Senior Muslim reaches out to Catholics

Salam/Peace:

Weston · In a gesture of sympathy and outreach, local Muslim leader Altaf Ali on Thursday stood before the parishioners of St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church and condemned recent militant attacks on Catholic churches in Baghdad, insisting the violence ran counter to the "true tenet" of Islam.

The Thanksgiving speech, delivered before a hushed congregation, referred to a string of bombings at churches in Baghdad, including predawn assaults on Oct. 16, the first day of Ramadan, that killed three and injured about 40 civilians.


"Your suffering is my suffering. Your sorrow is my sorrow. Your happiness is my happiness," said Ali, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Miami. "We are brothers and sisters in faith."

Read the whole article at:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pcmuslims26nov26,0,2870147.story?coll=sfla-news-palm

Muslim-American's firm one of the best places to work in Philadelphia

Salam/Peace:

BENSALEM-With a staff of just 18, Parkway Clinical Laboratories doesn’t have the size or resources to offer its employees perks like an on-site fitness center or a full-service cafeteria. Dr. Raza Bokhari, the company’s president and CEO, has other techniques for keeping his staff motivated and happy.

“I try to create an environment where people have the sense that they work with me, not for me,” he said, “I like to empower people to be decision-makers.” That’s a necessity for Bokhari, who describes himself as a physician-turned-entrepreneur.

[...]


Parkway ranked third among small employers, defined as those with fewer than 100 employees, in a survey of companies participating in an independent survey conducted by QMR Research of the region’s “Best Places to Work”.

One unidentified Parkway employee noted in an online survey, “Every person that works here has a feeling of empowerment to not only get their job done, but also to pitch in when others need it.”

Employees gave the company high scores for “manager effectiveness” and “trust in senior leaders.”

Marcia Zaruba-O’Conor, the company’s director of sales, said what she enjoys about her job is being able to set her own hours so she is able to be at home when her son needs her.

[...]

Bokhari said his philosophy is everybody knows what the company’s deadlines are and workers should be allowed to work hours that best suit their needs. “That way personal life and work life can be balanced,” he said.

Read the whole article at:
http://www.ncpa.info/news/view_newsdetails.asp?id=208

Close to 20,000 Muslims demonstrate against terror

Salam/Peace:

In Germany, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung welcomes a Muslim-organised demonstration against terrorism which was attended by more than 20,000 people in Cologne on Sunday.

Read the whole article at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4031257.stm