Community/California
20 India Post
May 4, 2012
www.indiapost.com
California Muslim Day in Sacramento on May 7
Fundraiser & fashion show for Akshaya Patra India Post News Service
ADEL SYED
A
s one of the nation's most integrated and educated faith communities, American Muslims have an important role to play in our society's social and political fabric. To that end, on Monday, May 7, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, California (CAIR-CA) will host the first-ever California Muslim Day at the Capitol.
signed to equip community members with the tools and experience needed to have our voices count where key decisions that impact our lives are made. During this first year, community members will focus on two important pieces of legislation. The first piece of legislation, the Workplace Religious Freedom Act (AB 1964), seeks to strengthen the
In a recent study entitled "The American Mosque 2011," evidence suggests that higher levels of religiosity and mosque attendance lead to higher levels of political participation. This can be seen in mosque participants' higher voting levels American Muslims from all over the state will gather in Sacramento to meet and speak about issues of concerns with their legislators. The daylong event aims to introduce community members to the political process and help them be active in shaping the work of our state legislature. This event is de-
religious rights of minorities in the workplace. The second piece of legislation, the TRUST Act (AB 1081), would keep immigration enforcement at the federal level and ensure immigrant communities can safely report crimes without fear of deportation. Both these pieces of legislation are necessary to keep
Talented singer Iqbal Quassim passes away Cont’d from page 18
In 1988, he moved to New York and started mesmerizing audiences with ghazals, geets as well as folk songs in Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali, Sindhi and Baluch. He represented Pakistan with his music in 55 countries of five continents. He provided music in TV,
films as well as gave live stage performances. He is survived by his wife and five children - two sons and three daughters - besides his grandchildren. Iqbal Quassim was a great entertainer for Hindi/Urdu Diaspora. May God grant strength to the bereaved family to bear this loss.
California a place where diversity and equality remain at the forefront. Furthermore, recent trends show that the American Muslim community could be the largest swing vote in this election. While such statistics are noteworthy, American Muslim voter registration numbers are unfortunately still the lowest of any religious community in the U.S. As American Muslims, translating values that we hold into larger discussions around issues at the local, state, and national level are paramount. In a recent study entitled "The American Mosque 2011," evidence suggests that higher levels of religiosity and mosque attendance lead to higher levels of political participation. This can be seen in mosque participants' higher voting levels, increased awareness of issues, correspondence with elected officials, engagement with candidates running for office, and other such indicators. As we near the 2012 election primaries, it is important for the community to step up our civic engagement efforts. This can be done by mobilizing community members to register to vote, working directly on political campaigns, or hosting candidate forums. Muslim Day at the Capitol is a great first step down this path. [Adel Syed is Government Relations Coordinator for CAIRGreater Los Angeles Area]
Slain student's body flown to family in India Cont’d from page 18
Nannapaneni coordinated with Boston University officials, the Indian Consulate, the funeral home and the City of Boston for doing the needful. "The (shooting) case is still under investigation and we do not know who and why they killed Seshadri as of now," Nannapaneni said. It has also not been established whether it was a hate crime. Seshadri was a BTech graduate from NIT, Karnataka and was doing his MBA in Mathematical Finance in Boston University. In a statement posted on the University website, President Robert A Brown offered condolences to the victim's family and friends. The Police said that he was shot in the head and leg and was pronounced dead at the scene. There has been a series of killings in Boston that week, say reports.
LOS ANGELES: The Akshaya Patra Foundation has announced its first major fundraiser and fashion show in the Los Angeles area. The luncheon event will be held on Sunday, May 6 from 10:30 am to 3 pm at the Sheraton Hotel in Cerritos, CA. Clothing by reputed Indian fashion designers Shyamal and Bhumika will be showcased and available for sale, with a part of the proceeds going towards Akshaya Patra. The Akshaya Patra Foundation, a not-for-profit organization, came into being in the year 2000 to address two of the most immediate challenges facing India - hunger and education. The Foundation began its work by providing quality mid-day meals to 1500 children in 5 schools in Bangalore with the understanding that the meal would attract children to schools, after which it would be easier to retain them and focus on their learning and development. More than 10 years later, the Foundation has expanded its footprint to serve over 1.3 million children daily from 21 kitchens across 10 states in India. The mid-day meal program is currently being
provided to over 9,000 schools across the country. Akshaya Patra combines good management, innovative technology and smart engineering to deliver school lunches at a fraction
The Foundation began its work by providing quality midday meals to 1500 children in 5 schools in Bangalore with the understanding that the meal would attract children to schools, after which it would be easier to retain them and focus on their learning and development of the cost of other mid day feeding programs. It costs Akshaya Patra $15 to feed a child for the entire school year. Akshaya Patra's next milestone is to serve five million children daily by 2020.
HAF condemns Pak court ruling on Hindu girls Cont’d from page 17
The Sessions Court Judge ruled that Rinkel had converted out of her own free will, disregarding her earlier testimony that she had been forced to do so. She also reportedly informed her mother during a brief meeting that the conversion was not voluntary. The Pakistan Hindu Council subsequently petitioned the Supreme Court to consider the case. Rinkel's parents later received threats and were forced to flee their hometown in Sindh for neighboring Punjab province, where they sought temporary shelter in a gurudwara. "The abductions and forced conversions of Hindu girls in Pakistan continues to be used as a weapon of subjugation and a means to intimidate the Hindu minority into submission," said Samir Kalra, Esq., HAF Director and Senior Fellow for Human Rights. "The Pakistani government, police, and courts are all complicit in this phenomenon, and must be held accountable by the international community for their abject failure to protect the fundamental rights of Hindus." Human rights organizations,
including the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), assert that at least 20 - 25 Hindu girls are kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam every month in Sindh province alone. The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) has documented such incidents in its latest
Rinkel's parents later received threats and were forced to flee their hometown in Sindh for neighboring Punjab province, where they sought temporary shelter in a gurudwara human rights report, Hindus in South Asia and the Diaspora: A Survey of Human Rights, 2011. HAF has also collaborated with the Pakistan Hindu Post to raise awareness of Rinkel Kumari's case and the plight of Hindus in Pakistan through a petition to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.