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In the news: Muslim Men Claim Henderson Police Detained Them for Praying

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Muslim Men Claim Henderson Police Detained Them for Praying

Posted: Mar 05, 2010 7:52 PM PST Updated: Mar 05, 2010 11:02 PM PST

LAS VEGAS - Henderson Police are investigating some of their own officers regarding a complaint filed by a group of Muslim men who stopped to pray in a parking lot.

The incident happened in December. The Muslim men were passing through Las Vegas on a road trip. They stopped at a convenience store parking lot in Henderson to perform their sunset prayer. According to documents obtained by 8 News NOW, a concerned citizen called the police, saying seven Middle Eastern males were acting suspiciously by a gray minivan with California license plates. The caller reported several of the men were kissing the ground.

Read the Incident Report

Minutes later, Henderson Police officers arrived on the scene. One of the Muslim men recorded the incident with his cell phone.

Watch Cell Phone Video from the Incident

In the press: Muslim movie attracts masses (Rebel Yell)

Muslim movie attracts masses 

February 22, 2010 by Bryant Nguyen 

MSA honors Black History Month with film and guest speaker event

Click image to enlarge.

More than 100 people came to the Student Union to watch an award-winning documentary on the Muslim prince-turned-slave Abdul-Rahman Ibrahima Sori, sponsored by the Muslim Students Association in honor of Black History Month last Friday.

“It is kind of a way to show the history of Islam in America and also the African-American history as well because they intertwine together,” said MSA president Amin Nash. “I believe this movie will show a different side of Islam in America and how we’ve been able to live up to our responsibilities as Muslims and human beings.”

The number of people in attendance eventually exceeded expectations and the MSA requested more seats to fulfill the high demand of the event.

Even that was not enough as people stood in the back of the room to watch the movie.

“I was actually really surprised and shocked that a lot of people showed up,” said UNLV student Jaffer Almosawy. “I expected a lot less people.”

In the press: Allah made them funny (Las Vegas Weekly)

Muslim comedians perform at local Islamic Academy

Sat, Feb 20, 2010 (1 p.m.)

Azhar Usman, co-founder of the Allah Made Me Funny comedy troupe, performs at Omar Haikal Islamic Academy in Henderson on Thursday, February 18.

Photo: April Corbin

The kid who approaches comedian Mohammed Amer after his set Thursday night at the Omar Haikal Islamic Academy is at least half a dozen years from being old enough to visit the local 21-and-up comedy club circuit. He's not even old enough to drive himself to tonight's event, and he needs a gentle nudge from his mother to work up the courage to introduce himself.

Photo: April Corbin

Mohammed Amer jokes about his 20-year journey through the U.S. immigration system.

Once he does, however, the timid teen's eyes light up. He reminds Amer of the bits he didn't do tonight during his stand up. He watches the comedian on DVD all the time, his mother chirps in; he could probably recite the set himself.

"This is what it's all about," Amer says after mom's bought another DVD for her son, "giving back to the community, to kids like that."

In the press: Muslim Students Association breaks down stereotypes with documentary (Rebel Yell)

February 18, 2010 by Hannah Birch 

Movie demonstrates connections between Islam and America

The Muslim Students’ Association at UNLV asserts that Islam had more of an influence on our country’s history than many think, and on Friday, Feb. 19, they will show you why.

“Prince Among Slaves” is an award-winning documentary about a Muslim African prince that was enslaved in the American South. The film will be shown at the Student Union Room 208 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.

The documentary shows a connection between Islam and African Americans with which many aren’t familiar and demonstrates the influence both cultures have had on America’s history.

“It’s like a history of slaves and Islam in a way,” said MSA President Amin Nash. “It’s also the creation of Islam in America. This man had nine kids that were born in America… there could be Muslim blood in almost all of us.”

Although many African American slaves that were originally brought from Africa were Muslim, Nash said few people are aware of this trend.

President Obama Announces Special Envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/02/13/president-obama-addresses-us-islamic-world-forum

Press: Nearly 1 in 4 people worldwide is Muslim, report says

Read full story here

Nearly 1 in 4 people worldwide is Muslim, report says

• Story Highlights
• There are about 1.57 billion Muslims in the world, according to the report
  
• Report by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life
  
• Nearly 2 out of 3 of world's Muslims are in Asia, report says
  
• Roughly 9 of 10 Muslims worldwide are Sunni, report says

By Richard Allen Greene
CNN

(CNN) -- Nearly one in four people worldwide is Muslim -- and they are not necessarily where you might think, according to an extensive new study that aims to map the global Muslim population.

India, a majority-Hindu country, has more Muslims than any country except for Indonesia and Pakistan, and more than twice as many as Egypt.

China has more Muslims than Syria.

Germany has more Muslims than Lebanon.

And Russia has more Muslims than Jordan and Libya put together.

Nearly two out of three of the world's Muslims are in Asia, stretching from Turkey to Indonesia.

The Middle East and north Africa, which together are home to about one in five of the world's Muslims, trail a very distant second.

There are about 1.57 billion Muslims in the world, according to the report, "Mapping the Global Muslim Population," by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. That represents about 23 percent of the total global population of 6.8 billion.

Press: Unity at Sunset: Interfaith Iftar (Rebel Yell)

http://unlvrebelyell.com/2009/09/17/unity-at-sunset-interfaith-iftar/

Unity at Sunset: Interfaith Iftar 

September 17, 2009 by Haley Etchison 

Students of different faiths gather at the Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Newman Center to celebrate the end of Ramadan

The room was silent as the song began.
The Takbir sounded and the faces of the devout reflect its meaning: “God is great!”
Some reach to take a piece of fruit from the plates in the centers of the tables where small groups sit, and solemnly eat.

Tuesday marked the celebration of Iftar, the holiday at the close of Ramadan – the month of fasting on the Muslim calendar. During the 30 days of Ramadan, many followers of Islam observe the cleansing rituals of fasting, choosing to abstain from food, water, sexual activity and all unclean behaviors during daylight hours the whole month.

Press: President Obama Hosts Ramadan Dinner At The White House

September 1, 2009

Obama hosts dinner for Islamic holy month

By ANN SANNER
Associated Press Writer

President Barack Obama on Tuesday praised American Muslims for enriching the nation's culture at a dinner to celebrate the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

"The contribution of Muslims to the United States are too long to catalog because Muslims are so interwoven into the fabric of our communities and our country," Obama said at the iftar, the dinner that breaks the holiday's daily fast.

The president joined Cabinet secretaries, members of the diplomatic corps and lawmakers to pay tribute to what he called "a great religion and its commitment to justice and progress."

In the press: Ramadan for Children (Las Vegas Review Journal 8/31/09)

Nassar Hakim, 12, left, Rafae Nauman, 12, Sophie Ahmad, 11, share a snack Wednesday at Rafae’s Summerlin home. For Muslim youngsters observing Ramadan, which began Aug. 22, abstaining from food and drink from sunrise to sunset usually is done on weekends during the holiest month of the Muslim year.
Photo by K.M. Cannon.



Nudrat Nauman, mother of 12-year-old Rafae Nauman, talks at her Summerlin home last week about fasting during Ramadan.
Photo by K.M. Cannon.

Aug. 31, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Ramadan for Children

Muslim youngsters say spiritual rewards of fasting make hunger pangs tolerable

By LYNNETTE CURTIS
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Young Rafae Nauman and his friends often go hungry these days, yet they seldom complain.

They choose this hunger, after all. Embrace it, even.

"You feel like you've accomplished something important," 12-year-old Rafae said Wednesday. "It helps you become a better person."

"It" is fasting for Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic year, during which Muslims are encouraged to abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset each day.

Ramadan, the ninth month of the lunar-based Islamic calendar, marks the period during which Muslims believe the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. This year, it began Aug. 22 and ends Sept. 19.

Muslims pray, fast, read the Quran and perform charitable acts during Ramadan.

It's an exercise in self-control they say reaps great rewards, including forgiveness for sins and increased spirituality.

In the Press: Local Muslims say Obama's speech was inspirational (Las Vegas Review Journal 6/5/09)

Local Muslims say Obama's speech was inspirational

Words about U.S. presence in Middle East impress

By MIKE BLASKY
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Slideshow

Fateen Seifullah studies Hadith, the collected sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, after prayer Thursday at the Islamic Society of Nevada. Las Vegas Muslims hope that President Barack Obama's outreach in Egypt will help rebuild fractured ties between the United States and the world's Muslim nations.
Photos by John Gurzinski



Dr. Mohammed Shafi, a member of the board of trustees for the Islamic Society of Nevada, on Thursday discusses President Barack Obama's speech given in Cairo, Egypt.



Dr. Aslam Abdullah on Thursday talks about President Barack Obama's speech in Cairo, Egypt, with the women's studies group at the Islamic Society of Nevada.

Jun. 05, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Local Muslims say Obama's speech was inspirational

Words about U.S. presence in Middle East impress

By MIKE BLASKY
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Dr. Mohammed Shafi remembers taking his children to ground zero in New York and reading the names of those killed during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

There were Christian names, there were Jewish names, and there were Muslim names -- people of all faiths and all ages.

"Terrorism is blind," said Shafi, a member of the board of trustees for the Islamic Society of Nevada.

"Islam teaches that if you kill one person, you're killing humanity, and if you save one person, you've saved all of mankind. These are the teachings of the Quran."

Shafi said President Barack Obama quoted that passage from the Quran during his keynote speech Thursday in Cairo, Egypt.