LVMuslim.com

In the Press: Berkley: 'Ground Zero' mosque protected by Constitution (LVRJ)

Find this article at: http://www.lvrj.com/news/berkley---ground-zero--mosque-protected-by-constitution-100928674.html

In the Press: Face to Face with John Ralston, Discussing the topic of freedom to build a Mosque

In the Press: Face to Face with John Ralston (8/16/2010) and (8/17/2010)

Scroll to dates 8/16/10 to view Dr. Aslam Abdullah (Islamic Society of Nevada) and Dr. Khaliq Baig (Islamic Information Center) of Las Vegas, NV and 8/17/2010 for Imam Fateen Seifullah and Mujahid Ramadan's interviews on this topic.

In the Press: Ground Zero mosque controversy travels to Nevada

Ground Zero mosque controversy travels to Nevada

Video Link (click here)

Gerard Ramalho reporting

Not since right after the 9/11 attacks has there been so much discussion about Ground Zero. Now, the debate over whether to build a mosque near the site has reached Nevada. 

Ground Zero is the site of the worst ever attack on U.S. soil with thousands killed. Now, many are considering whether an Islamic mosque should or shouldn’t be allowed to stand in the area.

Debate has stretched from New York to here in Nevada, and beyond. This past weekend President Obama gave his input. Monday, it was Senator Harry Reid’s turn. 

Nationwide polls have been conducted on the issue; while it’s impossible to have exact figures, the polls seem to indicate that a majority of Americans are against the idea.

"Muslims have the right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country,” President Obama said Friday. "That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property.” 

Nevada Senator Harry Reid: Mosque Should Be Built Someplace Else

Find this article at: http://www.lvrj.com/news/reid-parts-ways-with-obama-on-new-york-city-mosque-100796089.html

The President hosts an Iftar dinner celebrating Ramadan 2010

In the news: Haunted by the past, working toward the future (Las Vegas Weekly)

http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/news/2010/apr/08/haunted-past-working-toward-future/

Haunted by the past, working toward the future

Thousands of miles from home and traumatized by war and torture, two Iranian refugees formed a life-changing alliance in Las Vegas

Timothy Pratt

Thu, Apr 8, 2010 (midnight)

Afshar walks with his belongings down Foremaster Lane.

Photo: Leila Navidi

One of the two men sits on the couch in his student-sized apartment near UNLV, assuring you he can see before him—in the same living room you are both sitting in—the faces, the bodies of thousands of fellow Iranian political prisoners whom the Khomeini regime shot, hanged and blew up in the summer of 1988. He was one of hundreds who survived.

“It’s like it’s happening right now,” says Mokhtar Hossein on a recent morning, black tea brewing on his stove, walnut-and-honey pastries on a table between us. “They’re all right here with me.”

The other man, he dreams at night—in his sleep on a Downtown Las Vegas sidewalk, or more recently on a Catholic Charities bunk bed—of killing Iraqis with an AK-47 assault rifle,

of wading through the blood of thousands, until he arrives, he says, like Jesus Christ resurrected, at the end, a survivor. He was one of the few in his battalion who didn’t die in the Iraq-Iran war, which consumed most of the 1980s.

Mokhtar Hossein and Jamshid Afshar are both survivors. Both men lost their fathers to the Khomeini regime that ruled Iran from 1979 to 1989. A firing squad shot Hossein’s father, an Air Force colonel. After the regime put Afshar’s father, an Army sergeant, in jail for two years, he was finally released: a psychologically battered alcoholic. Both also fought as teenagers in the Iraq-Iran war.

Ghosts of Iran

And now they are both refugees, a legal status the United Nations confers on the victims of unimaginable violence abroad, giving them the right to start a new life in the United States or other countries.

In the news: Center seeks to inform community about Islam (Centennial VIEW)

Craig L. Moran/ViewKhaliq Baig, president of the Islamic Information Center, inspects the grounds of the new facility at 1610 E. Russell Road on March 11. Donations totaled $500,000 for the $1.5 million project, and additional buildings are planned.

Center seeks to inform community about Islam
By MAGGIE LILLIS
VIEW STAFF WRITER

Construction dust continues to settle at the Islamic Information Center, but all are welcome to the new place of worship.

It has taken officials three years and many steps of cutting through red tape to be able to open the doors on the center at 1610 E. Russell Road.

But the reasons for moving from the previous space at 5383 S. Maryland Parkway are easily numbered, said center President Khaliq Baig.

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

http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=12094191

Las Vegas Sun newspaper:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/mar/05/muslim-group-says-police-detained-7-praying-men/

Las Vegas Review Journal coverage (below)

http://www.lvrj.com/news/muslims-criticize-henderson-police-tactics-86706812.html

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."