From the Sunnah

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him said), "By Allaah! He does not believe. By Allaah! He does not believe. By Allaah! He does not believe." He was asked, "Who, O Messenger of Allah?" He, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, said: "Whoever does not safeguard his neighbour from his harms."

[Sahih Bukhari]

Muslim: 'No place for hate'

The following Letter to the Editor was published in this Sunday's edition of the Houston Chronicle. It was sent in reference to the article "Quanell X seeks to make amends" which made front page headlines. You can read the article by clicking here.

Making amends with the Jewish Community is a step in the right direction for Quanell X. It will be through consistent acts and a public reform of his views that will help embolden this change. But what about the reference to racism in the Houston Muslim community?

The previous president of the Houston chapter of the Islamic Circle of North America was an African-American. The president of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston, the largest Islamic organization in our city, is a Sudanese-American. Muslims didn't look at the color of their skin and say, "They're black; we don't want them!" Both were elected for two terms.

I don't see the racism. When I go to pray at my local mosque, I am surrounded by people of all colors and ethnicities, including Anglos, African-Americans, Hispanics and more. In fact, this is representative of most of the mosques in Houston. The Muslim community here is one of the most diverse in the nation, and this is something we're very proud of.

There are people of every race and religion who will have prejudice. Unfortunately, Quannel had experience with some of those people in the Muslim community. Islam has no place for racism. The Muslim community in Houston has "no place for hate," and we will work together to drive out this seed of racism from everyone's hearts, no matter their religion.

SHARIQ ABDUL GHANI
Director, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Houston office

Click here for the source

Over 1,000 signed! We need 1,000 more! End the humanitarian crisis in Gaza!

CAIR-Houston volunteers collected over 1,000 letters addressed to their Congressional Representatives in the past two weeks. These letters were written by the Houston community in reference to the humanitarian disaster in Gaza. The letter campaign was done in coordination with the Islamic Society of Greater Houston (ISGH).

Nationally, CAIR has made a goal to collect 10,000 letters! The CAIR-Houston has committed to bringing in a minimum of 2,000 letters from the Houston area. Other cities such as Tampa, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York have communities that have almost caught up to the Houston Community's participation in this campaign. Continue to promote this campaign to keep Houston's place as a leader in support of the humanitarian cause.

CAIR-Houston will be conducting several drives this Friday (February 8th) at several locations throughout the city. Locations will be announced on Thursday. At these drives, our office will provide everything needed to complete the letter. The goal is to collect a MINIMUM of 1,000 letters.

Your participation is needed for this campaign to be a success. Remember, the Congressmen's job is to represent you! The more letters they receive, the more likely it is they will pay closer attention to this issue.

For more information on CAIR-Houston's previous action alert please click here.

Why wait? To participate now, please do the following:

VOLUNTEER:

If you'd like to volunteer at one of our letter campaigns this Friday February 8th or next Friday February 15th please signup at http://www.cairhouston.org/volunteer.htm.

ACTION ITEMS:

1) Download the pre-written letter at http://www.cairhouston.org/letter.doc and print it.
2) Look up your representative's name and address at https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml. (it's as easy as selecting your state and zip code)
3) Complete the letter with your printed signature, printed name, and address. Also include your Representative's name on top of the letter where it says "Dear Representative..."
4) Write your Representative's name and address on the envelope along with your return address and a stamp.
5) Mail it!

Stay Informed of the Issues

The CAIR 2008 Elections website provides you with the latest news and opinions relating to Muslims and election races nationwide.

This site also contains key issue positions of the presidential candidates, examples of anti-Muslim rhetoric from candidates for all levels of public office and links to the sites of Muslims running for public office.

Visit the 2008 Elections site now.