The Guardian (UK) is reports that Amnesty is suggesting a US arms embargo against Israel in its recent report on the alleged war crimes that occured during Israel's raids on Gaza last month.

According to a letter circulating by Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, Imam Siraj Wahhaj is out of the hospital and doing well, al-hamdu li-llah. May Allah preserve him, reward him for all his efforts and continue to benefit us by him!

Follow up (4/3/2009): There is an effort to raise funds for Imam Siraj Wahhaj's treatment. He has been diagnosed with a highly treatable form of cancer.) I encourage people to donate. (

A statement from our teacher, Imam Mohammed Hamagid Ali, in the wake of the murder of Aasiya Hassan (inna li-llahi wa-inna ilayhi raji`un ["To God do we belong and to Him do we Return"]).

The letter reads:

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is saddened and shocked by the news of the loss of one of our respected sisters, Aasiya Hassan whose life was taken violently. To God we belong and to Him we return (Qur’an 2:156). We pray that she find peace in God’s infinite Mercy, and our prayers and sympathies are with sister Aasiya’s family. Our prayers are also with the Muslim community of Buffalo who have been devastated by the loss of their beloved sister and the shocking nature of this incident.

This is a wake up call to all of us, that violence against women is real and can not be ignored. It must be addressed collectively by every member of our community. Several times each day in America, a woman is abused or assaulted. Domestic violence is a behavior that knows no boundaries of religion, race, ethnicity, or social status. Domestic violence occurs in every community. The Muslim community is not exempt from this issue. We, the Muslim community, need to take a strong stand against domestic violence. Unfortunately, some of us ignore such problems in our community, wanting to think that it does not occur among Muslims or we downgrade its seriousness.More...