Muslim Women's Conference to Take Place in Syracuse

July 6, 2006

Source: The Post-Standard

http://www.syracuse.com/news/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1152176206266900.xml&coll=1

On July 6, 2006 The Post-Standard reported, "When Imam W. Deen Mohammed visits Syracuse this weekend, Amatullah Yamini plans to show off a project supported by a group of Muslim women. Yamini's store, Salina Shoe Salon... stands in the four square blocks she and others hope to revitalize, creating an area they call New Africa of Syracuse. The philosophy of the project is at the heart of the International League of Muslim Women Inc., says Yamini, president of the local chapter, which is hosting a three-day conference in Syracuse for the organization, beginning Friday. 'No matter where Muslims are, there's a community, Muslims looking out for one another,' Yamini said. Muslims have bought several properties in the neighborhood, which Yamini and others envision as including an Islamic center, shops and housing. Mohammed, who is considered the most important American Muslim leader, will be keynote speaker Sunday at the closing event of the conference of the International League of Muslim Women. He is the spiritual leader of the Muslim American Society, which has an estimated 2.5 million members. The International League of Muslim Women was founded by seven women in 1981 and has more than 25 chapters, including three groups in Africa. The Syracuse chapter, which includes nine members, began in 2002. Yamini, a former Onondaga County legislator who works for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, expects 75 to 100 women to register for the conference, with attendees coming from as far away as Los Angeles, Memphis and Chicago."