Muslims rally against liquor sales (Oakland,CA)

OAKLAND - A march and rally to protest the sale of alcohol at Muslim-owned stores and the proliferation of the corner stores in poor neighborhoods of Oakland drew Muslims from around the Bay Area to downtown Oakland Saturday.

``This is something we've thought about and talked about for a long time,'' said Zachary Twist, of Hayward and Oakland, one of the organizers of the coalition Muslims for a Healthy Community.

The attack on two West Oakland liquor stores last year by men objecting to the sale of alcohol brought the issue forward, Twist said. ``But that is something we totally disagree with. Vigilantism is totally prohibited.''

But when you look at the statistics, 90 percent of Oakland's 350 liquor stores are owned or operated by Muslims - it's amazing and upsetting, Twist said.

``Our religion is crystal clear about alcohol,'' said Kamal Siddiqui, of Berkeley. ''It is forbidden.''

``We're not talking about prohibition, about banning liquor,'' she said. ``We are talking first and foremost to our fellow Muslims who are selling alcohol. They need to stop, and start selling fresh produce instead,'' Siddiqui said.

The rally ended with Muslim prayers led by clerics, including Mohammed Rajabally, president of the Islamic Society of the East Bay in Fremont, and Zaki Zareef, of Jamma-Tussalaam Community of Peace in Oakland.

It was an unusual sight for Oakland: nearly 150 worshipers, facing East, prone in front of City Hall.

This is just the beginning, one participant said. ``We want to work with other groups, like the black ministers, and others,'' he said.

The day began with a march from DeFremmery Park at 17th and Adeline Street to Frank Ogawa Plaza in front of City Hall. The march and rally were planned by Muslims and mosque officers from all over the Bay Area.

But initially, it looked like a march by supporters and associates of Your Black Muslim Bakery, Inc. The march of 75 men, women and children, was preceded by three luxury cars, a Chevrolet Suburban, a Lexus and a BMW, each carrying distinctive red and white crescent flags.

A phalanx of men in black coats ran alongside the cars, ahead of the marchers. The group stopped at liquor stores along the route, and Your Black Muslim Bakery representatives stationed themselves like sentries at the door of each store.

But Muslims from other organizations , speaking mostly in Arabic, talked to store owners and clerks, asking them why they continued to sell alcohol. At the first store, Sunbeam Market at Adeline and 14th Street, Moenssor Ghanan just smiled.

But when they left, Ghanan, who came to Oakland 20 years ago from Yemen, said he is a Muslim. He does not drink, but he sells alcohol because his customers want it.

``Alcohol is legal and I'm licensed by the state of California to sell it,'' he said.

At the next store, Bottles Liquor at 1150 Market, a store clerk, whose family owns the business, argued vehemently with his questioner, Iman Zaid Shakur, in Arabic and English. ``I know I'm wrong, selling alcohol. I'll pay someday,'' the clerk, who asked that his name not be used, said.

``But,'' he insisted, ``why do you go after us. Why don't you go to Safeway? They sell a lot more than we do. Are you willing to go there?''

A customer, Dave Brown, said he had been coming into the store for years. ``This store is owned by a family just trying to make a living; they have a right do that,'' he said. ``What they're selling is legal.''

At the third store, S&A Market at 14th and Jefferson streets, Ali Abraham, a former store owner, argued heatedly with two Muslims. ``People in America have a right to protest,'' he said. ``But there is also a law. We didn't invent democracy, but we're not excluded either,'' he said.

``Why do you go after us, weak, poor Arabs with no support, no backing?'' Abraham asked.

One of the Muslims, Abdullah Abdur-Rahman, who said he was from the suburbs, said alcohol sale in poor neighborhoods is a deep-rooted problem. ``You see these stores on every street corner.''

For more information about the Bay Area Muslim coalition, call (510) 868-8318 or email: muslims4hc@emailus.org.

This already happened in southern Maine:

Hospital 'johnny' redesigned because of Somalis' complaints
By David Sharp, Associated Press Writer | August 8, 2004

PORTLAND, Maine -- Everyone who has been hospitalized or has undergone an outpatient procedure knows -- and probably loathes -- the skimpy, ill-fitting, one-size-fits-none hospital gown.

Maine Medical Center finally decided to do something about it upon discovering that Muslim women accustomed to being fully covered were skipping appointments to avoid the immodest garments.

The redesigned hospital gown made available to all Maine Medical patients six weeks ago leaves them fully covered.

"This is a great example of a challenge raised by a specific community that can ultimately benefit all patients," said Dana Farris Gaya, manager of interpreter and cross-cultural services.

The "johnny," as it's known across New England, is the butt of jokes because of the discomfort it causes patients. Typically, it's a short gown tied in the back, often leaving one's backside exposed.

Of course, the johnny was not designed with patient comfort in mind. And the institutional garment has endured in large part, despite patient complaints and various efforts to improve upon the design.

At Maine Medical Center, administrators decided they had to act last November after the hospital identified a high no-show rate for Muslim women from African countries, particularly Somalia.

As many as three out of 10 women were skipping their appointments, said Osman Hersi, a medical interpreter at the hospital.

Tracked down at home, the women whose religion and culture requires them to be covered described to interpreters the horror of being asked to wear the revealing gowns during outpatient procedures.

Furthermore, they were publicly humiliated when they had to wait in a hallway in the radiology department.

"I have witnessed their misery and how bad they feel about it. They don't like it. They feel ashamed. It's very embarrassing," said Asha Abdulleh, a medical interpreter and native of Kenya.

The dress code for Muslim women is derived from the holy book, the Quran. Followers say teachings on modesty require women to cover themselves from head to toe. Only the hands and the face may be exposed. Many believe that their beauty should be reserved only for husbands.

On a recent morning, Shamso Abdi appeared for her first hospital visit since arriving in Portland.

She and her husband, Aden Ali, came to the United States from Mogadishu, Somalia. They lived in a small town in Kentucky, and then Columbus, Ohio, before coming to Portland.

Abdi, who was clothed in a dress, a sarong and a hijab, a scarf wrapped around her head, said she had canceled appointments in Columbus when she had to see male doctors and wear a johnny.

The "new" johnny created by the Maine Medical Center is long enough to provide more coverage of a patient's legs and has extra material to ensure that a patient's backside remains covered. Underneath, there's a wraparound sarong for even more coverage.

Abdi said she was grateful to see that Maine Medical had created a patient gown with her principles in mind.

"I'm so happy they made the change. I'm so happy that they considered us," she said, speaking through an interpreter.

Maine Medical, which has put the new johnnies on all garment carts for patients who request them, isn't the only hospital to try to create a patient gown that is more acceptable to patients.

Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey introduced vibrant colors and funky patterns five years ago.

Other hospitals and garment producers have tweaked the traditional designs with snaps, velcro and other changes.

But the traditional johnny will never go away entirely. In some situations, in emergency rooms for example, it's more important to put the interests of doctors and nurses ahead of the interests of patients.

But for many situations, it makes sense to keep patients happy.

And physicians, nurses and other health care providers from the international clinic were at a loss to explain at their weekly meeting why it took so long to produce a patient-friendly johnny.

"Why didn't we think of this so long ago?" said Dr. Nat James, an internal medicine physician at the international clinic.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.