I only add that "orphan" in a deeper sense is one who is rejected by all....family, society, world. That person is "The Stranger", the word "strange" meaning literally "unknown"....one. He among us, the invisible (but! IN+visible) Man. The Quran places a special value on welcoming strangers, it's a major theme, for Mohammad was a Stranger and WHO knows....? Mohammad knew Jesus, but what did He know that we don't? Something Happened and Happened again; something is Happening now. But what do we know about That? I find it pleasing that Islam too is part and parcel of my/our Happy Holidays Season. Richard -----Original Message----- From: change-links@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:change-links@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of james m nordlund Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2005 4:31 AM To: change-links@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [change-links] New: CAIR-NET: CA Muslim Woman Leads Drive to Shelter Tsunami Orphans Hello. In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 12/26/05 * Hadith: Treat Orphans with Kindness * CA: Muslim Woman Leads Drive to Shelter Tsunami Orphans * NY: Muslim Group Charges Bias in Mosque Decision * LA: Islamic Holidays Less Commercial Say Students - Canada: Muslim Kids Not Missing Out * Spying is Affront to Constitution, Rights of Muslims * Israel to Expand West Bank Settlements (AP) ----- HADITH OF THE DAY: TREAT ORPHANS WITH KINDNESS - TOP The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "If anyone strokes an orphan's head, doing so only for God's sake, he will have blessings for every hair over which his hand passes. And if anyone treats well an orphan girl or boy under his care, he and I shall be like these two in Paradise." The Prophet put two of his fingers together when he made that statement. Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1282 The Prophet also said: "The best house among the Muslims is one which contains an orphan who is well treated." Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1281 VERSE OF THE DAY: SEEK JUSTICE FOR ORPHANS ". . . stand firm for justice to orphans. God has full knowledge of whatever good you do." The Holy Quran, 4:127 ----- CA: LOCAL WOMAN LEADS DRIVE TO SHELTER TSUNAMI ORPHANS - TOP Jessie Mangaliman, Mercury News, 12/26/05 http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/13488585.htm Dian Alyan's first orphanage opens in her native Indonesia today, one year after a massive earthquake triggered one of the world's deadliest waves across the Indian Ocean. It feels like a lifetime ago that the former marketing manager from Sunnyvale was spending her days "dreaming up ways for women around the world to buy Pantene shampoo." Last year's tsunami killed uncles, aunts and cousins in Alyan's Aceh province birthplace, 40 family members in all. . . Located in the central highlands, the orphanage was built with money Alyan raised through her new Bay Area non-profit, Give Light Foundation. Alyan's family in Indonesia donated a 3,000-square-foot piece of land in Takengon, a lakeside village about 150 miles from the coastal city of Banda Aceh, which was devastated by the tsunami. Alyan runs Give Light strictly with local volunteers. San Francisco lawyer Ruby Kazi guided her through the complicated paperwork required to establish a non-profit. Matthew Mengerink, a high-tech executive, donated $2,000 and joined the corps of a half-dozen volunteers who helped Alyan launch the Sunnyvale-based organization. (MORE) To learn more about the orphanage and Give Light, visit www.givelight.org. ----- NY: MUSLIM GROUP CHARGES BIAS - TOP CAROL EISENBERG, Newsday, 12/26/05 http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny- limosq264565721dec26,0,3507970.story A Muslim group that was denied a variance to build a mosque on a busy East Meadow road is claiming anti-Muslim prejudice. The Hempstead Board of Appeals denied the application by the Long Island Muslim Society, on the grounds that a new mosque would compromise public safety on the already congested two-lane road. Members of the society were taken aback by the decision, saying they had already dramatically downsized their plans over the last four years to address the concerns. Calling the 5-to-2 decision "a big disappointment," president Mohammed Saleh said he fears traffic and parking concerns were being used to cloak a more fundamental hostility. "We know there was tremendous pressure from the community not to grant us the variance and we have a strong feeling that some prejudice was involved," Saleh said, citing emotionally charged community meetings in which anti-Muslim sentiment was expressed. (MORE) ----- ISLAMIC HOLIDAYS SIMPLER, LESS COMMERCIAL SAY ULL STUDENTS - TOP JENNIFER REINERT, The Advocate, 12/26/05 http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/122605/sub_muslims001.shtml LAFAYETTE -- In contrast to the monthlong whirlwind of shopping, cooking and preparing for Christmas, area Muslims celebrated their major holiday months earlier in a decidedly simpler manner. "The Muslim holidays are very simple," said Badr al-Burikan, 19, an electrical engineering major at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. "You don't have to plan for it. In three days, you can plan for it, not like the Christmas here, where you plan for a month. Very simple. You don't have to do any decorating -- just visit your families. . ." There are, in fact, several similarities between Eid and Christian holidays such as Easter and Christmas. Despite obvious religious differences, both holidays focus on the importance of good food and time spent with family and friends. (MORE) SEE ALSO: CANADA: MUSLIM KIDS NOT MISSING OUT - TOP APRIL KEMICK, Free Press, 12/26/05 http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/2005/12/26/1368080-sun.html Faisal Joseph's three young children didn't wake up yesterday morning to find presents from Santa under the tree. Nor did the smiley youngsters partake in the lighting of the menorah to signal the first night of Hanukkah. In the Joseph family's north London home, there was no menorah or tree, because the Muslim family doesn't celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah. But though some might assume Iman, 6, Jameela, 7, and Shareef, 9, would feel left out as their Christian and Jewish friends celebrated, they weren't troubled at all. "I don't mind because we have celebrations of our own," said Shareef, 9, who sipped hot chocolate with marshmallows. "Two of our own," he added with a smile, citing Ramadan and Eid festivities that are special for Muslim children the way Christmas is for Christian kids. "I feel happy for my friends," Iman chimed in. "And I have friends who celebrate the same things as me." (MORE) ----- SPYING: IT'S AN AFFRONT TO THE CONSTITUTION, AND THE RIGHTS OF AMERICAN MUSLIMS - TOP ALAMDAR S. HAMDANI, Houston Chronicle, 12/24/05 http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/3546863.html For more than four years I have watched FBI agents pose inappropriate questions to my clients. In the name of the War on Terror, agents have questioned thousands of Muslims, often U.S. citizens, in violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution. These agents have approached Muslims in their homes, businesses, and even places of worship, as part of intelligence gathering missions in reaction to 9/11. And, working in pairs, one taking notes while the other asked the questions, agents have probed activities, religious or otherwise, that would not be scrutinized if the subjects of the interrogation had been non-Muslims. For instance, because two Muslim men, both of them U.S. citizens speaking with Arab accents, complained to an apartment manager about the apartment complex's sales staff, the FBI approached the men. During the interview the agentsasked about what occurred at the complex, but also attempted to ask the men which mosque they attended, who else attended that mosque, whether they prayed five times a day, what their political views were and whether they were Sunni or Shiite. Asking such questions without a compelling reason places an impermissible "chilling effect" on First Amendment activities such as the rights to free speech or free association. In other words, agents often insinuate that because a person belongs to a particular religious group or holds a particular belief, that that person is somehow involved with terrorist groups. Couple that suspicion with confused interviewees who speak English as a second language, and people can become afraid of attending a mosque or voicing political views. Worse yet, they are sometimes detained for simply misunderstanding a question. Based upon recent revelations, these interviewees could also have become targets of the National Security Agency's domestic spying program. (MORE) ----- ISRAEL TO EXPAND WEST BANK SETTLEMENTS - TOP JOSEF FEDERMAN, Associated Press http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/3548187.html JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel said Monday it will build more than 200 new homes in Jewish West Bank settlements - a blow to peace efforts despite word that Ariel Sharon's new party plans a major push for Palestinian statehood if it wins upcoming elections. In a separate sign of accommodation, Israeli officials said they will likely permit east Jerusalem's Palestinians to vote in next month's Palestinian election. Israel had recently threatened to bar east Jerusalem residents from voting. The latest settlement construction, revealed in newspaper ads published Monday seeking bids from contractors, would violate Israel's commitments under the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan. (MORE) ----- CAIR Council on American-Islamic Relations 453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20003 Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726 Fax: 202-488-0833 E-mail: cair@xxxxxxxxxxxx URL: http://www.cair-net.org ----- To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@xxxxxxxxxxxx Goodbye ____ ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Clean water saves lives. Help make water safe for our children. http://us.click.yahoo.com/YNG3nB/VREMAA/E2hLAA/xYTolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> New Pacifica Working Group http://www.egroups.com/group/NewPacifica 'Save Our Stations!' Yahoo! 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