Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Hannukah from AIFD

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Some of the AIFD Family

Dear Friends:

We at AIFD wanted to take this opportunity to wish all of our readers and friends a wonderful, safe and happy Thanksgiving.

As liberty-minded Muslims, we are thankful each and every day for the freedom we enjoy in this remarkable nation, where individual liberty and freedom of conscience remain a sacred blessing. As we gather with our loved ones this Thanksgiving, we are especially thankful for all of you who have shared your support, encouragement and passion for freedom with us this year. We will also keep in our hearts and prayers those who may not have the blessings of home and family to share this day with.

Together we must all remain hopeful and vigilant in our efforts to bring about the day when all may enjoy the freedoms we do. Thank you for your support of our work, and for being a part of our American family, united in spirit and in dedication to liberty.

We would also like to wish a happy Hannukah to our Jewish friends. May your celebrations be blessed, and may your spirit be renewed by the remembrance of God’s grace and love for His Creation.

In liberty and with great love,

The AIFD Team

Why Won’t CAIR Break with Iranian State TV?

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While the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is certainly not alone in its celebration of the Obama Administration’s deal with Tehran, their statement on the matter is of particular interest considering the organizations cozy relationship with Iranian propaganda machines like Press TV.

CAIR has for a long time enjoyed prime billing on Press TV, a network owned by the Iranian government. Since the start of the Syrian revolution, CAIR’s leadership has continued to appear on Press TV – not to demonstrate moral courage and hold the Iranian regime accountable – but to slam the United States as “anti-Muslim” and advance many of the regime’s talking points about America’s relationship to Muslims. The Assad regime could not have murdered over 120,000 Syrians, mostly Muslims, without the support of the Iranian regime and its propaganda machine with which CAIR is apparently pleased to affiliate. How can an organization claiming to care about the well-being and civil rights of Muslims stomach Iranian state TV, much less parrot its propaganda countless times?

CAIR’s choice to celebrate the deal with Iran with a mere footnote added about the Iranian regime’s ongoing massacre of civilians is revealing: why doesn’t CAIR take its obviously cozy relationship with Iranian state TV as an opportunity to regularly and vehemently advocate for the lives of those Muslims who die at the hands of the Iranian regime? While the plight of the Iranian people themselves is of great concern, many Muslims are concerned about the impact of sanctions relief on Syrians. Will some 8 billion dollars simply stock the Iranian regime’s shipments to the Assad regime and its supporters – including Hezbollah?

Perhaps this is just another example of CAIR’s hypocrisy – while claiming to advocate for the civil rights of Muslims and “make democracy work for everyone”, Nihad Awad still won’t explain why he is on record saying he would support Hamas, and the organization cozies up to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a body responsible for advocating extraordinary infringements on civil liberties and freedoms through blasphemy laws and other dangerous means.

11/11/2013 Islam and Religious Freedom for All

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Source: Venn Institute 

By M Zuhdi Jasser

The question of religious freedom for all as it relates to the religion of Islam is one of the most challenging yet important ones of this century. It is understandable that many judge faiths – not just Islam – based on the actions of their leaders and most vocal members. The same stands true for Islam. Sadly, it is undeniable that when it comes to the First Freedom, the fruit of religious liberty, it is undeniable that the overwhelming majority of the current Muslim leadership across the world have demonstrated little respect for the protection of individual religious liberty in Muslim-majority societies and even in Muslim communities in the West. Unfortunately, then, a faith of 1.5 billion adherents becomes represented by a small but vocal group of individuals who would seek to strip not just non-Muslims, but also critically thinking Muslims, of their religious freedoms.

Many scholars and pundits have attempted to determine the cause(s) of the infringements on religious freedom emanating from Muslim societies. They have blamed everything from history, to education, economics, foreign policy, and even the entire faith and its founder, Muhammad. Others, especially those Muslims uninterested in reform, even invoke a potpourri of conspiracy theories about why “real Islam” is so scarce. From Egypt to Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and in particular the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) based in Saudi Arabia wielding often a bloc vote at the United Nations, Muslim leaders have to varying degrees chosen to advance or implement forms of draconian shar’iah law or its apologia while compromising the genuine religious freedom guaranteed by those who respect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Where Muslim dictators, autocrats, monarchs, and theocrats entrenched in governments of the OIC leave off, the ubiquitous followers and leadership of Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood or Jamaat al-Islamiyya take over. These groups are well-funded, most often by petrodollars, and their populist offshoots bear many names. However, their stifling influence on voices of real religious diversity and liberty within Muslim communities is unmistakable.

Read More

11/08/2013 Syria: A Lost Generation

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11/08/2013 Jihad in America: The Grand Deception

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Excerpt from an article: The Jewish Voice

Zuhdi Jasser, founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, summarizes:

Their dream is the creation of an Islamic state. Their utopia is having the law be Sharia. So their strategy in America, I believe, is to use America’s freedoms and liberties in order to achieve that dream.

Read More…

11/03/13 Billboard With Soldier and Muslim Called Offensive

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Billboard With Soldier and Muslim Called Offensive.

(George Lin, KFYI) Doctor Zuhdi Jasser, with the American Islamic Forum in Phoenix, is a physician, Muslim, and former Navy officer.

He says the nasal spray company billboard displayed in 20 cities across the country offends him on all three levels.

The ad is drawing criticism because it shows a military officer embracing a Muslim woman…fully covered by a berka.

Jasser compares the billboard’s quality to Miley Cyrus and good music.

He says consumers should boycott this company’s products for utilizing such an offensive ad.

The nasal spray business says the ad is designed to help bring everyone closer together.

No word if the billboard is coming to Phoenix.

AIFD Fellow: Ahmed Vanya

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Ahmed Vanya

Ahmed Vanya is a 30-year veteran engineer of the electronic industry, based in California’s world famous Silicon Valley. After coming to the US in the late seventies from the country of Burma (Myanmar) as a student, he obtained advanced degrees in the fields of physics and electronics before starting his career working for several leading chip manufacturing companies.

He is a lifelong student of history and the religion of Islam. He is very passionate about the issues of freedom, democracy, and universal human rights–especially as they relate to Islam and the American Muslim community. After leading a quiet but busy life as a high-tech professional and a devoted family man for several years, in recent years he is increasing his exposure to the outside world by engaging and giving feedback to Muslim community members and leaders throughout the US. He is not only periodically communicating with local Muslim community members and prayer leaders in the San Francisco Bay Area, but he is also contacting leaders of national Muslim organizations, prominent lawyers and journalists, and professors in the fields of Islamic Studies & US Constitutional Law in order to promote renewal and reform of Muslims and Islam.

 

 

 

ARTICLES AND PAPERS BY AHMED VANYA

(Coming soon!)

Click here to learn about AIFD’s Fellowship Program, meet more of our fellows and learn how to apply!