‘Mapping Muslims’ – New Report Reveals Devestating Effects NYPD Surveillance has on Muslim Community

March 13, 2013 by 2 Comments
mapping muslims report

A year ago CAIR-NY Civil Rights Manager Cyrus McGoldrick, who was conducting twice weekly “Know Your Rights” workshops in the New York Muslim community, reeled in shock – along with many other Muslim, civil rights and Arab-American activists – as the story broke of rampant Muslim profiling being done by the New York Police Department in the name of counterterrorism.Until then, McGoldrick (and others) had been teaching Muslim communities to forge trusting relationships with law enforcement, th … [Read more...]

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To Valentine or Not – Do We Need to Debate This?

February 14, 2013 by 1 Comment
valentine

The kids came home from school today with the usual Valentine’s paraphernalia.  We don’t “do” the holiday at home really. (Though husband I joke back and forth about it, our latest being riffs on this picture he saw on Facebook that you see to the right. You know -- things like No Valentines! Talk to the hand!) Jokes aside, figuring out what to do with the kids when it comes to non-religious “holidays” (which often stem from some religious practice centuries ago) has been a work in progress in ou … [Read more...]

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The National Defense Authorization Act Passes Again in 2013 – Are You Watching Your Back?

January 9, 2013 by 1 Comment
obama-signing-defense-act

I was cleaning out some kitchen cabinets and came across two business cards from an FBI agent, from when he came a-knocking twice last year on our front door. The first time none of us were home and his card was slid under our door. I’m a fairly unflappable person – pretty much autism-related difficulties are the only things that rattles me.But the fact that an FBI agent visited our home, well that made me pause. Twelve years ago when I took on the job that launched my career as a journalist … [Read more...]

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My Jihad is Autism, Faith and Everything In Between. What’s Yours?

December 26, 2012 by 1 Comment
MyJihad4

What’s your jihad?Mine is autism awareness and living with autism.My jihad is my son, Lil D, and helping him (and our family) overcome challenges brought on by his autism, helping him be as healthy as possible and finding out what we can do to make him happy. My jihad is making a place for him in this world, getting this world to accept him, care for him, and help him to succeed the best that he can.My jihad is my children -- raising proud, well-adjusted, Muslim-American children who … [Read more...]

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School Districts Deny Petitions to Close School on Muslim Holidays

November 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Eid holiday

Growing up in North Dakota and later in Maryland, any time a Muslim holiday rolled around (Eid ul Fitr or Eid ul Adha), I took off from school to celebrate it. As I got into higher grades, there were times I just took a few hours off to attend Eid prayers and then headed back to school so I wouldn't miss an important test or assignment. Being in Advanced Placement and honors classes in high school, even missing one day made it tough to catch up. Back then, there also weren't as many activities … [Read more...]

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Lets Get Ready for Ramadan!

June 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment
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I took the kids (younger two) to Jummah (Friday) prayers today at one of our local mosques. The khutbah (sermon) was about making the most of the month of Sha’baan and preparing for the holy month of Ramadan. Sure comes up on you fast, doesn’t it? We are a month away from Ramadan (predicted to start on July 20, depending on the siting of the new moon) and aside from the hilarious spiritual discussion trolling the social networks about how a Muslim should handle the problem of opening night of the … [Read more...]

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A Special Eid for Autistic and Special Needs Children

November 17, 2011 by 14 Comments
MAS DC

Anyone who tries to connect that divide between raising an autistic child and adhering to faith traditions knows what a difficult task that is. And I’m not talking about crisis of faith, about those “What is God’s plan? or “Why my child?” or “Will my prayers ever be answered?” type of problems. I’m talking about including special needs children in faith practices and in houses of worship.Whether the child is high-functioning, moderate, or severely autistic, whether he can talk or not, if he h … [Read more...]

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