Iraqi nationalism is making it harder for the administration to keep our troops in Iraq past Dec.'08.

Please urge your senators to require congressional approval for any agreement... We can't hamstring Sen. Obama before he is even sworn in as president... Our senate can't be allowed to leave any more of a mess for Barack.
God knows he will have enough to do.

Thanks to anyone who sent an email.
I read today that some of our representatives are rethinking the sanctions/blockade strategy.

We have a voice... if we use it for good, we help our country and ourselves.

peace to you,
marsha

Date Posted: Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Posted By The Media Line Staff

IRAQ (The Media Line) April 8, 2008 â€" Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki announced on Monday he would ban a powerful Shi'ite parliamentary bloc from running in the next local elections unless it disarmed its 60,000-strong armed force.

The 'Sadri parliamentary bloc, led by Muqtada A-'Sadr, responded by saying it would disarm its armed force, known as the Mahdi Army, only if the Shi'ite religious authorities ordered them to do so.

"The Mahdi Army does not accept its orders from anyone except A-'Sadr and the religious authorities with whom he consults. If the religious authorities would ask him to disarm the Mahdi Army, he will definitely execute their demand," spokesman for the 'Sadri bloc, 'Salah A-'Ubeidi told reporters.   Read More »

For all the coverage this week of Senator John McCain's background, you will not learn some important things about him from the TV networks. His carefully crafted positive image relies on people not knowing this stuffâ€"and some of it might surprise you.

Please check out the list below, and then forward it to your friends, family, and coworkers. We cannot rely on the media to tell folks about the real John McCainâ€"but if we all pass this along, we can reach as many people as CNN Headline News does on a good night.

Click here to tell us how many people you can pass it on toâ€"and to see our progress nationally:

http://pol.moveon.org/mccain10/?id=12407-5077189-XKR_ot&t=231

Ten things you should know about John McCain.

1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he has continued to oppose key civil rights laws.1

2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."2

3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban Waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.3

4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."4

5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.5

6. He is one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.6

7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he is too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."7

8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than McCain has any of the other presidential candidates.8

9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."9

10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a zeroâ€"yes, zeroâ€"from the League of Conservation Voters last year.10

John McCain is not who the Washington press corps make him out to be. Please help get the word outâ€"forward this email to your personal network. And if you want us to keep you posted on MoveOn's work to get the truth out about John McCain, sign up here:

http://pol.moveon.org/mccaintruth/?id=12407-5077189-XKR_ot&t=232

Thank you for all you do.

â€"Eli, Justin, Noah, Laura, and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Saturday, April 5th, 2008

Sources:
1. "The Complicated History of John McCain and MLK Day," ABC News, April 3, 2008
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/04/the-complicated.html

"McCain Facts," ColorOfChange.org, April 4, 2008
http://colorofchange.org/mccain_facts/

2. "McCain More Hawkish Than Bush on Russia, China, Iraq," Bloomberg News, March 12, 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aF28rSCtk0ZM&refer=us

"Buchanan: John McCain 'Will Make Cheney Look Like Gandhi,'" ThinkProgress, February 6, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/06/buchanan-gandhi-mccain/

3. "McCain Sides with Bush on Torture Again, Supports Veto of Anti-Waterboarding Bill," ThinkProgress, February 20, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/20/mccain-torture-veto/

4. "McCain says Roe v. Wade should be overturned," MSNBC, February 18, 2007
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17222147/

5. "2007 Children's Defense Fund Action Council® Nonpartisan Congressional Scorecard," February 2008
http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer?pagename=act_learn_scorecard2007

"McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion," CNN, October 3, 2007
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/03/mccain.interview/

6. "Beer Executive Could Be Next First Lady," Associated Press, April 3, 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-S1sWHm0tchtdMP5LcLywg5ZtMgD8VQ86M80

"McCain Says Bank Bailout Should End `Systemic Risk,'" Bloomberg News, March 25, 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHMiDVYaXZFM&refer=home

7. "Will McCain's Temper Be a Liability?," Associated Press, February 16, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=4301022

"Famed McCain temper is tamed," Boston Globe, January 27, 2008
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/27/famed_mccain_temper_is_tamed/

8. "Black Claims McCain's Campaign Is Above Lobbyist Influence: 'I Don't Know What the Criticism Is,'" ThinkProgress, April 2, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/02/mccain-black-lobbyist/

"McCain's Lobbyist Friends Rally 'Round Their Man," ABC News, January 29, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4210251

9. "McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam," Mother Jones Magazine, March 12, 2008
http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-parsley-spiritual-guide.html

"Will McCain Specifically 'Repudiate' Hagee's Anti-Gay Comments?," ThinkProgress, March 12, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/12/mccain-hagee-anti-gay/

"McCain 'Very Honored' By Support Of Pastor Preaching 'End-Time Confrontation With Iran,'" ThinkProgress, February 28, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/28/hagee-mccain-endorsement/
10. "John McCain Gets a Zero Rating for His Environmental Record," Sierra Club, February 28, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/environment/77913/

Support our member-driven organization: MoveOn.org Political Action is entirely funded by our 3.2 million members. We have no corporate contributors, no foundation grants, and no money from unions. Our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. If you would like to support our work, you can give now at:

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PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E4C51233-2D21-4FBB-85FD-7D7F5AF173D9.htm

By Rob Reynolds in Columbus, Ohio

On the road to clinching the Republican Party nomination for president, John McCain worked hard for the endorsement of influential Evangelical Christian ministers.

The ministers are helping shore up McCain's support on the party's right wing, which has always been skeptical about whether the Arizona senator is a true-blue conservative.

But one of those minister's beliefs about Islam and Muslims raise disturbing questions.

Rod Parsley, the pastor of a large and profitable Ohio mega-church, calls Islam a false religion. He says Allah is a demon spirit and that Muslims are bent on world conquest.

Parsley endorsed McCain in February, praising him as a "strong, true, consistent conservative".

(Please goto the above link or URL to continue with this story, thank you.)

(This post is for everyone; but I wondering if anyone out there can pass this a long to the Clinton and Obama campign. This is a good chance for them to show up and give there thoughts about Terrorism. Maybe I was just dreaming, but it never hurt to try.)



OKLAHOMA CONFERENCE TO EXAMINE ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE ON TERRORISM

(OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, 3/25/08) - On Saturday, April 5th, the Institute of Interfaith Dialog will host a day-long conference, "Denouncing Violence in the Name of God: The Case of Islam." Participants at the event will have an opportunity to hear Islamic scholars, academics, law enforcement officials, and journalists discuss the "Islamic perspectives on terror, especially terror that is associated with Islam."

WHAT: Institute of Interfaith Dialog's "Denouncing Violence in the Name of God: The Case of Islam"
WHEN: Saturday April 5, 2008, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Oklahoma City University, The Henry Freede Center (Southwest corner of 27th and Florida)

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Dr. Cherif Bassiouni - Professor of Law at DePaul University College of Law and President Emeritus of the International Human Rights Law Institute

ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS: Robert Pape - University of Chicago; Muhammad Abu Laylah - Al-Azhar University, Egypt; Fred Von Der Mehden - Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University; Greg Barton - Monash University, Australia; Dr. Robin Myers - Oklahoma City University; Ekrem Dumanli - Editor of Zaman newspaper, Turkey; John Coyle - Special Agent of FBI, Oklahoma; Andrew Tevington - Daily Oklahoman; and Dr. Imad Enchassi â€" Imam of Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City (ISGOC)

CONTACT: Orhan Kucukosman, Phone: (405) 426 5425, E-Mail: osmanokc@gmail.com

The conference is free of charge and open to the public. Lunch will be provided.

Orhan Kucukosman, from the Institute of Interfaith Dialog, stated the reason for holding the conference in Oklahoma: "In the early days of Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995, there were speculations on individuals associated with a religion who might be responsible for the bombing.
As the truth was revealed, the bombing had no connection with any religion, but was a consequence of mentally challenged personality."

Sponsors include Wimberly School of Religion at Oklahoma City University, OU Religious Studies, Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism Texas, Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City and Mainstream Baptists, and the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OK).

For more information goto:
http://www.interfaithdialog.org/

Posted by Council on American-Islamic Relations

(WASHINGTON D.C., 3/24/08) - A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today said the tragic milestone of 4,000 military personnel killed in Iraq reinforces the need to withdraw America's armed forces from that country.

SEE: US Toll in Iraq Hits 4,000 (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed2/idUSCOL430884

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said the war's five-year military and civilian death toll has severely damaged America's security and international image.

In a statement, CAIR National Director Tahra Goraya said:

"After the tragic deaths of 4,000 American military personnel and of uncounted thousands of Iraqi civilians, we are less secure and less respected as a nation. As we enter the sixth year of this war, it is time to finally withdraw our troops and to do what we can to mitigate the damage caused by our unjustified and counterproductive invasion of Iraq."

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 35 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

A great social psychologist, Professor Keniston once said, "To criticize one's society openly requires a strong heart, especially when criticism is interpreted as pathology...No matter how eagerly the audience awaits or how prepared the set, only courage can take the performer to the stage."

Jeff Halper is a Jew, and anthropologist and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He has Israeli citizenship and Israeli privilege, but he spends more time in the Occupied Territories than the Israeli government likes.

Behavior deemed to be odd by many, he wants to change a world that is willing to give him a very pleasant way of life, and he acts accordingly. As a result, Jeff Halper spends a lot of time being arrested. You see, he has this habit of standing in front of Palestinian homes as they are about to be demolished. He refuses to move as the demolition crews move in on him. Halper and the members of ICAHD (Israeli Committee Against Home Demolition) know and say to anyone who will listen that there is something unjust and undemocratic at the heart of their privileges. Jeff has shown, repeatedly, that he is willing to tackle the solid core of concrete action that will allow a family not to become homeless. He has won a few times and he has lost many times, but he is always loyal to the cause that he believes in- human and equal rights for the Palestinians.

I invite you to meet Jeff Halper on April 15th at North Carolina State University,7pm in Mann Hall, Room 218. This event is being sponsored by the Coalition for Peace with Justice, Israeli Committee Against Home Demolition, and the Muslim America Society (MAS). Such a union itself is enough to give rise to interest but Jeff Halper goes way beyond what might be considered interest or a "meeting of the minds." What he has to say and the cause he brings to the forefront goes deep into the human heart; do not miss this opportunity. If you have another engagement, change it.

This is where every person of conscience should be on April 15th. File your taxes early and then come and see what you have just spent them on.

To be continued...


Khalilah Sabra
Director
MAS-Freedom, NC
www.masfreedom-nc.org

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080322/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb killed three American soldiers north of Baghdad on Saturday, pushing the U.S. death toll in the five-year conflict to nearly 4,000.

Also Saturday, Iraqi authorities reported that a U.S. airstrike north of the capital killed six members of a U.S.-backed Sunni group â€" straining relations with America's new allies in the fight against al-Qaida.

Two Iraqi civilians also died in the roadside bombing, which occurred as the Americans were patrolling an area northwest of the capital, the U.S. military said in a statement.

Two of the soldiers were killed in the blast and the third died of wounds, the statement said. The soldiers were assigned to Multinational Division-Baghdad, the statement said, but gave no further details.

The latest deaths brought to 3,996 the number of U.S. service members and Pentagon civilians who have died since the war began on March 20, 2003, according to an Associated Press count. Rocket or mortar fire killed one U.S. soldier and wounded four others Friday south of Baghdad, the military said.

(To read more or continue, please goto the above URL link, thank you. God bless our troops. God please bring all of them home.)

http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2008/03/21/University/Army-Vet.Speaks.Against.Mistreatment.Of.Detainees-3278241.shtml

Author: Lee Ann Holman

James Yee went from being a decorated U.S. Army soldier serving in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to being accused of espionage, spying and aiding the facility's detainees.

He spoke to students about his experiences Thursday night at the UT Law School Auditorium.

When returning to the U.S. for vacation after serving 10 months as chaplain, Yee was arrested in secret and accused of having classified documents in his backpack. While being transferred to prison Yee was subject to sensory deprivation, a torture tactic. He was held in solitary confinement for 76 days without being charged.

He was exonerated and honorably discharged after deciding to quit the army.

(To read more or continue, go to the above URL link, thank you)

HTTP://WWW.DALLASNEWS.COM/SHAREDCONTENT/DWS/DN/LOCALNEWS/COLUMNISTS/SBLOW/STORIES/032008DNMETBLOWCOLUMN.6A03F9A.HTML

Author: Steve Blow

We first sat and talked in those numb days right after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.We mourned together, and Mohamed Elmougy helped me understand a little more about what had befallen us.

I returned several times over the years to visit with the local Muslim community leader. And this week's fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq seemed a good time to once again glimpse the world through his eyes.

Mohamed, 49, owns the Pyramids Hotel in Allen. He's Egyptian by birth and American by choice.

He opposed the war from the start. "You will remember that I said getting out won't be nearly as easy as going in," he said.

http://www.masnet.org/views.asp?id=4959

From the Desk of Ibrahim-Abdil-Mu'id Ramey, MAS Freedom Civil and Human Rights Directo

WASHINGTON, D.C. (MASNET) March 18, 2008 â�" The conundrum of American primary politics, American Idol worship, and the fall from grace of the former Governor of New York, may have shifted the market-based media focus from the story, but for those who may otherwise be unaware, March 19, 2008 marks the fifth anniversary of the most recent U.S. invasion of Iraq - yet another tragic date in U.S. history that will live in infamy.

What, exactly, has been the cost of the U.S. adventure in Iraq? We are now careening to the number of 4,000 American combat deaths and 40,000 seriously wounded troops. Many of the wounded have been abandoned by their government to a fate of permanent disability and mental distress from the psychological wounds of combat. But this number is dwarfed by the devastation suffered by the Iraqis themselves: 650,000 to one million dead; 400,000 persons displaced from their homes; and the bitter reality of a raging sectarian civil war that has left the nation terrorized and divided.

The recent U.S. troop "surge" has been a useful diversion for the proponents of the war, who now claim some hollow "victory" because of ephemeral military gains in the combat operations against Al-Qaeda and other assorted armed insurgents. But the fundamental contradictions and divisions in the country remain. And Iraq, for all the horrors of it's own history of dictatorship and war, is a far more dangerous and oppressive place that it was under the rule of Saddam.   Read More »

McCain's ‘Spiritual Guide’ Says Destroy Islam
http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-parsley-spiritual-guide.html

Author: David Corn

Senator John McCain hailed as a spiritual adviser an Ohio megachurch pastor who has called upon Christians to wage a "war" against the "false religion" of Islam with the aim of destroying it.

On February 26, McCain appeared at a campaign rally in Cincinnati with the Reverend Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church of Columbus, a supersize Pentecostal institution that features a 5,200-seat sanctuary, a television studio (where Parsley tapes a weekly show), and a 122,000-square-foot Ministry Activity Center. That day, a week before the Ohio primary, Parsley praised the Republican presidential front-runner as a "strong, true, consistent conservative."

The endorsement was important for McCain, who at the time was trying to put an end to the lingering challenge from former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a favorite among Christian evangelicals. A politically influential figure in Ohio, Parsley could also play a key role in McCain's effort to win this bellwether state in the general election. McCain, with Parsley by his side at the Cincinnati rally, called the evangelical minister a "spiritual guide."

http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_8620269

Author: George Watson

The cost of five years of the war in Iraq can be seen in almost any community in the United States.

Families whose loved ones were killed or wounded struggle to put their lives back together. The economy teeters, thanks partly to what a renowned economist projects will ultimately be a $3trillion war bill. Gas prices soar. A political landscape that cost many Republicans their seats in Congress continues to fuel anti-American sentiment outside the nation's borders.

Despite substantial political and infrastructure improvements directly attributable to U.S. involvement in Iraq, few observers believe that as of today - the fifth anniversary of U.S. bombs first falling on Baghdad - an end to America's presence there is in sight.

The consequences of a continued stay, they say, will be felt in Americans' bank accounts and in politicians' ability to govern. . .

From the perspective of Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations' Los Angeles chapter, the war's cost has been multifaceted.

Ayloush is an American with school-age children, and he worries about the state of their education, given California's budget crisis, cuts to education funding and teacher layoffs.

He, too, worries about the economy, the cost of gasoline, and the future of health care.

The war has other, less tangible costs, he noted.

"The biggest nonfinancial, nonmaterial casualty is the damage to our credibility and moral standing in the world today," Ayloush said. "When we issue reports on human rights, which the State Department does, people laugh at it now. They say, `Be quiet."'

Ayloush, who visited Syria and Jordan recently, said he was struck by how angry people are at the United States. The war in Iraq has displaced 2.4million people and induced another 2million to live abroad, primarily in the two countries he visited. Before the war, 500,000 Iraqis lived outside the nation's borders.

"We have caused misery to thousands of their lives and we haven't accepted responsibility," Ayloush said. "We expect neighboring countries to carry that burden without any financial help."

Author: Mike O'Sullivan

Protesters in several US cities held anti-war rallies Saturday to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, March 20th. More rallies are planned in coming days in other U.S. cities. Mike O'Sullivan reports, several thousand joined an anti-war protest in Los Angeles.

Marchers chanted and some carried flag-draped coffins as speakers demanded that U.S. troops come home.
Sharaf Mowjood of the Council on American-Islamic Relations says the continued presence of American troops is worsening conditions in Iraq, and diverting attention from domestic U.S. problems, including rebuilding New Orleans. The city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

“We need to pull out immediately. That's the main thing right now we need to do. It's a conundrum as it is," he said. "So it's in a situation where the best viable option is to pull out because you have a lot of these internal problems you have to deal with, health care, sub-prime mortgage crisis, Katrina, all that. We need to work on those issues first."

Members of religious, labor and community groups joined the Los Angeles demonstration. Madelyn MacKay, a Quaker, says the protests are sending a message to the candidates in the November 4 presidential election.

http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-parsley-spiritual-guide.html

Author: David Corn

Senator John McCain hailed as a spiritual adviser an Ohio megachurch pastor who has called upon Christians to wage a "war" against the "false religion" of Islam with the aim of destroying it.

On February 26, McCain appeared at a campaign rally in Cincinnati with the Reverend Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church of Columbus, a supersize Pentecostal institution that features a 5,200-seat sanctuary, a television studio (where Parsley tapes a weekly show), and a 122,000-square-foot Ministry Activity Center. That day, a week before the Ohio primary, Parsley praised the Republican presidential front-runner as a "strong, true, consistent conservative."

The endorsement was important for McCain, who at the time was trying to put an end to the lingering challenge from former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a favorite among Christian evangelicals. A politically influential figure in Ohio, Parsley could also play a key role in McCain's effort to win this bellwether state in the general election. McCain, with Parsley by his side at the Cincinnati rally, called the evangelical minister a "spiritual guide."

http://media.www.dailyillini.com/media/storage/paper736/news/2008/03/14/News/Students.Stage.DieIn.On.Quad-3269402.shtml

Author: Paolo Cisneros

Thursday morning was an unusual one for Karen Medina, graduate student in library and information sciences. Instead of studying for exams or sitting in class, she was chalking body outlines on the Quad.

Medina and dozens of other anti-war activists took to the streets Thursday morning to stage a march and "die-in" protest as a way of demonstrating their discontent with the upcoming fifth anniversary of the Iraq war.

"We're calling it a 'condemoration' because we're both condemning and commemorating the war," Medina said.

The two-hour event was organized primarily by the Campus Greens and University chapter of the Campus Antiwar Network.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, Students for Justice in Palestine, Champaign-Urbana Citizens for Peace and Justice and the College Democrats co-sponsored the event.

The cooperation of the groups was a large part of the morning's success, said Jeremy Polacek, senior in LAS. "We (Campus Antiwar Network) don't have a monopoly on the anti-war effort by any means," he said. "The collaboration of these groups was really important."

The demonstration began at roughly 11 a.m. Activists gathered to chant anti-war slogans before marching down Green Street to Fifth Street and then back around the Quad.

Many held signs condemning the war as others provided vocal support for the cause.

"This war has been going on for five years now, and, at this point, most people are against it," said Mark Mallon, junior in LAS. "We need to stop spending billions of dollars on this illegal and immoral war."

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080318/NEWS01/803180345

Author: Cheryl Wittenauer

Neighbors in the tidy, middle-class Southampton neighborhood in south St. Louis said Monday they barely noticed the comings and goings of one of their enclave's newest arrivals.

Nothing out of the ordinary anyway, aside from a steady stream of Iraqi cab drivers and other workers, and women and children, arriving for evening prayer services at the Islamic mosque.

The Islamic religious and community center, housed in a nondescript storefront building, was vandalized over the weekend. It was the second such incident since the Imam Hussin Foundation building opened last April.

"If someone is trying to send us a message," with this act, "we receive it," said Salah Ajmi, the mosque's imam and a businessman. "But we do everything right and legal. This is wrong."

Vandals damaged seven large glass windows with a blunt object sometime between midnight and 10:30 a.m. Sunday, police said. Vandals struck the first time last summer, and Ajmi said he suspected teenagers. This time the damage was more extensive.

Police took fingerprints and are investigating. They wouldn't say whether they consider it a hate crime. The FBI declined to comment.

By Judith Cebula

INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - Indiana voters on Tuesday elected a Muslim to Congress, only the second of that faith chosen in U.S. history.

Andre Carson, grandson of the late Democrat Rep. Julia Carson, was elected to serve the balance of her term in the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election.

She died in December 2007, after serving 11 years in the heavily Democratic district.

The younger Carson, 33, a member of the Indianapolis City Council who converted to Islam about a decade ago, will serve out the remainder of his grandmother's term through calendar 2008. He beat Republican Jon Elrod and a third party candidate with 52 percent of the vote to 44 percent for Elrod.

The first and only other Muslim member of the U.S. Congress is Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, also a Democrat, who is in his first term.

Carson will face a strong challenge against other contenders in a May primary which will determine who runs in November for the next full two-year term in the district which covers most of the city of Indianapolis.
His Democratic opponents then are expected to be two state legislators -- Carolene Mays, an Indianapolis newspaper publisher, and David Orentlicher, a lawyer and doctor who is a professor of law and medical ethics at Indiana University School of Law and Indiana University Medical Center.

Carson's faith had not been an issue in the special election.

(Editing by Doina Chiacu)

CAIR CONGRATULATES SECOND MUSLIM IN CONGRESS
Muslims visit more than 70 congressional offices

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/12/2008) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today congratulated Indiana Democrat Andre Carson, who will replace his late grandmother in representing that state�s 7th district in Congress.

Carson, a convert to Islam and only the second Muslim in Congress, won yesterday�s special election with 54 percent of the vote. He must now win both a May primary election and the November general election to serve a full term in Congress.

SEE: Second Muslim Elected to Congress (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN1164415020080312

�We offer congratulations to Representative Carson, whose election demonstrates the strength of our political system and the growing positive role of American Muslims in our society,� said CAIR Legislative Director Corey Saylor. He said the other Muslim in Congress is Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN).   Read More »

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/6/08) - On March 5, 2008, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) joined other individuals and institutions who work to preserve civil liberties in sponsoring a letter to members of Congress commending them for refusing to pass the FISA Amendments Act of 2007 and urging them to allow it to expire.

The letter is as follows:

March 5, 2008

Dear Representative,

We the undersigned organizations commend the House for refusing to yield to administration fearmongering by passing the worst possible surveillance legislation - S. 2248, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act of 2007. This bill would grant the administration unfettered access to all communications coming into or out of the United States without any meaningful court review or finding of wrongdoing and grant complete immunity to companies that cooperated with illegal wiretapping over the last several years.

As you go forward with negotiations, we ask that you leave the Protect America Act exactly as it is -- sunsetted. As House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and the Cato Institute noted, America is in no danger from the expiration of this unconstitutional law. Orders issued since last August remain in effect until their internal cease date, up to a year after issuance, ensuring that current surveillance programs will continue, in some cases, into 2009. These programmatic orders are not limited to individuals or facilities so that new targets can be tapped under existing orders. Of course, the government always has the option of tapping targets immediately and returning to court within 72 hours to obtain a court order under the FISA procedures that have served our intelligence community for nearly 30 years.   Read More »