(Note:  The American Muslim (TAM) is not and never has been in any way affiliated with the Muslim American Society or their publication. Since 2001 they have gone by a remarkably similar title, however we are proud to be the original, published in print or online since 1989.)

We are living in a difficult time with a lot of issues facing us. 

— The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which includes a provision for indefinite military detention has passed the Senate, and Obama says he will not veto the bill as he had promised.  We have a “backgrounder” article here which also includes contact information for your elected representatives, including the President.

-  You can contact your Congressperson here:  http://www.contactingthecongress.org 
-  You can contact your Senator here: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?OrderBy=state&Sort=ASC
-  You can email the President here:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments

— The Corporate Personhood decision?  The disastrous Supreme Court decision in Citizens United vs. FEC is being challenged.  Sen. Bernie Sanders has proposed a constitutional amendment that would overturn the decision.  It is called the Saving Democracy Amendment.

Please consider signing the Petition supporting Senator Sanders amendndment.

— The incredibly bigoted attack on the TLC reality series “All-American Muslim” only because the Muslims on the program didn’t include terrorists or extremists and led to two companies canceling their advertising has become a national issue.  We have a “backgrunder” article here which is regularly updated.  It includes information about an important petition as well as protests, and other responses and “what you can do”.

For those who don’t think a reality show is a serious issue, or don’t think they should care about what is happening because they don’t like the show, etc.  Please read An appeal to the American Arab and Muslim Communities which explains why this should be important not only to everyone in the Arab and Muslim communities, but also to all Americans.

-  SIGN PETITIONS
The primary petition Repudiate Calls to Stop Advertising on TLC’s “All-American Muslim” now has 41,000 signatures and is asking companies not to cave to pressure. Please SIGN & SHARE this petition. 
-  A second petition has now gone online with a different goal.  It is calling on Lowe’s to reverse its decision.  It is here 
-  A third petition by the interfaith group Faithful America online here also calls on Lowe’s to reverse its decision. 
-  A fourth petition by Groundswells at Auburn Theological Seminary is online here and calls on companies to reject bigotry.    These petitions by different groups also have different focuses.  Consider signing one or more according to your understanding of the situation. 
-  A fifth petition by People for the American Way is online here These petitions by different groups also have different focuses.  Consider signing one according to your understanding of the situation.  As of 12/15, all of these petitions combined had 48,300 signatures that we know of (and 2 sites are not listing totals). 
-  A sixth petition is on Change.org called Apologize and Reinstate advertisements on TLC’s “All American Muslim” .  They collected 25,000 signatures.

- You can click on this link http://corporate.discovery.com/contact/viewer-relations/ to send a note of support to TLC for airing All-American Muslim.

- Kayak has also admitted pulling its ads.  They have a feedback form http://www.kayak.com/feedback/form  where you can send them a message. 

— WATCH THE “ALL-AMERICAN MUSLIM” ON SUNDAY NIGHTS.  Please check it out and remind your friends and family.  It is on TLC at 9 p.m. EST on Sunday.  If there aren’t viewers,  why would producers consider making any more programs about Muslims.  If there aren’t viewers, why would anyone ever want to advertise on any program having anything to do with Islam or Muslims?  If there aren’t viewers, why would any channel want to air programs about Islam or Muslims.

PETITION UPDATE  As of 12/20 when a group of clergy took the signatures collected on petitions by People For the American Way, Faithful America, Change.org, CREDO, SumOfUs, and Groundswell.  The petitions they delivered represented over 200,000 signatures.  The signatures collected and hand-delivered are separate from the SignOn.org petition that has gone viral, and now has 42,000 signatures.This means a total of 242,000 signatures have been collected.

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We are currently updating our site, and a few difficulties have been encountered.  For example, some of the longer articles have been truncated.  We are working to resolve these difficulties as soon as possible.  We apologize for the inconvenience.  Please let us know about any articles that need to be re-entered.  It will take a few months to sort this all out.

BOOK REVIEWS ON TAM  -  If there is a book you feel strongly about and it is not listed here as already having a review written, please write a review and send it along to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) 

MUSLIMS DENOUNCE TERRORISM - Simply click on this logo on the homepage to go to a lengthy collection of Muslim denunciations of terrorism, extremism, and violence.  Also includes collections of responses to claims about Islam and Muslims, resources about Islamophobia, and general resources on many topics.  If you would like to place this icon on your website, please contact us and we will send you the artwork file.  We have had a quantity of these made up in “Euro-style” 4 X 6” oval bumper stickers.  We would like to have these seen on cars everywhere, and so are making them available at the best price possible.  Contact us to purchase these at $1 each. 

ISLAMOPHOBIA - RESPONSES TO ISLAMOPHOBIA AND EXTREMISM
Click on the Muslims Denounce Terrorism icon on the main page for article collections on this and other topics.

“Do not be people without minds of your own, saying that if others treat you well you will treat them well, and that if they do wrong you will do wrong to them. Instead, accustom yourselves to do good if people do good and not to do wrong (even) if they do evil.” — Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.  This world in arms is not spending money alone.  It is spending the sweat of its laborers,  the genius of its scientists,  the hopes of its children….This is not a way of life at all in any true sense.  Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron. — Dwight D. Eisenhower farewell speech to the American people.

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THE GOLDEN RULE
— Brahmanism: This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you.: Mahabharata 5:1517
— Buddhism: Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.: Udana Varga 5:18
— Christianity: All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.: Matthew 7:12
— Confucianism: Surely it is the maxim of loving-kindness: Do not unto others that you would not have them do unto you.: Analects 15:23
— Islam: No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother what which he desires for himself. Sunnah
— Judaism: What is hateful to you, do not to your fellowmen. That is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary.: Talmud, Shabbat 31:a
— Taoism: Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.: T’ai Shag Kan Ying P’ien
— Zoroastrianism: That nature alone is good which refrains from doing unto another whatsoever is not good: for itself. : Dadistan-i-dinik 94:5

FINANCIAL COST OF WARS IN IRAQ & AFGHANISTAN