Latest news with #Muslims
New York Post
19 minutes ago
- Politics
- New York Post
NYC's free summer meal program offers halal food, without listing kosher options
The city Department of Education's summer meal program for NYC youths boasts a variety of halal options at more than 25 locations citywide, but kosher food 'must be specially ordered,' officials told The Post. Free breakfasts and lunches will be served at hundreds of locations – schools, pools, libraries and parks – for anyone up to 18 years old, including all students from both public and private schools. 'You don't need to sign up, show any papers, or have an ID to get these meals,' the DOE says. 'Just head to one of our spots and enjoy a delicious breakfast and lunch.' Halal food – permissible for Muslims to eat under Islamic law – is available for the taking by anyone who shows up at the listed locations. Kosher food, for observant Jewish kids, is not mentioned on the DOE website. 4 DOE food worker Maria Gonzalez said she gave out 100 meals from a food truck in Haffen Park in the Bronx on the first day of the free summer meal program Friday. J.C. Rice Only when asked by The Post, the DOE said kosher meals 'must be specially ordered, and they are only available upon request. However we do not currently have any applications for kosher meals.' The glaring omission angered some Jewish advocates. 'The DOE's clear promotion of halal options alongside silence on kosher meals highlights a gap that needs urgent attention,'' said Karen Feldman, a DOE teacher and co-founder of the NYCPS Alliance, which fights antisemitism in the city public schools. 'Jewish families who keep kosher deserve the same outreach to feel fully included in this important program.' 4 A DOE food truck gave out free summer breakfasts and lunches to youths in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. J.C. Rice A similar controversy erupted in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when the City Council's Jewish Caucus demanded that Mayor De Blasio's DOE include kosher meals along with vegetarian and halal food for Muslims in its free meal program. The DOE does not track students by religion, but an estimated 10 percent of NYC public-school students, roughly 100,000, are Muslim. The number of Jewish kids in NYC public schools is unclear, but 105,776 K-12 students enrolled in private Jewish schools in 2024-2025, said Gabriel Aaronson, director of policy and research for the non-profit advocacy group Teach Coalition. Poverty and hunger plague many NYC Jews, among other groups. The Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, which serves more than 325,000 clients, says it provides emergency food that meets the cultural and religious dietary needs of both kosher and halal-observant households. 4 Karen Feldman, a DOE teacher and co-founder of a group fighting antisemitism in public schools, faulted the city's free summer meal program's failure to list kosher meals for Jewish kids. Gregory P. Mango The DOE's summer menus offer a variety of halal options it says meet Islamic guidelines. For instance, a breakfast of egg and cheese on a buttermilk biscuit, home fries, and fresh fruit; and a lunch of chicken tenders with dipping sauce, garlic knot and corn. Other halal breakfasts include waffles, zucchini and banana bread, whole-grain bagels and buttermilk pancakes. Lunches feature pizza, mozzarella sticks, beef patties, falafel, chicken sandwiches, veggie burgers and empanadas. Kosher foods meet Jewish dietary laws, including restrictions on certain animals like pork and shellfish, separation of meat and dairy, and specific slaughtering and preparation methods. If ordered, the DOE said, a kosher breakfast would include a muffin, granola or cereal, plus yogurt, an apple, and milk. A lunch would consist of hummus, tuna or egg salad, whole wheat bread, grape tomatoes, apple and milk. 4 The DOE posted July summer meals with multiple halal options, but none for kosher food, angering some Jewish advocates. DOE Last week, the DOE would not detail its preparation or purchase of halal and kosher foods. 'We are thrilled that our summer meals program is returning this year, making sure that our youngest New Yorkers are fed and nourished,'said DOE spokeswoman Jenna Lyle. Funding for the summer meal program comes out of the DOE's yearly $600 million budget for all school food.
Straits Times
25 minutes ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
16 tonnes of korban meat donated by Muslims in Singapore to be distributed in Gaza
Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Faishal Ibrahim (centre) chatting with a family during korban meat distribution on June 28. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG 16 tonnes of korban meat donated by Muslims in Singapore to be distributed in Gaza SINGAPORE – Some 16 tonnes of canned sheep meat donated by Muslims in Singapore will be delivered to recipients in Gaza later in 2025. Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Faishal Ibrahim said on June 28 that this contribution shows that the Singapore's Muslim community is 'deeply mindful of our responsibility to support those facing challenges abroad'. Speaking on the sidelines of a korban meat packing and distribution event in Toa Payoh, Associate Professor Faishal said that the korban meat – after being processed and canned – is slated for distribution to Palestinians in Gaza in the second half of 2025. Distribution will be carried out by trusted partners on the ground, added Prof Faishal, who cited the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation as an example. Korban refers to the Islamic ritual of slaughtering farm animals such as sheep and lambs, followed by the distribution of the meat to worshippers and the needy. It takes place annually during Hari Raya Haji, and is organised in Singapore by the korban sub-committee of SalamSG – a platform for key mosque programmes in Singapore. Locally, 39 tonnes of meat will be distributed by various mosques to close to 1,000 beneficiaries. Korban rituals are fulfilled mostly overseas, in Australia, where livestock is slaughtered, before their meat is chilled, packed and sent to Singapore. In Singapore, six mosques have approvals to host korban rituals. Prof Faishal said that close to 5,700 orders for overseas korban livestock were placed in 2025, the highest since 2022 and a 20 per cent increase on 2024's orders. On the donation of korban meat to Palestinians, Prof Faishal said: 'We are closely monitoring the situation to ensure that the aid reaches its intended recipient.' 'This initiative represents not just our religious obligations, but also our commitment to supporting communities in crisis, demonstrating how our acts of worship can be channelled to those in need and to provide practical assistance to those in dire circumstances,' he added. Prof Faishal also said that he will discuss with the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore the possibility of expanding korban operations in Singapore beyond the six mosques, in response to feedback from the Muslim community. He said that 'the highest standards of safety and regulatory compliance' will be factored into any decision to increase this figure. 'Please give us some time to look further into it and work closely with relevant agencies overseeing the regulatory requirements, to explore the possibilities.' His update on the distribution of korban meat in 2025 comes after more than $2.4 million was raised from Feb 24 to April 6 for Aid for Gaza 2025, to go towards providing necessities, healthcare and education for affected families in Gaza. The sum was raised in an SG60 community fund-raising initiative together with M³@Towns – a group of community-based platforms in Singapore that bring together volunteers and professionals from the Malay/Muslim community to serve the needs of residents. The fund-raiser was organised by Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation, in collaboration with the United Nations Children's Fund, the Egyptian Red Crescent and local humanitarian partner Humanity Matters. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
I Watched the Democrats Lose Muslim Support Last Election. This Gave Me Hope for 2026.
Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. In late May, I joined roughly two dozen Muslim entrepreneurs, community leaders, nonprofit organizers, and student activists around a very large table for a closed‑door strategy meeting with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. There was no other press, no recording. Emgage Action, a leading Muslim American advocacy organization, welcomed me to observe on the condition that before I quoted anyone, I would first get their consent. We were there to discuss the role of Muslims in the Democratic Party. Many in the room had grown convinced that national Democratic leaders prefer the Muslims in their party to stay quiet and fall in line. In 2024 national party leaders all but ignored months of protests in support of Gaza, backed on-campus police crackdowns, then blamed 'disinformation' when Muslim and Arab American voters staged protest abstentions that helped tip Michigan, Minnesota, and key New Jersey counties to Donald Trump. Many in the room saw that sequence as Democrat leadership's agenda coming down to 'Please hold your nose,' and proof the party values Muslim turnout but not Muslim input. Baraka's counter‑thesis was simple: Fight for them, and they'll fight for you. It is the opposite of what Muslim organizers say they experienced from party leaders in 2024, the cycle Democrats lost to Donald Trump. When Baraka arrived in the room where we waited, it was just after 8 a.m. He was tieless, wearing a solid‑black dashiki, and he spoke softly at first, almost cautious. If anyone expected the fiery mayor who had dominated cable news earlier in the week—handcuffed by federal agents and hauled into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement jail—they found a calmer figure instead. Five days before this gathering, Baraka had joined three members of Congress at Delaney Hall, the recently reopened ICE detention center in Newark, the city he governs. They intended a surprise inspection. Video shows agents ordering them off the property; Baraka complied, stepping back onto the public sidewalk. They arrested him anyway. By that evening, supporters from civil‑rights and faith groups, including Muslim organizers, were rallying outside the detention center where he was being held. He was released that night; the trespass charge evaporated in court 10 days later. But even as the Department of Homeland Security dropped the charges against him, it brought new ones against Rep. LaMonica McIver, one of the lawmakers he had been with.* The whole thing had been a jarring experience, and Baraka has been blunt: 'It's just authoritarianism. … These people are committed to this foolishness. They're going to go as far as they can to not look completely ridiculous because what they did was wrong. They had no jurisdiction over there in the first place.' In that closed-door meeting, the questions posed to Baraka circled three themes: affordability, taxes, and Palestine. Two of those topics are par for the course, though the Newark mayor certainly has thoughts on them. On Palestine, Baraka had a real chance to differentiate himself from the rest of the Democratic party. When multiple attendees referenced student sanctions and job losses across industries in response to their stances on Gaza, Baraka replied that Muslims should be able to criticize U.S. or Israeli policy without being labeled unpatriotic or antisemitic. Throughout, he linked those answers to a wider critique of his own party. 'The leadership of the party has been pretty docile and comfortable and have completely isolated their base across the country.' His prescription was the opposite of caution. 'We can't move in a timid fashion. We have to move with force, with courage, with strength, and we have to move together.' The room nodded, but the primary electorate had a different answer when it came to the race for the Democratic candidate for New Jersey governor. Two weeks later Baraka lost decisively to Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a Navy pilot turned moderate whose campaign leaned on the county machines, saturated the suburbs with ads about property taxes, and avoided Gaza discourse almost entirely. Sherrill's pitch was electability: She promised to 'keep New Jersey blue' without scaring swing voters in Bergen and Monmouth. Baraka, who came in second, couldn't match her donor network and party support that still decides most downballot races. New Jersey is home to an estimated 320,000 Muslims, about 3.5 percent of residents. In 2021 Phil Murphy won reelection by roughly 85,000 votes. Despite those numbers, many of the Muslim community leaders I spoke to voiced their disapproval of how state and national strategists have long treated them as an afterthought—phoning in Eid greetings, skipping hard policy conversations, and assuming they'll continue to view the Democratic Party as their home regardless of outreach or collaboration. Baraka's strategy was different—he focused on reaching out to them. This, however, seemed to double as a flex to show the problem with complacency: If a bloc this large can be energized in an off-cycle primary, what could it do in a presidential year? Baraka spent one of his last days before the primary courting the population, and I tagged along. When I asked his main objective for the tour, he said he wanted to 'galvanize the Muslim community in New Jersey. If we do that, that will be good.' His theory was straightforward: turn a reliable but under-organized bloc into a decisive one and show national Democrats what they risk when they take that bloc for granted. Baraka's Muslim itinerary tracks almost perfectly with census clusters and past underperformance, like Paterson and North Brunswick. I followed Baraka north to Paterson, home to one of the nation's largest Palestinian communities. The visit was brief. He introduced himself as a candidate for governor in cafés on Main Street and took quick photos with voters. One man called out 'Barakah!'—pronouncing it like the Arabic word for 'blessing'—before snapping a selfie. Another passerby whispered, 'That's the guy Trump arrested.' Where party strategists in 2024 feared alienating moderates, Baraka has spent his state-wide campaign courting voters the party lost. Where operatives believed that Gaza activism endangered swing districts, Baraka has argued that silence costs more. Muslim organizers note that only a few statewide Democrats have held unrestricted Q&A's with them since last cycle. Baraka's willingness to do so anchors his appeal. Baraka's grassroots strategy lost—but it still netted 163,563 votes, enough to lift him surprisingly to second place and to carry New Jersey's most populous county, Essex. Those numbers didn't carry him past Sherrill, yet they did remind operatives that a bloc the size of New Jersey's Muslim population matters to the statewide margin. Now that the governor's race is over, Muslim leaders sound cautiously optimistic. They want movement—on surveillance reform, on ceasefire resolutions, on small-business aid—before they'll call this a realignment. But they also say the door is now open. If statewide Democrats walk through it before 2026, Baraka's unsuccessful bid could mark the start of a voter bloc returning to a party that once counted on it. If they don't, the silence of 2024 might echo again when the presidential race comes calling.
NDTV
2 hours ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Zohran Mamdani Isn't New York Mayor Yet But Already Faces MAGA's Heat
Ever since Zohran Mamdani clinched a surprising victory in the Democratic primary for New York's mayoral polls, he has found himself in the crosshairs of Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters. If elected in November, Mr Mamdani would become the first Muslim mayor in New York City's history. While many have opposed Zohran Mamdani's policies, such as supporting affordable housing, MAGA supporters are targeting him over his religious identity. Conservative social media personality Laura Loomer wrote, "New York City will be destroyed, Muslims will start committing jihad all over New York and that NYC is about to see 9/11 2.0." New York City just handed its Democrat mayoral primary to @ZohranKMamdani, a communist jihadi backed by New York's communist Attorney General Letitia James @TishJames and raised by a father who believes terrorism is justified as "anti-colonial resistance." Trevor Loudon… — Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) June 26, 2025 Islamophobic posts targeting Mamdani were shared by prominent MAGA faces such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, US representative for Georgia's 14th congressional district. She shared a post showing a digitally altered picture of the Statue of Liberty covered in a black burqa. This hits hard. — Marjorie Taylor Greene ???????? (@mtgreenee) June 25, 2025 Conservative activist Charlie Kirk also referred to the 9/11 attacks in a recent post. He wrote, "24 years ago a group of Muslims killed 2,753 people on 9/11. Now a Muslim Socialist is on pace to run New York City." 24 years ago a group of Muslims killed 2,753 people on 9/11 Now a Muslim Socialist is on pace to run New York City — Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) June 25, 2025 Sharing a picture of Zohran Mamdani from a social gathering, Republican Nancy Mace, a US Representative from South Carolina, wrote, "After 9/11 we said 'Never Forget.' I think we sadly have forgotten." After 9/11 we said "Never Forget." I think we sadly have forgotten. — Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) June 25, 2025 US President Donald Trump also launched a scathing attack on Mr Mamdani, calling him a 100 percent Communist Lunatic. He even criticized other progressive leaders who support Mr Mamdani, including Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) and Senator Chuck Schumer. Key policies proposed by Mamdani and why MAGA are backers opposing them? Zohran Mamdani is backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, and that alone makes him unpopular among MAGA supporters. Where Trump seeks tight border control, an anti-refugee stance and a Muslim ban, Mamdani fights for immigrant rights and pro-refugee policies. Housing for all: Zohran Mamdani supports rent control, the construction of affordable houses for particularly low or middle-income classes and protection of tenants from eviction. MAGA supporters generally favour free market housing policies and landlords' rights. Anti-war policy: One of the key reasons MAGA supporters oppose Mamdani is that he openly accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, which deeply angers the conservatives who are strongly pro-Israel. Taxes: While Mamdani has proposed a two percent tax on wealthy individuals to fund public services, MAGA bats for lower taxes and minimal government intervention. During a Democratic debate, Zohran Mamdani called himself Trump's worst nightmare, positioning himself as a progressive, Muslim immigrant who actively fights for social justice. He also criticised Trump's immigration policies, describing them as authoritarian.
India.com
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- India.com
This film has no action, no villain, yet became blockbuster, won 25 awards, name is..., lead actors are...
About fifteen years ago, Bollywood witnessed a rare anomaly—a film without high-octane action or a clear villain, yet it resonated deeply and raked in moneymaking numbers. The movie? Shah Rukh Khan's My Name Is Khan. Under Karan Johar's direction, My Name Is Khan hit cinemas in 2010. Alongside SRK and Kajol, the film featured actors like Jimmy Shergill, Zarina Wahab, and Vinay Pathak. Shah Rukh portrayed Rizwan Khan, while Kajol played his wife Mandira. Who is Rizwan Khan? Rizwan Khan is a Muslim man afflicted with Asperger's syndrome who lives by one principle: following his mother's wisdom that the world has only two kinds of people—good and bad. Settling in Mumbai's middle class, his life turns upside down when he loses his mother and moves to America with his brother (Jimmy Shergill). In America, Rizwan meets and marries Mandira, a single mother. But after 9/11—when hatred toward Muslims rises—Mandira and her son Sam become targets. Following a tragic incident in school that claims Sam's life, Mandira tells Rizwan to go to the President and tell him, 'I am not a terrorist.' No villain, no action What sets My Name Is Khan apart is its lack of typical Hindi film theatrics. Instead, it leans on quiet storytelling and emotional depth, using Rizwan's journey to challenge prejudice and spark societal reflection. Bollywood hadn't often tackled such themes so boldly, and the film's emotional resonance struck a chord. Was it a Box office hit? With a production budget of Rs 85 crore, My Name Is Khan grossed a staggering Rs 224.40 crore globally, earning it the status of the fourth highest-grossing Indian film of 2010, behind Dabangg, Golmaal 3, and Raajneeti. At its core, My Name Is Khan isn't about a hero versus a villain—it's about humanity, grief, and resilience. Rizwan's simple plea to the President became a universal statement: across divides and diagnoses, no one should be judged by their appearance, name, or faith. What lessons remain? It's often said that experience should guide reaction, not assumption. Just as Rizwan Khan taught a nation about understanding and equality, this film taught Bollywood—and its audience—that a quiet story can roar louder than any explosion.
