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Justices attend annual Red Mass 

Five members of the U.S. Supreme Court were among those who on Sunday attended the annual Red Mass, held the day before the nation's highest court begins its fall term.

Four of the five Roman Catholics on the Supreme Court - Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas - attended the Mass presided over by Cardinal John Patrick Foley, a Vatican official. . . .

The Red Mass in Washington is sponsored by the John Carroll Society. The chief justice's wife Jane Roberts is listed as a member of the group's board of governors.

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Justices worship ahead of start of new term 

Justices worship ahead of start of new term List described as 'a little light on blockbuster cases' ASSOCIATED PRESS Monday, October 06, 2008

WASHINGTON — The law is a guide to an orderly society, an American cardinal said during a church service Sunday that was attended by five U.S. Supreme Court justices ahead of the start of their new term.

At the annual Red Mass, four of the five Roman Catholics on the high court — Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas — came to worship at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle; the fifth, Justice Samuel Alito, did not attend. They were joined by Justice Stephen Breyer, who is Jewish.

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Supremes Kick off Term with Prayer and Light Cigarettes 

Yesterday, before the first day of the Supreme Court’s fall term, four of the High Court’s five Roman Catholic justices — Kennedy, Roberts, Scalia and Thomas — joined the Jewish Justice Breyer for the annual Red Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. This morning, the justices joined their colleagues for an argument over light cigarettes.

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• Muslim shop owner in Calif. sues over federal raid  

A Muslim store owner alleges in a civil rights lawsuit that an undercover cigarette sales sting at his Chico market was a ruse to conceal an FBI anti-terrorism probe.

Bilal Abdul Yasin, the Palestinian-born owner of Chinca's Market, says the raid in 2005 ruined his business.

Butte County Superior Court Judge Steven Howell dismissed criminal charges against the 39-year-old Yasin last year. The judge says it appeared the arrest was to conceal a federal anti-terror investigation. . . .

Spokesmen for the FBI and the California Alcohol and Beverage Control Board--which conducted the cigarette sting--declined comment.

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ANURADHAPURA: Smoking: A Social Poison 

Smoking is a form of moral decadence. It is most spread among the low-class immoral people. It reflects blind imitation of the non-Muslims. It is mostly consumed in bars, discos, casinos, and other: places of sin. A smoker may beg or steal if he does not have the money to buy cigarettes. He is ill-mannered with his friends and family, especially when he misses taking his necessary "dose" at the usual time. . . .

Smoking involves the consumption of an evil substance (khabeeth). It has a foul smell, foul taste, and is harmful to the body. This is aufficient to: prohibit it, because Allah (T) says (what means): ** *The Prophet) who will enjoin upon them the doing of what is right, forbid them the doing of what is wrong, make lawful to them the good things of life, prohibit for them the evil things, and lift from them their burdens and the shackles that were (previously) upon them.*(13)

Bad Example

A smoker, whether he likes it or not, makes of himself an example for his children and others to follow. . . .

Since smoking became known to Muslims, all of the great scholars who have the capability of Ijtihad (deriving verdicts in new situations) agree to its prohibition. Thus, there is no value for baseless opinions, conflicting with this, provided by self-proclaimed lesser scholars.

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Hoopa students educate public on dangers of tobacco 

The Northern California Indian Development Council’s Sacred Smoke Project is proud to announce the release of student created Public Service Announcements on the impact of commercial tobacco in the American Indian community.

These short messages have been entirely conceived, scripted, directed, filmed and edited by students from Hoopa Valley High School. Merris Obie supervised the project on-site and was instrumental in guiding the students through this process.

The messages the students communicate is that tobacco is a sacred gift for many tribes and that commercial tobacco is a major health risk for American Indian people.

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Religious scholars urged to play their role to curb smoking  

Smoking in 2002 caused around five million deaths and if action is not taken, this menace will claim another 10 million lives by 2025. Smoking was also the first of the top 10 killers in 2007, beating Ischaemic Heart Disease (IHD) with 3.7 million deaths, CVA with 9.5 million, pneumonia with 6.4 million, HIV/AIDS with 4.2 million, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) with 4.2 million, Diarrhea with 4.1 million, prenatal conditions with 4.0 million, Tuberculosis (TB) with 2.8 million, lung cancer with 2.3 million and road traffic accidents with 2 million.

Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Head Dr Javaid Khan stated this while addressing a seminar on 'Tobacco Control and Role of Religious Scholars' held at AKUH on Thursday.

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• Ramadan fast means hard times for smokers 

"I don't want to quit smoking," said Romaneh, 42, who lights one Gauloise Light with another, inhaling deeply in between sips from a glass of thick Arabic coffee. "Smoking is a joy."

Like Romaneh in this West Bank Palestinian city, millions of Muslim smokers get on a nicotine roller coaster during Ramadan, which ends this year in late September. But health campaigners are increasingly trying to get them to quit altogether, using Ramadan as a springboard for anti-smoking drives.

A London mosque runs a "Stop smoking for Ramadan, stop smoking for life" appeal on its Web site, and a Saudi volunteer network is trying to bring that message to 10 million Arab Internet users. . . .

Clerics might be reluctant to issue a fatwa that forces Muslims to choose between faith and addiction.

"(Even) if you say 'haram,' people will keep smoking because they are addicted," said Imam B. Prasodjo, a sociologist in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, where almost two-thirds of men smoke. Prasodjo is trying to persuade Muslim leaders to at least impose a ban on cigarette advertising. . . .

Smoking is embedded in the culture of many Muslim countries. About 63 percent of men smoke in Jordan; 49 percent in Tunisia; 42 percent in Syria; 38 percent in the Palestinian territories and 28 percent each in Lebanon and Morocco. Few women smoke because of cultural taboos.

Cigarette packs in Egypt carry graphic images such as a dying man in an oxygen mask. In Jordan, billboards warn about the risks. In Lebanon, many restaurants have no-smoking zones.

But it remains a battle, even — and perhaps especially — during Ramadan.

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God's house catches fire thanks to a smoking butt 

MORRISVILLE, Pa. - A lit cigarette sparked the weekend church fire that sent three engines and a ladder here to hose down God's house.

"Someone left a cigarette at the edge of the wall," Morrisville Fire Co. Chief Tim Weiss said of Saturday night's blaze at the First Baptist Church on North Pennsylvania Avenue.

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Two Men Caught Smoking 

Two men were detained for breaching the law in accordance with the Act of Majlis Agama Islam and Syariah Courts.

A foreigner, Nuril Abdul Rahman, was caught smoking at a stall of a commercial building in the capital.

Upon inspection, he admitted to the offence and was fined $300.

Meanwhile, in the Temburong District, a 25-yearold local man was found smoking in public.

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Jordan urges healthy eating during holy month 

The public-service TV ads deliver a cheerful, yet pointed, message to Muslims observing Ramadan's traditional dawn to dusk fast: "Don't overeat" when night comes. "Exercise and stay healthy."

The government media campaign - one of the Arab world's first - aims to combat the serious health problems, from heart attacks to diabetic comas, that often mark Islam's holy month. . . .

Another cartoon tackles smoking - a major health problem in most Arab countries. Half of Jordan's population is believed to smoke, despite a largely ignored ban on smoking in public.

In that cartoon, the same Arab husband and father, Abu-Saleem, tries to help a friend kick the habit after being forced to stop smoking by his own doctor. The friend has stopped smoking during daylight to observe Ramadan, Abu-Saleem notes - so why not stop altogether?

"I can't," the friend answers. "But if I could, Ramadan would be sweet indeed."

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Snuff out smoking habit during Ramadhan 

To a fraction of the community in Brunei Darussalam - smokers in particular - fasting from dawn to dusk also involves abstaining from smoking. This daily obligation is deemed by potential quitters as a way to cease their costly habit or addiction once and for all. AFP

Ramadhan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is the most anticipated every year as Muslims throughout the world look forward to intensify their religious deeds, and rake in the manifolds of benefits that one could gain during the month.

However, to a fraction of the community in Brunei Darussalam - smokers in particular - fasting from dawn to dusk also involves abstaining from smoking. This daily obligation is deemed by potential quitters as a way to cease their costly habit or addiction once and for all.

A member of the public told the Bulletin how he managed to finally quit smoking during Ramadhan last year.

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Smoking takes toll in Saudi 

The Saudi Charitable Society to Combat Smoking said on its website that 13,544 deaths in Saudi Arabia this year are caused by cigarette smoking, Arab News has reported. The charitable society is holding the campaign in cooperation with Arab Volunteering World to create awareness among the public on the danger of smoking in order to help them quit the unhealthy habit during the fasting month of Ramadan.

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Smoking ban still unimplemented  

Places of worship in the city have committed the most serious violations of the ban on smoking in public places, recent data from the Jakarta Environmental Management Board reveals.

"We checked 15 places of worship throughout Jakarta. None of them had posted no-smoking signs," the board's environmental pollution control division head Ridwan Panjaitan told a seminar on Wednesday.

The board monitored five types of public space last year to check on compliance with local regulations requiring smoking be restricted to certain areas. The board also checked health facilities, workplaces, schools and public transportation.

He said many people still smoked in the parking lots and yards surrounding mosques, churches and temples.

Speaking during the seminar on obstacles to the implementation of the smoking ban bylaw, held by the Indonesian Consumers Foundation, Ridwan said schools and universities ranked second in number of violations.

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• Will Fasting Help Cut Down Or Kick Smoking Habit?  

Ramadhan serves as the most appropriate opportunity for Muslims to practice self-control in several aspects of life, and some members of the public had opted to take it a step further and quit from certain bad habits.

"I've been meaning to stop smoking for a long time, but with the Tobacco Order in force, it's a good time as any other to slowly start quitting," said a 27-year-old man, who has been smoking for almost nine years.

He added that he was not going to quit the bad habit, however the month gave him the opportunity to cut down on smoking while observing the month of Ramadhan. . . .

Imams in their Friday sermons on February 15 called on Bruneians to be proactive and not wait for something to happen before finally realising and seeing the error of their ways.

The imams pointed out that smoking is comparable to suicide as the habit does not kill a person immediately, but the poisons in cigarettes cause gradual decay and can ultimately cause death.

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