First Muslim woman in NSW parliament

Australia will have its first Muslim woman in any parliament when academic Mehreen Faruqi replaces NSW upper house MP Cate Faehrmann this year, the NSW Greens say.

Ms Faehrmann is resigning from NSW politics in June to run for a seat in the Senate. Dr Faruqi was preselected by the Greens in a postal ballot from among a field of seven women-only candidates, in another first for the party.

The move makes Dr Faruqi the first Muslim woman appointed to any parliament in Australia, the party said.

http://www.skynews.com.au/politics/article.aspx?id=861383

Jersey Synagogue Honors Muslim Mayor

A leading synagogue in New Jersey’s Teaneck town has honored the city’s Muslim mayor in recognition of his contributions to the community to dispel stereotypes and encourage harmony between different religious and ethnic groups.

“He [Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin] is a very dedicated public servant [and] he's been a great advocate on behalf of his own community, the Muslim community,” Rabbi Nati Helfgot told NorthJersey.com.

http://www.onislam.net/english/news/americas/462109-jersey-synagogue-honors-muslim-mayor.html

Philadelphia Muslim women stop stereotypes with style

If you go to Philadelphia today you will see small boutiques and seamstresses that cater to young, trendy Muslim women dotting the city’s diverse neighbourhoods. You can also find fashion shows featuring the abaya (loose fitting robe) and niqab (face veil), preferred by a small number of Muslim American women. The Philadelphia Muslim fashion scene is on the rise, and is showing that a series of crimes in Philadelphia and the surrounding area by perpetrators wearing the abaya, the niqab and the burqa (a loose robe that covers the body, face and eyes) cannot ostracise local Muslims from the larger community or create stigmas associated with dress.

http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?id=32819&lan=en

Sethi, Punjab Chief Minister stresses Ulema role for interfaith harmony

Punjab Chief Minister Najam Sethi on Thursday said that Ulema and Mushaikh are playing a vital role in promotion of peace, brotherhood, tolerance and religious harmony in the country adding that Ulemas would have to work more on the role of ensuring forbearance, acceptance and religious coexistence in the society.

The CM expressed these views while talking to Chairman Ulema and Mushaikh Council and Member of Islami Ideology Council Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, who called on him at Chief Minister’s Secretariat.

The CM added that it was a national responsibility of Ulema and Mushaikh to propagate inter-faith harmony in the country.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/lahore/05-Apr-2013/sethi-stresses-ulema-role-for-interfaith-harmony