Southern California InFocus

Southern California InFocus is a free monthly tabloid-formatcite news
first = HG
last = Reza
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title = A Larger Picture of Muslim Life; Newspaper out of Anaheim aims to tackle diverse topics for its Islamic readers,
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publisher = "Los Angeles Times", Orange County Edition
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page = B1
date = March 30, 2005
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archivedate = ] newspaper serving the Muslim community in Southern California.

InFocus was started in Anaheim, California on 4 February 2005."Muslim Newspaper," "City News Service" (4 February 2005) ] It is the largest Muslim newspaper in Southern California. [cite news
first = Tim
last = Townsend
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title = Still us and them?
url = http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/special/muslims.nsf/0/0943DE530BB5EA21862570CC00672F16?OpenDocument
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publisher = St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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date = 4 December 2005
accessdate = 2007-09-06
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archivedate = ] Asma Ahmad, a Pakistani Canadian citizen who grew up in Saudi Arabia attending American-run schools and formerly edited the national newsletter of the Muslim Students Association, is the paper's managing editor and only full-timer staffer. Its Deputy Editor is Muneer Adhami. [cite web
url = http://www.infocusnews.net/content/blogcategory/271/211/
title = InFocus Staff
accessdate = 2007-09-06
publisher = Southern California Infocus]

The Council on American Islamic Relations financially subsidizes and provides office space for the newspaper, but the managing editor states that the paper is "editorially independent from CAIR". 20,000 copies of the paper are printed monthly; 500 copies are mailed to paid subscribers and the remainder are distributed free through Muslim-owned businesses and mosques in Southern California.

The paper "covers a large variety of local, national, and international events, features, profiles, and has the following sections: arts, book review, restaurant review, Islam, money, legal, kids, travel, interfaith, commentary, and opinion."cite web
url = http://www.infocusnews.net/content/view/400/16/
title = About InFocus
accessdate = 2007-09-06
publisher = Southern California InFocus]

The paper describes its mission as:

"...serving to document the rich history of Muslims in the Southland – past and present.Through feature stories, mosque profiles, interviews of individuals who have made a difference, and in-depth coverage of news stories affecting Muslims, InFocus is the first localized effort in Southern California to record the American Muslim experience. For American Muslims, it is a platform which brings forth issues of their concern. For the larger community, it is a window into the Muslim world right here in California". cite web
url = http://www.infocusnews.net/content/view/400/16/
title = About InFocus
accessdate = 2007-09-06
publisher = Southern California InFocus]

Managing editor Ahmad describes the paper as, "an Islamic newspaper but not a publication about Islam," and says she wants, "In Focus to concentrate on issues important to Muslims, such as civil rights and discrimination, which she says are largely ignored by the mainstream media in the post-Sept. 11 world." Ahmad said the community is committed to democracy. An editorial in the March issue offered qualified support for President Bush's Middle East policy and called for the democratization of Arab countries, urging Muslims to turn the "breeze of democracy into an unstoppable wind." More than anything, Ahmad said, she wants the newspaper to pull American Muslims into the mainstream. "We can keep our religion and not have an isolationist approach. We can do this in America," she said.

The Anti-Defamation League has expressed concerns that the newspaper has engaged in anti-Israel advocacy, defended Islamist militant movements abroad, and accused Jewish groups of anti-Muslim agendas.cite web
url = http://www.adl.org/Israel/cair.asp
title = Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
accessdate = 2007-09-06
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date = August 10, 2007
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publisher = Anti-Defamation League]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.infocusnews.net/ Southern California InFocus] website