Local Community News Archive
2013
Bay Area Muslim Women Featured in Oakland Public Library Film Screening | May 07, 2013 by Meg Bertoni, OaklandLocal.com
Is the hijab, the head covering worn by Muslim women in public, really “just a piece of cloth?” Or does it have greater meaning? more...
Fremont student wins state spelling bee | Apr 25, 2013 by Fremont Bulletin Staff, MercuryNews.com
Niles Elementary School fifth-grader Sahir Qureshi won the 2013 California State Elementary Spelling Bee on Saturday. more...
Life as a Muslim as a college student | Apr 10, 2013 by Rochelle Beckel, SpartdanDaily.com
Moath Othman, a sophomore material science and engineering major and vice president of the Muslim Students Association, shocked one of his SJSU professors by telling him that he was a Muslim. more...
Responding to Islamophobic Bus Ads with Education and Community Building | Apr 03, 2013
From the Civil Rights Desk more...
San Jose celebrates its first Arab American councilman | Jan 07, 2013 by John Woolfolk, MercuryNews.com
San Jose marked another milestone in the growing diversity of the Bay Area's largest city with a swearing-in ceremony Sunday for newly elected Councilman Johnny Khamis, the city's first elected official of Arab descent. more...
2012
Plan for building a mosque in conservative San Martin divides community | Aug 20, 2012 by Joe Rodriguez, MercuryNews.com
One thousand years ago, the rich and populous city of Cordoba, Spain, could claim to be the medieval capital of intellectual freedom and religious tolerance. The children of Abraham, protected by an enlightened, Moorish caliph, lived peacefully and prospered together there as never before, and some today would add ever since. more...
California’s Averroes Institute: Islamic Prep School in America | May 30, 2012 by Monica Campbell, theworld.org
In the U.S., we’re used to seeing religious private schools: Catholic preps, fundamentalist Christian schools. Now, there’s a newcomer: private Islamic schools. In step with America’s growing Muslim population, the schools are growing fast—but not without bumps. Critics call them cocoons raising Muslim outsiders, while the schools’ leaders argue that blending Islamic studies with an American context reflects a deeper integration in the U.S. more...
Afghan Americans protest military massacre in Fremont rally | Mar 17, 2012 by Gary Peterson, San Jose Mercury News
For Karima Tokhi, hearing about the massacre of 16 Afghanistan civilians, allegedly at the hands of an American soldier, cut straight to the heart. more...
Novato exhibit of Muslim art seeks to cultivate understanding, celebrate creativity | Mar 15, 2012 by Vicki Larson, Marin Independent Journal
ASYA ABDRAHMAN IS an artist and a Muslim, but she's not convinced there needs to be an exhibit dedicated just to Muslim art. more...
HAF and SABA-NC Express Outrage over Hate Crime in San Jose | Jan 11, 2012
The South Asian Bar Association of Northern California (SABA-NC) has joined the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) to condemn the brutal attack of a 32-year old Hindu man in San Jose, California. According to statements from the victim, Atul Lall, he was assaulted while leaving a Lucky shopping center parking lot on the night of November 21, after picking up groceries for the family Thanksgiving dinner. Lall, who has a pre-existing disability, was attacked by a group of three men, who repeatedly punched him, broke his jaw with a tequila bottle, doused him with alcohol, spit on him, and called him a "terrorist." more...
2011
FBI Director Questioned About Agency Practices in the Bay Area | Nov 17, 2011
Civil Rights Organizations Challenge FBI Director to Answer Questions About FBI's Practices in the Bay Area more...
Supreme Court to Rule on GPS Surveillance, Addressing ‘Big Brother’ Claims | Sep 10, 2011 by Adam Liptak, NYTimes.com
The precedent is novel. More precisely, the precedent is a novel. more...
Oakland museum cancels Palestinian kids’ war art | Sep 10, 2011 by Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle
An Oakland children's museum, citing pressure from the community, canceled a planned exhibit of artwork by Palestinian youth that depicted the Israeli assault during the 2008-09 Gaza conflict. more...
Jostling continues on SFPD participation in JTTF | Sep 08, 2011 by Ali Winston, http://informant.kalwnews.org
The debate over the San Francisco Police Department’s participation in the regional Joint Terrorism Task Force has slogged on for months after the American Civil Liberties Union revealed the agreement governing SFPD’s involvement in the anti-terror program disregarded long-standing LOCAL restrictions on police intelligence gathering and surveillance. more...
Celebrating the End of Ramadan | Aug 30, 2011 by David Mills, Patch.com
An estimated 3,000 people gathered at the Alameda County Fairgrounds to commemorate Eid. more...
Fear, Inc.: The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America | Aug 26, 2011 by Wajahat Ali, AmericanProgress.org
The Center for American Progress issues a 150-page report on the growing Islamophobia of the United States. more...
Ramadan transforms North Oakland street at night | Aug 25, 2011 by Matthai Kuruvila, San Francisco Chronicle
The nights of Ramadan, a month of daytime fasting for Muslims, awaken the streets in a small stretch of the city. more...
Fremont Toyota sued by EEOC | Aug 23, 2011 by Matt Artz, Tri-City Beat
Afghan-Americans report harrassment. more...
Growing up Muslim after Sept. 11 test of faith | Aug 23, 2011 by Gillian Flaccus, Associated Press
"It was unfair that I was born at a time when all this was happening," he said. "It's hard to explain that you're not the stereotype that's put out." more...
Lawyer/humorist Wajahat Ali tackles serious topic of ‘Islamophobia’ | Aug 23, 2011 by Matt O'Brien, SJ Mercury News
Ali, 30, has made a career of writing about ordinary Muslim Americans with humor and candor. more...
Santa Clara mosque showcases new 64-foot tall minaret | Aug 12, 2011 by Lisa Fernandez, San Jose Mercury News
The Muslim Community Association has added a minaret to their building. more...
Bay Area Muslim Community Celebrates Ramadan, Holds Open Houses | Aug 11, 2011 by Rachel Dornhelm, KQED News
30 Mosques in 30 Nights covers Bay Area locations, which interested parties can visit this Ramadan. more...
San Francisco volunteers feed 2,000 for Ramadan | Aug 08, 2011 by Davi Barker, Examiner.com
On multiple occasions President Obama has promised that American Muslims would be able to give their Zakat, a religious obligation to give to those in need. more...
Islamic Science Rediscovered | Aug 05, 2011 by The Tech Museum
The Tech Museum will have a limited exhibit starting Sept.3 on Islamic science. more...
UPDATED: S.F. court rules to remove anti-circumcision measure from ballot | Aug 04, 2011 by Jonah Lowenfeld, The Jewish Journal
Ibrahim Hooper of CAIR joins fellow Muslims and Jews to combat SF bill aimed to criminalize male circumcision, a religious practice of both groups. more...
Bay Area Muslims begin holy month of Ramadan | Aug 04, 2011 by Linda Goldston, San Jose Mercury News
Muslims at MCA and SBIA begin fasting this August 1st. more...
Man Secretly Tracked by FBI Shares His Story | Aug 04, 2011 by Brian Williams, MSNBC
Yasir Afifi was tracked by the FBI without a warrant. MSNBC looks into his situation in this web-only special. more...
Nabila Mango builds bridges to Arabic culture | Jun 02, 2011
"For her commitment to pluralism and inclusion - and for helping to build a positive bridge to Arabic culture - she was honored in April by the state Senate, the city and county of San Francisco and the Asian Law Caucus" more...
View community member Waheed Siddiqee’s letter to the SJ Mercury | May 28, 2011
Waheed Siddiqee responds to an article "Netanyahu: Israel cannot return to 1967 borders" published on May 23, 2011 in the San Jose Mercury with a letter to the editor: more...
Pakistanis on the Corruption that May Have Protected Osama | May 03, 2011 by Thalia Gigerenzer, the Bay Citizen
Bay Area Pakistanis Respond more...
SFPD officers working with FBI given more leeway to gather intelligence | Apr 06, 2011 by Brent Begin, SFExaminer.com
A recently unearthed agreement between the FBI and the San Francisco Police Department allows city cops assigned to a task force designed to combat terrorist attacks to gather intelligence on individuals even if they aren’t suspected of a crime, according to groups that have been in a legal fight with the SFPD over the agreement for months. more...
Man who died in Hwy. 237 crash had just visited newborn granddaughter | Jan 13, 2011 by Lisa Fernandez, San Jose Mercury News
Tariq Khanzada had just left the hospital after cuddling for hours with his newborn granddaughter when he witnessed a 2002 BMW crash and stop partly in the fast lane on Highway 237 in Sunnyvale. more...
Mosque in San Martin? Let’s learn from history | Jan 04, 2011 by Lisa Pampuch, GilroyDispatch.com
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." ~ Philosopher George Santayana more...
2010
Muslim American Artists Strive to Bridge a Chasm | Dec 16, 2010 by Thalia Gigerenzer, NewYorkTimes.com
When Wajahat Ali, a young Muslim American playwright from Fremont, needed to build an audience for his work, he produced his plays in cramped Pakistani restaurants in the East Bay and used Facebook to get the word out. more...
Thank You for Your Generous Support of CAIR’s Work | Dec 09, 2010 by Zahra Billoo
More Than 750 Turn Out for CAIR-SFBA Banquet more...
CAIR-SFBA Executive Director Receives Unity Award | Nov 16, 2010
Zahra Billoo receives San Francisco Minority Bar Coalition Award more...
Look for CAIR Staff & Volunteers at… | Sep 01, 2010
East Bay residents launch relief efforts for Pakistan | Aug 20, 2010 by Oakland Tribune
2009
CAIR-SFBA Releases 2009 Civil Rights Report | Oct 29, 2009
San Francisco Bay Area 2009 Civil Rights Report Released more...
Ex-Gitmo Guard, Terry Holdbrooks Speaks Out | Oct 22, 2009
By Aliyah Mohammed, CAIR-SFBA Media Relations Intern, Summer 2009 more...
Rep. Honda: Slander of Muslims Is ‘Slander Against Democracy and Religious Freedom’ | Oct 16, 2009
Republican Reps. accuse Islamic advocacy group of "planting" Muslim interns and staffers on Capitol Hill more...
Ad campaign in Bay Area answers questions about Islam | Oct 06, 2009
ICNA's "Why Islam?" billboards, posters on buses and bus stops can now be seen in San Jose, Santa Clara and Concord. more...
Man Detained for Extensive Questioning at Bay Area Airport | Jul 29, 2009
Muslim Man was interrogated and treated rudely at airport. more...
Inmate Requests Arabic Distance Learning Courses | Jul 29, 2009
A man who is incarcerated asked for distance learning classes that would enable him to learn languages from the Muslim World more...
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