NCL America has agreed to a $485,000 settlement with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in a lawsuit alleging ethnic profiling of seven Arab and Muslim crew members it fired in 2004. The lawsuit was filed in August 2006 in U.S. District Court on behalf of seven crew members of Arab or Muslim origin who were fired from jobs aboard the Pride of Aloha. In addition to $485,000, which will be divided among the seven crew members, NCL America has also agreed to an additional $300,000 in attorneys' fees. "We are very pleased with this outcome, and NCL America should be applauded for its commitment to prevent discrimination by agreeing to the comprehensive injunctive relief in this case," said Anna Y. Park, regional attorney for the EEOC's Los Angeles District Office, which includes Hawaii.

By Ibrahim Hooper

[Ibrahim Hooper is national communications director for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil liberties group. He may be contacted at: ihooper@cair.com ]

During last year’s protests over publication of the Danish cartoons designed to insult the Prophet Muhammad, I wrote a commentary called “What Would Muhammad Do?”

Given the ongoing controversy over the jailing of British teacher Gillian Gibbons in the Sudan for “insulting Islam,” perhaps it is time to remind us all how the Prophet himself reacted to insults, both real and perceived.

As-Salaamu Alaikum,

Yesterday, after a letter to the Department of Corrections and calls to the prison on behalf of the Imam, Reidsville provided covered food to the Imam.  In addition, this morning the warden met with the Imam and acknowledged that the assault on a prison guard allegation was false.  The warden also requested that the Imam get the word out that future calls should be directed to the Department of Corrections in Atlanta concerning his conditions.  The warden called the office of Imam Jamil's wife, with the Imam present this morning to provide the update.

After filing a complaint with prison officials that guards were opening his legal mail from his wife, Jamil Al-Amin was moved to another area of the Reidsville Prison. The area he is currently in is reserved for mental patients, and those who throw their food at guards. When Imam Jamil asked why he was moved to that area of the facility, he was informed that a guard (the same guard that illegally opened his mail) had put on his record that Jamil Al-Amin had assaulted him.

'Civil Rights Hotline' created for Hajj pilgrims, Canada conference attendees


(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/20/05) - A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today issued a travel advisory for Muslim citizens who will be attending a conference in Canada this weekend or participating in the upcoming Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca. (The Hajj will take place in the second week of January. Some 10,000 American Muslims go on Hajj each year.)

By Eric Collins, Staff Writer, News & Record

GREENSBORO -- All Syidah Mateen wanted was to give Muslim witnesses the chance to be sworn in on the Quran before testifying in Guilford County courtrooms.

But an attempt by the Greensboro Islamic center to donate copies of the Muslim holy text last week sparked a legal debate that has left state court officials scrambling to decide whether to allow the practice.

Officials with the Administrative Office of the Courts in Raleigh are trying to come up with a statewide policy on the issue before news of the controversy sparks a large outcry, spokesman Dick Ellis said.

This pattern began with the now infamous remarks of Lt. General William Boykin claiming the Christian God was bigger than Islams God, then the scandalous photos from Abu Ghraib prison where inmates were forced to pose in sexually humiliating positions contrary to Islamic beliefs, and now the admission of deliberate Quran abuse at Guantanamo Bay.

It is clear in the hearts and minds of Muslims worldwide, including American Muslims, that a segment of our military finds profaning all things Islamic as an acceptable tactic in fighting the war on terror.

(Washington, DC – 5/24/05) -- The Muslim Public Affairs Council and the Muslim Women's League welcome the long overdue decision by the Kuwaiti Parliament last week to give Kuwaiti women their right to vote and contest elections for the first time. The all-male body voted to approve the move 35-23, admidst opposition by conservative Muslim members.

"I look at it as my Islamic obligation and my obligation as a American to correct any misinformation that might be out there. I want to correct misconceptions so they (the FBI) can do their job and protect our civil liberties and not exaggerate situations based on their fears."

Bigotry and hatred are stereotyping part of our society