Chicago activist, Ahmed Rehab, said a conference call was planned with Muslim groups and other groups to craft a response. He said it is not too late, however, for Lowe’s to fix things. “There will be room for reconciliation,” he said. “We would call on Lowe’s to do the right thing and apologize for their really insane action and to reverse the decision to pull out.”

See our recent media coverage here.

Met ‘We Shall Never Forget 9/11. The Kids’ Book of Freedom’, bereikt de Amerikaanse trend van kleurboeken met een politieke boodschap een cynisch hoogtepunt. Volgens uitgever Really Big Coloring Books moet dit informatieve kleurboek jonge kinderen die geboren werden na 11 september 2001, uitleggen hoe belangrijk de gebeurtenissen van die dag wel zijn voor Amerika en de Amerikanen.

As the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 tragedy approaches, Wayne Bell, publisher of Really Big Coloring Books, Inc. of Clayton, Missouri, US, has released what he calls a “memorial tribute” coloring book. “We shall never forget: The kids’ book of freedom,” is being described by Bell as a “graphic coloring novel on the events of Sept. 11, 2001.” According to ABC 7 News in Chicago, the coloring book contains the phrase “radical Islamic Muslim extremists,” at least 10 times.

Amina Sharif, communications director for the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the book depicts the events of 9/11 and the aftermath in a “slanted” manner, painting Muslims in broad strokes and failing to distinguish extremist radicals from the majority of Muslims.

“It’s hateful, inflammatory and completely inappropriate for children or anyone for that matter,” Sharif said.

“Islam teaches us that we are not merely physical beings but spiritual beings as well. But while most people acknowledge the need to nurture our bodies through sustenance and exercise, we tend to neglect the same for our souls,” writes Ahmed Rehab in the Chicago Tribune.

“It’s basically the ideal zoning application for DuPage County, with absolutely no controversy surrounding it,” said Amina Sharif, communications coordinator with the Chicago Council on American-Islamic Relations. “The area where it’s located is already commercially zoned, next to a synagogue, and there is more than adequate parking there. If the DuPage County Board had rejected this, then we’d have an obvious problem. This is a very easy thing to approve.”

Bin Laden’s death marks a key historical juncture, in that it offers us an opportunity to break away from the polarizing, divisive atmosphere he helped ignite and the paranoia and fear-mongering we unfortunately allowed to ensue in our culture as a result of it. For almost a decade, we have played into bin Laden’s hands by allowing him and his outfit to dominate our national discourse on Islam and Muslims.

Amina Sharif, spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Chicago, sought to distance Islam from bin Laden during a news conference Monday.

“Bin Laden never represented Islam and was never seen as a Muslim leader,” Sharif said.

CAIR-Chicago, which said the center would serve about 30 families, “will continue to pursue the Center’s right to use the facility they own to accommodate the needs of the community,” said Kevin Vodak, CAIR-Chicago Staff Attorney.