Amina Sharif, spokeswoman for the American-Islamic council, said she was unsure why this most recent fatwa, or religious ruling, has received so much attention. While she thinks it is important for community members to be outspoken in their disapproval of violence, she said it is only half the battle. “We can condemn terrorism every day in our mosques,” Sharif said. “But if no one’s communicating that to the public it’s not happening.”

Thank you, Neil, for you intelligent, informed article “Fear and loathing in the cat food aisle” (Dec. 13). I am appalled by the attitude of the letter writer who said she wanted to physically assault three Muslim women praying in a Costco, and your response that “hating other people is like taking poison and expecting someone else to die” is right on target.

On Friday, November 27th, Muslims all over the world and in America will mark the end of the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca, or Hajj, with communal prayers and celebrations. Each year, some two million Muslims, including thousands of American Muslims, go for the Hajj pilgrimage. This Islamic holiday is called Eid ul-Adha (EED-al-ODD-ha), or “festival of the sacrifice” and it commemorates the Prophet Abraham’s faithfulness in willing to sacrifice his son (who was then spared) at God’s command, an important historical event in Christianity and Judaism as well.

As the Ohio State Buckeyes pummeled the Northwestern Wildcats on Ryan Field last November, senior Amir Siddiqui and his friends slipped below the bleachers, removed their shoes and knelt on pieces of poster board to pray.

ANTI-MUSLIM racism was on full display last month when six Muslim religious leaders were thrown off a US Airways flight in Minneapolis. Their crime? The imams were first deemed “suspicious” for observing their evening prayers in the airport, prior to boarding the flight.

A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today urged Americans of all faiths to pray for the safety of 13 West Virginia coal miners trapped underground since early Monday.

On Friday, December 31, Muslims in Chicago will offer prayers for those who died as a result of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Asia. The prayers, called salat al-ghaib (sa-laat-all-guy-ib), or “prayers for those who have died in a distant place,” will be held following the regular Friday Jum’ah prayers at the Islamic Cultural Center and the Mosque Foundation, as well as other area mosques.