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FOX 4 News – February 12, 2007
Kansas City Muslims battle prejudice for their beliefs
Tess Koppelman
Tensions between Christianity and Islam have never been higher in the United State. Still, in this primarily Judeo-Christian nation, some statistics suggest Islam is the fastest growing religion in the country and the world.
Hard and fast numbers are hard to come by but some statistics suggest 34,000 Americans are converting to Islam every year. No one really tracks these numbers in an official way, because there is no "evangelism" per se in Islam. They say they're not actively trying to make people Muslims, they can only tell you the message, whether or not you embrace it is between you and God.
Here in Kansas City, Muslim leaders said 9/11 exposed a lot of people to Islam and its message, and as some learn about the faith, they're called to follow it.
On Fridays, Muslims are required to attend a weekly prayer. The room upstairs is overflowing with men, as the women pray separately in a room downstairs. Susann Bashir is among them. She converted to Islam two years ago. She says adjusting to wearing the scarf, the hijab, was not a problem for her.
"You could say it's like a billboard to say I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't cuss, I don't touch men, I don't eat pork," Bashir said, "I am Muslim and my life is centered around doing good, what God wants us to do."
Bashir said what was hard for her was some of the angry reactions she got when she converted. "I've had people tell me to go back where I'm from," she said. "What, Nebraska?" Bashir grew up on a farm in Nebraska and she said Christianity was never clear to her. One day she got an audio tape about Islam and it was like someone lifted the fog. "I was really happy because I understood things and I was also like why did no one tell me this before," she said.
The Islamic Center in Kansas City said before 9/11 one person would embrace Islam maybe every three or four months, but now it's more like once a week….
http://www.myfoxkc.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=2357502&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1
The Fresno Bee – February 16, 2007
Teacher accused of anti-Muslim statements
By Anne Dudley Ellis
The director of the Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno has accused an elementary teacher of making anti-Muslim statements to his sixth-grade students at Riverview Elementary School.
Center Director Kamal Abu-Shamsieh on Thursday called for the Clovis Unified School District to investigate and make sure teachers stick to state-sanctioned classroom lessons.
"I don't believe schools are a place to debate political views on international affairs or any other affairs that are not related to teaching our children," Abu-Shamsieh said.
He said it was his obligation to "expose such hate-filled statements."
District officials learned of the center's concerns Thursday and are investigating, said Kelly Avants, director of communications for Clovis Unified.
"We take any allegation extremely seriously," Avants said.
She urged those with concerns about "racially insensitive" students or staff to let district officials know. The district listed several events and programs aimed at helping students understand various cultures.
The teacher, whom Abu-Shamsieh named as Randy Ingram, did not return a phone call Thursday. Avants would not confirm who the teacher was. Riverview Principal Kristie Wiens referred calls to Avants.
Abu-Shamsieh said a Muslim boy of Iranian descent was in the teacher's class when the teacher expressed anti-Muslim and anti-Iranian views. The boy's mother contacted the Islamic Cultural Center; she said it was not the first time the teacher had made such comments, Abu-Shamsieh said.
Abu-Shamsieh said the teacher told students that Iranians are enemies of Americans and that they want to destroy Israel. The teacher also said that extreme Muslims and Iranians want to take over the United States, kill teachers and hire their own teachers for schools, Abu-Shamsieh said.
Avants said in a news release that the teacher's comments allegedly were made during a lesson about ancient cultures, which the state requires sixth-graders to learn…..
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