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MIAMI (AP) — The Muslim holiday of Ramadan falls during the long, hot days of August this year, and Muslim Americans are getting ready to accommodate the daylight fasts required during the month-long period with adjustments in their schedules and eating habits.

It can be even tougher for Muslims in America than for their counterparts in majority-Muslim countries, where business slows down during Ramadan and people take it easier during the day, says Dr. Elizabeth Rourke, an internist at Boston Medical Center. (more…)

(Newly-wed Ummu Honey Lokman Hakim, 19, a member of “The Obedient Wife Club”, bows to her 23-year-old husband Mohd Syurahbil Amran, during a mass wedding ceremony in conjunction with the club’s launch in Kuala Lumpur June 4, 2011/Samsul Said )

Indonesian Gina Puspita traded a career in aircraft engineering for a mission to preach Islam and help young women build happy marriages through good sex. The French-educated mother of three hosts religious programmes through the Obedient Wives Club which is based on the belief that a fulfilling sex life is the cure for “Western-style” social problems such as divorce and abuse.

“Wives must obey the husbands in all aspect of life, such as serving food and drinks, giving calm and support for the husband, as well as in sex relations,” Pusipita, who shares her spouse with three other women, told Reuters.

A Muslim group which espouses good sex as a foundation for healthy marriages and a strong society, the Obedient Wives Club is gaining converts in the world’s most populous Muslim country after setting up in Jordan, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.

Founded by Global Ikhwan, a Malaysian firm involved in businesses ranging from laundromats to pharmacies, the club was initially intended to help the company’s female staff to be good wives as well as productive employees. Global Ikhwan’s officials have been linked to the now-defunct Malaysia-based Al-Arqam religious sect which was banned by the government in 1994. Before the Obedient Wives Club, Global Ikhwan had earlier established the Polygamy Club which encourages polygamy among Muslims.

The Obedient Wives Club is open to women of all faiths but says its teachings are based on the edicts of Islam which require wives to submit to their husbands and meet their needs. “When men cannot get satisfaction at home, they will seek it elsewhere,” said Nurul, an Obedient Wives Club spokesperson. “When your wife is cool towards you because your wife is busy and has no time to attend to you whereas you need it that day, what are you going to do?”

Read the full story by Olivia Rondonuwu and Razak Ahmad here.

A San Mateo woman is suing Abercrombie & Fitch after she was allegedly fired from her job at the company’s Hillsdale Shopping Center outlet for not removing her headscarf.

The woman, who has not been identified, is a Muslim, and “she was told that her headscarf, though worn based on a religious mandate, was not in compliance with the company’s ‘look policy,’” said those representing her in the lawsuit. She worked at Hollister Co., a subsidiary of Abercrombie & Fitch, in 2009 and 2010.

Some Muslim traditions require that women wear the headscarf, or hijab, when out in public.

Her case has been taken up by the Legal Aid Society of San Francisco – Employment Law Center, a group that works to defend the rights of the socially disadvantaged. Christopher Herrera, a spokesman for the group, said the case “came to us through the Council on American-Islamic Relations. They know that we work with employment issues and with discrimination issues regarding employment.”

The Legal Aid Society and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) are filing the suit on Monday in San Francisco, after which a news conference will be held. The conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the legal group’s offices at 180 Montgomery Street, Suite 600, San Francisco.

CAIR describes itself as “America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization.”

According to a press release issued by both groups, “The plaintiff worked for Hollister Co., a brand of Abercrombie & Fitch, for several months in 2009-10 while wearing a hijab. In February 2010, she was terminated from her position as a stockroom employee after refusing to remove her scarf.”

Herrera said he could not comment further on the case until the lawsuit is filed Monday.

The suit is being filed in conjunction with a lawsuit already filed against Abercrombie & Fitch by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the group said.

Abercrombie & Fitch representatives were not immediately available for comment.
Source: http://millbrae.patch.com/articles/san-mateo-woman-store-fired-me-for-wearing-headscarf-2

It’s coming, folks. Wake up the neighbors. I’ll be in Houston speaking tonight (go here for tickets). Bring everyone you know. Get armed with knowledge. It’s war, and it’s just beginning.

Possible Al-Qaida Hit List Targets Specific Americans NBC News hat tip Van

An al-Qaida-linked website has posted a potential hit list of targets that include names and photos of several U.S. officials and business leaders, calling for terrorists to target these Americans in their own homes, NBC New York has learned.

The FBI has sent out a new intelligence bulletin to law enforcement agencies, warning that this new web-based threat, while not a specific plot, is very detailed. The bulletin said the list includes leaders “in government, industry and media.”

The FBI has notified those individuals who are named.

NBC New York will not identify them or their companies. The list includes Wall Street firms, political leaders, leaders with think tanks and contractors who do business with the military.

The websites contain 40 specific names, 26 of them with photos attached, and they call for posting home addresses. One jihadist called for sending package bombs to any listed address as just one possibility.

Source: http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2011/06/leading-islamic-groups-hit-list-targets-specific-americans.html

KUALA LUMPUR: Bahrain-based Elaf Bank B.S.C has received approval from the Government to carry out international Islamic banking business in the country under the Islamic Banking Act 1983.

In a statement yesterday, Bank Negara said the Minister of Finance had granted approval to Elaf Bank.

It said Elaf Bank was allowed to conduct a wide array of Islamic banking business in international currencies other than Malaysian ringgit.

“Elaf Bank’s presence will further strengthen the economic and financial linkages between Malaysia and Bahrain and contribute further to the development of the Islamic financial system in Malaysia,” the central bank said.

Last October, Elaf Bank chief executive Jamil El Jaroudi was quoted at saying that it had applied for a Malaysian Islamic banking licence after securing six financing deals worth about US$1.4bil in the country and Indonesia.

He said the licence would enable Elaf to execute the deals and conduct other dollar-denominated Islamic banking business.

“We have a couple of mandates here in Malaysia and in Indonesia which convinced us more and more that we would like to be in South-East Asia.”

Jamil said US$1.2bil of the deals Elaf had been mandated for were in Malaysia and US$200mil in Indonesia.

“Indonesia is a huge market which is not very much tapped yet from the Islamic point of view and we believe the potential is fantastic there,” he said.

“However we would be doing that most probably through Malaysia.”

Elaf Bank has announced the opening of its “first branch office” to be located in Kuala Lumpur on its corporate website.

“This branch office will be the centre of operations for the bank in South-East Asia, further extending the activities of the main branch in Bahrain, and giving Elaf Bank a competitive edge in both strategic markets,” Elaf Bank said.

It said the opening of the branch office here was yet another step towards achieving the bank’s vision to create “virtual corridors” among major Islamic finance hubs.

“Malaysia is viewed as an exemplary Islamic finance market, and has achieved the status of being recognised as the centre for Islamic finance in South-East Asia.

“With this strategic move, Elaf Bank is embarking on a well defined growth path harmonious with its intent of broadening the opportunities and growing the geographical scope and reach of Islamic finance to benefit both the Middle East and South-East Asia regions, and beyond,” Elaf Bank said.

In a separate statement, Elaf Bank said yesterday it planned to start its branch office “immediately” now that it had fulfilled the formalities required for obtaining the license.

Jamil said Elaf Bank was developing its business through two hubs covering the Gulf Cooperation Council, Middle East and North Africa region, and the South-East Asia region, as a two-way business corridor.

“Being a wholesale Islamic bank headquartered in Bahrain, the logical next step would be to open our first international branch office in the capital of Islamic finance in Malaysia.

“This will help us operate more efficiently and closely to meet the needs of our cross-regional clients, and be able to execute deals that will contribute to the sustainable growth of the Islamic finance industry in both strategic markets,” he said.

Elaf Bank is a closed shareholding company incorporated in Bahrain. It operates as an Islamic wholesale (investment) bank with a paid-up capital of US$200mil.

It provides the full spectrum of wholesale Islamic banking and it is also involved in the development of the sukuk secondary market where it acts as a market maker.

Source: thestar.com.my

In Indonesia, a Muslim fundamentalist organization, the Islamic Defenders Front, held a prayer service late Wednesday for Osama bin Laden. The head of the country’s highest Islamic body expressed approval for the peaceful prayer service, but also support for the U.S. military action that killed the al-Qaida leader.

Ahmad Shobri Lubis, the secretary general of the Islamic Defenders Front, praised the slain al-Qaida leader for standing up against American power. He says bin Laden is a symbol of Muslim resistance to what he calls American hegemony in the world.

Although the prayer service was overflowing with hundreds of the group’s supporters, their extremist views represent only a very small minority within Indonesia.

Amidhan, the chairman of the Indonesia Ulema Council, the country’s highest Islamic body, represents a more mainstream view of bin Laden. He says bin Laden is not a Muslim leader, because he killed with acts of terrorism and Islam’s way is peaceful.

Indonesia has also suffered from terrorist attacks from groups affiliated with al Qaida or influenced by bin Laden’s ideology. One such group, Jemaah Islamiyah, was involved in several attacks in the last decade, including the 2002 Bali bombing that killed over 200 people.

Amidhan says most Indonesian Muslims support the U.S. right to track down and even kill the man who orchestrated the September 11, 2001 terror attacks that killed close to 3,000 people. But he is concerned with news that bin Laden’s body was buried at sea, without what he called a proper Muslim burial. He said could incite retribution from extremist elements.

He says it could create the impression of throwing animals into the sea and that could increase anger and terrorism in the world.

Amidhan says that although the killing of bin Laden might incite those already pre-disposed to hate America, it will have little negative effect on the vast majority of the country.