500
Alberta Street Fair
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Northeast beat
See Focus section, inside
urtíanh
‘City of Roses’
Established In 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXIV • Number 36
TlWeekin
TheReview
Abortion Ban
Unconstitutional
A third federal judge ruled that
the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban
Act is unconstitutional, saying
it fails to include an exception
when a woman’s health is in
danger.
Troop Deaths
Surpasses 1,000
Islam and
Politics
Bush Skirts Guard Order
Addressing questions that have
lingered for years, newly un­
ea rth ed m em os state that
George W. Bush failed to meet
standards of the Texas Air
National Guard during the Viet­
nam W ar and that he refused a
direct order and that his supe­
riors were in a state o f turmoil
over how to evaluate his per­
formance after he was sus­
pended from flying.
Antidepressants
Dangerous for Children
Federal health advisers con­
sidering more stringent warn­
ing labels for anti-depressants
linked to suicidal thoughts
among children were told on
Tuesday that a new warning
added in March appeared to
have little impact on children’s
use of the drugs.
Wednesday • September IS, 2004
M ake W ashington /
T he P ortland O bserver
photo by
Muslim leader
speaks out on
the war, election
by J aymee
With the number o f American
military deaths in Iraq surpass­
ing 1,000, President Bush said,
“we mourn every loss o f life”
and declared that the United
S ta tes w as m aking good
progress in the war against
terrorism. However, attacks
against U.S. Forces in Iraq
increase and in Afghanistan
they continue.
www.portlandobserver.com
32 million
targeted in U.S.,
report charges
R. C uti
T he P ortland O bserver
The role of Islam in politics may raise ques­
tions to W esterners, devout to the separation
o f church and state. But in Muslim culture,
these lines blur. In 1979, Ayatullah Khomeini
was overheard saying “Islam is politics.”
“Politics in Islam is not a separate entity.
We are to be concerned with the community,
the environm ent, all aspects o f human life,”
said Shaheed Haamid, amir for the Muslim
C om m unity C enter on N ortheast Martin
Luther King Boulevard.
Roughly a third o f the Koran, the Muslim
holy book, is about legislating human behav­
ior, according to Haamid. Even the Muslim
profit M uhammad was a politician o f sorts. He
was the adm inistrator of the city o f Medina.
At a recent national Muslim conference
held in Illinois, American Muslims deliber­
ated about which presidential candidate to
endorse, expressing a disconnect from both.
A decision from The Am erican M uslim
Taskforce, an alliance of major Muslim orga­
nizations, is expected next month.
The American Muslim com m unity’s vote
is particularly influential in this election as
M uslims have a strong presence in battle­
ground states such as M ichigan, Ohio and
Florida.
Locally, Haamid says the war in Iraq heavily
influences his vote.
“I can’t speak for the whole nation o f Islam
or all Muslims here in Portland but frankly I’m
concerned that neither candidate represents
what is necessary to win the so called war
terrorism,” said Haamid.
H aam id ’s o p in io n s are heard w idely
throughout Portland on his many radio and
cable television programs, which he says he
produces out o f duty as a practicing Muslim.
J
Shaheed Haamid, administrator for the Muslim Community Center in northeast
Portland and the host o f local radio and cable access programs, discusses political
issues relevant to Muslims and African Americans.
KBOO-FM 90.7 airs H aam id’s shows “An
Islamic Point of View" on Sundays at 8 a.m. and
“Proverbial Perspectives” every first Thurs­
day at 6 p.m.
He is also host and producer o f “Imam W.
Deen M ohammed," on Portland Community
Access channel 23 Fridays at 3 p.m. and
channel 22 on Sundays at 6 p.m.
His show, “Al-Islamic Focus” also airs pe­
riodically on channels 22 and 23.
Haamid often address stereotypes Muslims
face and attempts to demystify the religion to
outsiders. He also addresses hot-button issues
concerning the Muslim or black community,
including racial profiling, the erosion of civil
rights, ramifications of the Sept. 11 terrorist at­
tacks and treatment of women within the religion.
“The whole purpose is to deal with subjects
directly or indirectly affecting African Ameri­
cans because we don’t have adequate repre­
sentation in the mainstream media,” he said.
Haamid says that the concept o f holy war is
continued
on page A3
McVeigh’s Father
Subject of Him
Bud Welch, who lost a daugh­
ter in the Oklahoma City bomb­
ing, went from wanting to kill
bomber Timothy McVeigh to
becoming a leading opponent
of the death penalty. Along the
way, he came to know and
have sympathy for M cVeigh’s
father. Bill McVeigh. The jour­
ney o f these two men is the
basis for "Bud & Bill,” a new
film.
Moms Lead March Against Violence
Three local mothers who
lost a son or daughter to
deadly and senseless
violence, Perlia Bell (from
left), Areba Stickland and
Lenetta Jones, lead a
march and rally Saturday
from Irving Park to
Alberta Park in northeast
Portland. The day also
featured speakers, music,
mime, dance and poetry.
Writing Lesson For Workers
It’s not just students who need
to brush up on their writing. A
majority o' U.S. employers say
about one-third of workers do
not meet the writing require­
ments of their positions, ac­
cording to a survey by the
C o lleg e B o ard ’s N ational
Commission on Writing.
V
riio T o by M ark W ashington ZT he
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P orti . and O bserver
North and northeast Portland residents
gathered on the third year anniversary to the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York. W ash­
ington, D.C. and Pennsylvania Saturday to
remember victims o f senseless and deadly
violence in their own communities.
A march and rally from Irving Park to Alberta
Park drew more than 100 people. The day
featured speakers, music, mime, dunce and
Racial
Profiling
Deep
Rooted
poetry.
The effort was an attempt to end a silence
that surrounds the circumstances of many of
the murders, but also to save our children from
additional violence The activities also pro­
moted solutions to violence that continues to
filter throughout our neighborhoods.
A special honor was paid to Asia Bell
James, a 24-year-old mother of four, a commu-
nity college graduate and a gainfully employed
contributing member of our community. On
Nov. 29, 2002, she was senselessly and ran­
domly gunned down while sitting on the front
porch of her home at North Mississippi Avenue
and Jessup Street.
Her murder not only affected her family, it
continued
on page A2
(AP) — Authorities’ targeting
of people because of their racial
background or religious affiliation
is a deep-rooted problem in the
United States, with nearly 32 mil­
lion people reporting they’ve been
racially profiled, a human rights
group said Monday.
The report by Amnesty Interna­
tional USA also said at least 87
million people— one in three — in
the United States are at high risk of
being victimized because they be­
long to a racial, ethnic or religious
group whose members are com ­
monly targeted by police for un­
lawful stops and searches.
Racial profiling is a growing
problem as the government has
expanded its war on terror, the re­
port said. Police, immigration and
airport security procedures are the
areas where the problem has got­
ten worse since the Sept. 11,2001,
attacks, it said.
Citizens and visitors o f Middle
Eastern and South Asian descent,
and others who appear to be from
these areas or members o f the Mus­
lim and Sikh faiths, have become
more frequent subjects o f racial
profiling over the last three years,
the study said.
Such racial profiling is a distrac­
tion to law enforcement and there­
fore undermines national security
efforts, the report said. As police
primarily focus on Arab, Muslim
and South Asian males, it said,
they are more likely to overlook
terrorists who are white.
For example, recent cases of
American Taliban John W alker
Lindh and British shoe bom ber Ri­
chard Reid show that al-Qaida has
an ability to recruit a diverse range
o f sympathizers. These two would
not necessarily have been identi­
fied by policies that focus on Arab,
Muslim and South Asian males,
the report said.
Aside from the i ll-effects on vic­
tim s— depression and humiliation
— racial profiling reinforces resi­
dential segregation, creates fear and
mistrust and engenders reluctance
in reporting crimes and cooperat­
ing with police officers. Amnesty
International USA said.
“In these times o f domestic in­
security, our nation simply cannot
afford to tolerate practices and poli­
cies that build walls between indi­
viduals or communities and those
who are charged with the duty of
protecting all of us,” it said.
State laws continue to be insuf­
ficient in addressing the problem,
according to the report.
Twenty-seven states do not ban
racial profiling, the report said. Also,
46 states d o n 't ban religious profil­
ing, 35 continue to allow pedes­
trian “stop and frisk” searches and
only six o f the 15 that ban these
searches use a definition of racial
profiling that can actually be en­
forced, the report said.
No jurisdiction in the United
States has addressed the problem
in a way that is effective and com ­
prehensive, the report said.
A m nesty International USA
came up with its estimate of nearly
32 million profiling victims by ana­
lyzing a collection o f recent polls,
census figures and studies..