Dromm Denounces Peter King Over Muslim Hearings by Connor Adams Sheets - Queens Campaigner

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City Councilman Daniel Dromm speaks during a protest of U.S. Rep. Peter King's planned hearing into the radicalization of the American Muslim community. Photo courtesy Daniel Dromm

On Sunday, City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) was a Muslim.

At least that was the message behind an event called “I Am a Muslim, Too” that he hosted in Jackson Heights that rainy morning: that he stands with Muslims in opposing the anti-Muslim invective being tossed around by politicians like U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-Massapequa Park).

The issue of what Dromm calls “Muslim-baiting,” where elected officials use anti-Muslim political sentiment for political gain, is coming to a head Thursday, Dromm said, when King, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, plans to host the first in a series of hearings on the “radicalization” of American Muslims.

Entitled “The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s Response,” the hearings are aimed at investigating the influence radicalization is having on the American Muslim community. A spokesman for King did not respond to a request for comment.

Representatives of several groups that advocate for and protect the rights of South Asian and Muslim immigrants, including Jackson Heights-based Desis Rising Up & Moving,? South Asian Youth Action in Elmhurst and Chhaya, CDC in Jackson Heights joined with Dromm Sunday in front of his Council office at 37-32 75th St. to denounce King’s planned inquiries. The event took place in Queens, which is home to a sizable Muslim community, in advance of a larger campaign by the same name that afternoon in Times Square.

Dromm said he sees the hearings as an religiously intolerant witch hunt that should concern all Americans.

“He’s singling out one group. If he had a hearing on radicalization of all populations, it would be a different story, but he’s feeding into a wrong stereotype of the Muslim community. He’s just totally wrong to do this and he should know better,” Dromm said Tuesday. “This is an un-American activity for Peter King to be involved in. It reminds me of the McCarthy hearings and it violates the basic principle that this country was founded on, which is freedom of religion.”

“Islamophobia and racism does not make us safer,” Monami Maulik, executive director of DRUM, said. “Peter King’s hearings targeting Muslims are his latest attempt to divide us and stoke fears for political ends. Just as masses of people stood up for human rights after his passage of the anti-immigrant Sensenbrenner bill in 2005, so too do conscious people stand now to end these witch hunts.”

Rep. Peter King OK with Terror Attacks Outside The US? - The Young Turks

Cenk Uygur shares outrageous quotes from Rep. Peter King (R-NY) suggesting that the Congressman thinks terrorism is fine if it occurs outside the United States. This is in the context of King holding hearings on the radicalization of Muslims in America and his past ties with and comments regarding the IRA.




MSNBC host Cenk Uygur explains why he believes Rep. Peter King's hearings on 'Muslim Radicalization' are un-American. He also talks about how we should be investigating all radicals (he points out since 9/11 there have been about twice as many terror attacks from non-Muslims).

To Build or Not to Build..? Park 51 & Religious Understanding - A Community-wide Dialogue at Queens College on Nov 22nd

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What: To Build or Not to Build? Park 51 & Religious Understanding

A Community-Wide Dialogue

Guest Speakers: Daisy Khan & Jim Riches

When: Novenber 22nd, 2010

Time: 7:15pm - 9pm

Where: Queens College Student Union - 4th Floor Ballroom

Sponsored by: The Queens College Center for Ethnic, Racial & Religious Understanding

More Info: Click here

Anticipated Halal Facility Awaits Federal OK to Get Underway by Clare Trapasso - NY Daily News

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Inside the Madani Halal slaughterhouse in Ozone Park, Queens. After a customer selects the chicken that he wants, an employee takes the chicken from the cage and brings it to be weighed and then slaughtered according to halal rules. Photo: Flickr - Sonjashield

A father-and-son business is on track to become Queens' third federally approved slaughterhouse, once the $5 million Ozone Park facility is completed next month.

Madani Halal is waiting for one last piece of custom-built equipment to arrive to cap a five-year expansion project that transformed a neighboring auto-body shop into a state-of-the-art halal slaughterhouse.

The new facility will allow the business to tap into the growing demand for halal products, owners said.

"It's exciting, yet nerve-wracking," said Imran Uddin, 32. "We're spending a lot more money to open a USDA facility, but it allows me to sell to supermarkets, butcher shops, across state lines and even internationally."

His father, Riaz Uddin, 77, started the family business in 1997, selling a wide assortment of freshly killed poultry, goats and lambs to immigrants.

"Muslim people in our community need a place like that," Riaz Uddin said of expanding the business. "There's a demand for halal products, and the Muslim community is growing very rapidly."

His customers choose from exotic chickens and ducks, along with uncommon birds like guinea hens, partridges and squab raised in Pennsylvania. Imran Uddin said they are free of hormones. The animals are killed humanely on the premises, following Muslim law, and drained of blood.

Halal is "an ancient tradition. However, it's new here - especially in New York City," the younger Uddin said. "Most people associate it with the food carts they see all over the city."

Madani customer Jake Dickson, the owner of Dickson's Farmstand Meats in the Chelsea Market, buys 150 to 200 chickens a week from Imran.

"For me, it's about the freshness and the quality of the bird," Dickson said. "[Imran] can deliver the freshest product available."

The popularity of halal products appears to be on the rise.

"The U.S. is starting to see the potential of the halal market," said Salama Evans, managing editor of HalalFocus, a United Kingdom-based halal news site. "The demand is there, but now what's needed is a reliable supply of halal-certified products."

There are about 200 slaughterhouses in New York City, but only seven are federally inspected. Seven more, not including Madani, have applied for USDA approval this year, federal agriculture officials said.

Additional Info:

Madani Halal - 100-15 94th Avenue, Ozone Park, NY 11416
Phone: 718-323-9732