How difficult is life for a Muslim in US

Khan, who sports a give-away beard, explains his predicament: "Several times I have a passenger getting in. Then they get a good look at me, make an excuse and get out."

Khan was employed till two years ago in a software company. After he was laid off, he took up driving a taxi after failing to find another job. Khan is not the only one in the US who is feeling how difficult it is to be a Muslim today.

Since the 9/11 terror attacks, Muslims in general have come under a cloud all across the country. The other day, according to published reports, agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) landed at the residence of a Pakistani American, Niaz Hussain.

They asked him which mosque he attended and about his level of religious observances.

Those were upsetting; but what has pained Hussain more is that his neighbours now look at him with suspicion.

"They look at me very, very funny any time I am walking by," he complained.

Many Muslims say their business has also been hit. Clearly the most affected are Arabs, in particular those whose attire makes them stand out.

Muslims in general in the US complain they feel they are being constantly watched. And their "negative" image, fed in part by sections of the media, has affected their dealings with other Americans.

In recent weeks police have arrested several Muslims in separate alleged terror related incidents. In Chicago, Muhammad Salah of Bridgeview was arrested on charges of helping to raise money for the Palestinian group Hamas.

Reports say that the FBI has intensified random interviews of Muslims ahead of the November 2 US presidential elections.

Activists say that the US Census Bureau twice provided demographic information about Arabs - including zip codes and nations of origin to the Department of Homeland Security.

This unnerved the Muslim community, some of whom became apprehensive of being rounded up like Japanese Americans were during World War II. It turned out that the government merely wanted the information to erect Arabic language signs at international airport hubs.

Itedal Shalabi, a community activist, said the arrests, constant terror alerts and negative publicity had affected the image of Muslims among Americans.

Most Muslims, especially conservative Muslims whose attire makes them stand out, are constantly aware that their behaviour can arouse suspicion.

"The other day I was in downtown Chicago. There was a couple taking pictures of the Sears Tower and I was thinking 'What if it had been me? Wouldn't it have around suspicion?'" said Shalabi, who wears the hijab. (IANS)

The shows held over the weekend had fans asking for more unlike his last visit when the portly Sami hardly moved from behind his keyboard and left fans disappointed.

This time round, Sami presented a world class show with well-choreographed numbers, good lighting and sound system and a well synchronized band.

Sami allowed band members playing wind instruments like the trombone, trumpet and clarinet solo bits while he entertained the audience with animated actions which were as energetic as his distinctive voice.

Even breaks between songs as he sipped water were turned into entertaining comedy as Sami joked about his huge weight, dieting and exercise.

Sami has mastered the technique of using pregnant pauses to create audience anticipation and excited reaction like a master showman.

Proudly pointing out his parents and brother in the audience, Sami asked them not to worry too much about what he did on stage because he was sometimes ashamed of it himself afterwards!

He kept fans happy by rendering solos for three-quarters of an hour in two stints.

However, the supporting singers were not up to the mark.

Opener Raj Ali's 'golden oldie' renderings were a washout with noisy backtracks trying to ape remixes.

Shweta Pandit, who has performed here earlier with Sukhwinder Singh, was good but the audience apparently did not want more of her. She realized this when they did not react strongly to her question of whether they wanted to hear her sing the first song of her career, from the film "Mohabbatein". She promptly did just two lines and bid them goodbye.

But Sami and his musicians provided the fans with their money's worth. He had the audience eating out of his hands with his dexterity on the keyboards.

Pritpal Kaila, 46, almost succeeded in defrauding three insurance companies before one of them got suspicious and launched an investigation.

Kaila acquired a forged death certificate during a trip to India, saying he had succumbed to heart problems and made arrangements for his wife in Scunthorpe to be told he was being cremated.

She received payment from Scottish Amicable Life and Scottish Widows, but the third insurance company, Century Life, which was due to pay the largest amount of 287,562 pounds smelt a rat and put an investigator on the case.

Inquiries in Jalandhar, Kaila's hometown, revealed the death certificate had

been forged and the case was passed to police.

Local officers enlisted the help of the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after discovering that Kaila had travelled to the US on his own passport. Later he was traced to California where he was found working at a corner store.

But as police made plans to extradite him, Kaila turned up unexpectedly at Scunthorpe police station.

Kaila, who last week pleaded guilty to each of the charges facing him at Grimsby Crown Court, will be sentenced on Oct 1.

Mike Allibone of Humberside Police said: "He told us he was fed up with life and just wanted out and wanted his wife to be financially stable."

"At the end of the day although the insurance claims were put in by his wife there is no evidence to suggest she knew that he was still alive."

"As far as his wife was concerned he was dead, while he just wanted to start his life all over."

Before Kaila travelled to Punjab in early 2001 he had been working in London as a private hire driver, visiting his family in Scunthorpe only occasionally.

Within a matter of weeks of arriving in India he had "died". An accomplice phoned his wife to tell her of the news. But she was unable to get there in time for his cremation.

Later inquiries among his friends and family suggested he was in America, and, with the assistance of the FBI, he was traced to San Jose and San Francisco in California.

Allibone added: "Basically he employed someone to obtain these forged documents. They were sent via mail to his wife back in Scunthorpe. There were also phone calls from this unknown person to say he had died as a result of a heart attack or heart problems."

"The amount of cash she received was minimal; they were more life insurance policies to cover the mortgage."

"She obviously wasn't particularly impressed with her husband's conduct and was clearly upset from thinking he was dead, then finding he was alive".

The Century Life insurance had been taken out many years ago, said Allibone, and was probably worth a lot more than Kaila expected. (IANS)

Under a new law pupils are banned for wearing any religious symbols in class. Sikh community leaders have been speaking to school authorities to convince them against the ban. The ban aimed mostly at Muslim headscarves did not rule out Sikh boys from wearing the patka.

About 80 schoolboys were allowed with the patkas  but five were banned, including two who were going into their final year at lycee and preparing for their baccalaureate exams.

Sikh leaders claim the turbans and patkas  are practical hair coverings and not a religious symbol. Only their long hair is a religious symbol. But Monique Crinon, of One School for Everyone, a group campaigning against excluding students from school under the ban, said: "They were convinced their issue was resolved. But there is the issue of equality if they can wear something others can't."

The Sikhs said that national education authorities had agreed to their plea last spring but some schools were still applying the ban to all.

The defiant girls are in talks with school officials trying to persuade them to remove the head coverings, said Education Minister Francois Fillon, giving the first complete figure made public since the start of the school year Sept. 2.

When classes resumed, Fillon cited 70 cases of defiance but that did not take into account a batch of students returning to school for the first time Friday.

``I think we'll end up convincing the quasi-totality of these young girls,'' Fillon told Europe-1 radio.

The law, which forbids conspicuous religious symbols and apparel in public schools, calls for a period of dialogue for those who fail to comply. If students do not agree to follow the new law during the discussions, which can last several weeks, measures are taken to expel them.

The law is meant to bring France's increasingly vocal Muslim population, estimated at 5 million, into line with its cherished principle of secularism.

While the law targets Muslim head scarves, it also forbids Jewish skull caps and large Christian crosses in classrooms. Discreet symbols are permitted.

Sikhs, who number 5,000-7,000 in France, were mostly forgotten during marathon debates that preceded the law's passage in March even though many of them wear turbans to cover their unshorn hair. The turban is considered an article of faith for practicing Sikhs.

When the new academic year started, it became clear that turbans also were unacceptable in public schools.

At one Paris region high school, teachers refused to let three Sikhs wearing turbans get past the front door until Tuesday, members of the Sikh community said. Even then, the students weren't allowed to attend class and were made to wait in the cafeteria, Sikhs said.

``We're victims,'' said Gurdial Singh, whose 14-year-old son, Jasvir, was among the three students unable to attend classes at Louise-Michel High School in Bobigny, northwest of Paris.

Having refused to let the boys in for three days, teachers who firmly support the law relented Tuesday, letting them in for discussions about the measure, Jasvir's father said.

School officials refused to discuss the cases. The other boys are aged 15 and 18.

An education official confirmed those three cases and said that two Sikhs in two other high schools in the Seine-Saint-Denis region north of Paris also were barred from attending classes because of their turbans.

To break the impasse over turbans, Sikhs have proposed allowing students with very long hair, be they male or female, to wear a covering that leaves the forehead, neck and ears bare, according to Kudrat Singh, a representative of United Sikhs, which represents the Sikh community worldwide.

He said Sikhs do not want a special dispensation that applies only to them.

Gurdial Singh said he was ready to send his son to a school that would accept his turban as long as it was a reasonable distance from home. The law gives individual schools leeway in deciding what is acceptable.

Officials proposed a new school for Jasvir, but ``they then telephoned to say he won't be accepted there either,'' said Gurdial Singh.