Handled allegations of sexual abuse at the orthodox universitys high school. Rabbi norman lamm is leaving his current position as university chancellor. While he was president , several men said they were abused by teachers and employees at the high school. Lamm called his decision not to tell police illconceived. As muslims prepare for ramadan this week, we have a lucky severson story today about helping rebuild a destitute community, replacing crime and hopelessness with social justice. Its also a story that might fit somewhere in the argument about whether islam fosters peace or violence. It turns out that there is a strong and influential campaign by muslims on the south side of chicago to help people of all religions, and none, help themselves. Its not at all unusual for the call to prayer to be overwhelmed by the wail of a siren, not in this southwestern chicago neighborhood. Its known as chicago lawn, a tranquil name for a very unsettled place. This is usama cannon. There are people who are here who have sleepless nights because their hearts are torn apart by whats happening to the human family. There are people here. Whats happening to the human family, and more particularly families living in desperate situations, is an obsession of rami nashashibi, a palestinian by birth. Its why he started the innercity muslim action network, also known as iman, 15 years ago. I always kind of had an active bone in me, an activist bone in me, and so i was moved by the framework of islam as a powerful framework for social justice. I was moved by that. Iman is all about social justice, about providing basic qualityoflife services that make a community a community. Its a big job even for a guy with a doctorate in sociology from the university of chicago. Rami has traveled extensively and didnt become a devout muslim until he moved back home to chicagos south side. This has always been a rough neighborhood. In the 60s, it was white, bluecollar, and home of the illinois kkk. When Martin Luther king jr. Came here in 1966, he and 30 other protesters were injured in a hail of rocks, bottles, and firecrackers. Today the community is much more diverse. The kkk is gone. Now its gangs and poverty. Few people understand the hood more than rafi peterson, who converted to islam while doing time for murder. He was one of the first people rami hooked up with. In a neighborhood like this theres nice homes, as you see, but its also the epicenter of the foreclosure market. Theres no unemployment. I mean, theres no employment. Theres no youth jobs. Theyve got over 88,000 young people in this community, and theres not one youth center. Thats not the same over on the north side. So iman started its own small version of a youth center. Shamar hemphill, in charge of youth programs, calls it a center of peace. In a neighborhood thats filled with senseless violence, activities, the threat of gang activity, heavy police presence, we feel that the young people on the south side of chicago, specifically the chicago lawn neighborhood, needs a safe space, an environment where they can grow, develop. The kids come in all colors, from all persuasions. No, no proselytizing. Everything is done through our actions. We want to show as muslims that were compassionate, where mercy is part of the prophetic model. That, you know, wherever we are we should serve, and we should serve at the best of our actions. We definitely believe that. Thats a huge part of our faith. Theres also the Free Health Clinic under the supervision of dr. Altaf kaiseruddin. Ive h people walk in with, you know, just being bitten by a dog, or just being shot or just being stabbed. Yes. Weve got that. Its a muslimrun clinic for patients of all faiths, many whose only other recourse is to go to an emergency room. The clinic started at halfaday a month. Now its five days a week, soon to be seven. Our population tends to present a little bit later, meaning they come in with a little more advanced stage of disease, because most of the time they didnt know that they had any type of outlet or any type of access that they could get treatment. Because many convicts convert to islam, those whove served time are of special interest to iman. One program is called green reentry, where volunteers, usually excons, build ecofriendly houses for other formerly incarcerated. Rafi peterson heads the program. The average statistic shows that the average inmate in illinois recidivate back within three years, 18 months actually. None of our brothers have went back. Hassan, who helped convert this house and now lives here, has been out of prison from a murder sentence for seven years. Our neighbors look at us not as problems in the community, but problem solvers. If something going on on this block, they either going to come and knock on his door, or theyre going to come ring my doorbell which is down the street. The home isnt just for the asking. Much is expected from those who qualify. We call it a leadership home. The idea is that they come through, that they see themselves as leaders in the community. You need to be ready to participate and engage with the community. You need to be ready to work with the rabbis, the priest, the imam. Its working together with different faith groups in the community that really sets iman apart. You know, weve had rabbinical students working with us. Weve had sectors of the Jewish Community come partner with us around housing. Weve had sectors of the church that, you know, works across the street. Weve prayed in the street together. I think iman is making a tremendous difference. This is an ontheground organization. Theyve made it a better community, and the little that they do turns into a lot. Rabbi Capers Funnye recalls the first time he met rami. He said, who are you . I said, im rabbi funnye. And he said, my name is rami. I run an Organization Called iman. And he said, man, can i come inside . I said absolutely. So i brought him inside. He said, ive never been in a synagogue before. So he came in, and then he said, do you mind if i call you . I said not at all. A few months later he called. He said rabbi, ramadan is coming up and i was wondering if you would mind hosting the muslims in this community in your synagogue for iftar. And iftar is the prayer we do before we break the fast of ramadan. I said, i dont see why not. Earlier this year, after the boston bombings, a Pew Research Poll showed that 4 out of 10 americans believe islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence among believers. The people here are very aware of that perception. A lot of people will say, well, you always say islam is peace. You always say islam is peace, but we dont see that. This is that in action. And if islam is our way of maintaining our dignity and our selfesteem as men and coming back and being good husbands to our wives, good fathers to our children, then maybe America Needs to look at it. Do i believe that theres a problem with some sectors of the community that are vulnerable and susceptible to violence . Absolutely. I wouldnt deny that. Do i believe that some of those who carry out, like in the boston situation, then find ways of thinking about their faith as a context to justify that . Absolutely. I think the largest antidote, cure if you will, to any concern about radicalization and Violence Associated with it is meaningful, critical engagement. It was violence that eventually led dylan hall to iman. I used to be a High School Teacher on the west side of chicago, and one of my students was shot and killed, and it was a very difficult experience. After a lot of soulsearching he converted from catholicism to islam. Part of the thing that i like about islam is that it forces me to engage with people of christian faiths, because thats where i come from and just try to change their perspective as well and just say this isnt necessarily a violent religion. He was supposed to be receiving his mba diploma from the university of chicago on this day, but chose instead to volunteer for imans takin it to the streets 15th annual festival. Its become a chicago tradition drawing entertainers from all over the world and giving the public another view of islam. In the very park that king walked, in the very park that, you know, the nazis were rallying in, the very park that in many ways was a symbol of division, you have this extraordinary coming together. Iman has become a model for muslims working within the community and with other faith groups. There are now similar programs in other u. S. Cities, and rami has become an important voice to many in the muslim world. For religion ethics newsweekly, im lucky severson in chicago. We have a fred de sam lazaro story today about the morality of global free trade. In a fiercely competitive world, what is the responsibility of governments, factory owners, american and European Companies and consumers to help increase wages and worker safety in a place like bangladesh. This is whats left of rana plaza, the sevenstory building that collapsed in april. A memorial, already weathered by heat and monsoons, to the deadliest of bangladeshs recent garment factory disasters. The death toll here 1,127 and counting. Many victims of the rana plaza tragedy may never be accounted for. More than 200 bodies, some decomposed beyond recognition, had to be buried before they could be identified. Translator im tired. I have no energy to look for her anymore. I dont know where to go. An anguished crowd bearing images of loved ones quickly gathered around us. Bilquis daughter shahinoor is among those missing. Many here gave dna samples in hopes a match could be found with someone buried. So far, they said, no word and no compensation. Translator i had two sons and a daughterinlaw working on the second floor. We got the bodies of my older son and daughterinlaw but they havent found my younger son. Reporter i dont know about my future. I have no strength. And it is difficult for me to move. I pray to allah. I want a job. I need to start again. Apparel makers, high fashion and bargain names alike, have been lured here by the low wages. The minimum wage is just 37 a month. In barely two decades, bangladesh has become second only to china in garment manufacturing. But all this has come at huge expense to workers, says nazma enforcement of safety rules and the suppression of labor unions, issues the u. S. Government cited last week as it suspended trade privileges for some bangladeshi imports. The move does not directly mpact garments but theres fear it could drive away investors. Fazle abed is founder of the bangladesh Rural Affairs committee, or brac, the Worlds Largest antipoverty organization. There is certainly more awareness everywhere that we need to do something very quickly, otherwise bangladesh might lose a lot of business. So that is there among the industry owners. The government is certainly under pressure. For its part, the government says it will train 400 new inspectors. It has just 18, overseeing 5,000 factories, in homes, in rapidly built highrises like rana plaza. Commerce minister ghulam quader says the industry grew much faster than the capacity to regulate it. And he admits, it didnt really want to regulate much. Government thought that this is a sector which needs to have some sort of protection, especially the government favored the manufacturers. Manufacturers in a way that, yes, so thats why we try to restrict labor union activities. Government wanted to see the Peaceful Development of the sector. He says unions will now be allowed a greater voice to help monitor safety, something bracs abed has urged. Only a couple of months ago, if you asked a Garment Industry owner what do you think of a union, they will say no, no, no, no unions. But now, many of them are saying that yes, maybe the union is something that we have to accept. But factory owner David Hasanat says its western buyers who really hold the cards and they continue to squeeze local producers. After previous disasters, like a string of fatal factory fires, he says there was talk but no action. Couple of months, lot of media, international media. Believe me, few months later, the customer, they act the same way the price, price, price. What is your share of this ninepound price tag . Roughly, Something Like two pounds. He says theres unrelenting pressure from buyers to cut costs. So many producers cut corners. Perhaps a third of dhakas factories are substandard, he says, and western clients could change this if they insisted on better conditions. If there is demand, everybody would set up the right kind of factory because business is not going to reduce. The prices were offering, were getting from bangladesh, you cannot get from other parts of the world, you have to come to bangladesh. Major brand buyers say they have stepped up their own plant inspections, though none would allow us to go along on a visit. You should buy our clothes and pay fair and everybody has the responsibility, the government, manufacturer, retailers, as well as the consumer. For all its faults, fazle abed says the garment business remains the best option for poor bangladeshis. Its created about four million jobs, almost more than three million jobs for women. So it is very critical. Hes hopeful the sheer scale of rana plaza will finally force retailers to coax consumers to pay more and require factory owners to both improve pay and safety conditions. For religion and ethics newsweekly, this is fred de sam lazaro in dhaka, bangladesh. Former congressman william gray died suddenly this week. Gray served in the house of representatives from 1978 to 1991 and was the first African American to be a majority whip. During that time, he was also pastor of Bright Hope Baptist Church in philadelphia and traveled home from washington to preach on sundays. Gray Left Congress to lead the United Negro College fund. He was 71 years old. In other news, in california, a judge ruled this week that teaching yoga in local Public Schools does not violate the separation of church and state. Parents in the Encinitas School District sued over the twice weekly yoga classes, saying that yoga is a religious practice. The judge agreed yoga can be religious, but said the district wide program was secular in nature. He said any religious references had been removed and even the poses were renamed, lotus pose, for example, became crisscross applesauce. On our calendar this week, as we mentioned, muslims begin the monthlong fast of ramadan, when they refrain from eating from sunrise to sunset. And on july 9th, bahais observe the anniversary of the martyrdom of the bab, a prophet of their faith. John kerry returned this week from the middle east. It was his fifth trip there since he became secretary of state, but there is no sign yet of a breakthrough in israelipalestinian negotiations. Meanwhile, and finally, we take note of a band called heartbeat that was on tour in the u. S. Earlier this year. Its made up of young israelis and palestinians, ages 17 to 21, who believe together in the power of music to make possible peace. Why wont you let this go i said why wont you let this go so for me, the name heartbeat is because we play to the heartbeat. We are all born with our heartbeat, you know. And its something that really unifies as human. I have a lot of friends who keep telling me stuff like eh, its impossible. Peace cant be achieved. Im asking them, how many palestinians have you ever met . How many palestinians did you ever talk with . How many palestinians did you ever eat something with . Every rehearsal we are meeting heartbeat, i experience peace in real life. And when we are now touring in the u. S. , we are equal, we have peace. And peace is not only something that the governments will sign on a paper and thats it, well have peace. Peace can be created through people without any governments getting involved. We all come from different backgrounds, we all come from different societies, from different beliefs. And im a muslim, and a lot of people, some are jewish. I actually dont know if anyone is christian. Some dont believe. But its really magical how all of a sudden, music becomes our faith. At shabbat, we sometimes sit together and bless our food together. So thats how it goes in heartbeat. Its not just a religion and music and a social life, we are equal in everything. For me, heartbeat is proof that music can be a common language between different people from different cultures. Isnt that beautiful . In heartbeat, we respect the religion in the same way we respect life cause its a part of the human fabric. We dont think whos israeli and whos palestinian. It doesnt matter. The music does something that words cant. Im pretty sure that the majority of the world wants peace and wants to live happily ever after, but its up to all of us, its up to everyone. Thats our program for now. Im bob abernethy. You can follow us on twitter and facebook and watch us anytime on the pbs app for iphones and ipads. And visit our new redesigned website, where there is always much more, including audio and video podcasts of this program. Join us at pbs. Org. As we leave you, more music from heartbeat. This week on moneywise, we look at where the jobs are and how you can stand out a tight job market. Well have a studio discussion with Carl Jefferson from the National Association of African AmericanHuman Resources and Rosalind Howard from the Baltimore City onestop job center. And later, a little musical inspiration from the moneywise playlist. Now, lets get moneywise. Moneywise was made possible by. Neighborworks america, educating homeowners about loan modification scams and how to report them, at 1888995hope and www. Loanscamalert. Org. And also by the foundation for Financial Planning, a Nonprofit Organization helping people take control of their Financial Lives through Financial Literacy education and the pro bono outreach of the Financial Planning community. I want to thank both of you for joining us today. This is probably one of the hottest topics in america. Unemployment is a big issue. Everyones concerned about it. If you do have a job, you want to keep it; if you dont have a job, definitely you want to find one. Tell uswhat are you telling friends who may be unemployed . Carl, ill begin with you first. Im telling them work to their potential. Exceed the employers expectations. Be flexible, be available, and understand the business that theyre in and support that company in making money. Roz . Generally the same thing. Were also offering resources because many times, people just dont know where to find those jobs. So were offering the Onestop Career Centers in Baltimore City that are available with partners providing Many Services that are related to the job search process; not just picking up a paper. Not the way to find a job these days. Mmm. There are many people who are just trying to find a job on the internet. Should they be doing more than just the internet . Absolutely. Its all about relationships, so i think the internet provides the technology to get in, but you need to follow up with calls, relationship. If you have applied to a job, for example, on the internet with a company, check your network to see if you know 2 to 3 people that may work there. Give them a call, let them know that youve made that application