Centre for Coaching Muslim Students in the Offing

NEW DELHI - The Crescent Academy in the northern Indian city of Aligarh is setting up a centre for coaching Muslims for top civil service examinations in India with an objective of empowering them with higher representation in civil service jobs. The centre will be set up on a plot of land covering an area of six acres in the outskirts of University City of Aligarh where there will be a hostel for 100 students as well as guesthouses and residential quarters for the faculty members.

In India, Muslims represent only 3.7 percent in the Indian Administrative Services (IAS), which currently has strength of 5018. Similarly, Muslims are grossly under represented in all layers of government services, which lead to alienation of Muslims from decision- making process.

Fazlur Raheem Mujaddidi, chairman of the Crescent Academy, has unveiled plans of the academy to set up similar centres in several other major cities of the country, including Delhi, Lucknow, Allahabad, Kochi and Bangalore. Mujaddidi also runs a Madrasa cum modern school known as Jamiatul Hidaya in Jaipur for the last 25 years.

Blair Warns Against 'Stigmatising' Muslims

LONDON - Prime Minister Tony Blair warned against "stigmatising" the Muslim community because of fears of terrorism.

Giving evidence to the Commons Liaison Committee, the Prime Minster said that concerns about terrorism since the September 11 attacks in 2001 had added a "new dimension" to race relations.

"I think that issue to do with terrorism - and we heard all the controversy over the stop and search and so on - has put a new dimension into the equation which I think is difficult," he said.

"I know from my conversations with leaders of the Muslim community that they feel very strongly that if someone who calls themselves a Protestant goes on to the streets of Northern Ireland and murders a Catholic that doesn't reflect on the whole of the Protestant religion.

"Whereas they feel if you get Muslim extremists and terrorists then somehow this can be taken as stigmatising the entire community. I think we need to be sensitive to that."

Mr Blair warned against allowing "unnecessary tension" to develop between ethnic communities which could be exploited by parties like the far right British National Party (BNP).

"Sometimes there is an unnecessary tension that enters into local relations. Obviously this is what has happened in certain parts of the North West particularly, but not limited to the North West," he said.

"Those are areas particularly where political parties like the BNP can come in and exploit those tensions." - Muslim News

Most American Muslims to Vote Bush Down: Poll

WASHINGTON - A majority of eligible American Muslim voters would vote for Democratic presidential contender John Kerry and independent hopeful Ralph Nader in the November presidential elections, according to a poll released on Tuesday, June 29 by a prominent American Islamic civil rights group.

Fifty four percent of eligible Muslim voters said they would vote for Kerry and 26 percent for Nader, an American of Lebanese descent, while 14 percent remain undecided, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said.

According to the survey of 1161 individuals taken this month, 34 percent of respondents said the Democratic Party best represents American Muslims' interests, closely followed by the Green Party at 24 percent. Almost one- quarter (22 percent) of those polled said no party reflected their views.

All figures are based on responses provided by eligible Muslim voters. Almost all of the respondents said they are registered to vote or plan to vote in November.

Discrimination

The results mark a shift in the choice of American Muslims from the 2000 elections, in which 55 percent of Muslims voted for incumbent President George W. Bush.

Fifty four percent of the respondents said they experienced some form of anti- Muslim discrimination or bias in the past year and 87 percent felt less secure since the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Nearly 57 percent of American Muslims polled by CAIR in 2002 complained of having experienced bias or discrimination since the September 11 attacks and 87 percent know of a fellow Muslim who experienced discrimination.

Asked to list the most important domestic issues they will use to determine a presidential choice, almost 40 percent of the polled cited civil rights, followed by the economy at 25 percent. While more than 90 percent said Washington's policy in the Middle East is the most important international issue.

Bush triggered wrath of Muslim and Arab Americans by stating, with Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon at his side in a press conference, that Palestinian refugees could not return to their homeland and that Israel could retain occupation of lands in the West Bank, in what is dubbed as a "Bushfour Promise".

Swing votes

"This survey shows that presidential candidates will have to address issues of importance to Muslims if they wish to garner and maintain support in the Islamic community," CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad said.

He underlined that Muslims may be swing voters in politically-important states such as Michigan, Ohio and Florida.

On April 29, a poll conducted by the Washington- based Arab American Institute revealed that a majority of Arab Americans in four battleground states would vote for Kerry if presidential elections were held that day.

The poll found that 49 percent of all Arab-American voters in Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania - all swing states in the November election - would vote for Kerry, while 30 percent would vote for Bush.

Though there are only about 510,000 likely Arab- American voters in the states, the race could be close enough that even relatively small numbers could make a difference.

In 2000, then Democratic presidential contender Al Gore won Michigan and Pennsylvania by just over than 200,000 votes in each state, while Bush won Ohio by 165,000 and the two tied in Florida.

Free Religious Practice

On other issues, only 11 percent of respondents said they are better off now than they were four years ago. However, 81 percent said they feel free to practice their faith in America.

Muslims from 43 states responded to the survey, with the most responses coming from California (17 percent), Texas (8 percent), Virginia (8 percent), New York (4 percent), Florida (4 percent), Illinois (7 percent), Michigan (5 percent), Ohio (5 percent), Maryland (5 percent), and New Jersey (4 percent).

The two largest ethnic groups listed in the survey were South Asian (37 percent) and those from an Arabic-speaking countries (28 percent).

Feeling ostracized and betrayed by a number of oppressive laws enacted with the blessing of the Bush administration, Arab and Muslim Americans are trying to show they can be a mighty political force and key player in this year's presidential election. - IOL