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UPCOMING EVENTS
September 18: Community: Sharing Ramadan Iftar (Pittsburgh)
September 21: Interfaith: Interfaith Observance of the International Day of Peace
All Upcoming Events »
ACTION ALERT: Attend Court Hearing in Phila Police Hijab Case
(Philadelphia, PA 9/2/08) – The Philadelphia Police Department currently prohibits Muslimahs on the force from wearing hijabs. One courageous sister is fighting this unjust prohibition and needs your support. On Tuesday September 9th, oral arguments in her lawsuit will be heard before a federal appeals court in Philadelphia.
ACTION REQUESTED: CAIR-PA is asking all those who are able to show your support by attending the hearing, which is open to the public. A strong Muslim presence is sure to make an impression on the judges. Continue Reading...
ACTION ALERT: Write Letters in Support of Mr. Erich Scherfen
(Philadelphia, PA 9/2/08) – The Philadelphia Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-PA) is calling on Pennsylvania Muslims and other people of conscience to write letters in support of Eric Scherfen, an airline pilot who was recently threatened with termination because his name mysteriously appeared on a government “watch list”.
Mr. Scherfen, an American convert to Islam, former Army helicopter pilot and Gulf War veteran was first suspended without pay from his position in June because the Transportation Security Administration informed his employer he was on a watch list. Mr. Scherfen was due to be fired on October 1 should his name remain on the list. Continue Reading...
Ramadan Health Guide
Health is the key to happiness, and what we consume directly affects our health. Islam encourages Muslims to ensure that they are mindful of their health. The blessed Prophet said: “Take advantage of the good health before illnesses afflict you”. He also encouraged Muslims to try their best to take up a healthy living lifestyle that includes a balanced diet, regular mental and physical exercise and a balance between material and spiritual needs.
This booklet is aimed at helping you understand the health issues related to fasting, so that you are able to make more informed choices, minimize complications and maximize the benefit of your fast. The booklet will: guide you through physiological changes that occur when you are fasting; give examples of beneficial and harmful foods during fasting; discuss potential medical problems and remedies; suggest a diet plan; and respond to the most frequently asked questions about fasting in general and medical issues in particular. The booklet also contains a section for doctors and medical professionals, to enable them to provide more informed services.
The booklet has been put together by medical experts, Islamic scholars and researchers, who have stayed within the spirit of Islam, while ensuring the medical advice and suggestions are scientific and culturally sensitive.
ACTION ALERT: Doctors Needed to Give Lectures in Damascus, Syria
Doctors are needed to lecture in Damascus as part of a peacemaking delegation of doctors to Syria in the first week of November, 2008. The visit is jointly sponsored by Common Humanity (CommonHumanity.org) and the Council of American-Islamic Relations Philadelphia Chapter (http://pa.cair.com). The delegation’s visit is part of a response to the influx of 1.5 million Iraqi refugees to Syria. Continue reading...
Fall 2008 Newsletter Released
Download the latest issue of CAIR-PA Philadelphia's Newsletter: Issue #1.
Focus Article: The Soul of Young Muslim Folk
By Justin Jouvenal
The question posed by W.E.B. DuBois in his classic "The Souls of Black Folk" cut to the marrow of what it was like to be black under Jim Crow. Now, more than a century after DuBois penned his query, Moustafa Bayoumi thinks it is appropriate to ask it again. The associate professor of English at Brooklyn College argues in his new book, "How Does It Feel to Be a Problem?" that young Arabs and Muslims are America's latest "problem."
In a few destructive hours on Sept. 11, he writes, the groups went from being just another set of minorities in our multicultural patchwork to "dangerous outsiders" in many Americans' eyes. Hate crimes spiked 1,700 percent against Arabs and Muslims in the months after the terrorist attacks and thousands were detained, questioned and deported. A 2006 USA Today/Gallup poll found 39 percent of Americans believed all Muslims --including U.S. citizens -- should carry special IDs.
"We're the new blacks," a Palestinian-American in his 20s tells Bayoumi as the young man puffs on apple-flavored tobacco in a hookah lounge. "You know that, right?"
CAIR-PA Hosts Interfaith 'Sharing Ramadan' Events
(PHILADELPHIA, PA, 8/8/08) - Beginning September 6, the Pennsylvania chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-PA) will host 'Sharing Ramadan' events that offer opportunities for people of all faiths to experience the Muslim month of fasting.
Prescribing care
Peace, war and interfaith dialogue.
They intersect in the life of Dr. Mazhar Rishi, a resident of Kennett Square, Pa., and president of the medical staff at St. Francis Hospital in Wilmington.
Rishi, a colonel in the Air Force reserves and a peace activist, believes in aiding refugees of the Iraq War.
An estimated 2 million Iraqis have fled to neighboring countries since the war began in 2003, with 1.5 million crossing the northern border into Syria, Rishi says.
"The war we started has had consequences for the Iraqi people that no one intended," he says. "I see us having a moral responsibility to help. Continue reading...
