BY ANGELA CAPUTO Daily Southtown
So long, Halloween parade. Farewell, Santa's gift shop.
The holiday traditions are facing elimination in some Oak Lawn schools this year after complaints that the activities are offensive, particularly to Muslim students.
Final decisions on which of the festivities will be axed will fall to the principals at each of Ridgeland School District 122's five schools, Supt. Tom Smyth said.
Parents expect that the announcement is going to add to the tension that has been building since officials agreed earlier this month to change the lunch menu to exclude items containing pork to accommodate Muslim students. News that Jell-O was struck from the menu caused such a stir that officials have agreed to bring it back. Gelatin is often made with tissue or bones of pigs or other animals.
That controversy now appears to have been been dwarfed by the holiday debate, which became so acrimonious Wednesday that police were called to Columbus Manor School to intervene in a shouting match among parents.
"It's difficult when you change the school's culture," said Columbus Manor Principal Sandy Robertson.
Elizabeth Zahdan, a mother of three District 122 students, says she took her concerns to the school board ...   more »

Muslim Mother Asks That Ramadan Be Celebrated Along With Other Holidays In Oak Lawn Schools
(CBS) OAK LAWN, Ill. Parents in Oak Lawn sounded off Tuesday night about what they see as an assault on traditional American celebrations. At issue is whether Halloween and Christmas celebrations are insensitive to school children who are Muslim.
As CBS 2's Derrick Blakley reports, the school board held an emergency meeting Tuesday night.
Almost a month before Halloween, some Oak Lawn homes are already decorated with pumpkins, ghosts and goblins. But rumors that Ridgefield School District 122 may soon ban in-school Halloween and Christmas have infuriated many parents and area residents.
"They're trying to take away holidays and stuff for the kids," said resident Gene Boerema, dressed in a Santa Claus costume.
Elizabeth Zahdan is at the center of the storm, a Muslim mother of three who requested that her children be separated from others at lunch during the Ramadan fast.
The schools agreed, but many parents didn't.
"I don’t ever remember one of us asking for our child to be separated from classmates during Ash Wednesday when they were fasting, or on every Friday of Lent when our children are not allowed to ...   more »

By Sara A. Carter - Navy imam Chaplain Abuhena M. Saifulislam lifted his voice to God as he called to prayer more than 100 Department of Defense employees Monday at a celebration of Ramadan at the Pentagon.
“God is most great,” sang the lieutenant commander and Islamic leader, in Arabic, as iftar — the end of the daily fast began.
Uniformed military personnel, civilians and family members faced Mecca and knelt on adorned prayer rugs chanting their prayers in quiet invocation to Allah.
“We do all we can to help meet the religious needs of our soldiers,” said Deputy Pentagon Chaplain Army Maj. Alan Pomaville, a Christian, who attended the iftar alongside the Muslim chaplains. “The leadership in the [Defense Department] wants to care for the body of the whole soldier.”
As the Pentagon celebrated Ramadan, the White House is in preparations for an iftar feast tomorrow, said Lt. Cmdr. Saifulislam, who will be participating at the White House events.
“President and Mrs. Bush host an iftar dinner every year because they want people around the world to know how much they respect Islam and the many Muslims living in the U.S. who are free to worship as they want, ...   more »

Dozens turn out in Oak Lawn to hear debate over religion
By Jo Napolitano
Dozens of parents said at an Oak Lawn school board meeting Tuesday night that while they're happy to have a student body of varying religions, they want to keep celebrating what they say are traditional American holidays and customs.
That doesn't mean they aren't open to observing other religions' holidays, the parents told the Ridgeland School District 122 board, which was looking at its policies concerning religious teachings and observances. At issue is whether Christian holidays, such as Christmas, should be celebrated now that Muslim children make up about 30 percent of district pupils.
After meeting for 2 1/2 hours in a closed session, board members decided to keep the district's Christmas and Halloween parties and add a Ramadan celebration.
The debate, which has raged in the community for weeks, was sparked by a parent, Elizabeth Zahdan, who asked that stars and moons be displayed in schools in honor of Ramadan. She was denied and told that schools couldn't partake in religious celebrations.
"I want everyone to be equally acknowledged. I never demanded that no one can celebrate. I never said take Christmas away," Zahdan said ...   more »

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By Jane Sutton
MIAMI (Reuters) - Seven men plotted to bring down the U.S. government by poisoning saltshakers and bombing landmark buildings, a prosecutor told Miami jurors as their terrorism conspiracy trial opened on Tuesday.
The "Liberty City Seven" aimed to create chaos as part of a holy war to pave the way for al Qaeda-affiliated guerrillas to take over the United States, Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Gregorie said in the prosecution's opening statement.
"We need to make the people go crazy in the streets," Gregorie quoted alleged ringleader Narseal Batiste as saying. "Allah is going to take over through us."
Defense lawyers said the charges were "nonsense" scripted by the government and orchestrated by paid FBI informants they called Conman No. 1 and Conman No. 2.
They said the defendants, one of whom was devoted mainly to smoking marijuana, had no weapons or intent to do violence and that it was the informants who suggested poisoning restaurant saltshakers and blowing up buildings.
The "Liberty City Seven," named for the poor part of Miami where they gathered in a rundown warehouse, were arrested in 2006 on charges of plotting to blow up Chicago's 110-story ...   more »

The US Air Force is working with military leaders from Persian Gulf states to train and prepare Arab air forces for a possible war with Iran, The Daily Telegraph in London reported Tuesday.
Participants in an air warfare conference in Washington last week were told how American air chiefs have helped to coordinate intelligence-sharing with Gulf nations and organized combined exercises designed to make fighting together easier.
Gen. Michael Mosley, USAF chief of staff, used the conference to seek closer links with allies whose support America might need if US President George W. Bush decides to bomb Iran, the paper reported.
Pentagon officials have helped set up an air warfare center in the United Arab Emirates, where Gulf nations are training their fighter pilots and America has large-scale bases. The center is modeled on the USAF warfare center at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.
Jordan and the UAE have both taken part in combined exercises designed to make sure their air forces can fly, and fight, together with American jets, the Telegraph reported.
While it is unlikely that America's Gulf allies would join any US air strike against suspected nuclear targets in Iran, their cooperation might be required to ...   more »

A massive volcano eruption triggered by an earthquake has ripped apart a tiny island in the Red Sea.
Terrified witnesses reported lava spewing hundreds of yards into the air with plumes of volcanic ash also rising from the site.
Officials said today that part of Jazirt Mount al-Tair, which is about 80 miles from Yemen, had collapsed after the eruption at around 5.30pm on Sunday.
A huge rescue operation was still underway for survivors with at least four soldiers reported dead and another five still missing.
Squadroons of troops, who are based on the Red Sea island, had to be evacuated to the port city of Hodeida in the immediate aftermath.
One said: "Four of our comrades have died, burned by the lava.
Another added: "They were killed immediately after the eruption of the volcano at 5:30 pm on Sunday."
The Canadian frigate HMCS Toronto had been sailing towards the Suez Canal and was called in to help. On Sunday evening, Canadian Navy spokesman Ken Allen told reporters in an e-mail that the entire island was "aglow with lava and magma as it pours down into the sea.
"The lava is spewing hundreds of feet into the air, with the ...   more »