CAIR holds civil rights townhall amid concerns

DETROIT — The Council on American Islamic Relations held a meeting on Friday, June 12 to discuss several issues in the Muslim community. These included airport profiling, FBI informants and citizenship processing delays.

CAIR-Michigan Director Dawud Walid, L, and CAIR national Director Nihad Awad. PHOTO: Jessica Barrow/TAAN

According to CAIR-Michigan Director Dawud Walid, the meeting was necessary due to an increasing level of concern in the community over the past few weeks. National CAIR Director and co-founder Nihad Awad gave opening remarks at the town meeting, saying that the burden of enduring and fighting injustice serves a purpose for the future.
“Sometimes we are abused, not represented, excluded and alienated… That is an important aspect for us to deal with,” said Awad. “But I would like to remind myself and all of you, we are here to serve and live as Muslims. We don’t live only for ourselves and ask for our rights, but also for our responsibilities.”

He encouraged the audience to take a pocket-sized version of the booklet “Know Your Rights.” According to Awad, the booklet gives information about rights and responsibilities as residents in America. The book is for both citizens and permanent residents and describes what to do in certain situations, including when being treated unjustly.

The meeting included a history of relations between the government and organizations, which was given by Irshad Ofheimer, a professor of criminal justice at Wayne State University. Several representatives from government entities, including the governor’s office, were present and listened to the concerns of the community.

Many still unprepared for digital television

The nationwide switch to digital television took place on Friday, June 12.

As of that date, television stations stopped analog broadcasts and now only transmit digital signals.

As many as, two percent of Detroit households were not ready for the DTV switch and can still receive help in transitioning. 

The new digital transmission is expected to provide better sound, picture and more channels and programs. According to the Federal Communications Commission, the switch will also clear airwaves for better first-responder radio service and also provide air-waves for mobile Internet service.

For coupons for converter boxes, consumers can call 1.800.CALL.FCC. Only about 600,000 coupons have been redeemed at this time, and they are available up to July 31. They can also receive help with installing the boxes by visiting www.dtvhelp.installs.com or calling 1.866.202.4596.

If consumers have questions or need help, they can request a DTV Media Toolkit online at www.dtv.gov/media_toolkit.html. This tool kit contains information about the transition, including local statistics and reception information, answers to frequently asked questions, media contacts and other important resources.

Christian group files federal lawsuit over restrictions at Arab festival

DEARBORN –A federal lawsuit filed by a Christian group that wants to convert Muslims at the Arab International Festival claims that the city violated its rights by restricting access.

The suit was filed Tuesday by Arabic Christian Perspective in U.S. District Court in response to plans to confine group members to one area during this weekend’s 14th annual festival, according to The Detroit News.

The California-based group wants to distribute literature promoting Christianity over Islam throughout the festival area, which covers about four blocks. The group claims restricting members to one area violates religious and free speech rights, the newspaper said.

Richard Thompson, one of the group’s attorneys, said its members have passed out literature at the festival the past five years.

“It’s clear that there has never been any disruptive behavior,” Thompson told the News. “These are people who are peaceful evangelists.”

Fay Beydoun, executive director for the American Arab Chamber of Commerce in Dearborn, one of the groups organizing the event, said the group had not contacted her, and that both Christian and Muslim groups have booths at the festival.

Dearborn police were unable to comment on the issue as of Thursday night but Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly said in the Detroit Free Press the group was restricted because of crowd control issues and that the topic of the lawsuit hadn’t come up in recent weeks while working with the group.

Arab American among Senators’ federal office recommendations

U.S. Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow on Tuesday announced their recommendations to fill vacancies in U.S. District Court, the U.S. Attorney’s office and U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Michigan, and for U.S. Attorney and U.S. Marshal in the Western District.

The names will go to President Barack Obama, who nominates federal prosecutors, judges and marshals, subject to confirmation by the Senate.

Judge David Allen

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge David Allen, who is Arab American, is being recommended to the federal court bench.
The senators also recommended Oakland County Judge Mark Goldsmith to the federal bench, and Barbara McQuade, an assistant U.S. attorney in Detroit, as the next U.S. attorney.

Michigan lottery chief M. Scott Bowen is being recommended as the next federal prosecutor for western Michigan and Michigan State Police director Peter Munoz is being recommended as the next U.S. marshal in Grand Rapids.

“The final decision regarding the nominations of these candidates for Senate consideration lies with President Obama,” Stabenow said. “We look forward to working with him to fill these important positions as soon as possible.”

National

DOJ sues prison for woman fired for hijab

WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on June 8 against Essex County, N.J. for alleged discrimination against Yvette Beshier, a Muslim corrections officer.

According to the Department of Justice, the county violated part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it refused to allow Beshier to wear a khimar, a religiously mandated headscarf, while working.

According to her complaint, Beshier requested religious accommodation, but the Department of Corrections denied her request. Beshier was then suspended and later terminated on the grounds that her khimar violated the uniform policy. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act requires that employers make reasonable accommodation of employees’ religious observances and practices.

“Employees should not have to choose between their religious beliefs and their economic livelihood,” said Loretta King, acting assistant attorney for the Justice Department’s civil rights division.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Newark and seeks a court order requiring Essex County to reasonably accommodate religious observances and practices of employees subject to the Department of Corrections uniform policy. The suit also seeks monetary damages and more for Beshier.

Iraqi refugee artists featured in New York gallery

NEW YORK — “Artists in Exile: Iraqi Refugees in Damascus,” will open on June 20, at the Second Presbyterian Church, 96th Street and Central Park West, New York City, and continue for three weeks until July 11.

The show features artists who have fled from the war in Iraq and are now living in Syria.

The exhibit is sponsored by Common Humanity, a New York-based organization which seeks to build more understanding of and respect for the Arab and Muslim worlds. The exhibit also seeks to raise awareness of the plight of some four million Iraqi refugees and displaced persons within Iraq.

It is based upon a show held earlier this spring in Damascus which was organized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The majority of the roughly 20 paintings are by Iraqi refugees who studied art and gained professional recognition in their homeland until violence forced them to flee across the desert to Syria. They are part of some 1.5 million Iraqi refugees who have been allowed to remain in safety in Syria but for whom few resources exist; they eke out a marginal existence.

The Exhibit opens on Saturday, June 20, which is World Refugee Day. A brief opening ceremony will take place at 11 a.m on June 20. The show will run until July 11 Tuesdays through Fridays from 5-9 p.m. but will be closed July 4.

Mel Lehman, Director of Common Humanity who traveled to Damascus to obtain the paintings, said “Visitors to this exhibit will get a rare chance to see something of the heart and soul of several of the 1.5 million Iraqi refugees in Syria who have been largely forgotten by us. This exhibit presents a unique opportunity to see Middle East artists who were influenced both by their study of modern Western art in school and also by the U.S. invasion of their homeland.”

Paintings will be on sale by silent auction. The paintings have already been purchased from the refugees and any profits from the sale of the paintings will be returned to the refugees. For more information: www.CommonHumanity.org or e-mail ML9612921@aol.com.

Dingell honored with special tributes

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., said he was honored and pleased with four special tributes this week, each recognizing his dedication to important concerns of his during his 53-year career.

Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce Henry Waxman announced that the landmark health care reform bill, of which Dingell will be the lead sponsor, will also bear his name.
“I like to think this is also a tribute to my dad, who worked for two decades on this issue, and actually predicted back in the 1930s that we’d see the problems we have if we failed to establish a system that provides quality, affordable health care for all,” Dingell said. “I want to thank the Speaker and Chairman Waxman, who has been a friend and a partner in this cause for many, many years. I am committed to fulfilling President Obama’s request – get a bill on his desk to sign by October 1.”

The Congressman has also received a lifetime achievement award from The National Energy Resources Organization (NERO). The Congressman was honored for his outstanding service on energy issues.

Additionally, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan Committee, an international body that provides leadership on waterfowl conservation and management issues, honored the congressman with its International Canvasback award.

Dingell received the award during a meeting of the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, a commission the Congressman has served on for nearly 40 years. According to a press release from U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the Plan Committee recognized the Congressman’s “leadership in efforts to pass landmark legislation such as the National Wildlife Refuge Administration Act and the Clean Water Act.

He is also a founding member of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus and Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus.

Dingell was the catalyst for the creation of the first wildlife refuge that spanned national borders – the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. He was nominated for the award by Ducks Unlimited, Inc., a major international wetlands and waterfowl conservation organization.

“For me, this work protecting our planet is truly a labor of love. Conservationists have been some of my best friends in my Congressional career,” Dingell said. “Of course the greatest reward of all is seeing our land; our water and our air get the protections they deserve.”