Amreeka movie now online for free
March 29, 2010
A while back, I wrote about a movie called Amreeka that recently came out. Now you can watch it online for free. Click on the photo below:
A feel-good comedy about a Palestinian mother who moves to rural Illinois with her teenaged son, Amreeka is a kind of stealth political film that confronts issues of ethnic tension and American xenophobia.
Group urges Muslims to avoid body scans
February 23, 2010
Source: CBC.ca
An Islamic group is urging Muslim travellers to choose to be patted down by airport security rather than go through airport body scanners, a practice that it says violate religious and privacy rights.
The Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) said the scanners, which produce a three-dimensional outline of a person’s naked body, are “against the teachings of Islam, natural law and all religions and cultures that stand for decency and modesty.”
“It is a violation of clear Islamic teachings that men or women be seen naked by other men and women,” the group said in a statement last week.
“The Qur’an has commanded the believers, both men and women, to cover their private parts. Human beings are urged to be modest in their dress,” the group said.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations also issued a statement of support of the FCNA’s recommendation.
The United States began using the scanners capable of detecting items hidden underneath clothing at airports as part of new security protocols put in place in the wake of the failed bombing attempt on a Detroit-bound flight on Christmas Day.
Canada installing scanners
Halifax imam Dr. Jamal Badawi, one of 10 Muslim scholars on the council who made the religious ruling, said the only exception to the rules of modesty are medical necessity or another emergency.
“It has to be a clear and compelling case and only to the extent that it is absolutely needed,” said Badawi. “And that doesn’t seem to apply to these scanning machines.”
Canada is also in the process of installing 44 scanners to be used on U.S.-bound passengers selected for secondary screening at Canadian airports.
The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority has said the scanners would protect the privacy of the passenger, and that the officer viewing the image would do so in a separate room and never see the actual traveller.
Only people singled out for extra screening would be scanned, and they would have the option of getting a physical search instead, according to authorities on both sides of the border.
The Fiqh council, which in 2005 issued an Islamic legal ruling, or fatwa, against terrorism and religious extremism, said it appreciated the pat-down search option and recommended Muslims choose this option.
U.S. puts countries on watch list
Canada has not adopted the U.S. approach of requiring additional screening for anyone flying into the U.S. who is a citizen of or is travelling from any of the 14 countries deemed to be state supporters of terrorism or “of interest” to the U.S.
Most of the countries listed are predominantly Muslim, and civil liberties groups say the policy of targeting travellers from specific countries opens the door to discriminatory racial profiling.
Transport Minister John Baird has said that “100 per cent” of Canadian travellers bound for the United States could be subjected to secondary screening.
The focus on security measures stems from the failed attempt by a Nigerian man to set off a bomb on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, is accused of trying to ignite the bomb on the Northwest Airlines flight. Officials said he has told U.S. investigators he received training and instructions from al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen.
New book out by Greek Muslim convert
September 29, 2009
Jamilah Kolocotronis sure knows how to keep you up all night with a book in your hand. I just finished reading her novel, Silence, and I’m definitely impressed by how unique it is.
She is one brave soul. She tackles many ‘taboo’ issues in her book about religious extremism and social and political injustice in the USA. What I like most is that you feel like you’re reading a novel but deep down, you are being educated about the realities of underground life, religion and politics, or at least of fears (valid or not) that the average public is completely unaware of.
And just because she is Muslim, that doesn’t mean she shows a bias. You’ll meet characters both Christian and Muslim in her book, exposing mainstream vs. extremism in both religions.
I have to mention that some people think that if fiction is “Islamic” than it must be boring, or at the least, preachy. Pick up one of Jamilah’s books and this misconception will be dispelled immediately.
A small minority of Muslims have this idea that it’s haram to read Islamic fiction because it’s considered lying or at best a complete waste of time. If that’s you, you may want to check out this fatwa. As for the issue of time, you just have to speak with a Muslim educator to find out how desperate they are to find these books for their students as an alternative to the trash that’s out there.
Back to the topic. This book is definitely an eye-opener so don’t lose out. Read more details about it here:
www.MuslimWritersPublishing.com
Athens: Greeks unite for anti-war protest
March 24, 2009
A large antiwar demonstration was held on Saturday March 21st at Syntagma square in Athens to protest against 10 years from the NATO bombing of Serbia, eight years bombing and occupation of Afghanistan, six years from the war in Iraq, the 60 years of NATO, as well as the Gaza attacks.
The demonstration was organized by the Stop The War Coalition of Greece and participants students organizations, Hellenic-Palestinian Friendship, the Pakistani Community, the Afghani community and the Muslim Association of Greece.
A music concert was about to start by the orchestra Mikis Theodorakis and various artists with conscience and strong anti-war feelings, but the heavy rain that started minutes before did no allow this.
The demonstration started with the speeches from the organizations that were participating: Yannis Sifakakis from the Stop the War Coalition, Hala Alary from the Hellenic-Palestinian Friendship, representatives of the students and the workers, and Anna Stamou from the Muslim Association of Greece.
People raised their voices to terminate the military occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan for all troops to leave immediately, especially the Greek forces to leave from Afghanistan, south Lebanon, Somalia, and solve this tragic situation in Gaza to free the Palestinians.
Also the 60 years of NATO were severely criticized since they have offered nothing peaceful to humanity so far and 60 years are enough. The demonstrators walked to the U.S.A. embassy under pouring rain.
Earlier on Tuesday, a press conference was given by the Stop The War Coalition of Greece, the Greek Syndicates, the Hellenic-Palestinian Friendship, and the Muslim Association of Greece in front of the French embassy regarding the 60 years of NATO that will be celebrated in Strasbourg in a few days, and massive anti-war movements will gather to protest.
The media covered this press conference with great interest.
