how they felt about U.S. policy toward the Horn of Africa,” Ellison said. “It was a tough meeting, because everybody wanted to be heard. You had people with long-standing grievances, really just wanting to be heard by people who represent them.”

At one point, someone said he supported the Ethiopian presence in Somalia — “a minority view,” Ellison noted.

“And people began to shout him down. I then stood up and said, ‘Everyone gets to say what they think here, and we’ll listen.”‘

I was at the forum. He handled it very well.

Ellison accompanied local Muslims for Islamic prayers in Mauritania and Kenya, and in Saudi Arabia, the king invited him to go on the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

That’s one trip that Ellison plans to do as a private citizen — not as a guest of the king, but “on my own nickel.”

Ellison said he gets plenty of invitations to go on congressional trips, but as for the rest of this year, “The only place I really hope to go is Mecca.”

May Allah (swt) make the trip easy and accept his hajj, ameen.

…what can I say? While we’re known for Minnesota Nice, the husband has commented how people are often nice and hospitable to one’s face, but they’ll stab you in the back as soon as you can turn around.

Old Country Buffet’s Hiring Practices Under Fire

A civil liberties group for Muslims on Friday called upon the Eagan-based company that owns Old Country Buffet to investigate an incident involving a girl who says she was denied a summer restaurant job because of her religious headscarf.

The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is asking Buffets Inc. to investigate the incident, offer a written apology and participate in the group’s workplace sensitivity and diversity training.

H. Thomas Mitchell, an executive vice president for privately held Buffets, which owns and operates more than 550 restaurants across the country, said he couldn’t comment on the specific allegations. “We are diligently investigating it,” he said.

“We are an equal opportunity employer and frankly view ourselves as a strong anchor in the diverse communities we are frequently in,” he added.

An even scarier thing – the 344 346 353 comments at the time of this posting. *shudders* It’s so nice to know how some people really feel when they see a woman in hijab. Very few of the commenters seem to be aware of the actual law on the matter:

• Employers must reasonably accommodate employees’ sincerely held religious practices unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer. A reasonable religious accommodation is any adjustment to the work environment that will allow the employee to practice his religion. An employer might accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs or practices by allowing: flexible scheduling, voluntary substitutions or swaps, job reassignments and lateral transfers, modification of grooming requirements and other workplace practices, policies and/or procedures.
• An employer is not required to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs and practices if doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employers’ legitimate business interests. An employer can show undue hardship if accommodating an employee’s religious practices requires more than ordinary administrative costs, diminishes efficiency in other jobs, infringes on other employees’ job rights or benefits, impairs workplace safety, causes co-workers to carry the accommodated employee’s share of potentially hazardous or burdensome work, or if the proposed accommodation conflicts with another law or regulation.
• Employers must permit employees to engage in religious expression, unless the religious expression would impose an undue hardship on the employer. Generally, an employer may not place more restrictions on religious expression than on other forms of expression that have a comparable effect on workplace efficiency.

Please tell me, Mr. Old Country Buffet manager, how is a cashier wearing a headscarf creating an undue hardship on your business? Unless you’re saying your clientele are bigots, in which case, I could see how they’d be offended at the mere sight of a woman covering her hair working and earning a living…

I should note that we ate at Old Country Buffet once prior to our going zabiha, and there was a woman who wore hijab who refilled the food on the buffet. This leads me to believe that this is an isolated incident. The bigotry in the comments section, sadly, is not.

I recently commented on on a post by Izzy Mo about how often Minnesota Muslims are in the news. From the way the news covers it and the right wing blogosphere hypes it, sharia is creeping hard and fast here in the upper midwest. Of course, I laff in the face of these allegations. Life here is virtually indistinguishable from the small midwestern town I grew up in, except that there are a few more women walking around in khimar here, and there are plenty of places to buy halal meat.

That being said, there are issues, and we shouldn’t shrink from addressing them. In fact, on my way to work this morning, I was plotting a blog entry in response to this deplorable incident. Sure, muzzies in general aren’t fond of dogs. But Islam allows us to keep them when they’re working animals, and a dog specially trained to help a man in case of siezures definately fits the bill.

Alhamdulilah, I didn’t have to go on a tirade against the local community’s innaction. CAIR-MN beat me to the punch.

However, “the moral and legal need to accommodate individuals using service dogs far outweighs the discomfort an individual Muslim might feel about coming into contact with a dog, which is one of God’s creatures,” said CAIR-MN Communications Director Valerie Shirley.

There’s some serious need for education on certain issues in our community. Guide dogs is one. Not making a huge watery mess in the bathroom after wudu is another. I’ve been making wudu in public restrooms for 6 years now, and I’ve never left a puddle. Maybe this is something Imam Zaid can adress when he comes this weekend?

OMG OMG OMGosh!ÂMinnesota Public Radio hat tipped me! I’m dying here.  Sadly, i wish it were for a better reason.

One of the leaders of the Minnesota Muslim community passed away this last weekend in a car crash in Saudi Arabia. inna lillahi wa inn ilayhi raji’oon.  May Allah (swt) help his family through this most difficult time.