Dear brothers and sisters,
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barkatuh

In times of hardship, like the late Israeli war on Lebanon, and the continuous bloodshed in Iraq and Palestine, every true Muslim feels an inner urge to do something. We often feel helpless and powerless, yet furious not only about the injustice in the actions themselves, but also about the immense bias in the media against our cause and all Muslims.

Can we do something about it, we probably can…

I would like in this email to invite you to join a writers group (the Minnesota Muslims writers group). Our need for such an organized effort is growing by the day as we need to explain to the American people in our own words what Islam is really all about, what the real “causes of the problem” (as Bush says) of current conflicts are and what our culture means And I think that the examples here are countless.

I believe that such a writers group should have a number of objectives:
1- have a good sense of what is being written by whom and where (a media watch group)
2- develop a pool of skilled and eloquent writers.
3- explore all potential options to get our writings published (optimize communication) and develop strong communication networks with them.

I have previously initiated a similar effort with Al-Madinah Cultural Center (AMCC). In a period of 9 months we have established a very good relationship with the editorial board of the Minnesota Daily and got 13 articles published. But the group was limited in many ways mostly because it was a students’ effort who had little time for extracurricular activities. I am hoping with this group that a more professional and committed group of individuals would join.

If interested, please email me @elghomrawi.yahoo.com with your writing interests.

Salamu alaikum
Hassan


“If you can not stop evil with your hands, stop it with your mouths”