Imam Zaid Shakir, may Allah bless him with the best in all realities and protect him, has issued the following statement:

“Although I do not expect propaganda organs like Front Page Magazine or Muslims Against the Sharia to be interested in the truth, I would expect that you would do a minimum amount of fact-checking. Contrary to what you print in your story “Horowitz Speech on Radical Islam Has Repercussions at Northwestern”, I was not a co-founder of Masjid Al-Islam in Oakland, California, nor have I ever been affiliated with that mosque. I was a co-founder of Masjid Al-Islam in New Haven, Connecticut. Our mosque was founded to serve, in the words of our motto as “a moral voice in the community.” The mosque has been and continues to be a source of spiritual guidance and social and economic services for a largely poor and an underserved inner-city community. A correction on your part, while not anticipated, would be appreciated.” – Imam Zaid Shakir

This statement is in response to Horowitz Speech on Radical Islam Has Repercussions at Northwestern published by FrontPage Magazine and and reposted by Muslims Against Sharia (where we originally found the story and shared it with our beloved Imam)

We humbly request all students and friends of Imam Zaid to link to this announcement (on your blogs, websites, social networks, etc.) to spread the word about this issue.

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imam zaid shakir, masjid, islam, propaganda, sharia

It is with great honor to announce the official podcast for Imam Zaid Shakir. The web interface can be found here:  http://newislamicdirections.com/mediacast/

The iTunes podcast feed can be found here: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=292650619

Check out Imam Zaid’s ‘Eid 1429 (2008) khutbah here:

http://newislamicdirections.com/mediacast/id-khutbah-1429-2008/

And last Friday’s khutbah (October 3, 2008) here: http://newislamicdirections.com/mediacast/friday-khutbah-october-3-2008/ – Reflections of Surah Al ‘Asr

We would like to thank Imam Zaid and Umm Hassan for allowing us the opportunity to work on this endeavor. May Allah s.w.t. accept it and make it a means of entering Paradise.

GlobalGiving’s Ramadan Initiative Partners with Mecca.com to Provide Safe, Secure Options for Muslims to Give

Muslim Community Moving to Online Philanthropy to Satisfy Tenets of Ramadan

Washington, D.C. – The tradition of giving during Ramadan — one’s zakat and sadaqah — is rooted in the belief of selfless compassion and a redistribution of wealth. Unfortunately, many Muslims in the U.S. struggle with giving money safely to organizations at home or abroad, with the assurance that it is going to the right place. But thanks to GlobalGiving, the innovative marketplace for online giving, the Muslim community now has a new option — GlobalGiving Ramadan.

“My friends and I wrestled with the issue of giving safely and securely during Ramadan for years,” said Saima Zaman, Program Officer at GlobalGiving. “We started giving circles in college, during which we would share giving ideas; but this was a limited solution, based on personal knowledge rather than a broad, well researched resource.”

In 2006, Saima started working with GlobalGiving to create a safe, online Ramadan initiative that would be a better solution for Muslims to give back. Today, through www.globalgiving.com/ramadan, Muslim donors can scroll through a number of projects and select the cause most meaningful to them. All projects on the GlobalGiving Ramadan site are run by reputable organizations that satisfy IRS guidelines for international grant making, meet tax-deductible requirements, and follow anti-terrorism laws. GlobalGiving also provides a zakat calculator so donors can determine how much to give during Ramadan. And over the last 2 years, online giving during Ramadan has increased by over 400%.

“Ramadan brings out the best in me. When I have food and all the blessings, especially in the month of Ramadan, it makes me want to help others who don’t have as much,” said Hinna Mansoor, who is using GlobalGiving to make her charitable donations for the second year in a row. “I was blown away by the GlobalGiving website – it was so easy!”

This year, GlobalGiving is partnering with Mecca.com, one of the world’s biggest online communities for Muslims, to help get the word out about GlobalGiving’s Ramadan giving options. And for every 5 donors who register on the Mecca.com website, Mecca will make an additional contribution towards projects it is supporting.

“Partnering with Mecca.com is a terrific opportunity and the logical next step for us to reach a broader community of Muslims worldwide,” added Zaman.

GlobalGiving believes in transparency from start to finish. Once the donor gives to the cause of their choice, they will see the impact of their donation over time through regular updates from project leaders. Donors can even contact and build relationships with the project leaders directly, deepening the connection between individuals and communities from around the world.

About GlobalGiving

GlobalGiving is an easy-to-use online marketplace that connects people to the causes they care most about. Donors select the locally run projects they want to fund, helping to make lasting change throughout the world. You choose exactly where you want your money to go and we get it there — it’s that simple.

About Mecca.com

Mecca.com offers a point of solidarity for online Muslims worldwide. Our goal is to promote and reinforce an inspiring, positive image of the strong values that Muslims bring to their respective communities everywhere.  At Mecca.com, we help Muslims everywhere come closer to achieving their own personal dreams – whatever they may be.  Together, anything is possible.

Media Contact:

Angela Pauly: 202 478 6139

apauly@mrss.com

Joan Ochi: 202 232 5784

jochi@globalgiving.com

There was a lot of hype and excitement about the release of the Iron Man movie. It has garnered a lot of rave reviews and publicity. We were not impressed with the way Muslims were portrayed in the movie. It was like a subtle repulsor blast to the face: "Look, Muslims again! Shooting, bombing, kidnapping and scowling too!"

Yes, Tony Stark is tough and yes, he built an awesome suit of armor.

However, we know who the REAL Iron Man is….

During the battle, two links from the metal chainstrap of the Messenger of Allah’s helmet had been forced into his cheek. Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah removed one link from his face and a front tooth fell out; he pulled out another link and a second tooth fell out. Thus he lost both of his front teeth.

Source: http://ourislamonline.tripod.com/10histislam.htm

In the battle of Uhud, the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) fell on his face against a rock; his incisor fractured and his face became covered in blood. The disbeliever, Abdullah Bin Qami’a, struck him on his helmet with a sword. The helmet embedded into his face and became stuck in his cheek. Its metal tips penetrated the Prophet’s cheekbones. His companions tried to pull it out, but to no avail. Abu Bakr said, "Let me pull it out off the Prophet’s face".

"No Abu Bakr! No one should pull it out but me! Lay down, Apostle of Allah," said Abu-Ubaida Ibnul-Jarrah.  With metal still clinging to his face, the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) laid down. Abu Ubaida held the Prophet’s blessed head and started to pull the metal rings out with his teeth until his teeth became broken – he lost his teeth for the sake of Allah. The pointy tips were out, and the Prophet’s face was bleeding heavily.  With blood covering his face, the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) said, "O Allah, grant my people guidance and forgive their ignorance."

Source: http://www.amrkhaled.net/articles/articles1351.html

‘Utbah bin Abi Waqqas pelted him with stones. One of the stones fell on his face. His lower right incisor Ruba‘iya (i.e. the tooth that is between a canine and a front tooth) was injured. His lower lip was wounded. He was also attacked by ‘Abdullah bin Shihab Az-Zuhri who cleaved his forehead. ‘Abdullah bin Qami’a (Qami’a means ‘a humiliated woman’), who was an obstinate strong horseman, struck him violently on his shoulder with his sword; and that stroke hurt the Messenger of Allâh (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for over a month — though it was not strong enough to break his two armours. He dealt a heavy blow on his cheek. It was so strong that two rings of his iron-ringed helmet penetrated into his holy cheek.

Source: http://www.rasoulallah.net/subject_en.asp?hit=1&parent_id=164&sub_id=1981

The Prophet (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was wounded on the face by the rings of his helmet piercing his temples, his lower lip bled, and one of his teeth was broken.

Source: http://www.lastprophet.info/en/content/view/196/1010/

To read more about these events and the bravery of the Prophet Muhammad (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the companions, please click on the links.

The IslamCrunch journalists have been using socialmedian during it’s alpha phase and we have just received notice that the social media news site will be moving to public beta early next week. If you would like to get a preview of the alpha release before the site goes public, drop us a comment and we will send you an invite.

On socialmedian, newsmakers create news networks and add news stories that would interest those involved in the news networks. We have created an Islam news network: http://www.socialmedian.com/network/islam

This is a great opportunity to promote news stories/articles about a particular topic. If you would like to add your blog or website as a news source, please leave a comment or contact us.

Check out our news page here: http://www.socialmedian.com/islamcrunch

Apparently, we have caught the attention of the socialmedian CEO & crew. We have been listed as a notable newsmaker on their popular newsmaker list.