Voter Education Workshop

There is one last opportunity this Sunday to learn about where the candidates stand on the issues that are important to the Muslim community by panel of thought leaders. Educate yourself and exercise your power to vote on Tuesday, Nov 2nd!

When:

• Sun Oct 31,2010, 10am-1pm

Where:

• Islamic Foundation
• 300 W. High Ridge, Villa Park, IL 60181

Issues:

• Economy; Health Care Reform; Immigration; War on Terror; Ground Zero Mosque.

Panelists:

• State Rep. Paul Froehlich, Dist 56
• Laura Leon, Coalition for Better Health Care (www.cbhconline.org)
• Abdul Malik Mujahid, World Parliament for Religions (www.parliamentofreligions.org)
• Fred Tsao, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights (www.icirr.org)
• Kamran Memon Esq.,, Muslims for a Safe America (www.muslimsforasafeamerica.org)

Moderator:

• Ali Ahmed, MD. PhD.

Vote NO for Islamophobes

(from brother-in-law)

On November 5, 2005, during a Q&A segment at Northwestern University, Mark Kirk stated: “I’m okay with discrimination against young Arab males from terrorist-producing states. I’m okay with that.”

He didn’t  stop there: .  . “I think that when we look at the threat that’s out there, young men between, say, the ages of 18 and 25 from a couple of countries, I believe a certain amount of intense scrutiny should be placed on them.”

This statement was wrong in two ways. One, it was racist. Two, profiling doesn’t catch terrorists — Vincent Cannistano, the former head of counterterrorism at the CIA said, “I can’t think of any examples where profiling has caught a terrorist.” ( Statement of Rep. Jan Schakowsky Regarding Rep. Mark Kirk’s Comments )

The pollsters say this election is very close. Literally, a few hundred votes could sway this race. There are many Muslims in DuPage county, a traditionally republican stronghold. A good turnout in this non-Presidential election could mean that there will be one less Islamophobic bigot in the US Senate next year.

These are the worst economic times since the Great Depression, Mark Kirk voted against the stimulus package that helped create desperately needed jobs, and cut taxes for the middle class. Yet he voted YES for TARP — the law that bailed out very large banks with 700 billion dollars. Even worse, despite all their shenanigans, Kirk voted NO on regulating the subprime mortgage industry ( Reference: Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act; Bill HR3915 ; vote number 2007-1118 on Nov 15, 2007 )

Mark Kirk is dangerous to Muslims. He is dangerous to the American Dream. This is a tight race so every vote counts. Call, email, twitter, and facebook your family and friends. We can’t let our next Senator be an Islamophobe.

5 reasons to financially support Russ Feingold in Wisconsin

From my brother-in-law:

Russ Feingold is an excellent senator who is very supportive of civil rights, against unnecessary wars, and a tough fighter for the rights of voters and the poor. He is currently in a tough election fight against a millionaire (who would be the senate’s 70th millionairre if he wins)

Here are just five highlights from his many accomplishments:

1) Despite being in a very tough election, with 70% of Americans against his position, Russ Feingold bravely spoke up for the rights of Muslims to build a mosque anywhere and wherever they please.

2) He was the ONLY Senator to vote against the USA PATRIOT Act during its first vote. All your liberal “lions” lost their brains in the months after 911 (the vote took place Oct 23rd, lighting speed by senate standards). . . .the embers of WTC were still orange. He is one of the best advocates for civil liberties in the Senate.

3) Feingold was one of 28 US senators to vote against H.J. Resolution 114, which authorized President George W. Bush to use force against Iraq in 2002.[29]

4) Russ Feingold was a major force behind campaign finance reform. His efforts limited how much wealthy people could donate to federal races.

5) Russ Feingold has consistently advocated for the poor, including apposing NAFTA, increasing the minimum wage, access to healthcare for the impoverished

Russ Feingold’s courage and determination to do the right thing — even while representing a somewhat conservative largely rural state — should be an inspiration to Muslim Americans. That his positions on the issues largely mirror the positions that Muslims have is just an added bonus.

Please donate to Russ Feingold’s campaign directly —–> https://secure3.convio.net/fsc10/site/Donation2?df_id=1520&1520.donation=form1

If you have already given your maximum donation, please consider donating to Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur — someone who has similarly advocated for Democratic values. Ms. Kaptur was one of the few members of congress who bravely stood up to criticize Israel for it’s atrocities in Gaza. Donate to Ms. Kaptur right here –> http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/12825

Inspirational Kids

Email to my fellow teachers at IFSS:

I am constantly amazed at the intelligence and creativity of some young children. Many people think that kids are too young to make a difference. However, there are several examples of kids who discover their element and accomplish extraordinary things, by the will of Allah. As a teacher, I would like to inspire kids by giving them examples of kids their age who dream and work hard to make it a reality. I’ve started creating a list of a few young achievers, both Muslim and non-Muslim, that came to my mind on our wiki. I am certain there are many more and I encourage others to add to the list and spend a minute or two to briefly mention in class as you see fit.

http://ifss.pbworks.com/Inspirational-Kids

Part of the inspiration for this post was from an excellent book by Sir Ken Robinson. I was first introduced to this talented speaker through one of my favorite TED talks titled “Do schools kill creativity?”