Muslim man dies helping police officer in Arizona

Salam/Peace:

Dawud Isa Abusida

Dawud Isa Abusida, 56, was a veteran Tucson cabdriver who started his own business, Budget Cabs, just two months ago.

He also was a scientist, with a master's degree in food science from the University of Arizona, a fact that surprised many of his co-workers, who said he never mentioned it, though he displayed a keen intelligence.

His co-workers and his family were not surprised to learn he died while trying to help a sheriff's deputy. His youngest son, Islam, 24, said his father's actions were consistent with the man he had become.


[...]

Dawud Abusida was a Palestinian who emigrated from Saudi Arabia to the United States, where he thought the future would be brighter for him, his wife and their four children.

[...]

Islam Abusida said his father's religion was important to him and the reason he named his youngest son to honor it.

Read the whole article at:
http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/allheadlines/88385.php

Islamic law aids tsunami widows

Salam/Peace:

By Scott Baldauf | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

BANDA ACEH, INDONESIA – When the tsunami came to sweep away her seaside home, her three children, and her husband, Yuniarti thought that she had lost everything she could possibly lose.

She was wrong. After the disaster, the parents of her late husband took away her car, her motorcycle, and other belongings, telling Yuniarti that they had more right to inherit their son's property than she did as a wife.

They were wrong. According to Islamic law, a widow has greater right to inherit her husband's property. Now, Yuniarti is asserting those rights under Islamic sharia law, a 1,300-year-old legal system that has some surprisingly modern notions of women's empowerment.

"The only way I have is to go to sharia court," says Yuniarti, who claims her husband's family has begun to threaten her after she asked repeatedly for her property back. "I know that I will win the case in Islamic court. My husband's parents are religious people, I hope they will hear the decision of the sharia court and accept it."

Read the whole story at:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0809/p06s01-woap.html