How different nations act before a presidential election

- In the US: Americans are anxious to know if a Democrat or a Republican will win.(or if Obama is really Muslim!)

- In old Egypt: Egyptians are anxious to know if Hosni Mubarak or his son Jamal will be the next president

- In new Egypt: Egyptians judge the candidate by the length of his beard

- In Syria: Syrians are anxious to know if Bashar Assad will win by 97% support or 99% (like his father)

- In Lebanon: Lebanese are anxious what suit style and color the winner will wear and if the president's wife can speak French and if she is cute or not.

- In most other Arab countries: citizens are asking each other: what's a presidential election?

- In Pakistan: Pakistanis are anxious to know which of the candidates will survive assassination or prison so they can vote for him or her

Khutba/sermon: "Don't Forget Palestine"

Khutba by Hussam Ayloush on May 11, 2012 at IIOC in Anaheim, titled: "Don't Forget Palestine".

SACRAMENTO: Californian Muslims look to have voices heard in...

SACRAMENTO: Californian Muslims look to have voices heard in...

Video: CAIR 'Muslim Day' at Calif. Capitol Promotes Civic Engagement

Members of the California Muslim community are taking part in the 1st annual "Muslim Day at the Capitol" in Sacramento. This first-of-its-kind event seeks to promote community engagement in local politics and to discuss issues of interest to the Muslim community with legislators.

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Press TV, May 8, 2012
Muslims have gathered from across the state to take part in the first-ever Muslim Day at the Capitol.

The day is meant to engage Muslim voters on a state and federal level.

A report released by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding shows that Muslim voters could play a decisive role in swing states in the presidential election this November.

It follows the launch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations 2012 "Muslims Vote" campaign, which encourages American Muslims to increase their presence in politics and elections.

Zahra Billoo Is the executive director for CAIR San Francisco.

Billoo says the day at the capitol is modeled after the work of a number of other minority communities

The day gives Muslims the chance to make a personal connection to their legislators.

CAIR officials say this connection is important because some people are attempting to diminish the role that Muslims play in American politics.

Hussam Ayloush is the executive director for CAIR Los Angeles.

Ayloush says the day will give Muslims the tools they need to have their say in the political process.

CAIR offices are holding similar events in state capitols across America.

They're hopeful that the outreach efforts will result in a more involved and influential voting population.

Muslims from O.C. see meaning in Manzanar (OC Register)

Yasmeen Abdelfattah, center, tours the cemetery of the Manzanar National Historic Site with friends from the Greater Los Angeles CAIR. The visit was in cooperation with the Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress for the 43rd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage Saturday. (OC Register)

Read the complete story at: Muslims from O.C. see meaning in Manzanar

This Islamic mutual fund is a 1-percenter even Occupy Wall Street would love

Following Shariah law — and thus steering clear of bank stocks — the Amana Trust Income Fund has been a stellar performer

By Jason Kephart

April 30, 2012
 InvestmentNews
 
What do a Muslim-guided mutual fund and the Occupy Wall Street movement have in common? A strict aversion to financials, among other things. In the fund's case, this aversion has led it to the top 1% of returns amongst large-cap mutual funds over the past 10 years.

The $1.4 billion Amana Trust Income Fund Ticker:(AMANX) has an annualized return of 8.92% over the last 10 years, which ranks it in the top 1% of large-cap-blend mutual funds, according to Morningstar Inc.

Part of the secret of the fund's success: It does not invest in financials or any businesses that generate interest from loans. That prohibition is based on Shariah law, which guides the business principals of Islam. The Quran, the basis of the Islamic faith, prohibits Muslims from paying or receiving interest for lending money, which is of course the basis of the banking system today. The fund also avoids businesses that profit from alcohol, pornography or gambling.

By not being invested in financials, the fund was able to avoid the worst of the stock market's drop in 2008. As the S&P 500 was dragged down 37% such firms as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Bear Stearns & Co. Inc., the fund's net asset value fell 23.4%, the best showing among large-cap funds that year.

Though the fund is based on Islamic principals, the fund is open to all investors. The Occupy Wall Street movement is returning Tuesday, and some advisers are attributing the protests to an increase of interest in socially conscious investing.

As with last year's protests, big banks again are expected to be a focal point.

“Four years after the financial crisis, not a single of the too-big-to-fail banks is smaller; in fact, they all continue to grow in size and risk,” the Occupy Wall Street press office wrote to Bloomberg News in an e-mail.

Thirteen Ways Government Tracks Us | Common Dreams

Published on Monday, April 9, 2012 by Common Dreams

Thirteen Ways Government Tracks Us

by Bill Quigley

Thirteen Ways Government Tracks Us | Common Dreams

The ex-FBI informant with a change of heart

Craig Monteilh describes how he pretended to be a radical Muslim in order to root out potential threats, shining a light on some of the bureau's more ethically murky practices Paul Harris in Irvine, California 

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 20 March 2012


Craig Monteilh says he did not balk when his FBI handlers gave him the OK to have sex with the Muslim women his undercover operation was targeting. Nor, at the time, did he shy away from recording their pillow talk.

"They said, if it would enhance the intelligence, go ahead and have sex. So I did," Monteilh told the Guardian as he described his year as a confidential FBI informant sent on a secret mission to infiltrate southern Californian mosques.

It is an astonishing admission that goes to the heart of the intelligence surveillance of Muslim communities in America in the years after 9/11. While police and FBI leaders have insisted they are acting to defend America from a terrorist attack, civil liberties groups have insisted they have repeatedly gone too far and treated an entire religious group as suspicious...

Read Full Article

FBI Infiltrator Who Spied on Muslims Reveals Techniques

RT, 4/6/2012 -- While the FBI insists they are acting to defend the US from potential terrorist attacks, a former informant says it treats an entire religious group as suspicious. He told RT about some of the bureau's ethically murky practices.

Ayloush on Panorama Show on Russia Today TV - "Russia, the UN and Arabs" (On Syria)

Syrian American Council (SAC) Board Member Hussam Ayloush discussing Russia's relations with the Arab World in the aftermath of its veto of the UN Security Council draft resolution in Syria. The show is entitled "Panorama" on Russia Today Arabic Television. The other guest is Evgeny Satanovsky, President of the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies.
February 15, 2012.
For more info: www.sacouncil.com 
http://arabic.rt.com/prg/telecast/657082/