TOO BAD IT'S RAMADAN....

Muslims take to Minn. State Fair to repair image (PATRICK CONDON, 09/04/2010, AP)

Despite the smells of fried dough and roasted meat wafting from the Minnesota State Fair, Salim and Zuleyha Ozonder were focused on the people who were leaving, not the food or festivities beckoning from across the street.

Each time a new wave of people exited, the young Minneapolis residents — who hadn’t eaten all day — tried to press into their hands a small, glossy card that read “Islam Explained” on one side. On the other, it had about 180 words of background on a religion whose adherents fear is being misunderstood by too many Americans as violent and depraved.

“You just want people to take the card, spend a minute reading it and say, ‘Oh. They’re not terrorists,’” said 27-year-old Zuleyha. She and her husband, like other Muslims, were fasting during daylight hours for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

...because the best way for them further assimilation would be to have a tent selling some rockin' Muslim food.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 4, 2010 8:19 AM