CHICAGO – Imam W.D. Mohammed, who succeeded his father as leader of the Nation of Islam but and moved millions of its followers into mainstream Islam, passed Today. He was 74.
6 Mar
High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is out and Agave is in.
High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a commercial sweetener that has two bad habits: It inhibits a hormone (leptin) that tries to tell you when you’re full. And some studies indicate it never shuts off another hormone (ghrelin) that insists you’re hungry — so even after you’ve scraped the container clean, you may still think you want more.
20 Feb
Imam Jamil Al-Amin aka H. Rap Brown is in “the hole” and needs your help!
My father Imam Jamil Al-Amin aka H. Rap Brown was under 23 hour lockdown in the super max prison in Colorado until recently when he was placed in the hole. He was stripped searched, his Quran and all other personal belongings were seized and he has been placed in a cell with no bed, no control over the lights and no shower. We are appealing to you to please write fax or call the WARDEN of the prison Ron Wiley inquiring about my fathers current situation and why he has been placed even further underground so to speak. Please help out it would be greatly appreciated. Contact info for the warden is below thank you.
Sincerely, Kairi Al-Amin
Warden Ron Wiley
USP Florence ADMAX
U.S. Penitentiary
PO Box 8500
Florence, CO 81226
Phone: 719-784-9100
Fax: 719-784-9504
19 Feb
44 Years Later, Would Malcolm X?
CEMOTAP PRESENTS
A Black History Month Community Forum
That Examines
The Legacy of Malcolm X in 21st Century America
3 Brothers Who Knew Malcolm Discuss
“44 Years Later, Would Malcolm X
Be Happy in America 2009?”
Join
Professor James Blake
Radio Personality, Bob Law
Professor James Small
6:30 PM, Thursday, February 19, 2009
Bethesda Baptist Church
Jamaica Avenue & 179th Street
Jamaica, New York 11432
Admission is Free
For Information, 347-531-8936
12 Feb
U.N. Chief Says Israel Is Blocking Most Gaza Aid
U.N. Chief Says Israel Is Blocking Most Gaza Aid
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, repeated Tuesday his demand that Israel allow significantly more humanitarian aid into the beleaguered Gaza Strip, and he announced that he would send a team to investigate the bombings of United Nations facilities there.
The human rights organization Amnesty International issued a statement criticizing Mr. Ban for being too timid on the extent of the inquiry.
Mr. Ban said at a news conference that the United Nations was trying to get relief supplies to nearly one million people daily, but that Israel was only allowing one border crossing to open, permitting trucks with supplies for only about 30,000 people to get through.
“We are experiencing serious difficulty in getting all the materials, humanitarian assistance, so it is absolutely necessary that they open the crossings,” said Mr. Ban, whose previous statements urging Israel to allow more aid into Gaza have been ignored. “I will continue to urge that.”
Irene Khan, the secretary general of Amnesty International, said that researchers had found compelling evidence of war crimes and other violations of international law committed during the three weeks of fighting that ended Jan. 18.
“What is needed is a comprehensive international investigation that looks at all alleged violations of international law — by Israel, by Hamas and by other Palestinian armed groups involved in the conflict,” Ms. Khan said.
6 Feb
Interfaith Mural Unveiled
Project Links Jewish, Christian and Muslim Teens
Boston, MA – Feb , 2009 – Leading local community organizations Art Builds Community (ABC, Islamic Society of Boston (ISB), Center for Jewish-Muslim Relations (CJMR), Congregation Dorshei Tzekek (CDT), the Al Huda Society (AHS), and Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries (CMM) have created the 2009 Boston Interfaith Youth Mural. In a time when interfaith relations have been been strained, the project has brought together teens from Muslim, Christian and Jewish backgrounds to engage in a joint mural art project which will be displayed and celebrated publicly as a tool for building bridges of understanding. The first of several unveilings will take place on Friday, February 6, 2009 at 7:00 P.M. at Congregation Dorshei Tzedek in Newton (http://dorsheitzedek.org/directions.htm).
“The mural is a key milestone on the journey of the ‘interfaith youth movement’ in greater Boston,” according to Alexander Levering Kern, executive director of Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries, the region’s oldest interfaith social action coalition. “Never has there been a more important time for young people of faith to join in deepened dialogue and effective action. As we witness interfaith strain spanning the globe- from the Vatican to Gaza to the Roxbury Mosque conflict- we celebrate this sign of hope: young people standing together and building a shared future of peace, justice, and understanding. The mural is a poignant vision of the peace that the Creator intends for us all.”
The project has taken shape over the last two years, with a steering committee including Anyahlee Cañas and LeeAnn Love-Price from ABC; Aziz Elmadi, originally representing the ISB and now Co-Executive Director of CJMR; Stuart Snyder, a member of CDT; Omar Hakkaoui of AHS and the Interfaith Youth Initiative (IFYI) of Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries (CMM); and Alexander Levering Kern and Matt Carriker, of the Interfaith Youth Initiative of CMM.
Since October 2008, fifteen teen representatives (5 from each faith group) have been meeting weekly at the West End House Boys and Girls Club in Allston to create a series of collaborative art pieces focusing on the commonalities and differences in their religions, with particular attention to faith-based imagery. Based on discussions within the group and with visiting religious leaders, the teens designed and created a large scale mural on panels to be displayed in the participants’ religious centers and in other mosques, temples or churches until a permanent location is identified.
Motivation for these efforts is easily found within the texts sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims. But, it is also found in a quote attributed to Margaret Mead – “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Funding for the 2009 Boston Interfaith Youth Mural was provided by the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), the ISB, and the Charles S. and Zena A. Scimeca Foundation.
6 Feb
Qaddafi Elected President of African Union
Qaddafi Elected President of African Union
Vows to Push for a United States of Africa
By Akbar Muhammad
Tripoli, Libya
The African Union (AU) summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa has elected the Leader of the Libyan Revolution Muammar Al-Qaddafi new President of the AU. The position will give Al-Qaddafi the power to influence policies across Africa for the next year
Al-Qaddafi immediately vowed to push on with his plans to strengthen the institutions of the AU and make the African states stronger, stable and peaceful in a rather unstable world.
In his acceptance speech, he said, I think the coming time will be a time of serious work and a time for action, not just empty words.”
He told Africa’s heads of state that there is much to do and that some of the procedures need to be reviewed in order to speed up the establishment of Union’s institutions.
He also promised to do all he can to solve the problem of Darfur and other African conflicts. In his acceptance speech, Al-Qaddafi acknowledged that he at times provoked some of African heads of state in order to push the agenda of the African Union.
However, he said for the African leaders to have different views regarding the future of the content is healthy.. He said the credit goes to all heads of state and their sovereign countries for making the right decisions. It was reported that in a closed meeting that much of the opposition to the election Al-Qaddafi was lead by South Africa and Uganda, two countries that the Libyan Leader and his country’s men and women had helped the most in achieving their goals of freedom and justice for their people.
Al-Qaddafi told the summit he did not wish to take up the post of the chairman of the AU earlier, even though he was invited to, because he believed that his position was to help push the car regardless who was the driver. Africa must realize its dreams of unity, regardless of any one’s official position.
Al-Qaddafi is, in fact, the engineer and the founder of the AU. He called for emergency African summit of the Organization of African Unity on 9 September 1999, in Libya and methodically laid out why the OAU should move forward African Union. He said that if Dr. Kwame Nkrumah could raise from his grave, the masses, the young, the old, the students, the workers, the military, the civil servants and the politicians, would have carried him on their shoulders. The African masses’ real objective is to see the birth of a United |States of Africa that is rich, peaceful and secure.
In 1999 and up to the establishment of the Union in Durban, South Africa in 2002, many dismissed the whole idea of an African Union as unrealistic. But due to Qaddafi’s insistence, persistence and audacity, and his strong belief in the future of a united, prosperous African continent, as well as his commitment to devote his country’s resources to serve such a noble cause, made the dream a reality.
During the African summit, Qaddafi praised the outgoing president of the AU Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete for his good management during his tenure and insisted that the chairman of the AU Commission Jean Ping of Gabon should keep his post as he has proven to be capable in running the day to day affairs of the Union.
The President of the African Union is a rotating position held by heads of state for one year and gives the holder influence over the continent’s politics. .
Qaddafi believes with so many other Leaders of Africa, as well as millions of Africans in the Diaspora, that only a UNITED STATES OF AFRICA can tackle the long-term issues of poverty, disease, illiteracy, and conflicts, and make the continent a global powerhouse. He recognized, however, that there was much work to be done and that many of the African leaders are not in agreement where and how to start.
The new AU President is seen by the masses as an accomplished statesman in Africa who is seriously committed to serve the interests of the continent.
In his closing speech, Qaddafi made it clear that Libya, alone among oil- producing nations, has not lost money during the world financial crisis. “Libya has not lost a single dollar in this crisis. Libya has invested billions in Africa. We have not invested in America,” he emphasized.
Qaddafi praised the new American president and described Barack Hussein Obama’s accession to the White House as a victory against racism, and urged the first black U.S. president to lead his country boldly and with integrity. “The Black people’s struggle has made tremendous advances against racism in America. It was God who created color. Today President Obama, a son of Kenyan father, a true son of Africa, has made it in the United States of America,” he said.
“We hope he will be well protected, strong and unshakable. America doesn’t belong to the whites alone. I hope he will be able to accomplish the change that he carries in his spirit,” he added. In his Green Book that he wrote over thirty years ago, Qaddafi was able to foresee that Blacks will prevail in the world. The election of a young energetic Black president of the most powerful nation on earth is a clear proof that Muammar Qaddafi, a revolutionary thinker, has been institutively right
6 Feb
February Is Black to Africa Month
February 8th Outline
Family Tree on Sunday, February 8th from 11am-1pm E.S.T.
11-11:05 AM
News and Commentary
11:05 AM-11:30 AM
20 Min Taalim:
Amir Muhammad, America’s Islamic Heritage Museum about the “Forgotten Roots: of Muslims in Early America,” among other things, highlights the history of African American Muslims.
This month, the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center in collaboration with the Mosque for the Praising of Allah is showcasing this exhibit for free to the public.
11:30 AM-12:00 PM
Dr. Sylviane A Diouf. historian, latest Book: Africa in Alabama. The Slave Ship Clotilda and the Story of the Last Africans Brought to America
12:00-12:30 PM
Musa Syeed, Bronx Princess . This modern day film dares to get us thinking about immigration rights and US Customs.
12:30-1PM
Ahmed Lamptey, African Unity Tours
For a Christian/Muslim trip back to the old economic and interfaith relations of Ghana, West Africa.
6 Feb
Dr. Sylviane A. Diouf
Dr. Sylviane A. Diouf is an award-winning historian. Her new book Dreams of Africa in Alabama: The Slave Ship Clotilda and the Story of the Last Africans Brought to America won the 2007 Wesley-Logan Prize of the American Historical Association, the Sulzby Award of the Alabama Historical Association, and the 2nd prize of the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. Her book Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas was named Outstanding Academic Book. She edited Fighting the Slave Trade: West African Strategies that explores in a detailed manner what Africans did to protect and defend themselves from the slave trade and to attack it. She is the author of a four book series on African kings and queens, which was awarded the Children Africana award given by the African Studies Association; of Growing Up in Slavery, a book on children enslaved in the United States; and of Bintou’s Braids, an award-winning fiction book published in the United States, Brazil, and France. Dr. Diouf was an on-camera expert for the PBS documentaries This Far by Faith and Prince Among Slaves and has also appeared on PBS History Detectives. She has taught at Libreville University and New York University and is a Curator at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the Director of the Schomburg-Mellon Humanities Institute.
