December 21, 2010

The Islamic Information Center is beginning a petition drive to advocate on behalf of H.R. 847, a piece of proposed legislation to help emergency first responders, such as police and firefighters, who became ill after the 9/11 attacks. IIC stands in permanent opposition to terrorism, and believes the Muslim community in the United States can demonstrate their opposition to terrorism with this petition.

H.R. 847 has been commonly referred to as the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010. It was named after James Zadroga, a New York City police officer who died in 2006 of respiratory disease attributed to toxins he inhaled while working for the better part of a year cleaning up Ground Zero after 9/11. Zadroga sacrificed his life, unwittingly, to search through the rubble for the victims of those infamous terrorist attacks and to bring closure to their families.

IIC will present the petition and the signatures to government officials, and in doing so will demonstrate the involvement of Muslims in the United States diaspora. By signing this petition, community members will show that they oppose terrorism and want to make a difference. However, the petition must be signed by January 1st, 2011 - as the 112th Congress opens its first session by January 3, 2011. 

December 21, 2010

The Islamic Information Center is beginning a petition drive to advocate on behalf of H.R. 847, a piece of proposed legislation to help emergency first responders, such as police and firefighters, who became ill after the 9/11 attacks. IIC stands in permanent opposition to terrorism, and believes the Muslim community in the United States can demonstrate their opposition to terrorism with this petition. H.R. 847 has been commonly referred to as the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010. It was named after James Zadroga, a New York City police officer who died in 2006 of respiratory disease attributed to toxins he inhaled while working for the better part of a year cleaning up Ground Zero after 9/11. Zadroga sacrificed his life, unwittingly, to search through the rubble for the victims of those infamous terrorist attacks and to bring closure to their families.

December 20, 2010

The Islamic Information Center protests the actions of the Malaysian government that took place this weekend, wherein 200 innocent Shia Muslims were arrested for belonging to a so called "banned" sect, and participating in mourning ceremonies related to the death of Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Husain ibn Ali (May God Bless them).  Furthermore, the Islamic Information Center will be requesting a formal meeting with the Malaysian Ambassador to the United States regarding this issues. The Islamic Information Center advocates on behalf of humanitarian rights in the United States and around the world, and the actions of the Malaysian government are deeply troubling in this regard.

December 18, 2010

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) is planning to hold hearings on the "radicalization" of American Muslims when he takes over the chair of the Homeland Security Committee next year, the New York Times reports. King told the Times he's concerned that Muslim-American leaders are increasingly reluctant to help out with the government's terror investigations. This is not the first time these types of hearings have been held, 1950′s America came to be known infamously as the McCarthy era, after the Congressman who headed the House Unamerican Activities Committee.

October 25, 2010

This week Europol released an annual study of terrorism; the results do not support claims that "(nearly) all Muslims are terrorists". Europol (portmanteau of European Police Office) is the European Union's criminal intelligence agency. According to a report from Loonwatch.com's Mr. Danios, various news commentators and others expressing Islamophobia have been popularizing the claim that “not all Muslims are terrorists, but (nearly) all terrorists are Muslims.”  Despite this idea becoming axiomatic in some circles, it is quite simply not factual.

October 4, 2010

Imamia Medics International’s Associate Representative to the United Nations, Sakina Rizvi will brief the press about IMI’s Pakistan flood disaster relief efforts, Friday, October 8th, 2010, 3PM-5PM, Bloomberg Room, National Press Club, Washington D.C. IMI’s Pakistan Flood Relief has provided valuable medical assistance to those suffering in Pakistan where more than 20 million were directly affected by severe floods - more than the combined total of 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, 2005 South Asia earthquake, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Over 1,700 people have died and 1.2 million houses have been damaged and destroyed, leaving millions homeless. Prior to the floods, in early 2010, IMI Pakistan organized four training disaster response sessions to train junior doctors, medical students and pharmacists. The aim of the session was to educate the participants about their responsibilities in disaster situations. 

September 16, 2010

The Islamic Information Center joins the statement by the Arab Program for Human Rights, and reiterates its support for the innocent and peaceful people of Bahrain, who are victims of violent and radical oppression by the Bahraini government. IIC and the Arab Program for Human Rights Activists follows with deep concern and disturbance the Bahraini authorities' torture of a number of activists, politicians, lawyers and some religious figures, on the backdrop of expressing their views in demanding political reform and defending human rights.

9/11/2010

On the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Islamic Information Center (IIC) would like to pass on its condolences to the victims and their families of this great tragedy. Words cannot express IIC's empathy for all those who have been affected, throughout the years, by this horrendous act of terrorism. he Institute for Multi Track Diplomacy requests that community members join IIC Chairman, (Maulana) Imam Syed Naqvi in the “a demonstration of unity and commemoration of 9/11 victims” in Lafayette Park in Washington DC from 6-9 p.m. September, 11, 2010. 

August 27, 2010

The Islamic Information Center strongly condemns the inflammatory remarks made today by New York's Governor Paterson, and calls for him to issue an apology. “This group who has put this mosque together, they are known as the Sufi Muslims. This is not like the Shiites,” Governor Paterson told CBS. “They’re almost like a hybrid, almost westernized. They are not really what I would classify in the sort of mainland Muslim practice.”  Shia (sometimes referred to as 'Shiite') Muslims are peaceful, hardworking residents of New York, and law-abiding citizens of the United States. Governor Patterson builds no good will by implying that the followers of one branch of Islam are superior or inferior to another branch of Islam.

Furthermore, it is reckless for Governor Paterson to make the implication that Shia Muslims are in any way lesser or worse than Sufi Muslims, the general Muslim population, or other Americans in general. In light of the recent assault on a New York City taxi cab driver on the basis of being a Muslim and the desecration of a mosque in Queens, it is irresponsible for the leader of the state of New York to contribute such misguided remarks against his own constituents.