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Post by Aisha on Jun 1, 2003 12:50:17 GMT -5
Hey, if Hasanah was in the USA she could sue them for that. There are laws about such things like that here. That is like the story of an American Muslim in Texas who was hassled for nothing. She had her house searched, her computer confiscated, and her reputation ruined just because she covered her head. They found nothing against her either. God, narrow-minded people disgust me. I wonder if Hasanah had a name like Teri Johnson, went into the same bank without the scarf and presented a passport with a crease if anyone would even raise an eyebrow.
Thank you LadyD for posting that article. I hope Hasanah gets over the hurt soon.
Love,
A'isha
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Chris
Oh Very Young
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Post by Chris on Jun 1, 2003 13:17:46 GMT -5
Thanks Lady for the link.
What a hassle for poor Hansanah. I can't blame the Islam family for being quite upset.
After 20 years in banking in the same establishment , you would think they would recognize them. I would say this bank flunked big time in customer satisfaction.
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Post by Turan on Jun 1, 2003 13:44:01 GMT -5
I suppose it is a good thing that some one with the ability to fight back got hassled. It could be a good thing in the long run for British citizens as a whole by throwing a spot light on a problem.
Poor kid. Makes me remember being accused of forging a check when I was her age. I hadn't. Scared me through though while they figured it out.
Turan
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Post by DiddleMingyAdams on Jun 1, 2003 15:12:01 GMT -5
Hey, if Hasanah was in the USA she could sue them for that. There are laws about such things like that here. That is like the story of an American Muslim in Texas who was hassled for nothing. She had her house searched, her computer confiscated, and her reputation ruined just because she covered her head. They found nothing against her either. God, narrow-minded people disgust me. I wonder if Hasanah had a name like Teri Johnson, went into the same bank without the scarf and presented a passport with a crease if anyone would even raise an eyebrow. Thank you LadyD for posting that article. I hope Hasanah gets over the hurt soon. Love, A'isha i got on the plane and all the way to england with a passport that wasn't signed....no one said a word, until the nice lady at customs said, 'ooh, you need to sign this! chuckle chuckle chuckle. i can't help but wonder how differently it may have been if my name were different, and i had a scarf on my head  the poor thing, how traumatic it pisses me off rather intensely, to be honest, and not because its YI's daughter, but because its probably happening every day to people who dont' happen to have a famous dad. |
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Post by Vivian on Jun 1, 2003 15:13:11 GMT -5
I hope she DOES sue, and I will be with her ALL THE WAY!! And what disrespect by not refering to her by her married name!! Something tells me that even though she is rot required to use her husbands name, she does! And that is an insult!!
Peace,Vivian
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Post by boneheadedwoman on Jun 1, 2003 15:26:56 GMT -5
Very interesting article! But it bothered me that the author kept calling Hasanah "Mrs. Islam!" That family seems to have enough problems with the press without someone glancing at the article and going away totally confused about who is married to whom! I hate to think about innocent people having their civil liberties eroded for any reason. I'm puzzled as to why the bank called the police without trying to verify her identity themselves. After all, they had her passport. Even if it were a fake, she wouldn't want to leave without it. And I wonder what cause the police had in placing her under arrest. How very peculiar. I hope this is investigated closely, although I'm not sure I support the post traumatic stress disorder claim. I've never been arrested, but I think I'd be more angry than traumatized! Good luck to the family, and let's hope this case will prevent things like this from happening again!
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Chris
Oh Very Young
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Post by Chris on Jun 1, 2003 16:03:24 GMT -5
Vivian, I don't believe the author (Fareena Alam) of this articles' intention was to insult Hasanah, by referring to her as Mrs. Islam. I think she was *trying* (unsuccessfully) to link Hasanah to Yusuf, but instead she only succeeded to confuse the reader. She would have been better off hyphenating Hasanahs name to create less confusion. But it wasn't done out of malice. Also, I noticed on Y.I.org.uk they referred to this article as the press release issued by Yusuf concerning the incidence.
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Post by Aisha on Jun 1, 2003 16:17:37 GMT -5
I don't know. I know many Muslim women who still use their own names even after marrying. I use Alnahar on the web, but I still retain my legal name that I had before marriage. We don't really know what Hasanah prefers to be called. Maybe 'Islam' was the name on her passport and checks and the reporter just used that name.
I just think the whole thing is ridiculous...a crease in a passport? All of our passports have bent pages and such from being used and stuffed into pocketbooks and pockets. I think the bank was just trying to make the news by arresting 'CAT STEVENS' KID'....it would make some headlines I think and if there is an anti-Islamic sentiment in England it would make the bank appear to be good instead of being a bunch of jerks.
As for the Post Traumatic Stress thing I don't know if she has the grounds for it. When I was 22 I was arrested and jailed for five hours because I was not notified by a bank of an outstanding check. I was pregnant too. Maybe the ordeal scared Hasanah a lot. I know it scared me being three months pregnant, locked for five hours with a girl who had cut up her lover...but I don't think I suffered any stress from it. But then again I was not a Muslim woman back then and who knows what Hasanah was exposed to when arrested. They could have been terrible to her in the jail.
And it isn't because this is Yusuf's daughter that this makes us mad. It is the fact that if Hasanah had not worn a scarf and had an Arabic name no one would have even raised an eyebrow about anything.
Love,
A'isha
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Post by Turan on Jun 1, 2003 16:34:14 GMT -5
I am double posting, pardon me.
Gosh, I think it is in the interview on the CScom homepage that Yusuf comments on the tradition of Muslim woman not changing their names with approval.
I know that tradition differs throughout the world. A Lebanese friend of mine thinks Americans are really backwards for changing our names at marriage. A Bengali friend changed hers, but I am not sure if it was not to make life easier living here.
Colleen, did you feel there was more hassling of Muslim women in London than in the past? You were just there, wandering the streets at all hours. Report please?
At any rate, definatily time to change banks. Phoo, what a bother that would be.
I found it interesting that Hasanah is VP of the Islam family enterprises
Turan
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Post by DiddleMingyAdams on Jun 1, 2003 17:20:00 GMT -5
I am double posting, pardon me. then i will double post as well LOL..... i myself was surprised at the sheer number of muslims, muslim establishments, mosques, etc. far more than you will ever find over here, thats for sure. even if we were to compare london with new york city for instance, there seemed to me to be many more muslims in london. it actually gave me the feeling that there must be LESS of these sorts of situations than there are over here, but i have also been told differently; there have been plenty. i myself don't wear hijab, but i never felt uncomfortable traveling with women who did, and the one day that i did cover my head (as we were heading to a mosque where i would need to wear it) i felt perfectly comfortable. it also felt nice, though sometimes a little uncomfortable, to be amongst muslims living as muslims do, as i do not have that benefit here. i do know, however, that post 9/11 my friends have been subjected to taunts and things that really did not exist prior to that. The Islamia school is burdened with extra security now, so i know that things for muslims are not as easy there as they may have been before; i think that may go for everywhere, not just london. the fact remains that this incident would not even have been reportable if it had not happened to Yusuf Islam's daughter. I was happy to hear him say that he is concerned not only with his daughter, but with the thousands of other muslims who must go through this with out anyone ever knowing. i can tell you, though it has not happened to me directly,it happened to someone i love, and when it DOES happen, its extremely traumatic and scary and there is no one to turn to. just knowing that they can lock you up indefinitely without any charges is enough to traumatize any muslim who has the police show up during any sort of misunderstanding. i fully understand why she may have post traumatic shock, i can't imagine sitting in a police cell for an hour waiting to find out if my next stop was going to be a detention center?  ? many people do not take this seriously, because they figure there is some sort of logic that must be behind it, or 'national security' warrants it. i can tell you from experience, there is not much in the way of logic. having a muslim name is enough to start the ball rolling, and certainly wearing a scarf can be added to that list. which homepage article are you talking about turan? i'd be interested in seeing this. |
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Post by Aisha on Jun 1, 2003 17:59:09 GMT -5
Here in Columbus we have a large Muslim community. People tend to be more tolerant of hijabbed women here than in my hometown in Georgia. There is an occasional insult here but nothing major. You still are an outcast in social functions....people are very uncomfortable being seen talking to a Muslim woman-- like we have a disease that will rub off on them. But those are minor things. There is a big problem here for Muslims in the area. It is very difficult for Muslims to gain employment. If you don't have a few letters at the end of your name showing your are a professional person, you have trouble gaining employment. And if you are a woman wearing hijab it is almost unheard of. My husband said I was over-reacting about Muslim women finding problems gaining employment. But I was correct in my deduction when they ran a program about the area's Muslims. Muslim men and women were interviewed on the program and they complained about not being able to find work. As soon as the employer saw the Arabic/Muslim name they were passed over for employment and some American Muslim women who went to interviews with high qualifications were passed over for jobs. My husband says he sees women working in Kroger and Meijer who wear hijab, but in my twelve years of being a Muslim I have never seen a Muslim woman in hijab working in a job that deals with the public like in a restaurant or retail store. I think the hospitals hire the ones who are nurses since nurses are hard to come by. One friend of mine worked for K-Mart but she was forbidden to wear the scarf. She needed the money so much that she went to work uncovered. Her conscience eventually bothered her too much and she quit the job.
Here in the USA you have areas where there are large numbers of Muslims living....Dearborn, Michigan is an example of this. It holds the highest percentage of the US's Muslims and Arabs. In areas like Dearborn, Phoenix, and Miami, where there are many Muslims, it is easier for Muslims, but go to Macon, Georgia and you will find out what it is like to be hated. There is little tolerance for Muslims in that area. Even the mosque is built to look more like a church than a mosque to protect the worshipers from attacks (and if you read some of the Islamic publications you will read about many instances of firebombs going through masjid windows and such).
My husband insists we keep a low profile anywhere we go because of the fact that anything can happen like what happened to Sr. Hasanah. Muslim women stand out like sore thumbs. I have noticed that the women I know who do not wear hijab have little of the hassles because most people don't know their names are Arabic. Khitam, Subbah, and Afaf, Arab Muslim women I know, never have the hassles I have, but they don't dress in Islamic dress. People just think they are Spanish or Italian. But when a woman puts on the scarf it screams to the world, "I am a Muslim"....
I know one Arab woman who goes into stores, steals stuff and returns the merchandise to other stores. I wasn't aware of this until I saw her in action. I quit shopping with her after that. My husband was outraged by this and didn't want me going out with this woman because the police would have implicated me more than the other woman because of my dress. People do watch what Muslim women in scarves do. Not everyone does it out of hate or rudeness...some are just curious about who we are. But when something happens I have discovered that many people will point at a minority. It is like when I lived in Georgia. There were some cars broken into on our street and the first thing anyone said was, "Oh, I saw two black men walking on the street that night." People will pick someone to lay blame on. I am not saying such a thing is right, it isn't, but it is a fact of life.
Now Hasanah's story is probably similar to many stories that happen each day, Muslim women who are hassled, but the fact that her daddy was once Cat Stevens would make it newsworthy even if it is unfair. Sometimes I think people watch Yusuf and his family to see when he or the family will mess up. I would think that a passport question would have been moved to an office rather than to a police station. But taking Cat Stevens' daughter to jail sells newspapers.
Another story that has been interesting is the story of a Muslim woman, I think in Florida) who insisted upon wearing her veil to obtain a driver's license without removing her veil. Vivian told me about it first and Hamdi was talking about it today when we were discussing this 'Hasanah' issue. The lady won the case and gets to keep her on her veil. I don't know how many people heard about this story but if Vivian had not told me I would not have heard about it. Hamdi knew so that means it must have been on CNN or MSNBC.
As for Post Traumatic Stress, I went through it before because of some things I experienced. My ordeal went on for months,. I hope that Hasanah won't have to go through therapy...it is no fun. I just hope that in a few days she will recover fully from the incident. I know she must have been very scared. It is a scary time for Muslim women. I don't know if Hasana's case would be classified as PTS but I know that she will probably not sleep well for a few days. I just hope no one abused her while she was confined.
Love,
A'isha
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Post by Vivian on Jun 1, 2003 17:59:35 GMT -5
You're right, Christine! I do apologize for that! But I stick to my guns, that I hope they sue the pants off that bank! Noone deserves that kind of treatment!
Peace,Vivian
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Post by Turan on Jun 1, 2003 18:02:33 GMT -5
I am pretty sure it was the radio interview on CScom homepage. I didn't relisten to double check (supposedly I am doing other things....) I remember Yusuf's voice instead of my reading an article.
Thanks for your reporting, Colleen.
Turan
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Post by Aisha on Jun 1, 2003 18:21:02 GMT -5
You're right, Christine! I do apologize for that! But I stick to my guns, that I hope they sue the pants off that bank! Noone deserves that kind of treatment! Peace,Vivian Vivian, no one deserves being treated like that. Why didn't they just ask Hasanah to go into one of the offices and have the thing settled. I think taking her to jail was ridiculous... I don't get why people have to be such jerks... Aren't there real criminals like rapists and child molestors that need to be hauled off to jail, but I can assure you that they would be treated better than Hasanah was treated. You know, the more I think about this thing the more angry it makes me. I just went to Yusuf's site and seeing today's update really made me feel sad. Sometimes I wonder if human beings have evolved as much as we think. Love, A'isha |
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Post by Turan on Jun 1, 2003 18:40:38 GMT -5
I would think that a passport question would have been moved to an office rather than to a police station. But taking Cat Stevens' daughter to jail sells newspapers. Ummm, this sounds as if the teller and the police are in the pay of the newspapers. Has this been reported anywhere else? In a dogpile search I came up completily blank. So I have only found it with this one Muslim newspaper. Maybe tomorrow? If anything the newspapers are being used to generate outrage. Turan |
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Post by Aisha on Jun 1, 2003 18:44:17 GMT -5
It is on Yusuf's site. I haven't watched the news today. I feel bad for Yusuf. I can only imagine how angry I would feel if one of my girls was arrested in such a way.
Love,
A'isha
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Post by hummingbird on Jun 1, 2003 18:46:03 GMT -5
Well I hate to sound like a drama queen, but I've really had this nagging dark cloud kind of feeling (surrounding Yusuf) ever since that damn GQ article. I just felt something was looming . So I wan't completely surprised or shocked to hear this depressing story. I think this incidient kind of underscores the potential damage even just one negative article can create. Not that this incident is directly tied or linked to GQ, but it seems to have common roots. Articles like that propogate by attempting to legitimise, these sort of biased suspicions. Very sad and unfortunate. Well the good news is that Hasanah surely has a wonderful support system. I wish her all the best and feel confident that brighter days are coming  -jen. |
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Post by Vivian on Jun 1, 2003 18:57:28 GMT -5
Well the good news is that Hasanah surely has a wonderful support system. I wish her all the best and feel confident that brighter days are coming -jen. That is definately for sure!! Namely all MES AMIS right here, are on that support team!! And YES, those brighter days sure are coming! Peace,Vivian |
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Post by Aisha on Jun 1, 2003 22:23:30 GMT -5
Ummm, this sounds as if the teller and the police are in the pay of the newspapers. Has this been reported anywhere else? In a dogpile search I came up completily blank. So I have only found it with this one Muslim newspaper. Maybe tomorrow? If anything the newspapers are being used to generate outrage. Turan Turan, I reread your post and felt that maybe the line you quoted of mine should have been quoted differently...my error. Reading it again sounds like it would sell newspapers if the police and bank nabbed Hasanah. Actually I should have said that when the bank staff saw Hasanah's name on the passport they would make more out of something that was no big deal, maybe to make themselves feel important. If a person banks at a particular institution for a long period of time (not even that long actually) the staff gets familiar with the customers. The president of our bank knows me and my husband well and offers us homemade cookies when we come into the bank. I doubt, very seriously, that all of those people who pointed a finger at Hasanah were not aware of who she was. Actually, since the case was something of a false arrest against Hasanah it may not make the papers because of embarrassment. But if she had been guilty we would be hearing it on MTV, VH1, CNN, and every other news source talking about it. They would have ran with the story like a hungry fish nabbing the bait. There would be more than one article and one website posting the article. And Jen, I am happy that Hasanah has such a good support system in her family, friends, and those who care about her father. Love, A'isha |
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Post by DiddleMingyAdams on Jun 2, 2003 2:43:42 GMT -5
well i think that whether or not they knew who she was is irrelevant. i think they would be more likely NOT to harass her if they realized her daddy is a big customer with a big voice in the community.
unfortunately it probably happens frequently to people who don't have a big and famous daddy. i find this extremely troubling.
InshaAllah the trials of this family, because of the fame of the father, will help bring to light the trials of those who do not have such a voice, and something good will come of it.
InshaAllah, InshaAllah.
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Post by cristalina on Jun 2, 2003 7:06:19 GMT -5
Well I've just come back from holiday to read this, so I haven't been listening to or watching any news, I'll have a scout round to see if I can spot anything in the UK papers. However I should think Lloyds Bank are deeply embarrassed about the whole incident. Unfortunately I think it was an error caused by the bank clerk who maybe felt there was a terrorist link, if they wrongly thought the passport had been tampered with. It was the same for the Irish back in the 70's, especially after 2 of our most popular local pubs with bombed by the IRA, local Irish people were afraid to speak because of their accents and of course our justice system did eventually charge and lock up 6 innocent Irish men, which had to be released after many years with their lives in tatters.
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Post by Aisha on Jun 2, 2003 11:09:48 GMT -5
well i think that whether or not they knew who she was is irrelevant. i think they would be more likely NOT to harass her if they realized her daddy is a big customer with a big voice in the community. unfortunately it probably happens frequently to people who don't have a big and famous daddy. i find this extremely troubling. InshaAllah the trials of this family, because of the fame of the father, will help bring to light the trials of those who do not have such a voice, and something good will come of it. InshaAllah, InshaAllah. Colleen, Yusuf's fame could affect the whole thing either way, depending on the people involved. His fame may deter it or encourage the action. But if it can bring to light the fact that this sort of thing is going on all over some good may come out of all of it. I have watched the news reports on Cable and on VH1 and there was no mention of the incident not even in the crawl thingies. Lloyds Bank is probably more powerful than Yusuf (being that it is a large financial institution) and the bank is probably trying to keep the incident out of the media. You know they would have to be embarrassed. I don't mean any disrespect to Yusuf in my last sentence, but the place is a well-known old financial institution, probably serving many of the rich and famous. They will be 'obeyed' a lot quicker than a former rockstar who left the business because he became a Muslim. That doesn't set well with many people right now because of the problems in the world. I can't help but wonder about the whole incident. It seems that everytime Yusuf climbs two steps back up to get people's respect something pulls him back down again. I hope that this thing will pass soon for the sake of Hasanah and her family. Love, A'isha |
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Post by faithfullight on Jun 2, 2003 13:58:32 GMT -5
I am very sorry that Hasanah had to go through that humiliating, unnecessary ordeal! It saddens me to see her picked out as though she was some type of threat. It makes no sense that the bank jumped to such conclusions without any logical cause or reason to suspect her. Was the teller a new employee and unskilled in his job ethics? Why would a bank immediately call the police because of what they thought or suspected without legitimate cause? Gee, our world is getting more and more crazy and paranoid!
The problem with bigotry and prejudice is not just focused on Muslims in our world. There are many prejudices among all groups which are unjust and unfair. All of these cases are senseless to the innocent. There seems to be many cases among all races and religions that seems to have increased since 9/11. People are letting their fears of panic control their moral principles, which is so sad. We can't permit fear to run our lives and we can't wrongly accuse people for something that is dreamed up in someone else's head.
I hope Hasana is comforted to know that we (Cat/Yusuf fans) know that she was unjustly accused and we all feel regret with what she had to endure.
Peace,
Faithfullight
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Post by Aisha on Jun 2, 2003 14:49:36 GMT -5
My husband had a similar experience at an Avis rent-a-car place in Georgia. God, the attendant was so obnoxious, but no one can push Hamdi around, he is a force to be reckoned with. I remember saying to the girl who was very rude, "Look, you might as well hang it up, that man never backs down from an argument." Soon after that she let it go. But I think it wasn't so much that Hamdi was an Arab that bugged her, I think she just had a thing with foreigners even though she was a foreigner too. Some people do tend to get weird toward people who appear different or speak with accents. I think that, as hard as it might have been, Hasanah has learned some valuable lessons about life. Being 22 she will probably discover more things like this but now she will be prepared for it. Isn't it sad that such things happen to nice people. Humans are a weird lot.
Love,
A'isha
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Post by faithfullight on Jun 2, 2003 18:22:12 GMT -5
What about the documentary, 'Cat Stevens: A True Story'? It will be repeated today at 12pm and 5pm (BST) on the Biography Channel. I don't get this channel. boo hoo!  Did anyone get to see it? Please tell us what he said, etc. I'm jumping up and down waiting! |
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Post by Vivian on Jun 2, 2003 20:36:13 GMT -5
That bank teller should lose his/her job!! What should have been done, is the supervisor called, and let him/her handle the situation!! This is SO UNFORGIVABLE!!
Peace,Vivian
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Post by Aisha on Jun 2, 2003 22:37:47 GMT -5
What about the documentary, 'Cat Stevens: A True Story'? It will be repeated today at 12pm and 5pm (BST) on the Biography Channel. I don't get this channel. boo hoo! Did anyone get to see it? Please tell us what he said, etc. I'm jumping up and down waiting! I don't get it either. I thought it was airing on the British Biography channel. Is it airing on the US one too. Vivian, I hope that maybe this event will make Lloyds look at their procedures on handling situations because they really messed up with this one. Love, A'isha |
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Post by Vivian on Jun 3, 2003 9:32:39 GMT -5
I sure hope you are right on this one, A'isha! However, unless I hear that Hasanah and her family are given a heart felt apology, I won't believe it!
Peace,Vivian
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Post by kareema113 on Jun 4, 2003 17:20:50 GMT -5
Salaam alaykom and greetings,
You know, an event occurred during the SK Project which appeared to have little significance other than that of an irritant factor.
I contacted Lloyd's Bank in with the intention of finding a liasion there who could assist me with the transfer of your donations into the account designated by Br Y at the SK website.
[California translation: "I mean, no brainer, dude."]
Whereupon Lloyd's Bank informed me that they had never heard of SK and most certainly did not handle that account.
["And he went, 'Whoa!' and I went, 'Whooa ??!?" and he went, "Whoooaaah!!!" and I went, "whooooaaaaa..."}
I informed Br Y of his bank's extremely limited depth of vision and bade him investigate the situation.
["Hey, brah, when those squids open their eyes, they can see what they ate for breakfast!"]
Little were we to know that Lloyd's Bank would go on to snatch defeat from the hands of victory at the expense of Hasanah.
["I mean, totally bogus!"]
And I might add, at the probable cost of thousands, if not millions of income to themselves.
["Don't be messing with the honey's Old Man... I mean, shaaaaa!"]
Peace ["Catch ya later!",
kareema
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Post by Aisha on Jun 4, 2003 17:33:09 GMT -5
Kareema, the way you worded that post has me tickled...
Love ya,
A'isha
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? many people do not take this seriously, because they figure there is some sort of logic that must be behind it, or 'national security' warrants it. i can tell you from experience, there is not much in the way of logic. having a muslim name is enough to start the ball rolling, and certainly wearing a scarf can be added to that list. 
