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Putney Swope, a 1969 film written and directed by Robert Downey, Sr. and starring Arnold Johnson as Swope, is a comedy satirizing the advertising world, the portrayal of race in Hollywood films, the white power structure, and nature of corporate corruption.

Putney Swope, the only black man on the executive board of an advertising firm, is accidentally put in charge after the unexpected death of the chairman of the board: each board member actually believed that he, himself, should be elected Chairman, but the bylaws of the corporation prohibit voting for oneself, so each individual member voted his secret ballot for the person that no one else would vote for: Putney Swope.

Renaming the business “Truth and Soul, Inc.”, Swope replaces all but one of the white employees and insists they no longer accept business from companies that produce alcohol, war toys, or tobacco. The success of the business draws unwanted attention from the United States Government, which considers it “a threat to the national security.

The great question for us all is not when but how. Our action must come out of love of God and our fellowman. Our pain must transform into compassion and mercy to struggle non-violently to create a mass movement against the oligarchy that has seized control of our country.

Begin the conversation now with those you know and those you don’t know. Spend some time with the “Occupy” movement. It must be the people in the middle-class who stand up – not just the left in order to bring us into balance, the concept in the Quran: Al-Mizaan. We must rededicate ourselves to building a just society.  The prophet Muhammad, pbuh, lead a mass movement of over 10,000 to overthrow the violent and oppressive leaders of Mecca.  He offered non-violence as a solution to the violence of the Meccans.   Most of the Meccan leaders submitted.  Those 10,000 could have chosen violence – The Prophet lead them effectively to a non-violent revolution, without revenge.  Today we are called to save our country for all of us, Baha’’i, Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, Jain, Jewish, Latter-day Saints, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Sikh, Zoroastrian faith communities, people of faith and people of conscience.

Read more: http://blog.beliefnet.com/christianityfortherestofus/2011/01/martin-luther-king-jr-fierce-urgency-of-now.html#ixzz1bz8p2Ido

“innallilahi wa inna ilayhi rajioon” translated “from God we come and to God is our return.”

Today, the Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center acknowledges the death of a former Imam, Anwar Al-Awlaki.  While employed at Dar Al-Hijrah, he was known for his interfaith outreach, civic engagement, and tolerance in the Northern Virginia community.

However, after Mr. Al-Awlaki’s departure in 2002, he was arrested by Yemeni authorities and allegedly tortured.  It was then that Al-Awlaki began preaching violence.  He was killed violently in an apparent drone strike today. In recent years, while in his self-imposed exile, Mr. Al-Awlaki encouraged impressionable American-Muslims to attack their own country.  Al-Awlaki will no longer spread his hate speech over the internet to Muslim youth provoking them to engage in violence against their fellow Americans.

We reiterate that in Islam, as an American faith community, we do not accept violence nor extremism and recommit ourselves to our message living our faith in peace, tolerance, and the promotion of the public good.

The Qur’an teaches us:

“…. if any one slew a person – unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land – it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. Then although there came to them Our apostles with clear signs, yet, even after that, many of them continued to commit excesses in the land.” 5:32

We must also add that in previous statements we have rejected the use of extra-judicial assassination of any human being and especially an American citizen which includes Al-Awlaki.  We reiterate our commitment to “due process under law” and justice and are concerned that the alleged drone attack sends the wrong message to law abiding people around the world.

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*Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center is one the largest and diverse Islamic Centers in the nation. We are committed to service the community as a place of worship, education and social service. Learn more at www.daralhijrah.net

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Contact: 202-345-5233   Imam Johari Abdul-Malik; Director of Outreach

ABC7′s Autria Godfrey has the story.

Commentary:

The faith and civil rights  communities must join with legislators to amend this law to insure public safety while maintaining the respect for religious freedom.

Although, I do not subscribe to the school of thought that says Muslim women must cover their faces in public.  I believe it is their right to do so.  

While I must remind the readers that in Philadelphia some men have committed armed robbery while wearing niqab, the face veil.  

(WUSA) — As we’re approaching Halloween, you may want to refrain from wearing your mask in public before the scary day if you live in Virginia. Doing so landed a 19-year-old Spotsylvania man behind bars.

Wearing masks in Virginia’s public places is a felony that could land you behind bars up to 5 years. Attorney Robert Hall showed us the 1960 statute last amended in 1986. The code prohibits anyone older than 16 from wearing masks or hoods except on Halloween or for medical, safety, or weather reasons.  Why?

“This was oriented towards making Klu Klux Klan members be less intimidating by requiring them to disclose their identity,” explained Hall.

But what if you’re concealing your identity for religious reasons like many Muslim women? Surprisingly, there is no exemption: according to the law, that too is illegal.

“If someone thought it was important to their reelection or their initial election that they propose the prosecution of someone wearing a burkah, they could get them on this statute,” said Hall.

“Clearly, there should be a religious exemption,” said Imam Johari Abdul-Malik with the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center. He says it’s a dangerous loophole that infringes on their civil rights.

He added, “Virginia has changed. There are people who cover their faces now who didn’t cover their faces in the 1960s.”

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This is clearly an old law. Should Virginia take it off the books or update it?  Send your thoughts to mailbag@wusa9.com or sound off on our Facebook page.