Chronology of Islam in America - EE-Corp

Transcription

Chronology
of Islam
in America
1178 - 2010
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
January 1st, 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this compilation/document or the related files
may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission
of the author.
Chronology of Islam in America
1178 - 2010
Table of contents
1. Introduction ……………………………………………… Page 1
2. Chronology from 1178 to 1799 ………………………… Page 2
6. Chronology for 2003 ………………………………….… Page 12
10. Chronology for 2007 ……………………………….… Page 173
11. Chronology for 2008 …………………………………. Page 268
Updated up to December 31, 2010
Introduction
This chronology is based on books, magazine relating to Muslims in
America as well as media reports.
Most of the chronology from 1178 to 1990s is based on the following
sources: They Came before Columbus by Ivan van Sertima; Islam in
America before Columbus by Hisham Zoubeir; Islam in Latin America:
Timeline of Muslim Exploration of the Americas by Islamic Path and “the
glimpses of Muslim life in American history” by Fareed H. Nu'man.
Muslims explored North America at least 300 years before the discovery
of the New World by Christopher Columbus, according to many
researchers.
Dr. Barry Fell, a noted New Zealand archaeologist and linguist of Harvard
University showed detailed existing evidence in his work, "Saga America"
that Muslims were not only in the Americas before Columbus arrived, but
very active there as well.
Ivan Van Sertima, in his renowned work, "They Came Before Columbus"
confirms that there was definitely contact between the ancient and early
African people with the Native Americans.
Columbus logged on October 21st, 1492, that he was sailing past Gibara
on the coast of Cuba he saw a mosque. He also logged that remnants of
other masjids have been found in Cuba, Mexico, Texas and Nevada.
From January 1178 to 1999 only few important events are recorded while
from 2000 to 2002 there are more events are recorded. From January
2003 I have tried to record important events on monthly basis. This
chronology is available on my online magazine American Muslim
Perspective (www.amperspective.com.) which I launched in 2003.
This is not an all-encompassing Chronology of Islam in America but I
believe that so far this is the only kind of work that records important
events that has significantly affected the seven-million-strong American
Muslim community which remains under siege since the ghastly tragedy of
9/11.
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Fremont, CA
January 1, 2011
Chronology of Islam in America by Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Chronology of Islam in America (1178-1799)
[Page 2]
1178: A Chinese document known as the Sung Document records the voyage of Muslim sailors
to a land known as Mu-Lan-Pi (America). Mention of this document is contained in the
publication, The Khotan Amirs, 1933.
1310: Abu Bakri (Abu Bakar), a Muslim king of the Malian Empire, spearheads a series of sea
voyages to the New World.
1312: African Muslims (Mandinga) arrive in the Gulf of Mexico for exploration of the American
interior using the Mississippi River as their access route. These Muslim explorers were from Mali
and other parts of West Africa.
1513: Piri Reis completes his first world map, including the Americas, after researching maps
from all over the world. The practicality and artistry of his map surpassed any from his time or
before.
1527: A Muslim from Morocco by the name of Estevanico of Azamor lands in Florida with the
expedition of Panfilo de Narveaz and remains in America to become the first of three Americans
to cross the continent in 1539.
1530: More than 30% of the estimated 10 million African slaves, uprooted from the areas of
Fulas, Futa Jallon, Futa Toro, and Massina as well as other areas of West Africa governed from
their capital Timbuktu, that arrived in America during the slave trade of that time and sent to
Mexico, Cuba, and South America were Muslims, they and became part of the backbone of the
American economy of that period.
1539 Estevanico of Azamor, a Muslim from Morocco, lands in Florida with the ill-fated expedition
of Panfilo de Narvaez in 1527. Estevanico remained in America to become the first of three
Americans to cross this continent. At least two states owe their beginnings to this Muslim, Arizona
and New Mexico.
1732: A Muslim slave by the name of Ayyub Bin Sulaiman Jallon from Boonda, Galumbo is set
free by James Oglethrope, the founder of Georgia, and provided transportation to England. In
1735, three years later, he arrived home. He arrived home (Boonda, Galumbo) from England in
1735.
1790: Moors from Spain are reported to be living in South Carolina and Florida.
Chronology of Islam in USA (1800-1899)
[Page 3]
1807: United States Congress prohibits the importation of slaves into America after Jan. 1, 1808.
Yarrow Mamout, an African Muslim slave, is set free in Washington, D.C., and later becomes one
of the first shareholders of the second chartered bank in America, the Columbia bank. Yarrow
may have lived to be more than 128 years old, the oldest person in American history. Two
portraits of Yarrow done by well known artists are on public display. The first, painted by Charles
W. Peale in 1819 was done when Yarrow was 100 years old. It hangs in the Historical Society of
Pennsylvania. A second portrait completed by James Simpson in 1828, almost a decade later,
can be seen in the Peabody Room at the Georgetown Public Library, Washington D.C.
1809: A Muslim by the name of Omar ibn Said is enslaved in Charleston, South Carolina, and
imprisoned after running away. Later in prison he was visited by John Owen, who became later a
Governor of North Carolina, and taken to Bladen County to be placed on the Owen plantation and
it is reported that he lived to be 100 years old.
1828 Abdulrahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori, a former prince from West Africa and now a slave on a
Georgia plantation, is freed by the order of Secretary of State Henry Clay and President John
Quincy Adams. He was known to many during his lifetime as "The Prince of the Slaves." A
drawing of him, done by Henry Inman, is displayed in the Library of Congress. His life has also
been well-documented.
1839: Sayyid Sa'id, ruler of Oman orders his ship The Sultana to set sail to America on a trade
mission, reaching New York, April 30, 1840. And although the voyage was not a commercial
success, it marks the point of Muslims successful friendly relations with America, which still
continues to exist between many of the Islamic nations and the United States of today.
1856: The United States cavalry hire a Muslim by the name of Hajji Ali to experiment with raising
camels in Arizona.
1865: The American Civil War ends. During the war, the "scorched earth" policy of the North
destroyed churches, farms, schools, libraries, colleges, and a great deal of other property. The
librarians at the University of Alabama managed to save one book from the debris of their library
buildings. On the morning of April 4, when Federal troops reached the campus with orders to
destroy the university, Andre Deloffre, a modern language professor and custodian of the library,
appealed to the commanding officer to spare one of the finest libraries in the South. The officer,
being sympathetic, sent a courier to Gen. Croxton at his headquarters in Tuscaloosa asking
permission to save the Rotunda. The general's reply was no. The officer reportedly said, "I will
save one volume as a memento of this occasion.” The volume selected was a rare copy of the
Qur'an.
1870: The Reverend Norman, a Methodist missionary, converts to Islam.
1889: A noted scholar and social activist by the name of Edward W. Blyden travels throughout the
Eastern and Southern parts of the United States lecturing about Islam and in one of his speeches
before the Colonization Society of Chicago he told his audience that the reasons Africans choose
Islam over Christianity is that, the Qur'an protected the black man from self-depreciation in the
presence of Arabs or Europeans.
1893: The American Islamic Propaganda Movement is founded by Mohammed Alexander Russell
Webb. He is regarded as one of the earliest white American converts. In that same year on Sept.
20 and 21, M. A. Webb appeared at the First World Congress of Religions and delivered two
lectures: "The Spirit of Islam," and "The Influence of Islam on Social Conditions."
[Page 4]
1908: Muslim immigrants from the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire, Syria, Lebanon,
Jordan, etc., arrive in North America. They are mainly Turks, Kurds, Albanians, and Arabs.
1913: Timothy Drew (Noble Drew Ali) establishes an organization in Newark, NJ, known as the
Moorish Science Temple of America (MSTA). Drew Ali reportedly was commissioned by the
Sultan of Morocco to teach Islam to Negroes in the United States. The MSTA is also responsible
for many of today's African-American converts to Islam.
1915: Albanian Muslims build a Masjid (Mosque) in Maine and establish one of the first
associations for Muslims in the United States.
1919: Albanian Muslims build another Masjid in Connecticut. Islamic Association formed in
Highland Park, Michigan.
1920: The Red Crescent, a Muslim charity modeled after the International Red Cross, is
established in Detroit.
1922: American Mohammedan Society (of Tatar Origin) formed in Brooklyn. Islamic Association
formed in Detroit.
1923: Young Men’s Muslim Association (Arab) established in Brooklyn.
1926: Dues Muhammad Ali, mentor of Marcus Gravey and the person who had considerable
impact on Gravey's movement, establishes an organization in Detroit known as the Universal
Islamic Society. Its motto was One God, One Imam, One Destiny. Polish-speaking Tatars build a
mosque in Brooklyn New York.
1930: African-American Muslims build the First Muslim Mosque in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Arab
Banner Society formed in Quincy, Massachusetts.
1933: The organization of the Nation of Islam (NOI) is founded by Fard Muhammad or (Wallace
Ford), a Muslim mystic who introduced its philosophy to the United States and disappeared in
1933. The late Eli-jah Mohammed, succeeded Frad in 1933 and built the organization into a
strong ethnic movement advocating Islam as a way of life. The NOI is one of the most well known
organizations that had its prints on the history of United States, as well as the American Muslim
history; it holds itself responsible for converting a high percentage of African-Americans to Islam
and highlighting American Christians' difficulties combating the effects of slavery and racism
among African-Americans. Two of the most famous African-Americans, Muhammad Ali and Alhajj
Malik al-Shabazz (Malcolm X), were early adherents of this movement, but both later embraced
the broader multiethnic concepts of mainstream Islam.
1934: The Lebanese community of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, opens its Masjid.
1939: Sheikh Dawood founds the Islamic Mission Society in New York, which publishes a
magazine entitled, Muslim Sunrise.
1952: Muslims in the Armed Services sue the Federal Government to be allowed to identify
themselves as Muslims. Until then Islam was not recognized as a legitimate religion.
[Page 5]
1955: Sheikh Dawood Ahmed Faisal establishes the State Street Masjid in New York City, which
is still in use today and represents a special point in the development of the American Muslim
community. And it is from this Masjid the Dar-ul-Islam movement was later born in 1962.
1957: Islamic Center of Washington opened.
1960: The Nation Of Islam's University of Islam schools flourished and drew the attention of the
American media. However, the coverage focused upon the Black Muslims' self-help programs for
Blacks, but considered them a "threat" to the white establishment.
1962:
- The Dar-ul-Islam movement, another important group among the African-American Muslim
community, is born. Until its disappearance in 1982-1983, it made a serious impact upon the
development and practice of traditional Islam in America.
- The newspaper Muhammad Speaks is published by the Nation of Islam, which later on
becomes the largest minority weekly publication in the United States reaching 800,000 readers at
its peak. But it eventually underwent some name changes over the years, following the various
transformations its publishers (NOI) underwent as well, such as Bilalian News (named after a
famous black Muslim hero and scholar), the A.M. Journal, and currently The Muslim Journal.
1963: 1st Jan. The Muslim Students Association (MSA) is established, at the University of Illinois
in Urbana, as an organization to aid foreign Muslim students attending schools in the United
States. MSA now has more than 100 branches nationwide. In the 1970's it gave birth to the
Islamic Medical Association (IMA), the Association of Muslim Social Scientist (AMSS), and the
Association of Muslim Scientists and Engineers (AMSE).
1965: AI Hajj Malik al-Shabazz (Malcolm X) is assassinated in New York. He was one of the most
outstanding Muslims in American history as well as a dedicated fighter for justice and equality for
African-Americans and other oppressed people.
1968: The Hanafi Movement is founded by Hamas Abdul Khaalis. The Hanafi Madhab Center
was established in New York but later moved to Washington, D.C. This movement had a
membership of more than 1000 in the United States. Kareem Abdul Jabbar, a famous basketball
player, is one of the Muslims who first came into contact with Islam through this movement. In
1977, Khaalis and some of his followers seized control of three District of Columbia buildings,
holding hostages for more than 30 hours. One man was killed. Khaalis is now incarcerated in
Washington, D.C., and is serving a sentence of 41 to 120 years.
1971: Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) is established as a North America wide, grass root
Muslim organization.
1972: The Islamic Party in North America established at Masjidul Ummah in Washington DC. The
Association of Muslim Social Scientists, is launched.
1975: Elijah Muhammad died in 1975, and his son, Warith Deen Muhammad, assumed
leadership of the movement. Warith Deen Muhammad recognized the importance of bringing the
Nation of Islam into the mainstream of Islam and immediately began to difficult process of closing
the gaps between his father’s doctrines and mainstream Islam. Not all members of Elijah
Muhammad's movement agreed with the changes his son introduced. One significant segment,
led by Minister Louis Farrakhan, has continued to espouse Elijah's original teachings, and has
maintained the Nation of Islam's name as well as its basic organizational structure. Farrakhan
preaches that blacks world-wide are oppressed by whites, and seeks a separate state for AfricanAmericans.
[Page 6]
1976: Warith Deen Muhammad renames Nation of Islam as the World Community of Islam in the
West.
1977: April 22-24 - The Muslim World League sponsors the first Islamic conference of North
America in Newark, NJ.
1980: The American-Arab anti-discrimination committee (ADC) is a founded by former Senator
James Abourezk to “defend the rights of people of Arab descent and promoting their rich cultural
heritage.” Warith Deen Muhammad again renames his movement at the American Muslim
Mission.
1981: The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is established in Plainfield, IN. ISNA is now an
umbrella organization for many active Islamic groups seeking to further the cause of Islam in the
United States. The first American Islamic library is established in Plainfield, Indiana.
1982:United Muslims of America (UMA) is established in California dedicated to establishing an
effective voice for Muslims in U.S. politics. It was formed in spontaneous reaction to the Israeli
invasion of Lebanon, when Bay Area Muslims recognized that, despite their personal professional
and social standing, they lacked the ability to influence U.S. policies in the absence of a cohesive
American Muslim political vision and platform. Dr. Islam Siddiqee was the first President and one
of the founders of UMA.
1985: Warith Deen Muhammad’s movement was officially integrated into the general Muslim
community in the United States. Its members are now known simply as Muslims.
1986: Dr. Isma'il R. al-Faruqi, the founder of the American Muslim Social Scientists organization
and the International Institute of Islamic Thought, and his wife are murdered in their home outside
Philadelphia. Dr. Faruqi and his wife are the authors of the Cultural Atlas of Islam and many other
books. His murder was predicated without name by the president of Jewish Defense League one
week before his death in the Village Voice, New York by claiming that within a week an
outspoken Palestinian professor will be eliminated.
1987: Muslim Alert Network was established in Chicago to mobilize Muslim response to media
and discrimination against Muslims. Later on the same concept was used to establish CAIR in
1994.
1988: The Muslim Public Affairs Council is established “to work for the civil rights of American
Muslims and for the integration of Islam into American pluralism.”
1990: Muslims hold the first solidarity conference called Muslims Against Apartheid. This was the
first conference of its kind in support of Muslims for the struggle against Apartheid in South Africa.
The conference was organized by the American Muslim Council. The American Muslim Council
(AMC) was established on July 12, 1990 to increase the effective participation of American
Muslims in the U.S. political and public policy arenas.
1991:
- Imam Siraj Wahhaj offers an invocation (opening prayer) to the United States House of
Representatives. He was the first Muslims to do so.
- Imam Warith Deen Mohammed gives the invocation in the Senate.
- The Muslim Members in the Military (MMM) organization hold their first "Unity in Uniform"
conference. The conference took place at Boiling Air force Base in Washington, D.C. According
to the United States Department of Defense, there are more than 5000 Muslims in uniform on
active duty in the military. However, there are no Muslim Chaplains on active duty in any branch
[Page 7]
of service.
- Charles Bilal, Kountze, Texas, becomes the nation's first Muslim mayor in an American city.
1992: American Muslim Alliance is established by Dr. Agha Saeed in Hayward, CA. The AMA
devoted exclusively to encouraging Muslim participation in political parties and the electoral
process.Bosnia Task Force, USA was established as an alliance of ten national Muslim
organizations in support of Bosnia.
1993:
- Bosnia Task Force, USA and National Organization of Women (NOW) organized joint
demonstration in 100 cities in America against the rape of women in Bosnia. Bosnia Task Force,
USA organized the largest rally to date by Muslim in favor of Bosnia in Washington DC attended
by 50,000 Muslims.
- On Dec 3, African-American Captain Abdul Rashid Muhammad Begins serving as the first Imam
in the US Army, according to Murad Wilfried Hofmann, author of “Religion on the Rise,” published
by Amana Publications in 2001.
1994: The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) is established by Omar Ahmad and
Nihad Awad . The CAIR focuses on defending the civil rights of Muslims, defending Islam against
stereotypes and training Muslims in news media relations. Islamic Shura Council of North
America was established choosing four of the largest participants of the Bosnia Task Force, USA.
Council of American Muslim Professional is established in Chicago.
1995: Oklahoma Bombing took place which launched a hate campaign against Muslims in
America.
1996:
-Iftar-Dinner on Capitol Hill sponsored by American Muslim Council February 13 hosted by
Senator Joseph I. Lieberman (D CT), Congressmen Nick J. Rahall (D W. VA), Dana Rohrabacher
(R CA), Thomas M. Davis III (R VA), James P. Moran (D VA) and attended by ambassadors and
representatives from most of the Muslim countries.
- The White house celebration of Eid Al-Fitr, February 20, 1996 by First Lady Hillary Rodham
Clinton the first Eid celebration ever at the White House.
-Majority of Muslim Americans vote for Bill Clinton in the presidential elections.
1998:
March 10: The ISNA Fiqh Committee reorganizes as the Fiqh Council of North America “to create
a larger and more authoritative body of Muslim scholars to effectively confront the many legal
issues facing Muslims in North America.”
May: Four major American Muslim organizations – American Muslim Alliance, American Muslim
Council, the Council on American-Islamic Affairs and Muslim Public Affairs Council – formed the
American Muslim Political Coordination Council (AMPCC).
1999: A joint meeting of Council of Presidents of Arab Organizations and the American Muslim
Political Coordination Council, on Jan. 23 in Washington, DC, brought together nine major
political organizations which included: the Arab American Institute (AAI.), the Association of Arab
American University Graduates (AAUG), the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
(ADC), the American Muslim Alliance (AMA), the American Muslim Council (AMC), the Council on
American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Coalition for Good Government (CFGG), the Muslim
Pubic Affairs Council (MPAC), and the National Association of Arab Americans, (NAAA). They
identified 4 areas of coordination and cooperation: The future of Jerusalem; Civil and human
rights; Arab and Muslim participation in the electoral process; and Access and inclusion in
political structures. On August 8, Lt. Junior Grade Malik Abd Al Muta Ibn Noet Jr. appointed the
first Imam in Navy.
Chronology of Islam in America (2000 - 2002) [Page 8]
2000
Muslims launch voter registration campaign
August 30: American Muslim Political Coordination Council (AMPCC), declares September and
October to be the official Hesham Reda Voter Registration Campaign period. The voter
registration campaign was to honor Mr. Hesham Reda who died in April 2000. He was nationally
renowned for his efforts to mobilize American Muslims to get involved in the political process.
AMPCC endorses Bush for presidency
Oct 23: four Muslim organizations joined forces to found the American Muslim Political
Coordination Council (AMPCC), to rally an Islamic vote behind one of the presidential candidates.
AMPCC endorsed George W. Bush, who had met with American Muslim representatives early in
the campaign and had also spoken out against so-called "secret evidence" provisions of recent
immigration laws that allow for the detention of non-citizens without full disclosure of the evidence
against them. AMPCC consists of American Muslim Alliance, American Muslim Council, Council
on American-Islamic Relations, and Muslim Public Affairs Council.
Muslim Americans vote en bloc for Bush
Nov 5: For the first time in US history Muslims voted en bloc in the general elections that helped
George Bush to secure victory. A study, released by the American Muslim Alliance on the 2000
election, showed that 72 percent of Muslims voted for Bush, 8 percent for Democrat Al Gore and
19 percent for Ralph Nader, a Lebanese-American. According to former Congressman Paul
Findley about 3.2 million Muslims voted in November 2000 election since 70 percent Muslims
were eligible to vote and 65 percent of those eligible actually voted.
2001
9/11 terrorist attacks
Sept 11: Terrorists attack World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC.
Two hijacked jetliners slam into the WTC and one into the Pentagon. A fourth airliner crashes in a
field in Pennsylvania. American Muslim organizations joined the nation in denouncing this tragic
and heinous crime. The leaders of nine Muslim American groups said in a joint letter to President
Bush September 11, "American Muslims, who unequivocally condemned today terrorist attacks
on our nation, call on you to alert fellow citizens to the fact that now is a time for all of us to stand
together in the face of this heinous crime. We hope that the perpetrators of these crimes will be
apprehended immediately and swiftly brought to justice. Muslims stand with all other Americans
who, on this sad day, feel a sense of tremendous grief and loss. The letter was signed by the
leaders of the American Muslim Alliance, the American Muslim Council, the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the Muslim American Society, the Islamic
Society of North America, the Islamic Circle of North America, the Muslim Alliance in North
America, and American Muslims for Jerusalem.
Justice Department names 19 suspects in 9/11 attacks
Sept 14: U.S. Justice Department names 19 suspects in attacks that include 15 nationals from
Saudi Arabia, two from United Arab Emirates, one from Egypt and one from Lebanon.
House resolution denounces bigotry against Arabs, Muslims, South Asians
Sept. 15: In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks the House of Representatives passed
a resolution September 15 condemning bigotry and violence against Arab-Americans, American
Muslims, and Americans from South Asia. House Concurrent Resolution 227 (H. Con. Res. 227)
declared "in the quest to identify, bring to justice, and punish the perpetrators and sponsors of the
terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, that the civil rights and civil liberties
of all Americans, including Arab-Americans, American Muslims, and Americans from South Asia,
should be protected." The resolution went on to condemn "any acts of violence or discrimination
against any Americans, including Arab-Americans, American Muslims, and Americans from South
Asia."
President Bush visits mosque
Sept 17: President George W. Bush visited a mosque to urge that Muslim Americans be treated
with respect after the terrorist attacks against U.S. targets, saying, "The face of terror is not the
true faith of Islam." Slipping off his shoes to respect Islamic custom, Bush sought to quell a surge
of anti-Muslim incidents following the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon. "These acts of violence against innocents violate the fundamental tenets of the Islamic
faith and it's important for my fellow Americans to understand that," Bush said at the Islamic
Center of Washington. The visit was part of a broad government effort to crack down on what the
FBI said were dozens of "retaliatory hate crimes" aimed at Muslim and Arab Americans, including
assaults, threats, arson and two possibly ethnically motivated murders.
Assets of 27 groups and individuals frozen
Sept 24 : Bush orders U.S. financial institutions to freeze assets of 27 groups and individuals
suspected of supporting terrorists.
Bush meets Muslim leaders
Sept 26: President George W. Bush held a meeting at the White House with Muslim leaders
during which he said that ‘the teachings of Islam are the teachings of peace and good." The
President denounced the hate crimes against Arab and Muslim Americans as ‘bigotry’ and urged
the media not to identify the terrorists who perpetrated the attacks in New York and Washington
as “Islamic” or “Muslim” terrorists. Instead, they should be identified with their organization or
country. The President once again stated that “this is not a war against Islam, but against a
bunch of criminals”. The organizations represented at the meeting included the American Muslim
Political Coordination Council (AMPCC), American Arab Institute (AAI), Islamic Society of North
America (ISNA), Islamic Institute (II),American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) and
American Lebanese Heritage Club.
USA Patriot Act enacted
Oct 26: the President signed the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate
Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act, better known by its acronym, the USA
PATRIOT Act. The law, which hurriedly passed with little public debate, has been criticized by
constitutional law experts saying it eroded civil liberties Americans take for granted. In particular,
critics have charged that the Act gives the executive branch the power to detain immigrant
suspects for lengthy periods of time, sometimes indefinitely. Critics have also pointed out that the
Act allows the executive branch to circumvent the Fourth Amendment’s requirement of probable
cause when conducting wiretaps and searches.
FBI raids Muslim businesses
Nov 7: Federal agents raid Muslim businesses suspected of helping funnel millions of dollars to
bin Laden's network. President Bush asks at least nine countries to freeze assets that aid bin
Laden and al-Qaida.
5,000 young men from Middle East called for questioning
Nov 9: Attorney General John Ashcroft announces a plan to target some 5,000 young men of
Middle Eastern and South Asian heritage who entered the country in the last two years on nonimmigrant visas but who are not suspected of any criminal activity for questioning by the federal
government.
The Holy Land Foundation banned
Dec 4: The Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, headquartered in Richardson,
Texas,is banned for raising money for Hamas, a Palestinian organization declared by US as a
terrorist group.
Assets of Global Relief and Benevolence International Foundation bloced
Dec 14: The Treasury Department bloced the assets of Global Relief and another group, the
Benevolence International Foundation, on the grounds that the groups were providing financial
assistance to terrorists. Government agents raided Global Relief's offices in Bridgeview and
Illinois.
Muslim Americans poll on war on terrorism
Dec 19: A systematic poll of Muslim Americans has found that two-thirds agree with the Bush
Administration's assertion that America is fighting a war on terrorism, not Islam. The poll results
were released by Project MAPS: Muslims in the American Public Square, a project sponsored by
the Center for Muslim - Christian Understanding at Georgetown University and the Pew
Charitable Trusts. The poll was conducted by Zogby International.
2002
Muslim offices and homes raided in Virginia and Georgia
March 20: Federal agents raided a number of Muslim offices and homes in Virginia and Georgia.
The raids were launched as part of Operation Green Quest, a task force created to track and
disrupt the sources of terrorist finances.
Another 3,000 individuals from Middle East under questioning
- Attorney General John Aschroft announces second FBI dragnet plan to question an additional
3,000 individuals of Middle Eastern and South Asian heritage. In San Francisco, San Jose, and
Oakland, police departments have refused to participate in the interviews because the plan
violates state laws or local policies against profiling based on race or national origin.
Plan announced to register non-immigrants from Muslim countries
June 5: The Justice Department announces a plan that would require hundreds of thousands of
lawful visitors-- including those already in the country-- from mostly Muslim nations to provide
fingerprints to authorities upon arrival and register with the Immigration and Naturalization Service
after 30 days in the country.
Lawsuit against reading of “The Quran an Early Revelation”
at the University of North Carolina
Jul 22: A Fundamentalist Christian organization, the American Family Association Center for Law
and Policy and three anonymous students file a law suit against the University of North Carolina,
Church Hall, because it required new students to read a book – the Quran an Early Revelation by
Prof. Michael A. Sells. In their complaint, the plaintiffs claimed that UNC indoctrinates students
with deceptive claims about the peaceful nature of Islam, violating the separation of church and
state. A committee of the state legislature voted on Aug. 7 to terminate funding for the course.
However, the lawsuit fizzled at on Aug.15, U.S. District Court judge Carlton Tilley, Jr., refused to
grant a temporary restraining order.
Operation TIPS Scaled Back
August 9: Amidst public outcry, the Department of Justice announces that, "given the concerns
raised during the program development phase about safeguarding against all possibilities of
invasion of individual privacy, the [Operation TIPS] hotline number will not be shared with any
workers, including postal and utility workers, whose work puts them in contact with homes and
private property." However, the program will still seek to enlist workers involved in "transportation,
trucking, shipping, maritime, and mass transit industries."
Fingerprinting non-immigrants from Muslim Nations
August 12: The Department of Justice finalizes a plan that required thousands of lawful visitors-from 24 Muslim nations--to provide fingerprints to authorities upon arrival and register with the
Immigration and Naturalization Service after 30 days in the country. Visitors who fail to do either
of these things face fines or even deportation.
High Court allows closed door hearing
Oct 8: The Third Circuit Court of Appeals in New Jersey rules that immigration hearings involving
people detained after September 11 may be closed by the government without the input of the
court.
INS Special Registration Program launched
November: The Justice Department launches the INS Special Registration Program for male
nationals of 24 Muslim countries. The INS Special Registration came in four stages: (Group 1
Dec.) Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria; (Group 2 Dec.) Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea,
Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and
Yemen; (Group 3 Jan.) Pakistan or Saudi Arabia; (Group 4 Feb.) Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia,
Jordan or Kuwait. All 15/16 years old or older male citizens or nationals of these countries were
required to register. Registrants were told to re-register again before their registration anniversary
date.
President Bush distances from Christian right attacks against Islam
Nov 13: In a meeting with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, president Bush said: "Some of the
comments that have been uttered about Islam do not reflect the sentiments of my government or
the sentiments of most Americans. Islam, as practiced by the vast majority of people, is a
peaceful religion, a religion that respects others." He also said: "By far, the vast majority of
American citizens respect the Islamic people and the Muslim faith…Ours is a country based upon
tolerance...And we're not going to let the war on terror or terrorists cause us to change our
values." Media reports quoted White House officials as saying that the president's remarks were
prompted by recent attacks on Islam, particularly those of Pat Robertson, who said that Muslims
are "worse than the Nazis." "He (Bush) wanted (to make) a clear statement," a senior White
House official told Reuters.
Hate crimes against Muslims
Nov 18: Hate crimes and other acts of vengeance skyrocketed nationwide against Muslims and
other immigrants from the Middle East after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to a longawaited FBI report released today. The FBI found that while attacks against Muslims had
previously been the least common hate crime against a religious group--just 28 in 2000--the
number of incidents surged to 481 in 2001, an increase of 1,600%. The huge rise is "presumably
as a result of the heinous incidents that occurred on Sept. 11" of 2001, the FBI said.
Hundreds held for minor visa violations
- Hundreds of people from the Middle Eastern countries were arrested by the federal immigration
officials in Southern California when they complied with orders to appear at the INS offices for a
special registration program, according to Los Angeles Times.
Congress Releases Final Report on 9/11 Intelligence Failure
December 10: The joint House-Senate panel probing the intelligence breakdown leading up to the
tragic events of September 11, 2001 released its final report to the public. While the general
conclusion of the panel's findings is the same as was highlighted in the preliminary reports which
were released earlier this year, the details of the intelligence failures are more specific in the final
report and leave little doubt that US intelligence community was not doing its job. For almost a full
year, members of the House-Senate intelligence panel investigating 9/11 have interviewed
hundreds of witnesses and poured over literally tens of thousands of documents, many of which
remain classified.
Chronology of Islam in America (2003)
[Page 12 ]
Deportation of Muslims increased
Jan. 15: The U.S. government dramatically increased the deportation of people from Muslim
nations in the year after Sept. 11, 2001, even as it eased up on illegal immigrants from Mexico
and other countries. The numbers of foreign nationals expelled to their native countries in North
Africa, the Middle East and South Asia multiplied faster than for citizens of nearly all other nations
from October 2001 to September 2002, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution computer
analysis of Immigration and Naturalization Service records. The analysis provided the first
comprehensive look at the nationality of people deported since the terrorist attacks.
Muslim workers in California & Illinois face discrimination
Feb 5: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) confirmed that Muslim workers
in California and Illinois faced discrimination because of their religion. Giving a ruling on the
sacking of a Muslim pilot following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the EEOC said that the airlines fired
the pilot because of his religion, race and national origin. The Muslim pilot, a native of Fiji who
lives in the San Francisco Bay area, was fired based on anonymous accusations of impropriety
and a call from a person claiming to be with the FBI seeking an interview with the worker.
FBI plans counting of mosque members
Feb 3: Newsweek reports that the FBI Director Robert Mueller's top aides directed chiefs of the
bureau's 56 field offices to develop "demographic" profiles of their localities-including tallying the
number of mosques. On Feb. 20, the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) urged FBI
Director Robert Mueller, to offer assurances that American mosques are not being asked to turn
over membership lists to local agents. First, the FBI wanted a count of all the mosques in their
regional field offices. According to the Islamic Society of Frederick, Md., FBI agents who
requested a meeting with their leadership "mentioned casually" they would be asking for a list of
the society’s members. This sent red flags up for the Islamic Society, who immediately informed
media outlets, interfaith partners and civil rights groups. Local FBI officials then said they would
not press for the list local agents had requested.
Northwest Airlines apologizes for deplaning Muslim immigrant
May 21: Harris Khan, 28, a Pakistani immigrant, who was removed from a Northwest Airlines
flight three months after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, allegedly because he looked Middle Eastern,
received an apology and monetary damages from the airline in a settlement. As part of the
agreement, believed to be the first of its kind in the country, the airline also agreed to train the
pilot about the importance of civil-liberties protections for passengers.
US Senate condemns attacks on Muslims
May 23: the US Senate unanimously adopted a resolution condemning violence against Muslims
and other minorities. The resolution, presented by a Democrat Senator Dick Durbin, named Arab
Americans, Muslim Americans, South-Asian Americans and Sikh Americans as the minorities
targeted for hate crimes. May 27: The US Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the federal
government's policy of holding secret immigration hearings of people detained after the Sept. 11,
2001 attacks.
Supreme Court won't review secret deportation hearings
May 27: The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the federal government's policy of
holding secret immigration hearings of people detained after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The
justices declined to review a U.S. appeals court ruling that news media and public access to the
deportation proceedings could endanger national security. Without any comment, the high court
refused to hear an appeal by New Jersey newspapers arguing the government may not keep the
proceedings secret without a specific, case-by-case showing that closing the hearing would be
necessary. The secret hearings were among the tactics the Bush administration adopted after the
hijacked plane attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A directive 10 days after the
attacks ordered immigration judges to close hearings for detainees whose cases the U.S. Justice
Department deemed were of ``special interest'' to the government's terrorism investigation.
[Page 13 ]
During the government's investigation, approximately 766 detainees were designated as 'special
interest' cases, 611 of whom had one or more hearings closed, New York Times quoted
department lawyers as saying.
FBI criticized over September 11 detentions
June 2: Foreigners (Muslims and Arabs) detained as part of the investigation into the Sept 11,
2001, attacks on the United States were held too long without being charged and subjected to
"unduly harsh" conditions of confinement , a US Justice Department audit report. The audit by the
department's inspector general found "significant problems" in how authorities handled the 762
foreigners who were detained for immigration violations during the investigation into the hijacked
airliner attacks. Some detainees were locked up almost continuously, were moved around in
handcuffs and leg irons, subjected to abuse and had their cell lights kept on day and night.
More than 13,000 Arabs, Muslims Face Deportation
June 6: More than 13,000 of the Arab and Muslim men who came forward earlier this year to
register with immigration authorities — roughly 16 percent of the total — may now face
deportation, The New York Times quoted government officials saying. Only a handful have been
linked to terrorism. But of the 82,000 men older than 16 who registered, more than 13,000 have
been found to be living in this country illegally, officials said. Advocates for immigrants have
accused officials of practicing selective enforcement of immigration laws by focusing on illegal
immigrants from Arab and Muslim nations. Rather than disrupting communities, they say, the
government should improve its intelligence and prosecution of terrorists.
Justice Department prohibits racial profiling
June 17: The Bush administration banned federal law enforcement officers from racial profiling in
routine police work, but said agents may use race and ethnicity to identify suspected terrorists. A
10-page guidance drafted by the Justice Department was approved by President Bush and sent
to all federal law enforcement agencies. It does not apply to state and local police. Ralph Boyd,
assistant attorney general for civil rights, said the Bush administration is the first to issue a formal
policy on racial profiling. Before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, local and state police were
accused of racial profiling far more often than federal agents. But that changed after hundreds of
Middle Eastern men were detained in the Sept. 11 probe.
“Banks blacklisting Muslims”
July 2: American financial institutions are using extreme interpretations of the U.S.A. Patriot Act to
justify blacklisting Muslim account holders, reports An-Nahar, an Arabic weekly based in
Southern California said. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, said Muslims are
complaining that some of the biggest banks and credit agencies in the United States, such as
American Express, HSBC, Fleet Bank, and Western Union, are canceling accounts and making
intrusive demands for private information. Many of the cancellations seem to be inspired by the
similarity of the account holder's name to names that appear on a Treasury Department list of
Specially Designated Nationals and bloced Individuals (SDN). In one high-profile case in early
2003, Western Union denied service and a refund to a Muslim African-American from New York
unless he provided photo identification and information about his country of birth.
Judge accepts life ban for 'terrorist' remark
July 6: - A suburban New York judge agreed to a lifelong ban from the bench for asking a
Lebanese-American woman if she was "a terrorist" when she appeared in court over parking
tickets, officials said. The state judicial watchdog said in a ruling that Judge William Crosbie of
Tarrytown, New York, acknowledged he could not successfully defend the charges of using an
ethnic-based comment and agreed "he will neither seek nor accept judicial office at any time in
the future." Anissa Khoder, a U.S. citizen who immigrated from Lebanon 14 years ago, filed a
complaint on May 16 with the watchdog, the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
She said Crosbie asked her at her May 15 court appearance if she was "a terrorist." Khoder was
challenging two parking tickets that had been left on her dashboard within one hour.
[Page 14 ]
Report on USA Patriot Act Alleges Civil Rights Violations
July 20: A report by internal investigators at the Justice Department has identified dozens of
recent cases in which department employees have been accused of serious civil rights and civil
liberties violations involving enforcement of the sweeping federal antiterrorism law known as the
USA Patriot Act. The inspector general's report, which was presented to Congress last week, said
that in the six-month period that ended on June 15, the inspector general's office had received 34
complaints of civil rights and civil liberties violations by department employees that it considered
credible, including accusations that Muslim and Arab immigrants in federal detention centers had
been beaten.
AMC Chairman Meets with President Bush
July 24: Dr. Yahya Mossa Basha, Chairman of the American Muslim Council, met with President
George W. Bush in Michigan. Dr. Basha was invited to meet with the president as part of the
White House outreach efforts. On this occasion, Dr. Basha handed over a letter to the president
on behalf of the American Muslim community. The letter outlined Muslim issues and offers
comments on the peace in the Middle East.
Poll: 44% of Americans think Islam sparks violence
July 24: Research Center for the People & the Press shows that there has been an important shift
in public perceptions of Islam. Fully 44 percent of the American public now believes that Islam is
more likely than other religions "to encourage violence among its believers." As recently as March
2002, just 25 percent expressed this view. "Our findings in this area actually point in different
directions," said Melissa Rogers, executive director of the Pew Forum. "On the one hand, there’s
certainly an increase in the number of Americans who believe that Islam encourages violence.
Yet at the same time, a narrow majority of the public continues to have favorable views of
Muslim-Americans, and only 24 percent have an unfavorable view."
Dr. Ali A Mazrui held for seven hours
August 3: Eminent Muslim scholar, Dr. Ali A Mazrui, who has lived in the US since 1974, was
detained and interrogated for seven hours after he returned from a working visit to the Caribbean.
Kenya-born Mazrui, a political scientist who still carries his country’s passport, and is the author
of many books on Islam and Africa, holds the Albert Schweitzer chair at the State University of
New York at Binghamton. Mazrui told the Washington Post in an interview later that he was
questioned first by Immigration officials, then by Customs representatives and finally by agents
from the Department of Homeland Security. Their questions included “ ‘What is jihad?’ and
whether I believed in it. I gave them Jihad 101. A basic introduction to a subject at American
universities is called ‘course 101’. Then they wanted to know what sect of Islam I believe in.
When I said Sunni, they asked why I was not Shia,” he recalled. “That was definitely a first. That’s
like asking a Catholic why he isn’t a Protestant.”
Bush appoints anti-Muslim scholar to peace role
August 23: A Middle East expert who has written dismissively of diplomacy was named to the
board of the US Institute of Peace. The largely honorary appointment of Daniel Pipes, a gift of
President George Bush, has outraged Democratic senators, American Muslims and Arabs, liberal
Jews and a large portion of the academic community, who say his opinions are not conducive to
peace.
Rev. Bob Edgar condemns the hate speech of conservative Christian leaders
Aug. 29-31: Faced with an increase in hate crimes, threats to their civil liberties and an assault on
their faith, about 40,000 American Muslims gathered in Chicago for the 40th annual convention of
the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) at the Labor Day weekend. Attending the
convention, the Rev. Bob Edgar, head of the National Council of Churches, which represents
thousands of mainline Protestant and Orthodox Christian congregations, condemned what he
called the "hate speech" of conservative Christian leaders who condemn Islam and committed the
resources of his organization to fostering respect for the religion.
[Page 15 ]
Imam W. Deen Mohammed quits as MAS chief
Aug 31: Imam W. Deen Mohammed, the African Muslim spiritual leader who over three decades
transformed how the African Muslims’ practice the religion, has resigned as head of the American
Society of Muslims. Mohammed told the MAS annual convention in Chicago that he will continue
to represent and guide African Muslims and direct his ministry, The Mosque Cares, but would no
longer lead the society, the main organization representing his movement. W. Deen Mohammed,
who turns 70 in October, is the son of Elijah Muhammad, who led the Nation of Islam until his
death in 1975.
Drive to register one million Muslim voters
Sept 1: Leaders of the four organizations - the American Muslim Alliance, the American Muslim
Council, the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim Public Affairs Council - who
met at the sidelines of the ISNA Convention in Chicago agreed to make civil rights a top issue in
any endorsement of a presidential candidate in 2004 elections and launch an intensive drive to
register one million Muslim voters.
CAIR Poll: U.S. Muslims increase political activity since 9/11
Sept 10: American Muslims have increased their participation in political and social activities
since 9/11, according to a poll by the Council of American-Islamic Relations, a national Islamic
civil rights and advocacy group. The poll says that roughly half of American Muslims surveyed
say they have increased their social (58 percent), political (45 percent), inter-faith (52 percent)
and public relations activities (59 percent) since the 9/11 terror attacks. Almost three-fourths (70
percent) of Muslim respondents said they feel free to practice their faith without restrictions and
86 per cent said they had experienced an act of kindness from people of other faiths.
Hallmark issues Eid greeting cards
Sept 16: This year, for the first time ever, Hallmark will sell cards for the Muslim feast of Eid ulFitr. "With the increase in the number of Muslims, we realized there was an ongoing need that we
we're not satisfying," said Deidre Parkes, spokeswoman for the Kansas City, Mo.-based Hallmark
company that has been making greeting cards for Americans since 1910.
Abdel-Rahman Al-Amoudi arrested
Sept 28: Abdel-Rahman Al-Amoudi, an American Muslim and one of the founders of the
American Muslim Council (AMC), was arrest today at Dulles International Airport in Virginia after
a flight from London. According to media reports, he was found to be in possession of large sums
of money that he received from the government of Libya in exchange for lobbying the US
government. In a statement, the Muslim Public Affairs Council said that he was taken into custody
for violations of the law that were unrelated to the War on Terror or to any alleged involvement
with terrorism. The MPAC statement said: “The targeting of individuals or organizations by law
enforcement should not be politicized, and the alleged crimes of one individual should not be
allowed to taint an entire community. Biased pundits motivated by personal agendas, with the
support of some in the government, have exploited the tragedy of 9-11 to marginalize the voices
of American Muslims, and to prevent the emergence of an effective and independent American
Muslim leadership.”
FBI revokes its service award from Arab leader
Oct. 9: After pressure from a pro-Israeli group and columnist, the FBI rescinded an award it had
planned to give to a prominent Arab-American leader this week and raised questions about his
connections with men the government wants to deport. Imad Hamad, who heads the local branch
of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, had been scheduled to receive a
prestigious service award today in Washington, D.C., for his work with law enforcement after the
Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Local conservative columnist Debbie Schlussel and the Zionist
Organization of America - one of the oldest pro-Israeli groups in the nation - led a spirited attack
last month against Hamad, charging in letters and articles that he is sympathetic to terrorists and
[Page 16 ]
unworthy of such an honor. Hamad said the allegations that he supports terrorism are baseless
and came from fringe groups with no credibility.
General Boykin says his God was bigger
Oct 16: Los Angeles reports that The Pentagon has assigned the task of tracking down and
eliminating Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and other high-profile targets to an Army general
who sees the war on terrorism as a clash between Judeo-Christian values and Satan. Lt. Gen.
William G. "Jerry" Boykin, the new deputy undersecretary of Defense for intelligence, appeared
in dress uniform and polished jump boots before a religious group in Oregon in June to declare
that radical Islamists hated the United States "because we're a Christian nation, because our
foundation and our roots are Judeo-Christian ... and the enemy is a guy named Satan."
Discussing the battle against a Muslim warlord in Somalia, Boykin told another audience, "I knew
my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol." On at least
one occasion, in Sandy, Ore., in June, Boykin said of President Bush: "He's in the White House
because God put him there."
American Muslim organizations call for General Boykin’s removal
Oct. 20: American Muslim organizations denounce the anti-Islam and anti-Muslim comments by
Lt. General William Boykin who was recently appointed as Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for
Intelligence and called for his removal from this sensitive office. They said while every American
has the freedom to express his opinion but it is essential that those who hold high policymaking
positions should exercise judgment in their public speaking and Lt. Gen. Boykin clearly lacks such
judgment. These remarks feed into an emerging pattern of religious bigotry against Muslims and
Islam.
New bill in Congress targets teachers who dare to question US support for Israel
Oct. 21: House of Representative passed H.R. 3077, the International Studies in Higher
Education Act which critics said targets teachers who dare to question US support for Israel. It
would set up a seven-member advisory board that would have the power to recommend cutting
federal funding for colleges and universities that are viewed as harboring academic critics of
Israel.Gilbert Merk, vice provost for international affairs and development and director of the
Center for International Studies at Duke University, has echoed the fears of many when he
charged that this advisory board “could easily be hijacked by those who have a political axe to
grind and become a vehicle for an inquisition.” The bill will now go to Senate for approval.
US court rules it is OK to hold 9/11 witnesses
Nov 8: In a victory for Washington's anti-terrorism arrest tactics, a US appeals court ruled that a
Jordanian student could be held as a material witness in a grand jury Sept. 11 investigation. The
2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a trial judge's finding that the government had
wrongly used the material witness statute to hold the student, Osama Awadallah, whom
prosecutors later said lied when he denied knowing one of the Sept. 11, 2001 hijackers. The case
has drawn wide attention because it questioned whether the US government is acting legally
when it jails indefinitely people who are not charged with a crime but might be called to testify
before a grand jury investigating terrorist activities.
Supreme Court rejects appeal from Global Relief
Nov 10: The Supreme Court rejected an appeal from an Islamic charity whose assets were
impounded three months after the terrorist attacks. The Global Relief Foundation argued that the
government put it out of business without proof the Illinois-based charity was funneling money to
terrorists. Justices refused to consider whether it was unconstitutional or illegal for the
government to freeze the foundation's bank accounts.
INS Special Registration suspended partially
Dec. 2: The Homeland Security Department partially suspends special registration program that
targets boys and men from 24 Muslim countries. The two changes in Special Registration
[Page 17 ]
requirements are the following: (1) The annual re-registration requirement is suspended for all
Special Registrants, i.e., for both those who registered under the “Call-In” and those who were
registered at a port-of-entry (POE). (2) The 30/40-day follow-up interview requirement
(applicable only to POE Registrants) is also suspended. All other requirements for Special
Registrants remain in effect including Departure Registration and Reporting Changes of Address,
Employment, or Educational Institution.
Key provisions of anti-terrorism statute declared unconstitutional
Dec 3: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit declared unconstitutional significant parts
of a criminal statute barring "material support" to terrorist organizations, and rejected the
government's interpretation of the statute as imposing liability on "moral innocents." The case,
Humanitarian Law Project v. Ashcroft, involved a challenge brought by the Center for onstitutional
Rights on behalf of a human rights organization in Los Angeles and several groups of Sri Lankan
Tamils to a statute that criminalizes "material support" to any group designated as "terrorist" by
the Secretary of State. The Administration has argued that the statute makes it a crime to provide
material support to terrorist organizations without regard to whether the donor knows that the
organization is a designated group, and the statute includes within the ambit of "material support"
the provision of "personnel" and "training."
Arab Population in U.S. Nearly Doubles
Dec. 4: The Arab population in the United States has nearly doubled in the past two decades,
according to the Census Bureau's first report on the group. The bureau counted nearly 1.2 million
Arabs in the United States in 2000, compared with 860,000 in 1990 and 610,000 in 1980. About
60 percent trace their ancestry to three countries: Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. While earlier Arab
immigrants came from countries with large Christian populations, newer arrivals come from
heavily Muslim countries such as Iraq and Yemen. Almost half of the Arabs in the United States
live in five states, California (190,890), New York (120,370), Michigan (115,284), New Jersey
(71,770) and Florida (77,461).
Democrats court vote of disgruntled U.S. Muslims
Dec 21: Three years after Muslim Americans overwhelmingly voted for George W. Bush,
democratic presidential candidates are courting these disenchanted voters in hopes of winning
millions of backers in key states. "I want to earn the support of Muslims and Muslim leaders
across the United States," Sen. John Kerry (a Democrat from Massachusetts, told the annual
convention of the Muslim Public Affairs Council outside Los Angeles last. "I very much hope for
your support," Democratic front-runner and former Vermont governor, Howard Dean told the
MPAC convention.
[Page 18]
January 2004
Republicans remove link to anti-Islam website
Jan 1: Following a strong protest by American Muslims, the ruling Republican Party has removed
an anti-Islam link from one of its Websites. "We apologize for the link to this website and have
instituted safeguards against links to such sites in the future. There is no room for hate in our
society," said a message posted on the website of the Guild Ford County, North Carolina,
Republican Party. The website had a link to a site called "Islam Exposed" that states: "This
website was designed with one objective in mind - to expose Islam and Muslims" and describes
Muslims as "barbaric and savage" people. The link caused a flood of protest from Muslims
concerned, requesting the party to de-link itself from hate groups.
Discriminatory U.S. Security Checks
Jan. 5: U.S. government today imposed discriminatory security checks for all Muslims who would
be entering from any of the 115 airports and 14 seaports in the United States of America. From
now onwards, all Muslims who need to enter into the United States will also have to go through
“US-VISIT program”, which stands for United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator
Technology. The Muslims will go through these discriminatory security checks and on arrival at
any airport or seaport of the U.S., they will be fingerprinted and photographed like a criminal or a
possible terrorist. Not every person traveling to the U.S. will be put through the extra security
steps. Good neighbors from 28 countries, mostly from Europe are not required to go through this
"security hassle", as they are exempted from such security checks. Outside of Europe, U.S.
government exempted countries that include Japan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and
Brunei, whereas citizens of Canada generally do not need a visa to enter the United States of
America.
US bars entry to two South African Muslim religious leaders
Jan 11: US authorities barred two South African Muslims from entering the country despite
having visas and detained and deported them in what they called humiliating conditions. The two
men were heading for an Islamic convention in Atlanta, Georgia, the Johannesburg-based
Sunday Times reported. Tfter a 17-hour flight from Johannesburg to attend the convention hosted
by the Atlanta Islamic Institute, businessman Musa Sulayman and cleric Mulana Ahmad
Sulayman Khatani were detained by immigration officials, fingerprinted and photographed. Their
passports, credit cards, invitations to the conference and other documentation were photocopied.
Sulayman, 66, told the Sunday Times he was sent back home after enduring "five hours of hell,
uncertainty and embarrassment". Khatani, 33, was detained and spent more than 34 hours in a
cell with four criminals before being deported.
The Justice Department's policy of secret arrests allowed
Jan 12: The U.S. Supreme Court struck a blow against government openness and accountability
today by refusing to review the Justice Department's secret arrest and detention of hundreds of
foreigners. The Supreme Court let stand a lower-court decision allowing the Justice Department
to hide names and basic details in the cases of 762 foreigners -- almost all of them Muslims -rounded up for immigration-law violations after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. While the
department claimed the blanket secrecy was needed to conceal information from terrorist groups,
none of the detainees ended up being charged with terrorism. And under the cover of secrecy,
the detainees were mistreated, according to a 2003 report from the Justice Department's own
inspector general. The report found that some detainees weren't told of the charges they faced
for more than a month; some weren't told of their right to contact a lawyer; and some were
physically abused.
Senators call for investigating Muslim charities
Jan 14: In what will clearly to tarnish broadly the image of Islamic charities and chill their activities
and their contributors, the US Senate Finance Committee has asked the Internal Revenue
[Page 19]
Service (IRS) for its records on 25 Muslim charities and organizations as part of an investigation
into possible links between non-governmental organizations and terrorist financing networks.
"Many of these groups not only enjoy tax-exempt status, but their reputations as charities and
foundations often allows them to escape scrutiny, making it easier to hide and move their funds to
other groups and individuals who threaten our national security," Committee Chairman Charles
Grassley and ranking Democrat Max Baucus said in a letter to the IRS made public today.
Muslim leader opens Ohio senate with prayer
Jan 21: A leader of the Ohio Muslim community today opened a session of that state's Senate in
Columbus with a prayer for tolerance and justice. Dr. Ahmad Al-Akhras, president of the Council
on American-Islamic Relation's Ohio office (CAIR-Ohio), first recited the opening chapter (AlFatihah) of the Quran, and then said: "Today we give thanks to God for the blessings that have
been bestowed upon us, both individually and collectively. We also thank God for the bounties
provided to us in our beautiful state of Ohio.
LA federal judge rules part of Patriot Act unconstitutional
Jan 26: A Federal judge has ruled that a portion of sweeping antiterrorism law known as the USA
Patriot Act, which bars giving expert advice or assistance to groups designated as foreign terrorist
organizations, is unconstitutional and the government may not enforce it. In a 36-page ruling
Monday, Los Angeles District Judge Audrey Collins said the ban on providing "expert advice or
assistance" is impermissibly vague in violation of the freedom of speech guaranteed by the
constitution. "By targeting those who provide material support by providing 'expert advice or
assistance,' the law made clear that Americans are threatened as much by the person who
teaches a terrorist to build a bomb as by the one who pushes the button," he said. Several
humanitarian groups in Los Angeles that work with Kurdish refugees in Turkey and Tamil
residents of Sri Lanka had sued the government, arguing in a lawsuit that the antiterrorism act
was so ill defined that they had stopped writing political material and helping organize peace
conferences for fear that they would be prosecuted.
The ruling specified that the plaintiffs seek to provide support to "the lawful, nonviolent activities"
of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, known as the PKK, and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam,
known as the LTTE, which advocates for the rights of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. Both groups
are on a list issued by former Secretary of State Madeline Albright in 1997 designating them as
"foreign terrorist organizations." Collins' ruling follows a December decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals to overturn portions of a sweeping 1996 anti-terror law which preceded the
Patriot Act. A three-judge panel found the law's reference to financial assistance or "material
support" to terrorist organizations was overbroad. That case also was brought by the
Humanitarian Law Project and involved work being done on behalf of the Kurdistan Workers
Party.
ACLU complains to U.N. on Muslim detainees in U.S.
Jan 27: In Geneva, the American Civil Liberties Union today brought a complaint to the United
Nations charging that Muslim immigrants in the United States were unfairly detained and
deported in the wake of Sept. 11. The complaint, specifically on behalf of 10 former detainees
and three men still in custody, was filed with the U.N. working group on arbitrary detentions. It
accuses the U.S. government of arbitrarily arresting hundreds of Muslim immigrants from South
East Asia and the Middle East following the hijacked airliner attacks in 2001 on the World Trade
Center and Pentagon, which killed nearly 3,000 people. Most were held for months without
criminal charges being laid and denied access to an attorney or judge while in legal limbo,
according to the New-York based ACLU. Many were deported, some to face interrogation in their
homelands, it added. It charged U.S. officials "arbitrarily and indiscriminately arrested immigrants
unconnected to terrorism or crime."
[Page 20]
February 2004
Arizona governor speaks at Eid Al Adha prayer
Feb 1: Arizona Governor, Janet Napolitano, donning a white Islamic headscarf, spoke after the
Eid Al Adha prayer at Sun Angel Stadium. About 10,000 Muslims turned out for the of Eid ul-Adha
prayer. In her 10-minute speech, Napolitano addressed challenges involving healthcare,
education and the job market. "We have many challenges facing us ... but we must make sure
that Arizonans are respectful and respecting others," she said. "[We must] make sure we are
listening to all points of views and make sure we work together to build our great state.
Seven Moroccan parliamentarians kicked off the plane
Feb 1: A seven members Moroccan parliament deledation was detained and deported at
Portland International airport today. The delegation which had visited Portland, Dallas, Texas;
and Washington, D.C., was boarding a Delta Air Lines flight when members were kicked off the
plane because confusion about an unattended bag led the pilot to suspect that the group posed a
security risk. The Moroccan officials, equivalent to members of the U.S. Congress, were never in
police custody, but they were questioned by the FBI and the Transportation Security
Administration, who sifted through their 14 bags.
Army intelligence agents investigate UT Islam conference
Feb 12: Is any gathering of Muslims now a national security concern? Events following a legal
conference at the University of Texas have left Muslims and civil rights activists wondering. The
U.S. Army sent intelligence agents to investigate a conference about women and Islam at the
University of Texas School of Law, the US Army confirmed. The conference was held on Feb. 2.
A few days later, two U.S. Army intelligence agents showed up and wanted a list of all the people
who attended the conference. One agent left his business card with several students. Organizers
said the Army's visit was a scary indication of attitudes towards Islam.
The Interfaith Alliance President shocked at the Congressman King’s remarks against
American Muslims
Feb 13: Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy of the Interfaith Alliance Washington today wrote a letter to
Rep. Peter King about his remarks against the American Muslims. “As president of The Interfaith
Alliance, the nation’s largest interfaith organization, I was both shocked and saddened to learn of
your biased, inflammatory remarks against American Muslims during your appearance on a
national radio talk show earlier this week. Your statements have caused great concern in the
interfaith community and particularly in the Muslim community of America. President George W.
Bush and many other American political and religious leaders have made a plea to all Americans
to refrain from religious bigotry and to stand together against terrorism. These leaders have
affirmed that Islam is certainly one of the world’s great religions. I would hope that in your role on
the national stage you understand that Islam, Judaism, and Christianity all spring from the
Abrahamic tradition.
Los Angeles City Council acknowledges the Islamic new year
Feb 20: Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard Parks, former Chief of Police for the Los Angeles
Police Department, accompanied by other Council members, issued a resolution today
recognizing the Hijra, the beginning of the Islamic New Year. The Councilman made an official
presentation honoring the Hijra before the Los Angeles City Council and the leaders of the
American Muslim community.
FBI director thanks American Muslims
Feb 24: FBI Director Robert Mueller, testify on current and projected national security threats
before the Senate Intelligence Committee, said: "…at the outset, I should mention that the Muslim
American, Iraqi-American, and Arab-American communities in the United States have contributed
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a great deal to our success. And on behalf of the FBI, I would like to thank these communities for
their assistance and for their ongoing commitment to preventing acts of terrorism."(C-SPAN)
March 2004
3 American Muslims Convicted of Helping Wage Jihad
March 4: In a victory for the Bush administration's campaign to root out home-grown terrorism, a
federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia, convicted three American Muslims today of conspiring to
help a Pakistani group wage "violent jihad" against Indian forces in Kashmir and possibly
American troops in Afghanistan. Federal prosecutors had portrayed the men, two of them
American-born converts and one a Pakistani immigrant, as radical Muslims who had prepared to
fight for Islamic causes overseas by acquiring weapons and playing paintball in Virginia, as well
as training at a camp for mujahedeen fighters in Pakistan. The defense disputed that depiction,
arguing the men were moderate Muslims who played paintball purely for fun and never intended
to hurt Americans. They asserted that the prosecution had been driven by anti-Muslim bias. (New
York Times)
Disney movie under fire for stereotyping Muslims
March 5: A new Disney movie, released today came under fire for negative stereotyping of
Muslims and Arabs. "Hidalgo" tells the so-called “incredible true story” of a 5,000-km horse race
across the Arabian Peninsula, showing a U.S. cowboy hero pitching up in Aden in 1890 with his
American mustang to compete against a hundred Bedouin riders on their Arab steeds. Disney
claimed that the movie was built on a true story, as the scriptwriter John Fusco claimed he has
searched its historical facts carefully.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) wrote to Disney’s chairman to express
concern that the movie negatively stereotypes Muslims and Arabs. It also demanded the removal
of the "True Story" tag line that is touting the production. CAIR raised many concerns that the film
"may contain scenes and dialogue that would serve to stereotype Muslims and Arabs and create
a negative impression of Islam in the minds of moviegoers". "Given the growing prejudice against
Islam, Muslims and Arabs, we believe a film with this type of dialogue and imagery could have a
negative impact on the lives of ordinary American Muslims and Arab-Americans," said Ibrahim
Hooper, CAIR’s National Communications Director, in his letter to Disney. Other Arab
commentators, such as Hussein Ibish of the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, point
to the uncomfortable parallels between the film and the real-life fantasy of US domination in Iraq
and the rest of the Middle East. "The idea," as Mr Ibish puts it, "that being a frontiersman in the
United States prepares you for dealing with another group of savages."
Bush ad offends Arabs
March 14: Prominent Arab-Americans and Dearborn, Detroil, Democrats called on the BushCheney ’04 campaign to pull a television advertisement that shows the face of a young Middle
Eastern man, saying the ad is offensive. Arab critics of the television spot said the president’s
campaign for re-election would not have spurred controversy if it had broadcast a picture of
Osama bin Laden or other recognizable terrorists, rather than the anonymous Middle Eastern
man. “I would not mind if they were to use a true image of terrorism, like a known terrorist,” said
Imad Hamad, director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. “But to use just a
typical ordinary face of a Middle Easterner or a person of Arab descent is very serious and plays
into the idea that Americans should be afraid of Arabs and Arab-Americans in general.” (Detroit
News)
Arab Americans upset by dictionary definition
March 14: By most definitions, it involves hostility toward Jews. But an edition of MerriamWebster's dictionary reprinted in 2002 has angered Arab Americans by linking anti-Semitism to
Zionism and Israel. The Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, defines anti-Semitism
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as: "1: hostility toward Jews as a religious or racial minority group often accompanied by social,
economic, and political discrimination - compare RACISM."2: opposition to Zionism: sympathy
with opponents of the state of Israel." In a letter of protest, the American-Arab Anti Discrimination
Committee called on Merriam-Webster to "repudiate" the latter meaning and retract it. Equating
opposition to Israel with anti-Semitism, the Washington-based group said, "smears and impugns
the motives of all those who support the human and political rights of Palestinians" and
"stigmatizes perfectly legitimate political opinions and activities." The group's spokesman,
Hussein Ibish, said the publisher is legitimizing a definition "that Merriam-Webster itself does not
believe is accurate" as well as "trivializing the very concept of anti-Semitism and damaging efforts
to combat prejudice and discrimination against Jewish groups and individuals."Concerns over the
definition were raised by Maryland graphic artist Dan Walsh, a collector of Palestinian posters,
who recently complained to Merriam-Webster as part of his campaign to differentiate antiSemitism from opposition to Israel. (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
Rand Report suggests revamping of Islam
March 18: Rand Corporation issues a study about Islam and Muslims, entitled “Civil Democratic
Islam: Partners, Resources, and Strategies,” written by Cheryl Benard, a sociologist and fiction
writer. Cheryl Benard arbitrarily compartmentalizes the 1.4 billion Muslims into four categories
depending on their degree of affinity for Western values and concepts: 1. Fundamentalists, who
reject democratic values and contemporary Western culture. 2. Traditionalists, who want a
conservative society. They are suspicious of modernity, innovation, and change. 3. Modernists,
who want the Islamic world to become part of global modernity. They want to modernize and
reform Islam to bring it into line with the age. 4. Secularists, who want the Islamic world to accept
a division of church and state in the manner of Western industrial democracies, with religion
relegated to the private sphere. Benard says that though the secularists should be our most
natural allies in the Muslim world because Western democracies are premised on the separation
of church and state but the problem has been, and continues to be, that many important
secularists in the Islamic world are unfriendly or even extremely hostile to us on other grounds.
“Leftist ideologies, anti-Americanism, aggressive nationalism, and authoritarian structures with
only quasi-democratic trappings have been some of the manifestations of Islamic secularism to
date.” Therefore, Benard suggests that Moderanists are our allies in the Muslim world. This
group is most congenial to the values and the spirit of modern democratic society. A close
reading of Benard’s work indicates that the main thrust of the study is to create a defanged
version of Islam - to develop a Western Islam, a German Islam, a U.S. Islam, etc. The daunting
and complex task of religion-building (or revamping Islam in America’s image) will include the
necessity to depart from, modify, and selectively ignore elements of the original religious doctrine
of Islam, Benard argues.
The ordeal of Chaplain Yee:Why Capt. Yee was charged remains mystery?
March 19: The US government drops all criminal charges against Army Capt. James Yee who
was accused of espionage. Yee saw his notoriety bloom overnight. He was vilified on the
airwaves and on the Internet as an operative in a supposed spy ring that aimed to pass secrets to
al-Qaeda from suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where Yee ministered to
them. After his arrest, Yee was blindfolded, placed in manacles and taken to a Navy brig, where
he spent 76 days in solitary confinement. Eight months later, all the criminal charges against the
36-year-old West Point graduate have melted away. A subsequent reprimand has been removed
from his record.
Stockton Steel to pay $1.1 million to Pakistani-American workers, in harassment
settlement case
March 19: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced the
$1.11 million settlement of a harassment lawsuit against Stockton Steel, a subsidiary of Herrick
Corporation. This resolves an EEOC lawsuit filed in federal court in January 2000, charging that
Pakistani-American employees were repeatedly harassed due to their national origin and Muslim
religion, at Herrick's steel plant in Stockton, California. The workers alleged harassment that
[Page 23]
included being ridiculed during their daily Muslim prayer obligations and derogatory name-calling
such as "camel jockey" and "raghead".
Interfaith leaders refute Rep. King’s Islamophobic remarks
March 25: Long Island interfaith leaders held a news conference to refute Islamophobic
accusations made recently by Rep. Peter King (R-NY). King claimed in a number of media
interviews that “85 percent” of America’s mosques are controlled by “extremists” and that Muslims
have done nothing to aid law enforcement authorities in the war on terror. He also referred to
Muslim leaders as an “enemy living amongst us.” Interfaith leaders described King’s claims as the
dehumanization of an entire community of Americans and called for better interfaith
understanding and dialogue.
Al Amoudi pleads innocent to charges on Libya
March 31: In Alexandria, Virginia, Abduraham Alamoudi, a founder of the American Muslim
Council and the American Muslim Foundation already accused of illegal financial transactions
with Libya pleaded innocent today to additional charges. Alamoudi pleaded innocent to charges
of assisting in the preparation of a false tax return, a corrupt endeavor to impede the investigation
of Internal Revenue laws, and false statements on a tax return.
ADC Commends Justice Dept for Protecting Student's Right to Wear Headscarf in School
March 31: Anti-Arab Discrimination Committee (ADC) welcomes the Department of Justice Civil
Rights Division's complaint against an Oklahoma school district for violating the constitutional
rights of a student by denying her the right to wear her hijab (headscarf) to school. ADC views
this 14th Amendment-based complaint, which asserts equal protection for the student in question,
as an important step in preserving equal rights for Americans Muslims. The Civil Rights Division
made the announcement yesterday that it would "seek to intervene in a lawsuit pending against
the Muskogee, Oklahoma Public School District to protect the right of a sixth-grade Muslim girl to
wear a headscarf to school."According to the complaint, filed today in the U.S. District Court for
the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the student was twice suspended from the Benjamin Franklin
Science Academy for refusing to take off her headscarf, or hijab, after being told that it violated
the school's dress code. That code prohibits students from wearing hats, caps, bandanas, or
jacket hoods inside school buildings. The girl and her parents filed suit in October 2003.
CA Senate report about the impact of Patriot Act, Other Post-9/11 Enforcement Powers on
California’s Muslim Communities
March: California Senate Research Office released a report on the impact of Patriot Act, Other
Post-9/11 Enforcement Powers and The Impact on California’s Muslim Communities. The report
said that Muslim communities in California found troubling, if not alarming, was the FBI
headquarters directive of February 3, 2003, ordering each of the bureau’s 56 regional field offices
to base their terrorist investigations on demographic data of Muslim communities. Included in the
data for field agents to ascertain were the number of mosques that the FBI could identify in a
given area.
April 2004
Congressman Matheson pledges to fight racial profiling of Muslims
April 3: Congressman Jim Matheson promised the Utah's diverse Islamic community to keep
fighting the harshest aspects of the post-9-11 Patriot Act: unreasonable search provisions and
racial profiling. Matheson said one of the more troubling side effects of the act is that "the Islamic
community has been subject to the very unfortunate practice of profiling," or being considered a
suspect or suspicious person based on racial, religious or ethnic characteristics. "Profiling sends
a message of division, and that is not what this country is about."
[Page 24]
Muslims want to be politically active
April 6: The vast majority of Muslims in metro Detroit say they should be politically active and
work more to help non-Muslims, according to a survey to be released today. Many also favor
practicing an Islamic that is flexible and moderation in Islam. The findings were among the results
of a survey taken last summer of almost 1,300 Muslims in metro Detroit, conducted by the Clinton
Township-based Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. While Muslims in metro Detroit are
eager to take part in America's civic life, they say they are also concerned about their civil rights
after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the survey shows. The study also showed that many are wary of
what they see as the immorality of American culture.
Bush appointee forms 'Islamic' institute
April 7: Daniel Pipes, who last year was appointed by President George W. Bush to the board of
directors of the U.S. Institute for Peace (USIP) amid protests by American Muslims, establishes
the "Islamic Progress Institute" (IPI), which "can articulate a moderate, modern and pro-American
viewpoint" on behalf of U.S. Muslims, according to a grant proposal by Pipes and two New Yorkbased foundations obtained by the Inter Press Service news agency. Pipes recently declared that
the "ultimate goal" of the war on terrorism had to be Islam's modernization, or, as he put it,
"religion-building."
The Holy Land Foundation seeks release of its frozen funds
April 9: The Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development filed a request today to the
Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control to unfreeze $50,000 to be sent to the
Palestine Children's Relief Fund, which seeks to provide free medical care for Palestinian
children in the Middle East. The Bush administration in 2001 accused Holy Land, a Texas-based
group, of financing the militant Islamic group Hamas and ordered U.S. banks to freeze its assets.
Holy Land says it has never donated money or provided services to Hamas, a group the
government says is a foreign terrorist organization. The release of the funds of the Holy Land
Foundation in accordance with the wishes of American Muslim donors will mark the beginning of
a process that results in the legitimate distribution to those in need, said the Muslim Public Affairs
Council which is following this matter with the Treasury Department. Unfortunately, the assets of
the other American Muslim charitable organizations have been depleted by administrative and
legal costs, according to the MPAC. “The remaining funds should not be diverted to groups or
individuals who are currently using the legal system to achieve dubious political gains on behalf of
special interest groups,” the MPAC added.
Evangelical Christians reach out to Muslims
April 10: Nearly a year ago, evangelical Christian leaders gathered in Washington to try to
moderate their rhetoric toward Islam and begin a more respectful, positive dialogue with Muslims
around the world, according to the Washington Post . This week, a handful of evangelical
ministers announced the first fruit of that effort, a plan to put on a Christian music festival,
establish humanitarian relief projects and hold a theological conference in Morocco. The goal,
they said, is not to proselytize but to break down hostile images. "We have stereotypes of
Muslims, and they certainly do of conservative Christians. They're both caricatures we need to
dispense with," said the Rev. Richard Cizik, vice president for government affairs at the
Washington-based National Association of Evangelicals. The meeting of about 40 evangelical
leaders last May followed highly publicized statements by the Rev. Franklin Graham, son of
evangelist Billy Graham, that Islam was an "evil" religion, and by the Rev. Jerry Vines, a past
president of the Southern Baptist Convention, that Muhammad was a "pedophile." "We don't want
the whole Islamic world to think that a couple of spokesmen, though well-intentioned perhaps,
speak for everyone. We're taught to love people," said the Rev. Harry L. Thomas, a Medford,
N.J., producer of Christian concerts. "I don't know anyone who has been won over by hate talk.
We prefer to reach out and build some bridges."
American Muslims Demand Release of Zakat Funds
April 14: American Muslims have urged the U.S. Department of Treasury to release the seized
[Page 25]
Zakat funds to Muslim organizations and not to Israeli interest groups represented by lawyers.
The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), and several other American Muslim organizations
held a conference in Chicago to discuss the issue of the Zakat funds seized when a number of
American Muslim charity organizations were banned in 2001. All the participants of the
conference urged the administration not to re-direct the funds to lawyers representing Israeli
interests, which is actually taking place in two lawsuits to acquire these funds, one initiated by a
Washington-based lawyer, Nathan Lewin, and another by David J. Strachman. “If the zakat funds
are given to these lawyers, the US government, which is now the trustee of these funds, will for
the first time be an instrument of diverting funds from one religious group to other groups that
represent special interests contrary to the will of the donors,” they said.
Justice Department should apologize to Arabs, Muslims: ACLU
April 15: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has sharply criticized the Justice Department
for its failure to apologize for “the wholesale detention of Arab and Muslim immigrants” after 9/11.
In a statement, Anthony D. Romero, ACLU Executive Director, welcomed the release by the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of new guidelines requiring independent review of other
agencies’ legal representations and case-by-case review of closed hearings and bond
recommendations and decisions. While welcoming the new DHS rules, the ACLU said that the
agency needed to take additional steps to protect due process, including guaranteeing access to
counsel for individuals facing deportation. The policy shift comes two years after a decision by
Attorney General John Ashcroft directed immigration judges to uniformly close special deportation
proceedings to the public and the press. In some cases, the existence of these hearings was not
even mentioned on the docket. This practice was abandoned recently to forestall a Supreme
Court challenge brought by the ACLU.
Bush Letter Cites 'Crusade' Against Terrorism
April 18: Years after President Bush set off alarm bells in the Muslim world by referring to his war
against terrorism as a "crusade," the word that Arabs equate with Christian brutality has
resurfaced in a Bush campaign fund-raising letter, officials acknowledged today. The March 3
letter, which Bush-Cheney Campaign Chairman Marc Racicot sent to new campaign charter
members in Florida, lauded the Republican president for "leading a global crusade against
terrorism" while citing evidence of Bush's "strong, steady leadership during difficult
times."However, the word "crusade" recalls a historical trauma for the Muslim world, which was
besieged by Christian crusaders from Europe during the Middle Ages, the Boston Globe reported.
In the weeks following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, Bush caused an
uproar by telling reporters: "This crusade, this war on terrorism, is going to take awhile." Faced
with worldwide consternation over the remark, the White House later said Bush regretted his use
of the term.
Boston radio host says kill all Muslims
April 24: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called for the termination of a
Boston-area radio talk show host who allegedly said, "Let's kill all Muslims." CAIR made that
demand after receiving a complaint from a concerned Muslim who heard WTKK-FM
(www.969fmtalk.com) host Jay Severin's April 22 program. WTKK-FM General Manager Matt
Mills told CAIR that in a discussion about how Severin claims Muslims want to take over America,
even if it takes centuries, Severin said, "I've got an idea, let's kill all Muslims."Yet, Mills also
acknowledged to CAIR that if Severin had said the same thing about African-Americans that he
would no longer be on the air. The alarming increase of hate crimes against the Muslim
community required CAIR today to issue a security advisory for American Muslims. The "Muslim
Community Safety Kit" booklet, designed to help local Islamic leaders protect institutions and
individuals.
Prayer organizers disinvite Muslim in Oregon
April 24: Organizers of the annual Mayors' Prayer Breakfast of Washington County in Oregon
voted to bar a local Muslim leader from offering a prayer at the event, leading Beaverton Mayor
[Page 26]
Rob Drake and other city officials to say they'll skip the May 5 event. "It's just broken my heart,"
Drake said of the organizing group's decision this week to renege on an invitation for Shahriar
Ahmed, president of the Bilal Mosque Association in Beaverton, to sit on the dais and give the
concluding prayer as previously scheduled. "I thought we had found openness and the ability to
honor diversity," said Drake, mayor since 1993. He explained that because of a controversy
about the event's inclusiveness last year, he had invited Ahmed and Rabbi David Rosenberg of
Portland's Congregation Shaarie Torah to help diversify the 19th annual prayer breakfast.
May 2004
Muslim detainees in Brooklyn jail tortured
May 3: The Urban Justice Center, an organization of advocate lawyers, filed a case against 20
people for their inhumane behavior at the federal detention center in Brooklyn. Among those sued
is Attorney General John Ashcroft, the former warden and guards at the Brooklyn facility. The
case was filed on behalf of Ehab Elmaghraby from Egypt and Javaid Iqdal from Pakistan, who
said they were abused by officers while they were detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center
after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. After one year of torture and interrogation, the FBI concluded
that the two men were not involved in any terrorist activities. However, even this did not secure
their release. Instead, because the men did not have valid immigration documents, they were
deported from the United States. Both men were married to U.S. citizens and one had a son born
in the States.
Justice Department warns about Muslim extremism in prisons
May 10: The Justice Department has issued a detailed report recommending the federal Bureau
of Prisons make significant changes in its handling of providers of Muslim religious services to
increase security and reduce possible extremism. "Our review found that while the BOP has not
identified widespread problems with inmate radicalization and terrorist recruiting, chaplaincy
services in the BOP remain vulnerable to infiltration by religious extremists, and supervision
practices in BOP chapels need strengthening," the report concluded. The 60-page report includes
16 recommendations from the Office of the Inspector General related to how the prison system
screens and recruits religious services providers, relies on Muslim chaplains and supervises
religious activity. (www.bliefnet.com)
Muslim Americans Launch PR Campaign
May 12: Muslims and non-Muslims may have more in common than you think. That's the theme
of an ad campaign sponsored by the Council on American Islamic Relations. One of the ads
that's appeared in California newspapers appeals to Christians by explaining the role of Jesus in
the Islamic tradition, but as Alexandra Cohen reports, it's received mixed reviews from religious
leaders. The nationwide campaign called "Muslims in America" shows Muslims participating in
many facets of American life. The Council on American Islamic Relations began the outreach
effort last year, in response to increasing public misinformation about Islam and hostility toward
Muslims.
Congress draft resolution denounces General Boykin’s remarks against Islam
May 12: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) urged members of the American
Muslim community and other people of conscience to contact their elected representatives and
ask that they co-sponsor H. Res. 419, the Boykin resolution, which condemns religiously
intolerant remarks and calls on the President to clearly censure and reassign Lieutenant General
Boykin for his religiously intolerant remarks against Muslims. Recently, it was revealed in Senate
hearings that General Boykin may have recommended ways that military investigators could
"soften up" detainees before interrogation. According to Reuters, "critics have suggested those
recommendations amounted to a senior-level go-ahead for sexual and physical abuse of
prisoners." H. Res. 419 was introduced by Rep. John Conyers and expresses the sense of the
House of Representatives that-(a) General Boykin has made a number of intolerant remarks
against Muslims during public addresses while wearing his military uniform; (b) Islam is a
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monotheistic faith whose followers are an integral part of the social fabric of America and many
other countries; (c) General Boykin must interact routinely with Muslims all over the world with the
position he currently holds; (d) General Boykin has failed to retract his controversial statements or
issue a full apology; (e) General Boykin's remarks have impaired the image of the United States
worldwide and threaten to endanger U.S. troops in Muslim-dominated countries; (f) General
Boykin's remarks insult American Muslims, including those in the U.S. Armed Forces, and Muslim
allies of the United States.
Raids on 17 Muslim businesses in Washington that send cash abroad
May 18: Federal agents have raided 17 money-transmitting Muslim businesses in the Washington
area that allegedly sent millions of dollars abroad without obtaining licenses, part of a nationwide
crackdown aimed at curbing the ability of terrorists to move cash, Washington Post reported.
Authorities have seized $3.6 million in the local raids, which began after the USA Patriot Act took
effect in October 2001, tightening regulations on money senders. Although authorities have
released few details of the operations, they suspect that three of the firms have sent funds to
countries accused by U.S. authorities of supporting terrorism. No terrorism-related charges have
been filed. Some immigrants and crime specialists say the crackdown has targeted many momand-pop businesses that have nothing to do with financing terrorism. These informal moneysenders are running afoul of the Patriot Act simply because they lack the resources to meet all of
its licensing requirements, critics say. Informal money-transmitters have flourished in the United
States, thanks to growing immigration and improved technology. For many immigrants, such
services offer a quick, cheap way to send money to regions with inefficient banks -- or none at all.
But after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, authorities grew increasingly concerned about such services
and their hard-to-trace transactions. Under the Patriot Act, money transmitters must register with
the Treasury Department and obtain state money-transfer licenses. The law also requires them to
report suspicious transactions and run programs to prevent money laundering.
U.S. frees Muslim lawyer held in Madrid bombings
May 20: An Oregon lawyer arrested in connection with the March train bombings in Madrid was
released after Spanish police identified fingerprints found on a bag of detonators as belonging to
an Algerian. Police in Spain had expressed doubts early on about U.S. investigators' claims that
one of the fingerprints on the bag belonged to Brandon Mayfield, a Muslim convert living in
Portland. The longtime Oregon resident and former Army officer had been detained for two weeks
under a material witness warrant in connection with the March 11 bombings that killed 191 people
and injured 2,000. He had not been charged with a crime. On May 25, the FBI offered an apology
to Mayfield and admitted mistakenly linking his fingerprint to one found near the scene of a
terrorist bombing in Spain. The apology came hours after an Oregon judge dismissed the case
against Brandon Mayfield, who had been held as a material witness in the Madrid bombings
case.
Prison Scandal: Brooklyn's Version of Abu Ghraib?
May 24: Even as the Pentagon seeks to quell the furor over Abu Ghraib, the Justice Department
is trying to make sure a similar scandal doesn't erupt closer to home, The Newsweek reported
today. At issue: more than 300 hours of secret videotapes from a U.S. prison facility in Brooklyn,
N.Y., where many Arab and Muslim detainees were incarcerated in the months after 9/11. On the
tapes, according to a report by federal investigators, prison guards slam inmates into walls, twist
their arms and wrists and subject them to humiliating strip searches in which, in some cases,
male prisoners were forced to stand naked in the presence of female guards; in others, prison
guards "laughed, exchanged suggestive looks and made funny noises." The existence of the
tapes was first disclosed late last year in a blistering report on conditions at the Metropolitan
Detention Center in Brooklyn by the Justice Department's inspector general. But the tapes got
little attention at the time, in part because only a handful of blurry stills from the videos were
released. But now attorneys in two lawsuits filed against top Justice officials on behalf of former
inmates tell NEWSWEEK they plan to push for full release of the videos, arguing that, as with
[Page 28]
Abu Ghraib, the visual evidence can make the case far more powerfully than mere allegations
from prisoners.
MPAC launches national campaign to fight terrorism
May 28: The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) held a large press conference at the Islamic
Center of Southern California to announce MPAC's National Campaign to Prevent Terrorism, a
five step plan that was released last week to mosques throughout the United States. Dr. Maher
Hathout, Senior Advisor to the MPAC, told the press conference, "We have zero tolerance to the
notion that Muslims are not doing their job. We're not going to allow that. Things are being said
about Muslims that nobody could say about any other religion in America and get away with it,"
he said.
June 2004
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) marks 10 years of advocacy
June 1: the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today marked ten years of its
establishment. Since its founding 10 years ago on June 1, 1994, the Washington-based CAIR
has become the leading Muslim civil liberties and advocacy group in the nation. With 26 regional
offices in Florida, New Jersey, California, Arizona, Kentucky, Texas, Ohio and other states, and a
D.C-based staff of 25, the group is in a unique position to track discrimination against Arabs and
Muslims, and educate the American public about the world's second-largest religion. When a
major event happens that involves the Muslim community, from terrorism to an impingement on
religious freedom, the 40,000-member CAIR is there with action alerts, media releases, public
service announcements and a public-relations style that aims to get the word out.
US Treasury appoints adviser on Islamic finance
June 2: The Department of Treasury today appointed Mahmoud El-Gamal, an economics
professor at Rice University in Texas, as the principal adviser on Islamic finance to senior
Treasury officials to boost understanding of Islamic banking. The appointment of Mahmoud ElGamal, follows concerns after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that terrorist financiers could be using
Islamic institutions such as banks, charities or informal money brokers to move, store or launder
funds destined for militant attacks. "With the recent growth of the Islamic finance industry, deeper
understanding of Islamic finance is a priority for this administration," Undersecretary for
International Affairs John Taylor said in a statement. The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
Executive Director, Salam Al-Marayati said he hoped Gamal's appointment would help iron out
some of the problems faced by Islamic groups in the post-Sept. 11 era. "We welcome the
appointment. This is a positive response to our call for the Bush administration to appoint
American Muslims to policy-making positions in government," he said.
'Crusade' edited out in Bush's speech
June 2: President George W. Bush today quoted the famous D-Day words of General Dwight
Eisenhower - all but one of them, "crusade". In a speech in which he likened the war on terror to
the Allied struggle against the Nazis in World War II, Bush cited Eisenhower's message to US
troops 60 years ago but skipped a word that would have been sure to spark controversy in the
Muslim world. Entitled the Great Crusade, Eisenhower's message urged on the troops as they
prepared to storm the Normandy coast in the first Allied landing in Nazi-occupied France. The
original version went: "Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Forces: You are
about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The
eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of a liberty-loving people everywhere
march with you." Speaking at the US Air Force Academy commencement in Colorado, Bush
quoted the initial salutation and the second and third sentences but left out the part about
embarking on a great crusade. Days after the 9/11 attacks on America, Bush described the US
intent to retaliate as a "crusade" - a reference that deeply offended Muslims who associate it with
the Christian crusades against Islam in the Middle Ages.
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CAIR launches 'I am an American Muslim' campaign
June 16: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today launched a nationwide
television and radio public service announcement (PSA) campaign, called "I am an American
Muslim," designed to help reduce anti-Muslim discrimination and stereotyping. CAIR's 30 and 60second PSAs feature American Muslims of European, African-American, Hispanic, and Native
American heritage. Each person in the spots states how they and their families have served
America and ends by saying, "I am an American Muslim." "Our experience shows that
Islamophobic stereotyping and bias are most often based on ignorance and unfamiliarity with the
American Muslim community," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. "Tolerance and mutual
respect will flourish if Americans of all faiths get to know each other as real human beings, not as
religious or ethnic stereotypes."
CAIR calls VA Paintball sentencing draconian: “Defendants faced selective prosecution”
June 16: The on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called the harsh sentencing in the
Virginia "paintball Jihad" case "draconian" and said the Muslim defendants faced selective
prosecution. On June 15, U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema sentenced one of three Muslim
defendants to life in prison and imposed an 85-year term on another for conspiring to aid an
Islamic group in conflict with India. Judge Brinkema told those in the courtroom that the
sentences, mandated under federal sentencing guidelines, were "sticking in my craw" and that
there are murderers who have "served far less time." In a statement, the CAIR said: "It is the near
universal perception in the Islamic community that these men would never have been charged
had they not been Muslims, and that once convicted, prosecutors would never have sought such
draconian sentences. American Muslims reject terrorism or any other form of criminal activity, and
wish to preserve the security of the United States and its citizens. But we cannot help but
compare the prosecution and sentencing in this case to that in the case of a non-Muslim Florida
terrorist who had bombs ready to attack 50 Islamic institutions and got just 12 years in prison, or
that of a non-Muslim Illinois terrorist sentenced to probation and anger management classes for
blowing up a Muslim family's van….Under the current administration, we are quickly approaching
a state of affairs in which there is a two-tier prosecutorial system in America; one system for
Muslims, and one for all other Americans. This disturbing trend should be of concern to everyone
who values America's centuries-long tradition of equal justice under the law. We call on Congress
to conduct hearings into the selective prosecution of Muslims since the 9/11 terror attacks."
ADL issues apology for 'shahada' comments
June 22: The Anti-Defamation League (ADL,) a prominent national Jewish advocacy group, has
issued an apology for remarks in a news release that seemed to link the Islamic declaration of
faith, or "shahada," with terrorism. In a press release, the ADL stated: "(The ADL) is respectful of
the Shahada, the Muslim Declaration of Faith, which is expressed by millions of Muslims around
the world…It was never our intent to offend anyone and we apologize to those who took offense."
On June 19, the Southern California office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIRLA) demanded that the ADL apologize to Muslims for "hate-filled Islamophobic rhetoric"
distributed by one of its California offices. A news release distributed by the ADL's Orange
County/Long Beach Regional Office referred to the Islamic declaration of faith, or shahada, as an
"expression of hate" that is "closely identified" with terrorism and is "offensive to Jewish
Students."
Anti-Islam hatred at new high
June 26: The recent beheadings of two Americans businessmen in the Middle East have
increased an already strong backlash against Arab-Americans and Muslims, who have been
persecuted since the 9/11 attacks, the Newsday has reported. The murder of former New
Jerseyan Paul Johnson has prompted hate mail, verbal attacks and anti-Islam signs and graffiti in
New Jersey. Elsewhere in the country, Muslims have received death threats and mosques have
been vandalized in the days after Johnson's killing, the paper said.
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Poll shows Muslim support for Bush eroding fast
June 29: A new poll by the Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a prominent civil rights
group, suggests that support for President Bush among Muslim voters has eroded so swiftly that
Muslim votes for Sen. John Kerry could swing the presidential election in key battleground states.
Of the nearly 1,200 Muslim voters surveyed in June by CAIR, 55 percent said they had voted for
Bush in 2000, but only 3 percent of those same voters would vote to re-elect him. A full 54
percent of those surveyed said they would vote for Sen. John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic
nominee, and 26 percent said they would vote for independent Ralph Nader. The drop in Muslim
support for the president is dramatic-exit polls in the 2000 election indicated that Bush carried
between 70 percent and 80 percent of the Muslim vote.
July 2004
Muslims win legal fight over prison regulations
July 1: California prison officials have been barred by a Sacramento federal judge from imposing
discipline or denying sentence reductions based on Muslim inmates' half-inch beards and
attendance at religious services. In a 35-page order that ends the long-running class-action
lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton granted summary judgment in favor of the
inmates and issued a permanent injunction against the Department of Corrections. He found the
two actions necessary to protect the rights of Muslim inmates under a 2000 federal statute
"enacted to prevent correctional institutions from restricting religious liberty."
Islamic Institute raided in Fairfax
July 1: Federal agents swarmed into an Islamic institute in Northern Virginia that has been the
target of a joint U.S.-Saudi crackdown over allegations that it promoted an intolerant brand of
Islam. Dozens of FBI, customs and Internal Revenue Service agents participated in the morning
raid on the Fairfax County-based Institute for Islamic and Arabic Sciences, law enforcement
sources said. Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said
the local Muslim community is concerned that the raid is a "fishing expedition by the
government.''
Bush Wins; House leaves Patriot Act as is
July 8: The Republican-led House bowed to a White House veto threat and stood by the USA
Patriot Act, defeating an effort to block the part of the anti-terrorism law that helps the government
investigate people's reading habits. The effort to curb the Patriot Act was pushed by a coalition of
Democrats and conservative Republicans. But they fell short in a showdown that came just four
months before an election in which the conduct of the fight against terrorism will be on the
political agenda.
FBI Raids Muslim Center in Virginia
July 8: Federal agents raided the Institute for Islamic and Arabic Sciences in America in Fairfax,
Virginia, and spent the entire day going through records, computers and paper files. They let the
Institute's staff go home soon after they arrived. Late in the day, two vans loaded with boxes of
records seized by agents left the building. The institute was originally funded by the government
of Saudi Arabia, but the Saudi government stopped its subsidies last year. Since then, the center
has fallen on hard times, said Rizwan Mowlana, the executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter
of the Council on American Islamic Relations.
Dallas Muslim leaders speak out after Elashi verdict
July 9: Dallas Muslim leaders spoke out against what they called selective prosecution in the
recent convictions of five Richardson brothers for illegally shipping high-tech goods to nations
deemed sponsors of terrorism, Dallas Morning News reported. "We believe that these convictions
indicate a growing disparity and climate of injustice for Muslims, who we feel are being selectively
prosecuted and given unfair sentences precisely because they are Muslim or Arab," said Khalil
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Meek, who serves on the board of directors of the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations. Mr. Meek said the federal government has imposed administrative
fines rather than criminal convictions on non-Muslims who have admitted similar export violations.
"This is not justice," Mr. Meek said. "This growing trend of selective prosecution only furthers
much of the community's view that this is nothing but a witch-hunt against the Muslim
community." A federal court jury on July 7 convicted the five brothers of conspiring to use their
Richardson computer services business to make illegal shipments of high-tech goods to Libya
and Syria, two nations deemed state sponsors of terrorism.
FBI quizzing American Muslims
July 17: FBI agents are interrogating Muslim and Arab Americans across the United States,
asking them if they knew anyone who has recently visited Pakistan or Syria. The campaign was
aimed at gleaning information that could prevent a major terrorist attack during this election year,
the agency said. Officials of the regional Joint Terrorism Task Forces, which include police
officers, accompany FBI agents during these interviews. These interviews have panicked the
already nervous Muslim and Arab communities in the US because similar interviews in the past
led to the deportation of thousands of immigrants. US Attorney General John D. Ashcroft and the
US Department of Homeland Security recently issued warnings regarding a possible large-scale
Al Qaeda attack in the US.
FBI starts to question Muslims about possible attacks
July 18: FBI agents are beginning another round of interviews with Muslims and Arab Americans
around the country as part of an effort to root out a possible terrorist attack in the U.S. this
summer or fall, Los Angeles Times reported civil rights activists and attorneys for some of the
people questioned as saying. The interviewing program was announced in late May at a news
conference by U.S. Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III. Officials are
concerned that terrorists may seek to disrupt the national political conventions in late July and
late August or the general election in November, among other possible targets. Muslim advocacy
groups and lawyers said that, in recent days, the FBI had begun interviewing dozens of people in
Virginia, Florida, New York and California, among other states.
CIA steps up recruitment of Arab-American agents
July 23: At the Arab Festival in Dearborn CIA recruits recruit agents and translators in metro
Detroit's large Arab and Muslim communities. According to the Free Press, in recent weeks, the
CIA has also taken out ads in local newspapers that feature a photo of the Statue of Liberty with
the words: "For over 100 years, Arab Americans have served the nation. Today we need you
more than ever." And the agency is offering bonuses of up to $25,000 for new hires who are
fluent in Arabic and other crucial languages. The moves by the CIA come at a time when
members of Congress and intelligence officials are pointing to a severe shortage of Arabic
speakers in U.S. security agencies. Almost three years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks,
the country is still not equipped with enough linguists to fight the war on terror, they say.
Democrats remove Aljazeera banner
July 26: Organizers at the Democratic Party convention in Boston removed Aljazeera's logotype
banner from its skybox without assigning reasons. Aljazeera's skybox was one of the several that
media organizations used as broadcast booths to cover the convention in Boston to confirm John
Kerry's nomination as George Bush's presidential challenger in November.
US revokes visa of Tariq Ramadan
July 28: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security revokes a visa granted to Tariq Ramadan, a
renowned Islamic scholar who is accused by some Jewish groups of being a Muslim extremist,
effectively barring him from a teaching post he was to begin in August at the University of Notre
Dame. Ramadan was appointed to teach Islamic philosophy and ethics in South Bend through
the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. A resident of Switzerland, Ramadan
[Page 32]
was given a visa in February that permitted him to work in the United States, according to
government officials.
Homeland Security given data on Arab-Americans
July 29 - The Census Bureau has provided specially tabulated population statistics on ArabAmericans to the Department of Homeland Security, including detailed information on how many
people of Arab backgrounds live in certain ZIP codes, the New York Times reported. The
assistance is legal, but civil liberties groups and Arab-American advocacy organizations say it is a
dangerous breach of public trust and liken it to the Census Bureau's compilation of similar
information about Japanese-Americans during World War II. The tabulations were produced in
August 2002 and December 2003 in response to requests from what is now the Customs and
Border Protection division of the Department of Homeland Security. One set listed cities with
more than 1,000 Arab-Americans. The second, far more detailed, provided ZIP-code-level
breakdowns of Arab-American populations, sorted by country of origin. The categories provided
were Egyptian, Iraqi, Jordanian, Lebanese, Moroccan, Palestinian, Syrian and two general
categories, "Arab/Arabic" and "Other Arab." Christiana Halsey, a spokeswoman for Customs and
Border Protection, said the requests were made to help the agency identify in which airports to
post signs and pamphlets in Arabic.
Arab Americans complain of bias
July 29: Fifteen per cent of Arab Americans in the Detroit area say they have experienced
harassment or intimidation since 9/11. The Detroit area has the largest concentration of Arab
Americans in the United States. A University of Michigan report said derogatory remarks such as
"go back where you come from" or "are you a member of Al Qaeda?" were the most common
form of abuse. Some complained of job discrimination but only a small number reported physical
abuse. Forty-two per cent of Muslim Arabs said most Americans do not respect their religion.
Nearly 60 per cent said their worries about their future in the United States after 9/11 had
increased.
Texas Muslims react to Holy Land indictments
July 29: Texas Muslims say they don't know whether the Holy Land Foundation funneled charity
money to terrorists, but they worry that Islamic organizations are being targeted by the U.S.
government. The Richardson-based charity and seven of its leaders are accused in a 42-count
federal indictment of funneling $12.4 million to support the Palestinian terrorist organization
Hamas, including money for the families of suicide bombers. As news of the indictments
reverberated throughout the North Texas Muslim community, reactions ranged from skepticism to
concern about the future of other Islamic charities. Dr. Robbie Hashem, a Colleyville dentist who
donated money to the foundation for an orphanage, said the allegations are shocking if true.
"Unfortunately, we now live in a day when ... you don't know who you're donating to," he said.
UAE withdraws Harvard gift after Jewish complaints
July 30: The United Arab Emirates has withdrawn a $2.5 million gift to Harvard University, which
was unused after a row over a UAE research centre accused of promoting anti-Jewish hatred, an
official said. He said the university’s divinity school had not used the money because of pressure
from Jewish lobby groups to reject it in protest at the UAE’s role in hosting the Zayed International
Centre for Coordination and Follow-Up. The $2.5 million donation from Sheikh Zayed in 2000 was
intended to endow a professorship for Islamic studies at Harvard Divinity School. The Zayed
Centre was set up in 1999 to research regional political and economic issues, including relations
between Arabs and the West. It was embroiled in controversy after hosting Arab and European
intellectuals who lectured on Israel and Judaism.
[Page 33]
August 2004
Federal court rules in favor of Muslim inmates
August 4: The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California has ruled that Muslim
prisoners in one of California’s medium security prisons, California State Prison Solano, have the
right to a full-time Muslim chaplain, to purchase prayer oil, attend Friday prayers (Jumu’ah Salaat)
... without loosing good time/work time credit. And, to wear beards - up to one-half inch.
Republican Rep. Katherine Harris regrets her bogus claim of Indiana terror plot
Aug. 4: Republican Rep. Katherine Harris said she regrets concerns caused by her claim that a
plot existed to blow up the power grid in Carmel, Indiana. Harris made the comments about
terrorism and the plot at a rally for President Bush in Venice, Fla., and a subsequent interview
with the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. City officials in Carmel said they know of no such plot.
ACLU offers Muslims legal help
Aug. 5: The American Civil Liberties Union said it is offering free legal help to Arabs and Muslims
caught up in the latest FBI "dragnet" interviews. "This dragnet technique used by the FBI is simply
racial profiling and violates our most cherished fundamental freedoms," said Dalia Hashad, the
ACLU's Arab, Muslim and South Asian advocate, in a statement. The ACLU action came in
response to an announcement the FBI would launch a new round of dragnet-like interviews in
Arab and Muslim communities nationwide. The ACLU said the FBI questioned more than 8,000
Muslim and Arab men in 2001 and 2002, but that questioning did not yield a single arrest of a
suspected terrorist.
General Boykin’s speeches broke rules
Aug. 19: A Defense Department investigation has determined that Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry"
Boykin, the Pentagon's senior military intelligence official, violated three internal regulations while
delivering controversial speeches that linked the war on terrorism to what he depicted as an
enduring battle against Satan, The Washington Post reported. The 10-month internal
investigation, conducted by the department's deputy inspector general for investigations,
confirmed news accounts that Boykin said in his speeches that President Bush had been placed
in his post by God, that radical Muslims hate America because it "will never abandon Israel" and
that the U.S. military is recruiting a spiritual army that will draw strength from a greater power to
defeat its enemy. The investigation recommended appropriate corrective action with respect to
General Boykin.
U.S. investigates Saudi-backed charities
Aug. 19: Nearly three years after the devastating Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade
Center and the Pentagon, a number of Saudi-supported Islamic preachers, centers, charities and
mosques remain under intense scrutiny, The Washington Post reported. U.S. investigators
continue to look into the tangled money trails leading from Saudi Arabia to its embassy in
Washington and into dozens of American cities.
Judge blasts FBI case against Albany Muslims
Aug 24: Two Muslims accused of supporting terrorism after an FBI sting operation were ordered
released from jail by a judge in Albany, New York, who blasted the government's case by saying
there is no evidence they have any links to terrorists. Magistrate David Homer ruled Yassin Aref
and Mohammed Hossain should be released on $250,000 bonds and held in home detention
under electronic surveillance while they await trial. The pair had been ordered held without bail
earlier this month -- a ruling largely based on an address book that prosecutors said was found in
an Iraqi terrorist training camp. The book referred to Aref as "the commander" in Arabic. The
government now says that translation was an error and the word is "brother" in Kurdish. The
order to release the two comes amid criticism that the Bush administration's anti-terrorism
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policies have caused authorities to leap to unfounded conclusions in cases that have fizzled or
been dropped altogether after initial high-profile announcements.
September 2004
Federal judge dismisses terrorism charges against two men in Detroit
Sept. 2: Warning that the fight against terrorism must not trample on the Constitution, a federal
judge on Thursday dismissed terrorism charges against two men convicted last year. But U.S.
District Judge Gerald Rosen ordered the two, as well as a third man, to stand trial again on
charges of document fraud. The dismissal came at the request of the government after it admitted
widespread prosecutorial misconduct. The case had been hailed by the Bush Administration as a
victory in the war on terror but began unraveling last fall after the government acknowledged that
evidence that could have helped the defense was improperly withheld. Karim Koubriti, 26, and
Abdel-Ilah Elmardoudi, 38, were convicted in June 2003 of conspiracy to provide material support
for terrorism and to engage in fraud and misuse of visas and other documents. Ahmed Hannan,
36, was convicted of only the fraud charge, and Farouk Ali-Haimoud, 24, was acquitted.
Muslim leaders pledge to register one million new voters
Sept. 6: American Muslim leaders gathered in Chicago for the 41st annual convention of the
Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) ended their meeting without endorsing any presidential
candidate but they pledged to register one million new Muslim voters.
Bush administration accuses Saudi charity of financing terrorism
Sept. 9: The Bush administration accused a U.S. arm of a large Saudi charity of helping to
finance terrorist activities. The Treasury Department's action covers Al-Haramain Islamic
Foundation's locations in Ashland, Oregon, and Springfield, Mo. The action makes a formal
designation that the group is suspected of supporting terrorism. In February, the government had
ordered banks to freeze the assets and property at those locations pending further
investigation.The department said a federal investigation "shows direct links between the U.S.
branch and Osama bin Laden," the al-Qaida leader. Further details were not provided.
Views of Islam remain sharply divided
Sept. 9: Despite the U.S. war in Iraq and the continuing threat of terrorism at home, public
attitudes toward Islam have remained stable over the past year, a Pew Research Center survey
said. Roughly four-in-ten Americans (39%) say they have a favorable impression of Islam, while
about as many (37%) say they have an unfavorable view. The balance of opinion has not
changed substantially in the past year (40% favorable in July 2003). The survey also found that a
plurality of Americans (46%) believes that Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage
violence among its believers, while 37% say Islam does not encourage violence more than other
religions. This measure also is substantially unchanged from last year, Favorable 38 40 39 when
44% felt Islam was more likely to encourage violence. But the 2003 figure represented a
substantial increase over the 25% who expressed this view in March 2002.
Racial profiling under the guise of fighting terrorism
Sept. 13: Racial profiling by US law enforcement agencies has increased over the past three
years and now affects one in nine Americans, according to an Amnesty International USA report
released in Washington. State and federal agencies, under the guise of fighting terrorism, have
expanded the use of this degrading, discriminatory and dangerous practice, said Curt Goering,
deputy executive director for Amnesty International USA. ”The government's reliance on racial
profiling has grown dramatically since the September 11th attacks,”
NJ issues new rules on Muslim food labeling
Sept. 16: The New Jersey state has issued new guidelines on halal food labeling that skirt the
central question many Muslims had wanted to be answered: Exactly what type of food can and
[Page 35]
cannot be considered pure in Islam? Declining to involve itself in a religious debate, the state
Division of Consumer Affairs is requiring those who process and sell halal food to complete
disclosure forms outlining how meat and other items are handled. That leaves it up to consumers
to decide whether a particular item meets their own standards of purity. The rules leave
unanswered a question many Muslims had hoped to have settled: What kind of food is and is not
halal.
CA hate crimes bill signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Sept. 22: Senate Bill 1234, authored by Senator Kuehl, was signed and passed by Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger today. The bill enhances protections for the faith community by explicitly
adding ?mosque? and ?temple? to the list of religious institutions covered by California's laws
protecting religious institutions. The bill also provides additional hate crime training for law
enforcement in the area of anti-Arab and anti-Islamic bias crime because of the tremendous
increase in hate crimes against these communities in recent years. The new law is an attempt to
prevent crimes committed against people who are targeted because of their actual or perceived
race or ethnicity, gender, nationality, disability, or religion.
Georgetown University research shows American Muslims overwhelmingly back Kerry
Sept. 22: American Muslim voters overwhelmingly support Democratic presidential candidate
John Kerry over Republican George W. Bush, according to a new American Muslim Poll
conducted by Zogby International for Georgetown University's Muslims in the American Public
Square (Project MAPS). By a margin of 76% to 7%, Muslims back the Kerry/Edwards ticket over
the incumbent Bush/Cheney ticket. "This contrasts sharply with the 2000 election, when Bush
garnered 42% of the Muslim vote versus 31% for Democrat Al Gore," said Dr. Zahid Bukhari,
director of Project MAPS.
First Muslim on the Electoral College
Sept. 23: Mushtaque Ali Khan Mirza, a resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been selected
as an Elector to the 2004 Electoral College to elect the President of the United States. Mr. Mirza,
an environmental engineer by profession, is also a member of the Massachusetts Democratic
State Committee and has been active in local politics for over a decade. His selection to the
Electoral College comes a few months after he was unsuccessful in his bid to become a member
of the Democratic National Committee.
US judge rules against Patriot Act provision
Sept 29 2004: A key part of the Patriot Act, a central plank of the Bush Administration's "war on
terror", was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge, in the latest blow to US security policies. US
District Judge Victor Marreo ruled in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union, which challenged
the power the FBI has to demand confidential financial records from companies that it can obtain
without court approval as part of terrorism investigations. The legislation bars companies and
other recipients of these subpoenas from ever revealing that they received the FBI demand for
records. Marreo held that this permanent ban was a violation of free speech rights.
Pre-election terrorist threats and sweeps
Sept. 30: The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) said in a statement that recent media reports
indicate that agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are expected to intensify
their efforts to arrest as many as 2,000 "out of status" non-citizens in anticipation of possible
election-related Al-Qaeda terrorist attacks. The MPAC fears that legitimate efforts to arrest,
convict and punish terrorists will be undermined by the severe lack of legal transparency and due
process that have characterized counterterrorism efforts carried out since 9/11 by the Department
of Homeland Security and the FBI. Targeting out-of-status immigrants with no known relationship
to the Al-Qaeda terrorist plots is an ill-advised move that will serve to implicate countless innocent
persons rather than to protect our country from real security threats.
[Page 36]
October 2004
ACLU decries planned election dragnet in Muslim and Arab communities
Oct. 1: The American Civil Liberties Union said that it will be monitoring a new plan by the FBI to,
among other things, use "aggressive - even obvious - surveillance" techniques on individuals who
are not even suspected of having committed a crime, in advance of the November 2 general
election. "The FBI plans to deliberately tail people based on their religion or ethnic origin during a
month that is both religiously and politically crucial," said Dalia Hashad, the ACLU's Arab, Muslim
and South Asian Advocate. "Instead of bolstering security, the FBI's 'October Plan' is going to
stop Muslims and Arabs from attending mosques during the month of Ramadan, and participating
in the upcoming election."
Negative images of Muslims far more prevalent than positive ones
Oct. 4: One in four Americans believes a number of anti-Muslim stereotypes and negative images
of Muslims are 16 times more prevalent than positive ones, according to a poll released by the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The poll was designed to understand what
Americans think about Muslims, identify variables associated with anti-Muslim prejudice and to
seek out ways in which to combat the Islamophobic prejudice that often leads to discrimination or
even hate crimes. Poll results show: (1) More than one-fourth of survey respondents agreed with
stereotypes such as "Muslims teach their children to hate" and "Muslims value life less than other
people." (2) When asked what comes to mind when they hear "Muslim," 32 percent of
respondents made negative comments. Only two percent had a positive response. (3) Those with
the most negative attitudes toward Islam and Muslims tend to be less-educated white males who
are politically conservative. (4) General knowledge of Islam is low but the presence of Muslim
friends.
Time off is given for Ramadan for students at Brooklyn school
Oct. 10: The New York office of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today
applauded the decision by the New York City Department of Education to allow students at
Brooklyn International High School to attend Friday prayers during the holy month of Ramadan.
The decision by the Board of Education comes amidst the circulation of a petition by the students
of the high school to attend Friday prayer services during the holy month of Ramadan.
Senate passes bill to aid family of post-9/11 bias crime victim
Oct. 11: The Senate passed legislation to grant permanent U.S. residency to the family of a
Pakistani national slain in a post-9/11 hate crime. The private relief bill, sponsored by Rep. Rush
Holt, D-N.J., had passed the House in July. It will allow the wife and four daughters of Waqar
Hasan to qualify for American citizenship. Hasan, 46, was shot to death in a Dallas convenience
store he owned four days after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The shooter, who is now on
Texas' death row for his conviction in the separate killing of an Indian immigrant, told police he
killed Hasan to retaliate for the attacks.
Islamic charities suffer after Sept. 11 attacks
Oct. 11: The public’s confidence in Muslim charities remains lower than it was before the Sept. 11
attacks, and people are particularly suspicious of Islamic charities, jeopardizing the future of such
groups, the Michigan Daily said. Although public confidence in charities overall has fluctuated up
and down since Sept. 11, Islamic charities find themselves struggling to ensure that they can
continue working. Because of the new government regulations such as the Patriot Act, agencies
can be punished for funding groups that among other things conduct acts of terror, even if the
charity was unaware of the group’s activities. Leaders of Islamic charities have said such
regulations have led to a drop in public confidence because people are worried they will be
investigated by the FBI for donating to the charities.
[Page 37]
Al-AMoudi gets 23-year jail term
Oct 15: A prominent US Muslim activist, Abdurahman al-Amoudi, was sentenced to 23 years in
prison for illegal financial dealings with Libya and for his role in a Libyan plot to assassinate Saudi
Arabia's de facto leader. Al-Amoudi, a naturalized US citizen born in Eritrea, apologized just
before US Chief District Judge Claude Hilton read out his sentence - the maximum penalty
allowed in a plea deal he made with the government. On July 30, Al-Amoudi, a founder of the
American Muslim Council and president of the American Muslim Federation, admitted to
contacting Saudi dissidents in London on behalf of some Libyan government officials who wanted
them to kill Prince Abdullah, the court documents showed. Al-Amoudi said he had been
summoned to Tripoli by a Libyan official who said he was upset at how Abdullah had treated
Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi during an Arab League Conference in March 2003.
Muslim voters registration totals compiled
Oct. 15: The election battleground states of Florida, Michigan and Ohio have registered more
than 350,000 Muslim voters, a survey of registration records indicated. The survey was
conducted by the Muslim American Political Action Committee, a non-partisan political action
committee, and The Muslim American Society's MAS Freedom Foundation, which gathered
ethnic name information from embassies and then contacted those with those names who are
U.S. citizens. In a survey of 42 states, the groups said there are a total of 1.2 million registered
Muslim voters. It found Florida, Michigan and Ohio -- a trio of states worth a total of 64 electoral
votes -- have 351,418 Muslims registered to vote.
U.S. rejects Muslims' plea for 'approved' charities
Oct. 18: The federal government rejected a plea by Muslim groups that wanted a list of preapproved Islamic charities to which they could donate without being suspected of helping fund
terrorism. "Our role is to prosecute violations of criminal law," said spokesman of the U.S. Justice
Department, Bryan Sierra. "We're not in a position to put out lists of any kind, particularly of any
organizations that are good or bad." A coalition of Muslim groups held a news conference outside
the federal building in Newark, NJ, calling on officials to publicly identify which charities are
considered suspect, and which can safely receive donations. Members of the groups said many
Muslims fear that giving to a charity that is in good standing now might bring a knock at the door
from the FBI years later if that charity subsequently runs afoul of the law.
American Muslim coalition backs Kerry
Oct. 21: After weeks of confusion, a split in its ranks and an intensive pressure from the Muslim
community, the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections - Political Action
Committee (AMT-PAC) called on Muslims nationwide to vote for Sen. John Kerry on Nov. 2.
However the AMT, a coalition of ten organizations, called its move as a ‘protest vote’ to safeguard
civil rights of the Muslim community.
ACLU seeks FBI data on handling of Muslim interviews
Oct. 21: The American Civil Liberties Union sued the FBI, trying to get more information about the
agency's questioning of Muslims and Arabs as it investigates the possibility of pre-election terror
attacks. The ACLU, which describes the unannounced interviews at homes, workplaces and
mosques "interrogations," is seeking internal documents under the Freedom of Information Act
about whether the government is protecting the constitutional rights of those interviewed. The FBI
has done more than 13,000 interviews this year as part of its '04 Threat Task Force effort to
detect and disrupt a potential election-year terror attack.
American Muslims & Arabs poised to vote for Kerry: CAIR poll
Oct. 22: The latest poll of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), released just 11
days before the election, finds that 80 percent of likely American Muslim voters say they plan to
vote for Sen. John Kerry on November 2. The poll, conducted following the third presidential
debate, also indicates that just two percent say they will vote to re-elect President Bush and 11
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percent of Muslim voters favor Ralph Nader. Only four percent of the Muslim voters said they are
still undecided.
Bush regrets invoking 'crusade' after 9/11
Oct 26: US President George Bush expressed regret over using the word "crusade" to describe
the "war on terror" he launched after the Sept 11 attacks. "I said it once and probably shouldn't
have used that word," Bush said in an interview with ABC television. Shortly after the 2001
attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and outside Washington, Mr Bush had said: "This crusade,
this war on terrorism, is going to take awhile." The president's use of the word "crusade" sparked
a visceral reaction around the world, as it recalls the fierce, bloody battles between Christians and
Muslims in the Middle Ages.
November 2004
Maryland county prohibits hearings on Muslim holidays
Nov. 1: Maryland’s Howard County Council has voted to prohibit public hearings on Eid ul-Fitr
and Eid ul-Adha, the two major Islamic holidays. The legislation, introduced by Council Member
Ken Ulman and passed with unanimous support bans hearings on the two “Eids,” as well as on
the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The legislation does not close county
government offices on the holidays, it just ensures that hearings at which residents have an
opportunity to testify will not be scheduled.
Exit poll: 93 percent Muslims voting for Kerry
Nov. 2: Preliminary results of an exit poll by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
indicate that more than 90 percent of Muslim voters are casting their ballots for John Kerry in
today's election. In that early survey of 537 Muslim voters, 93 percent of respondents said they
voted for Kerry, 5 percent favored Ralph Nader and less than 1 percent said they supported
President Bush. In the key battleground state of Florida, a CAIR sampling of 335 Muslims who
cast their votes today or in early polling shows that 95 percent voted for Kerry and just 3 percent
voted for President Bush. Ralph Nader received under 2 percent of Muslim votes. In Ohio, a
similar sampling of 222 Muslim voters showed 86 percent voting for Kerry, 4 percent for Bush and
10 percent for "other" or a third party.
CA legislators sponsor first Ramadan dinner
Nov. 9: More than 60 California state officials, staff members, civic leaders, and representatives
of American Muslim community turned out today for the 1st annual Ramadan Iftar, orfastbreaking meal, in the State Capitol, Sacramento. The Iftar was co-sponsored by five legislators,
including Assemblywoman Dr. Judy Chu (D-49 Monterey Park), Assemblyman Manny Diaz (D-23
San Jose), Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg (D-9 Sacramento), Senator Deborah Ortiz (D-6
Sacramento), and Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-23 Los Angeles).
NYC judge lets defendant go free despite government terror allegations
Nov. 10: A federal judge ruled that a Syrian-born doctor can remain free on bail despite
prosecutors' allegations that he has ties to a suspected al-Qaida associate and kept blueprints for
a Washington, D.C., overpass at his Brooklyn home. Prosecutors asked the judge last week to
immediately jail Hassan Faraj because newly declassified information revealed his close ties to
the Benevolence International Foundation, which they called a charity front for al-Qaida. Federal
magistrate Kiyo Matsumoto disagreed, saying Faraj posed no risk of flight or danger to society
and could remain free until trial.
House members host Ramadan iftar on Capitol Hill
Nov. 11: More than 150 congressional staffers, American Muslim leaders, diplomats from Islamicmajority nations, and elected officials from both major political parties turned out tonight for the
second annual Ramadan iftar, or fast-breaking meal, on Capitol Hill. The iftar, held in the foyer of
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the Rayburn House Office Building, was co-sponsored by 10 House members. Rep. Sheila
Jackson Lee (D-TX) offered a welcome on behalf of the sponsoring House members and wished
everyone "Ramadan mubarak," or blessed Ramadan.
San Jose, CA, police chief joins Muslims in Ramadan fast
Nov. 12: Rob Davis, the San Jose police chief, joined Muslims in their fasts to gain a better
understanding of the Muslim community and show solidarity with the estimated 10,000 to 15,000
Muslims who live in San Jose, California. Davis, a Mormon, has also been reading an English
translation of the Quran.
Progressive Muslim Union of North America launched
Nov. 15: To promote moderate Islam in North America, Progressive Muslim Union (PMU) was
launched in New York by some professed moderates/progressives who embrace the simple
proposition that “you are a Muslim if you say you are a Muslim -- for whatever reason or set of
reasons -- and that no one is entitled to question or undermine this identity.” It also calls for
critical inquiry and dynamic engagement with Islamic scripture (read Quran). Its founders believe
in gay rights. The PMU supports the political separation of religious institutions and state
functions, and the strict neutrality of the state on matters of religion.
Mosque expansion voted down in New Jersey
Nov. 18: In a contentious and sometimes tense hearing, the zoning board of Voorhees, New
Jersey, unanimously rejected a plan to enlarge a proposed mosque by adding a basement and
increasing floor space and the roof height. There was near-unanimous opposition to the changes
from a group of about 40 who attended the meeting, including many who opposed a mosque of
any size at the proposed site. But Jeff Senges, a board member who pointedly questioned the
applicant and voted against the proposal said he thought the board, and the community as a
whole, still supported the establishment of the mosque.
Grandmother upset that kids aren't in Muslim foster home
Nov. 19: The grandmother of three Denton, Texas, children taken from their parents because of
allegations of abuse is unhappy that her grandchildren, who are Muslim, are with a foster family
that is not Muslim. Falahat Agha of Houston is the mother of Nadia Agha Reid, who was arrested
with her husband after they were accused of keeping their 14-year-old son out of school for
several years and forcing him to live in the garage of their four-bedroom home.
MSNBC apologizes for anti-Muslim remarks
Nov. 23: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced that MSNBC cable
television network has apologized for anti-Arab/anti-Muslim remarks made on its "Imus in the
Morning" program.CAIR filed an FCC complaint over comments on a November 12th ‘Imus’
program that referred to Palestinians as "stinking animals" and suggested that they all be killed.
In response to hundreds of e-mails prompted by CAIR action alerts, MSNBC stated in part: "The
views expressed on the program are not those of MSNBC. Having said that, it was unfortunate
that these remarks were telecast on MSNBC. We sincerely apologize to anyone who was
offended by these remarks.”
Graham renews anti-Islam rhetoric
Nov. 27: After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Franklin Graham called Islam "an evil and
wicked religion." In an interview with The Los Angles Times on Nov. 27, 2004, he was asked if he
still thought of Islam in the same way. "I haven't changed my mind," he said.
Muslim TV (Bridges) reaches out to broader US public
Nov. 30: After years of preparations the Bridges TV was launched to provide the American
Muslim community a chance to convey a more authentic representation of Islamic culture. The
new English satellite channel is a Muslim-run venture that combines "lifestyle, cultural and
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entertainment" programming designed for Muslim Americans, as well as non-Muslims looking to
educate themselves on a religion that is increasingly prevalent in the public discourse, according
to Muzzammil Hassan, the president of Bridges. "We're trying to build bridges of friendship and
understanding between American Muslims and mainstream America," Hassan said. The station is
available through Globecast World TV, a satellite service provider with roughly one million
subscribers - 100,000 of whom are Muslim Americans, Hassan said.
December 2004
Tulsa police chief backs off terror remarks
Dec. 2: The police chief of Tulsa, Oklahoma, backed away from comments about terrorists living
in Tulsa and Wichita, Kanansas., saying he has no evidence supporting the existence of al-Qaida
"cells" in either city. Tulsa police chief Dave Been caused a stir with comments to the local Rotary
Club that terrorists with ties to al-Qaida are in Tulsa and Wichita. Citing security concerns, he did
not elaborate. Been explained later that he meant that financial and philosophical supporters of
terror are so prevalent nationally that they are probably in heartland cities like Tulsa and Wichita,
which he said he included as a "generic example" of another heartland city.
Star and Crescent Join Christmas Tree
Dec. 3: The 11th annual Christmas celebration, of the city of Poughkeepsie, New York, was more
inclusive than ever before: a Muslim symbol of a star and half moon was placed next to the
Christmas tree. The symbol has been incorporated in celebrations in Wappingers Falls and East
Fishkill, said Aziz Ahsan, a spokesman for the Mid-Hudson Islamic Association. ''It's the JudeoChristian community reaching out to the Muslim community, and the Muslim community reaching
back,'' said Ahsan, who said he enjoyed hearing the crowd voice their curiosity about the symbol.
Three American Muslim charities ordered
to pay $156 million to Jerusalem bomb blast victim
Dec. 8: American Muslim organizations expressed shock and dismay at the judgment against
three Islamic charities and Mohammad Salah, an alleged fund-raiser for the Palestinian militant
group Hamas, who were ordered to pay $156 million to the parents of an American teenager,
David Boim, shot dead at a bus stop in Jerusalem, in 1996. The three charity organizations
involved are Texas-based the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP), the Holy Land Foundation
and Chicago-based Quranic Literacy Institute. The American Muslim Voice and Muslim Civil
Rights Committee, two leading civil rights groups, described the judgment as unfortunate and
unfair and said it was based on one sided of the story. It was the first time a court had held U.S.based organizations liable for terrorism abroad.
Guilty of 'Flying While Muslim'?
Dec. 11: Salam Al-Marayati the executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, is
interrogated at Los Angeles airport by security agents when he returns after vacation in Mexico.
Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Al Marayati said: One officer asked whether we had committed
any criminal act in the past or had done anything that would warrant an investigation. Of course
the answer was no. Another officer wanted to know which charities we donated to and whether
those organizations send money overseas.
American Muslim Group on Policy Planning launched
Dec. 13: The Progressive Muslim Union initiated the launching of the American Muslim Group on
Policy Planning (AMGPP) in Washington to “play a pivotal role in helping build bridges of
confidence, trust and communication between the US and the Muslim World.” The AMGPP
formation conference at the Brookings Saban Center for Middle East Policy was co-sponsored by
one of the Board members of the Progressive Muslim Union and attended by the PMU Executive
Director.
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New Rand Report calls for engaging US Muslims
to advance American interests in the Muslim World
Dec. 15: The Rand Corporation issued a new report, titled: The Muslim World After 9/11, that
among other things called for “engagement of diaspora Muslim communities can also help the
United States advance its interests in the Muslim world. The U.S. Muslim communities are a
unique source of cultural information that can be harnessed to the promotion of democracy and
pluralism in the Muslim world.” America and its allies can reduce support for radical Islam and
terrorism — and improve relations with the Muslim world — by supporting moderate Muslims and
social, economic and educational reforms in Muslim nations, according to the study. The 567page study also suggests that Sunni, Shiite and Arab, non-Arab divides should be exploited to
promote the US policy objectives in the Muslim world.
Officials urged to address rising level of Islamophobia
Dec. 17: The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), today called on
elected representatives and government officials to address the rising level of Islamophobia in
America. The CAIR issued that call following today's release of a survey by the Media and
Society Research Group in Cornell University's Department of Communication indicating that 44
percent of Americans believe the government should curtail the civil rights of American Muslims
in some manner. A Cornell University news release on the report states: "About 27 percent of
respondents said that all Muslim Americans should be required to register their location with the
federal government, and 26 percent said they think that mosques should be closely monitored by
U.S. law enforcement agencies ... About 22 percent said the federal government should profile
citizens as potential threats based on the fact that they are Muslim or have Middle Eastern
heritage. In all, about 44 percent said they believe that some curtailment of civil liberties is
necessary for Muslim Americans."
INS Special program’s value in dispute to fight terrorism
Dec. 21: The New York Times reported that the Homeland Security officials, who said that six
men linked to terrorism were arrested as a result of the Special INS Registration program, have
been challenged by the Sept. 11 Commission, which reported this year that it had found little
evidence to support that claim. The commission said two of the six men were captured through
other means. It could not determine how the remaining suspects were arrested and concluded
that the counterterrorism benefits of the INS Registration program were "unclear." The call-in
program required male non-citizens from 25 mostly Arab and Muslim countries to register with
immigration authorities between November 2002 and April 2003. None of the Arab and Muslim
men who came forward has been charged with crimes related to terrorism. Homeland Security
officials, who inherited the program from the Justice Department, suspended it 12 months ago,
saying resources could be better used on other counterterrorism initiatives. They declined to
comment on the commission's findings. But the impact of the program continues to be felt across
the country as some illegal immigrants who registered with the authorities receive deportation
orders, while others wage legal battles to remain in the United States.
American Muslims fingerprinted by U.S. at Canadian
border for attending an Islamic conference
Dec. 27: A group of 36 American Muslims were searched, fingerprinted and photographed at the
Lewiston Bridge crossing near Niagara Falls, New York on return from an Islamic conference in
Toronto. A spokeswoman for Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection confirmed that
agents stopped anyone who said they attended the three-day conference, titled "Reviving the
Islamic Spirit," based on information that such gatherings can be a means for terrorists to
promote their cause. "We have ongoing credible information that conferences such as the one
that these individuals just left in Toronto may be used by terrorist organizations to promote
terrorist activities, which includes traveling and fund raising," another US official said. Several of
the Muslim citizens held at the border for up to six hours said they objected strenuously to being
fingerprinted, but were informed by Customs and Border Protection representatives that "you
have no rights" and that they would be held until they agreed to the fingerprinting procedure.
Chronology of Islam in America (Jan - Apr 2005)
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January 2005
Imam of Orange County, LA, mosque deported
Jan. 3: Immigration officials in Los Angeles confirmed the departure to Qatar of Wagdy Mohamed
Ghoneim, an imam at the Islamic Institute of Orange County whose fight to remain in the U.S.
was championed by many Muslims in Southern California. Ghoneim had given up his two-month
immigration fight, citing poor health, and chose to leave the country voluntarily to win release from
detention. He was arrested Nov. 4 at his Anaheim home on suspicion of overstaying his visa.
Illinois Muslim worker files bias suit
Jan 4: The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) today
announced that Syed Abbas, a Muslim worker of Pakistani origin, in Illinois has filed a religious
and national origin discrimination lawsuit against AFI Industries. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District
Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Eastern Division), alleges that other employees of AFI
Industries called the Muslim plaintiff "Terrorist #1," "Al-Qaida" and Osama bin Laden's "cousin." A
supervisor allegedly told the plaintiff that the FBI and CIA were looking for him, that his home
would be broken into and that he would be shot. On March 3, 2003, the worker was terminated.
On May 28, 2003, the Muslim employee filed a charge of religion and national origin
discrimination with the EEOC. The lawsuit announced today seeks reinstatement of the Muslim
employee, back wages, as well as other compensatory and punitive damages.
New law allows deportation of naturalized US citizens
Jan 4: A new intelligence law, and now a court ruling, further strengthens the US government's
power to strip a person of his citizenship even if he committed the crime after naturalization. The
11th US Circuit Court of Appeals today allowed the government to strip a Haitian-American
restaurant owner of his citizenship even though he was indicted, arrested and convicted after
naturalization. Also today, federal agents in Atlanta arrested a prominent Ethiopian human rights
abuse suspect, Kelbessa Negewo, 54, and put him in deportation proceedings, for the first time
using legal powers granted under a newly-signed intelligence reform law. Immigration lawyers
say that the two developments can have far-reaching consequences for thousands of immigrants
from Muslim countries who already complain that they have become terror suspects since the
Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks believed to have been carried out by Muslim men.
Oberto sausage sued for religious discrimination
Jan 5: A federal agency has filed a lawsuit against Oberto Sausage Co. of Seattle accusing it of
religious discrimination. The suit, brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,
alleges that Oberto failed to accommodate the religious needs of six employees, as required by
federal law, and then illegally fired them.
CAIR establishes hotline for fingerprinted hajj returnees
Jan 11: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has established a 24-hour hotline for
Muslims who may face fingerprinting or detention upon their return from the hajj, or pilgrimage to
Mecca. The CAIR set up the hotline following reports that dozens of American Muslims were
fingerprinted after attending an Islamic conference in Canada.
Missionary group backs off plan for tsunami Muslim children to Christian home
Jan 12: The Virginia-based missionary group WorldHelp has dropped its plans to place 300
Muslim "tsunami orphans" in a Christian children's home, the group's president, the Rev. Vernon
Brewer, told news agencies. In statements given to Reuters and Agence France-Presse, Brewer
said WorldHelp had raised $70,000 to place 50 of the children in a Christian orphanage but had
halted its efforts when it learned that the Indonesian government would not allow it.
CAIR proposes world Islamophobia report
Jan 13: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on the State Department
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to issue a report on Islamophobia across the world, as American Muslims have complained of
more anti-Islam TV rants. The proposal was made when the CAIR and other Muslim and ArabAmerican groups met with top State Department officials to discuss a number of issues related to
American foreign policy.The proposal includes such measures as producing a report on the
growing phenomenon of Islamophobia, conferences in this country and in the Muslim world to
discuss both Islamophobia and Anti-Americanism and domestic and international “goodwill
ambassadors” who can speak about both topics.
Tenn. Muslim student allowed to wear hijab
Jan 15: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today announced that a Muslim
student at East Ridge High School in Chattanooga, Tenn., will now be allowed to wear her Islamic
head scarf, or hijab, in school. The student had previously been told she could not wear her
religiously-mandated head scarf because it was against the school dress code. The school's
decision to allow the head scarf came after intervention by CAIR's Civil Rights Department.
Fox cuts out Anti-Muslim scenes from “24 drama”
Jan 16: The Fox television network decided to remove some stereotypical aspects about
American Muslims from its action drama “24” thanks to immediate action from community
leaders. Following a meeting with representatives from CAIR, the largest US Muslim civil liberties
advocacy group in the country, Fox officials promised that the popular series will be balanced in
its portrayal of Muslims. Premiered on January 10, the drama portrays a Muslim family as a
terrorist “sleeper cell,” who are plotting attacks inside the US.
Sacramento, CA Muslims honor Martin Luther King
Jan 17: The Sacramento office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations co-sponsored the
recent Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration in that city attended by some 1200 guests, including
state, county and city officials and community leaders. Local Muslim religious, community and
youth leaders also helped organize the event.
FBI monitors Islamic group (Tablighi Jamaat) for terror ties
Jan 18: The FBI and the Pentagon are keeping a close eye on an Islamic missionary group with
thousands of U.S. members. In a secret intelligence document obtained by NBC News, terrorism
analysts say members of the evangelical movement are ideal recruits for terrorist organizations
inside the United States.
Reno man sentenced to probation for Islamic threats
Jan 18: A Reno, Nevada insurance broker accused of sending threatening e-mail to the
Washington, D.C.-based Islamic civil rights group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations,
has been sentenced to one year probation. Dale T. Ehrgott of Reno was indicted by a federal
grand jury last year on charges of threatening members of the CAIR in retaliation for terrorist
attacks on Americans.
U.S. court dismisses Saudi Arabia from 9/11 suits
Jan 18: Saudi Arabia, its defense minister and its ambassador to Britain won a ruling in a New
York court dismissing them as defendants in massive litigation growing out of the September 11th
attacks on America. U.S. District Judge Richard Casey ruled in a lengthy written order that Saudi
Arabia, Saudi Defense Minister Prince Sultan Prince Turki al-Faisal, the country's ambassador to
Britain, all have immunity from the litigation. The judge also dismissed a number of other parties
as defendants including Arab Bank, Al Rajhi Bank, and Saudi American Bank. The rulings
stemmed from eight cases that were consolidated before the Manhattan federal judge, who is
considering pre-trial matters. The complaints alleged that more than 200 defendants helped
support and fund Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network.
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Muslim leaders worry TV show could lead to violence
Jan 19: Someone spray-painted foul language on a northland house aimed at the Muslim owner
in Kansas City, Missouri. "It was just spray paint, but next time it could be something worse," said
Mahnaz Shabbir, President of the Heartland Muslim Council. "There shouldn't be any reason for
anyone to take out a hateful crime, even if it's just kids." On the Fox drama "24", a Muslim mother
poisoned her son's non-Muslim girlfriend because she posed a threat to the terror cell's plans.
Shabbir says episodes like that perpetuate the stereotype that all Muslims are terrorists.
School form stirs controversy
Jan 19: An application form to join a parochial schools group that was sent to Texas Islamic
schools has created misunderstanding and anger between local Muslims and Christians. The
Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools , which is 90 percent Christian, sent 10
questions to the Dar-ul-Arqam school in Houston after the group applied to join the association.
The Islamic Society of Greater Houston (search), which runs Dar-ul-Arqam schools at three
locations, wanted students to be able to compete with other parochial schools in extracurricular
events. One question that upset Dar-ul-Arqam administrators focused on perceived intolerance:
"The Koran clearly tells you not to mix with (and even eliminate) the infidels. Christians and Jews
fall into this category. Why do you wish to join an organization whose membership is basically in
total disagreement with your religious beliefs?" Iesa Galloway, Houston Executive Director of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (search) said the questionnaire was "rooted in deepseeded ignorance of the religion of Islam and the Muslim people…"
Muslim charity suspends activity over government actions
Jan 20: KinderUSA, the Dallas,Texas-based Muslim charity suspends its activity because of
government actions. In an open letter to members of the community the charity said: Despite all
of our efforts, in recent weeks we have discovered that the federal government has targeted
KinderUSA for investigation. This has taken the form of unwarranted and obtrusive surveillance
by the FBI, wiretapping, attempts to bribe and subvert our employees (which has caused them to
resign in fear), spreading of malicious disinformation about the organization, and the possible
invasion of our office space. KinderUSA was formed in early 2002.
President Bush mentions Quran in inaugural address
Jan 20: "In America's ideal of freedom, the public interest depends on private character -- on
integrity, and tolerance toward others, and the rule of conscience in our own lives. Selfgovernment relies, in the end, on the governing of the self. That edifice of character is built in
families, supported by communities with standards, and sustained in our national life by the truths
of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount, the words of the Koran, and the varied faiths of our people."
Evangelist's Tsunami efforts stir us Muslim group
Jan 20: - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), accused evangelist Jerry Falwell of
using money donated for tsunami relief to convert people in South Asia to Christianity and called
on the Bush administration to denounce his actions. In an e-mailed weekly newsletter called
"Falwell Confidential," which was obtained by the CAIR, the evangelist said: "Hundreds of
thousands are in dire need of medical attention and personal counseling. And in this heavily
Muslim part of the world, millions have never even heard of Jesus Christ." The newsletter, which
is distributed by Jerry Falwell Ministries, said donations would be used to distribute food and
Gospel tracts in the region. CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said missionaries acting as relief
groups could hurt rather than help these vulnerable societies. "It would make work for legitimate
institutions more difficult. It also harms America's image, which is already pretty tarnished in the
rest of the world…"
Church distributes anti-Muslim tracts on downtown green
Jan 21: Members of the city mosque in Waterbury, Connecticut, were troubled recently to
discover that members of a small Christian church were on the downtown Green distributing
tracts ridiculing Islam, Repulibcan American reported today. The tract in question is titled "Allah
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Had No Son," a publication from California-based Chick Publications. Majeed Sharif, president of
the United Muslim Mosque said he was particularly disturbed by allegations in the pamphlet that
Muslims believe the Bible is "corrupt." "One thing you will never find is a Muslim who would print
something like this about Jesus and Moses," Sharif said. "The prophets who are mentioned in
Koran are mentioned as great and noble people and great prophets."
U.S. claims Arar suit a risk to national security
Jan 22: The United States government is attempting to dismiss a lawsuit brought by SyrianCanadian Maher Arar, claiming the litigation would jeopardize national security, the Canadian
Star reports. Invoking the rarely used "state secrets privilege," U.S. Department of Justice
lawyers filed a motion with the New York eastern district court this week, stating that the release
of any information concerning the U.S.'s involvement in Arar's deportation to Syria could
jeopardize "intelligence, foreign policy and national security interests of the United States."
Lawyers with New York's Centre for Constitutional Rights, who filed the lawsuit on Arar's behalf a
year ago, said the government is abusing claims of national security in order to avoid a review of
its policies and handling of terrorism suspects. Arar was detained by immigration officials at New
York's JFK airport on Sept. 26, 2002, and subsequently held as a terrorism suspect in a Brooklyn
jail, where he says he repeatedly asked to be sent back to Canada. On Oct. 8 he was flown on a
private jet to Syria, via Jordan. Arar says he was tortured and held without charges for a year
before returning to Canada.
US Muslims' sacrifice rights defended
Jan 24: US lawyers and government officials have defended the right of American Muslims to
offer sacrifices during Eidul Azha, thus peacefully ending a potential dispute that could have
further strained America's relations with the Islamic community. Officials in North Carolina, where
Muslims slaughtered 100 lambs at a farm this weekend, refused to stop the sacrifices despite
objections from some local groups. Agriculture Department spokesman Brian Long said the
department, which monitored the slaughtering with video cameras, had no concern with "why the
animals are being slaughtered" but it believes that the farmers who lease their farm for this
purpose must be licensed to run a slaughterhouse.
Curiosity spawned by 9-11 leads some Latinos to convert to Islam
Jan 25: Thousands of Latinos across the country - both U.S.-born and immigrants - have been
converting to Islam since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks sparked massive U.S. societal interest in the
religion and its billion followers worldwide, according to the Express News. A 2001 study by the
Council on American-Islamic Relations estimated 6 percent of 20,000 annual converts to Islam
are Latinos. Studies variously list 25,000 to 75,000 Latino Muslims in the United States; most
concur there are roughly 40,000.
N.Y. station stirs furor with song mocking tsunami victims
Jan 25: WQHT-FM, known as HOT 97, radio station in New York apologized for repeatedly airing
a joke song that ridiculed victims of the recent tsunami in South Asia and used racial slurs. The
radio station ran the segment on its "Miss Jones in the Morning" show. The piece used racial
slurs to describe people swept away in the disaster and made jokes about child slavery and
people watching their mothers die. "You can hear God laughing, 'Swim, you bitches, swim,' " was
one line in the song. The piece drew wide criticism from New York's City Hall to the capitol in
Albany, with many lawmakers calling on the Federal Communications Commission to fine HOT
97. "At a time when virtually the entire world has come together to help in the tsunami tragedy
relief, employees of HOT 97 have come up with this song," said New York State Assembly
member Jimmy Meng, a Democrat from Queens. "We are disgusted and demand immediate
action by the FCC." The piece was also denounced by the Washington-based Council on
American-Islamic Relations, which said it had received calls from offended Muslims.
Islamic scholars face visa issues
Jan 25: Scholars traveling to University of California, Los Angeles from the Islamic world have
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faced few problems since Sept. 11, 2001. But others within the Islamic studies community
maintain that obtaining visas for Islamic scholars has become more difficult in recent years
according to Daily Bruin. Amy Newhall, executive director of the Middle East Studies Association,
a national organization, said three scholars invited to the association's annual conference who
were not able to obtain visas.
HOT 97 suspends crew over tsunami 'parody'
Jan 26: The host of a New York morning radio show and the rest of her on-air crew were
suspended indefinitely today for airing a tasteless song parody that mocked victims of the
catastrophic south Asia tsunami. The song included references to "screaming chinks" and
orphaned children "sold into child slavery." The chorus began, "So now you're screwed, it's a
tsunami, you'd better run ... go find your mommy." The station was subsequently flooded with
thousands of angry phone calls demanding the firing of morning show host Tarsha Jones, known
on air as Miss Jones.
Baltimore Muslims continue lobbying schools for holidays off
Jan 26: The Baltimore County Muslim Council wants Eid ul-Adha and Eid ul-Fitr, the two most
important holidays for Muslims, designated as holidays on the school calendar, just as Rosh
Hashana and Yom Kippur are. Bash Pharoan, the council president, said that the current school
calendar sends a message that only Christian and Jewish holidays are acceptable. "If you give a
holiday to an ethic group, you must give that right to all other groups," Pharoan told the board.
Arab-Americans concerned over banks' closures of selected business accounts
Jan 27: Some Arab-American-owned groceries and other businesses that do a lot of cash
business are being told by their banks to take their business elsewhere, Associated Press
reports. Banks in Western New York and across the nation say they are reacting to tighter federal
enforcement of laws aimed at tracking large cash transactions. But the business owners feel that
the banks are discriminating against them solely because of their Middle Eastern names and
ancestry during a time of heightened fear of terrorism."I've never been arrested. I've never done
anything wrong, and they make me feel like I've done something wrong," said Abdulsalam
Shuaibee, one of three co-owners of the Golden Farm Market on Kensington Avenue in Buffalo.
The store's accounts at M&T Bank were closed in November with just 10 days' notice.
Colorado University agrees to pay fired professor $1.54 million
Jan 27: The University of Colorado has paid a psychiatrist $1.54 million to settle his claim that he
was wrongly fired. The settlement with Dr. Gordon Neligh includes a $300,000 he won from a
federal jury after filing a civil suit, along with back pay, missed future pay and other components.
Neligh filed the lawsuit after the CU Health Sciences Center in Denver declined to renew his
annual contract in 1998. He claimed it was retaliation because he stood up for his administrative
assistant, a Muslim woman, when she was harassed by her peers.
Suit filed over scarf-pulling incident in class
Jan 28: In Gretna, Louisiana, a suburban New Orleans school system and a former high school
teacher have been sued by a Muslim teenager who contends that the board and teacher failed to
adequately resolve her claims that the teacher used religious slurs against her and yanked off her
religiously mandated head scarf last year. Maryam Motar, who filed the suit in state district court,
is seeking unspecified damages from Wes Mix and the Jefferson Parish School Board. She
complains about the handling of a November hearing to resolve her complaints. Superintendent
Diane Roussel recommended Mix's termination in July, but the board overruled that decision after
a closed-door hearing. It opted to suspend Mix without pay for several weeks and require him to
attend sensitivity training before returning to another school in the fall. He was also required to
apologize to Motar.
Muslim asks FBI to explain remark on jihadists
Jan 31: Shahriar Ahmed, president of the Bilal Mosque Association in Beaverton, Oregon, has
[Page 47]
asked Robert Jordan, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon, to explain his recent remarks
about the presence of jihad-trained fighters in the state. In his remarks, Jordan said: "We have
people here in Oregon that have trained in jihadist camps in bad areas. In the bad neighborhoods
of the world." He added that the FBI knows "they've trained overseas, taken oaths to kill
Americans and engage in jihad," but the challenge is "to prove those things." Jordan, through his
spokeswoman, has refused to explain his remarks.
February 2005
Marines General in Iraq says that shooting people is 'fun'
Feb 1: Lt. Gen. James Mattis, commander of Marine Division, says that it is "fun to shoot some
people." His comment in a gathering of defense contractors in San Diego came in reference to
fighting insurgents in Iraq where he commanded Marines during the battle for Fallujah last Spring.
He said "Actually, it's a lot of fun to fight them, you know? …. It's fun to shoot some people …I
like brawling.” Gen. Mattis, who also commanded Marine expeditions in Afghanistan, went on to
say: ``You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they
didn't wear a veil. `You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot
of fun to shoot them.'' The audience applauded the general's remarks. The Council on AmericanIslamic Relations, a leading Muslim civil liberties group, called on the Pentagon to discipline
Mattis for the remarks. ``We do not need generals who treat the grim business of war as a
sporting event,'' said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad in a statement. ``These disturbing
remarks are indicative of an apparent indifference to the value of human life.'' In response to the
CAIR call the commandant of the Marine Corps said he has counseled Lt. Gen. James Mattis
about choosing his words more carefully. Nihad Awad said that they see the commandant’s
statement less than a slap on the wrist and it sends a very negative message to the Muslim world
that U.S. generals do not care about human life.
“New COINTELPRO campaign directed at Arabs, Muslims and South East Asians”
Feb. 3:The Arab, Muslim and South East Asian communities are currently facing a new FBI
counter intelligence program similar to the COINTELPRO operation against the African
Americans during the 1960s, says Dr. Hatem Bazian, Professor at the Near East and Ethnic
Studies Department, University of California, Berkeley. COINTELPRO is the acronym for a series
of FBI counterintelligence programs designed to neutralize political dissidents in the 1960s and
1970s. The program was directed against the civil rights movements, especially against the
community leadership of African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans. In the 1980s similar
program was used against Central American solidarity groups. In a speech entitled, the New
COINTELPRO campaign directed at Arabs, Muslims and South East Asians, Dr. Hatem Bazian
said that all sub-divisions - such as ethnic groupings, immigrants or indigenous and ideological
orientations of the Muslims, Arabs and South Asians are included as target by the counter
Intelligence operation in the name of national security. He pointed out that four methods were
employed by the FBI at the height of the Cointelpro operation during 1960s and the same
methods are being employed now which are: 1) Infiltration in the community. 2) Psychological
warfare from outside. 3) Harassment through the legal system. 4) Extra legal force and violence.
Accused Saudi appeals to US Congress
Feb 2: A prominent Saudi, accused of funding terrorism through his work with Islamic charities,
has sent a message to the United State Congress. Released to coincide with the Counter
Terrorism International Conference in Saudi Arabia, the paper responds to allegations that have
been made against Saudi Arabia and its religious practices since September 11. "Our religious
teachings are not against modernity, progress or development. Rather, this religious movement
has led to a general renaissance in the Arabian peninsula and the Islamic world as a whole,"
writes the author, Soliman al-Buthi. He was recently designated by the United Nations as a funder
of terrorism as a result of his volunteer work with the al-Haramain Foundation.
[Page 48]
Cleveland mosque raided by FBI
Feb 5: The FBI raided an accountant's West Park office in Cleveland, his home and a building
containing both a mosque and an Islamic school, seizing records and computers in a moneylaundering probe. Abrar Haque, 43, a certified public accountant and financial planner, helped
launch a small Lorain Avenue mosque 15 years ago. The Islamic Mosque, which has since
moved into a former church on Rocky River Drive, was touched by a terror-financing probe three
years ago. In that case, the FBI alleged a murder and arson plot designed to raise money for "the
cause" in Afghanistan.
VA mosque responds to freedom house report
Feb 7: The recent 95-page report by the conservative Center for Religious Freedom, Freedom
House, titled "Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology Fill American Mosques," makes sweeping,
unfair and generally incorrect assessments of the American Muslim community and mosques
across America. The report mentions several prominent mosques including the All Dulles Area
Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center. The Freedom House report falsely claims that the ADAMS
Center "proliferate[s]" a "destructive ideology" by using Saudi publications to educate mosquegoers and urge them to subscribe to "Wahhabi" extremism. It further claims that researchers of
the Freedom House visited the ADAMS Center and found a Saudi pamphlet, called "Religious
Edicts for the Immigrant Muslim," which purportedly suggests, "it is forbidden for a Muslim to
become a citizen of a country (such as the United States) governed by infidels."The truth is that
the ADAMS Center has never acquired or distributed such hate-filled literature or indulged in antiAmerican rhetoric. The ADAMS Center Board of Trustees, the Executive Committee, and the
community emphatically reject all sorts of "extremism," regardless of the way these may be
labeled, and remains resolutely vigilant against such elements. In fact, the Center is a
democratically-governed, interfaith-oriented, progressive and open mosque, as required by the
tenets of Islam.
Almost half of Vermont landlords discriminate against Muslims
Feb 8: There are signs it's less of a landlord's market-- as more and more vacant apartments
become available in Vermont. They're ready to rent, but not to everyone. A year-long study at the
Fair Housing Project tested landlords in Vermont according to the Fair Housing Project survey.
The group found nearly 50% illegally discriminated against Muslim immigrants.
Arab Bank retreats from U.S. market
Feb 8: Under investigation on suspicion of money laundering by U.S. banking authorities, Arab
Bank plans to curtail operations at its New York office and gradually withdraw from the U.S.
market, according to a statement issued by its chief regulator, Jordan's central bank. Arab Bank's
retreat comes under growing pressure from civil lawsuits and regulatory investigations as an
alleged terror-funding conduit.
Judge orders Muslim fund-raiser deported
Feb 8: A federal immigration judge in Los Angeles ordered a former fund-raiser for a prominent
Islamic charity to be deported, saying his activities posed a threat to national security. The judge
found that Abdel Jabber Hamdan, who has lived in Orange County for more than 20 years, knew
or should have known that the money he raised for the Holy Land Foundation was being used to
support terrorism. The government contends that the foundation has funneled more than $12
million to Hamas and other Palestinian organizations that the United States considers sponsors of
terrorism. The immigration judge, D. D. Sitgraves, ordered Mr. Hamdan, 44, who has been in
custody since last summer, deported. But Judge Sitgraves said he could not be sent to Jordan,
where he was born in a Palestinian refugee camp, because he would be at risk of torture by the
Jordanian government because he has been accused by the American authorities of terrorrelated activities.
[Page 49]
Fox affiliate apologizes to Muslims: References to holy city for story on snobbery led to
protest
Feb 9: Fox Charlotte (WCCB, Channel 18) apologized for airing a spoof on the Muslim tradition of
visiting Mecca. Promoting a news story about elitism and snobbery at upscale SouthPark mall,
the station used images of pilgrims coming to Mecca, one of the world's holiest religious sites.
"The hajj, a pilgrimage Muslims take to the holy city of Mecca," the promo said. "Members of
Charlotte's elite make a similar pilgrimage to the corporate altar of brand-name merchandise -SouthPark mall, where believers gather to be among their kind," said a voice-over on the spot,
which then showed the mall and the word "Mecca." Ten Muslim viewers protested to WCCB over
the ad.
Civil Rights lawyer Lynne Stewart convicted of helping terrorists
Feb 10: Lynne Stewart, 65, who always espoused lost causes, was convicted in a New York court
of smuggling messages of violence from her client to 'his terrorist disciples'. Ms Stewart
represented Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, who was convicted in 1995 of conspiring to attack US
targets - a plot prosecutors say included the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center - for eight
years until her 2002 arrest. The anonymous jury, which deliberated 13 days over the past month
before convicting Ms Stewart, also convicted a US postal worker, Ahmed Abdel Sattar, of
conspiracy for plotting to 'kill and kidnap persons in a foreign country' by publishing an edict
urging the killing of Jews and their supporters. A third defendant, Arabic interpreter Mohamed
Yousry, was convicted of providing material support to terrorists. Ahmed Sattar could face life in
prison and Mohamed Yousry about 20 years.
9 Jewish and one Islamic group given security grant
Feb 11: Ten Baltimore County nonprofit organizations - nine Jewish organizations in the county's
northwest area, and the Islamic Society of Baltimore in Catonsville - will share a $400,000 federal
homeland security fund grant. Baltimore County Executive James Smith announced the grant
which will be used to boost security at at-risk organizations. The Maryland Emergency
Management Agency, or MEMA, distributes more than $1 million in federal grant funds to seven
Baltimore area jurisdictions. Money was allocated for nonprofit organizations that demonstrated a
high risk of terrorist attack, such as religious organizations.
9/11 Pakistani victim’s mother questions treatment of Muslims
Feb 14: The mother of a Muslim Pakistani-American who was killed in the World Trade Centre to
which he had rushed to help victims told a news conference in Washington DC that it was a pity
thousands of Muslims had been subjected to interrogation after 9/11. Mrs Talat Hamdani’s son,
23-year old Mohammed Salman Hamdani, a Pakistani-born paramedic who was not even on duty
that day, rushed to the World Trade Centre to help victims after the first plane hit one of the
towers. Mrs Hamdani said in a tearful voice that her son’s death was not because of his ties to
Islam. “He was killed because he was an American,” she added. She joined other Muslims at the
news conference to release a written response to the 9/11 Commission report, hoping that
Congress will consider the views of Muslims on terrorism-related issues.
Muslim leaders say no radicalism preached in US
Feb 15: Local Islamic leaders say Houston's Muslim community does not practice the radical,
anti-democratic theology preached in some books and pamphlets that a human rights group said
were found in two local mosques. In a recent report, Washington, D.C.-based Freedom House
said the Saudi government has distributed in U.S. mosques anti-American and anti-Jewish
propaganda that reflects a "totalitarian ideology of hatred that can incite violence." The
propaganda, the group said, espouses Wahhabism, the dominant form of Islam in Saudi Arabia.
In Houston, Wahhabism-related materials were found at the Islamic Society of Greater Houston
North Zone Masjid at 11815 Adel Road and the Masjid El-Farouq at 1207 Conrad Sauer Drive.
"Just because those books were there does not mean that the organization condones such
books," said Rodwan Saleh, president of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston. "All of these
[Page 50]
books ... they don't express the views of that Muslim community." He said the local Islamic
Society is investigating how the literature was placed in the two Houston sites.
Former U.S. military translator sentenced to 20 months
Feb 18: A former Arabic translator who admitted taking classified documents from the prison
camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was sentenced in Boston to 20 months in prison in a plea deal
that will allow him to be released by mid-March with time served. Ahmed Fathy Mehalba, 32, an
Egyptian-born U.S. citizen and civilian translator at Guantanamo, was arrested at Logan
International Airport on Sept. 29, 2003, after returning from a trip to Egypt. Last month, Mehalba
pleaded guilty to one count of unauthorized possession of classified materials and two counts of
lying to federal investigators.
1942-style bigotry targets Muslims in the U.S. today
Feb 19: Lillian Nakano, a third-generation Japanese American from Hawaii and member of Nikkei
rd
for Civil Rights and Redress, said on the 53 anniversary of internment of Japanese during the
Second World War that some of my fellow Americans are now being targeted because they are
Muslim, Arab or Middle Eastern. Writing in the Los Angeles Times, under the title - 1942-style
bigotry targets Muslims in the U.S. today, Nakano said: When the attacks of Sept. 11 happened, I
mourned for the innocent lives that were lost. But I also began to identify and sympathize with the
innocent Muslim Americans who immediately became victims of the same kind of stereotyping
and scapegoating we faced 63 years ago. They too have become targets of suspicion, hate
crimes, vandalism and violence, all in the name of patriotism and national security.
Abu Ali is accused of plotting to assassinate Bush
Feb 22: A former Virginia high school student who had been detained in Saudi Arabia as a
suspected terrorist was charged with conspiring to assassinate President Bush and with
supporting the al-Qaida terrorist network. Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 23, a U.S. citizen, made an initial
appearance in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, but did not enter a plea. He said that he
was tortured while detained in Saudi Arabia since June of 2003 and offered through his lawyer to
show the judge his scars. The federal indictment said that in 2002 and 2003 Abu Ali and an
unidentified co-conspirator discussed plans for Abu Ali to assassinate Bush. They discussed two
scenarios, the indictment said, one in which Abu Ali “would get close enough to the president to
shoot him on the street” and, alternatively, “an operation in which Abu Ali would detonate a car
bomb.” However, the Justice Department said that the suspected member of Al Qaeda who
prosecutors say once talked with Ahmed Omar Abu Ali about assassinating President Bush was
killed by Saudi authorities in a shootout 17 months ago.
Banks close accounts of Muslims
Feb 27: Increasing numbers of banks across the country are closing accounts of what they deem
"high risk" customers in part because of confusing regulations put in place as part of the Patriot
Act, the News Day reports quoting a national banking official in Union City, New Jersey. The
issue came to the fore in New Jersey when the Islamic Education Center protested the closing of
its account at Hudson United Bank after almost 13 years. The bank did not say why it took the
action, and cited laws that allow financial institutions to shut down accounts at any time without
giving a reason for the closure. John Byrne, director of the American Bankers Association's
Center for Regulatory Compliance, said more banks are taking an aggressive posture toward
account closures because of a lack of consistency in the interpretation and enforcement of
regulations instituted after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The number of suspicious-activity reports
filed by banks rose from 81,197 in 1997 to 288,343 in 2003, the newspaper reported. Civil rights
groups have said that Muslim account holders have been targeted for unreasonable requests for
private information such as financial statements, proof of residency and proof of identity.
Texan sentenced in hate crime arson cases
Feb 28: San Antonio, Texas, District Attorney Susan D. Reed announced that Thomas Carroll,
age 33, received a 30-year prison sentence for setting on fire businesses of owned or operated
[Page 51]
by the Muslims in 2003 and 2004. The sentence was handed-down by Judge Phil Kazen, who
also entered findings that Carroll committed the offenses because of his bias and prejudice
against a group identified by national origin and ancestry. In 2003 and 2004, Carroll set fire to
several local convenient stores located throughout the community. The series of fires raised fear
and anxiety in the Asian Muslim community as well as with several hundred independent
storeowners throughout the San Antonio area. While several of the stores sustained substantial
damage or were totally destroyed, no one was injured in the fires. “These crimes were targeted
against people because of their national origin and were designed to spread fear throughout the
whole community. Terrorists commit crimes based on hatred of a people or a religion and such
acts will not be tolerated and will be dealt with firmly,” the District Attorney said.
March 2005
Poll: 39 percent of Americans back torture
March 1: More than one in four Americans would go so far as to utilize nuclear bombs if need be
in the fight against terrorism, according to a national survey reported today by The Gallup
Organization. Gallup asked Americans whether they would be willing or not willing “to have the
U.S. government do each of the following” and then listed an array of options. For example,
“assassinate known terrorists” drew the support of 65% of all adults. “Torture known terrorists if
they know details about future terrorist attacks in the U.S.” won the backing of 39%. Finally, the
option of using “nuclear weapons to attack terrorist facilities” drew the support of 27% of adults,
with 72% opposing, which would shatter the taboo on using these weapons militarily since the
attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Foreigners targeted by Homeland Security
March 2: America has unjustly detained more than 5,000 foreign nationalists since December
2001, without charging any of them with a terroristic crime, said David Cole, a law professor at
Georgetown University.
"Our government says, 'We will sacrifice foreign nationals' rights, Arabs and Muslims most
notably, for Americans' security,'" said Cole of the U.S. Preventive Detention Campaign. Cole
believes our nation is experiencing the largest example of ethnic profiling after the Sept. 11
attacks since World War II, when the U.S. government interned Japanese-Americans.
Arab and Muslim professors at US universities remain target
March 3: Arab and Muslim professors at the Middle East and Islamic Study Centers at the US
universities are target of the neoconservatives and the Evangelical Christian right while the
funding coming from the Arab and Muslim endowments is labeled as “blood money,” says Dr.
Hatem Bazian, Professor at the Near East and Ethnic Studies Department, University of
California, Berkeley. In a speech entitled “Empire's embedded intellectuals” at the University of
California Berkeley, Dr. Bazian pointed out that the case of Colombia University of New York is
the latest attack on Arab and Muslim professors where four professors are under attack by proIsrael students. He said that the Colombia University President, based on the film Columbia
Unbecoming developed by the David Project, has established a special committee to investigate
the Middle East Studies program. While forming this committee the university has by passed the
normal procedure to entertain students’ complaints against a professor. The 40-minute film was
first screened in March 2004 to a handful of university alumni. Then it was shown to high-level in
the university administration and eventually to the Columbia University president, Lee Bollinger.
In October, Natan Sharansky, Israel’s minister for Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs, also watched
and admired the film. In the film a number of selected students gave testimony about the alleged
intimidation they face in the class room, in particular about Joseph Massad which resulted in
canceling his class on Palestine this semester.
Census: U.S. Arabs well paid, educated Median income higher; more have degrees
March 8: The 1.2 million people of Arab descent living in the United States tend to be better
educated and wealthier than other Americans, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. The population
[Page 52]
of U.S. residents whose ancestry is solely or partly Arab is less than a half-percent of all
Americans. The details in the report covered the people who identified themselves in the 2000
census as having only Arab ancestry. Arabs are nearly twice as likely as the typical U.S. resident
to have graduated from college -- 41 percent to 24 percent. The median income for an Arab
family was $52,300, about $2,300 more than the median income for all U.S. families. And the
proportion of U.S. Arabs working in management jobs was higher than the U.S. average, 42
percent to 34 percent. Arab-American groups say the 1.2 million tallied in the census is probably
an undercount since many people of Arab ancestry came from countries with oppressive
governments and may be reluctant to fill out government forms.
No 'true' al Qaeda sleeper agents have been found in US
March 9: A secret FBI report obtained by ABC News concludes that while there is no doubt al
Qaeda wants to hit the United States, its capability to do so is unclear. The 32-page assessment
says flatly, "To date, we have not identified any true 'sleeper' agents in the US," seemingly
contradicting the "sleeper cell" description prosecutors assigned to seven men in Lackawanna,
N.Y., in 2002. The report continues that "US recruits are hard to find and al-Qa'ida detainees
have reported that US citizens can be difficult to work with, one senior detainee claimed that US
citizens and others who grew up in the West, were too independent and thought they knew more
about US operations than senior planners."
Alleged abuse of Muslim inmate probed
March 11: The Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General said it had ''found a
disturbing pattern of discriminatory and retaliatory actions against Muslim inmates" by the warden
and guards at an unnamed federal prison, one in a series of criticisms the internal watchdog
leveled against the federal Bureau of Prisons in connection with its treatment of Muslims.
Inspector General Glenn A. Fine also disclosed that an FBI agent sent an e-mail to field offices
''identifying the names and addresses of the proprietors and customers of a Muslim-based
website," along with instructions to ''take whatever action it deemed appropriate" against any local
people on the list. The report was the latest in a series of semiannual reviews of civil rights and
civil liberties violations required by a provision of the USA Patriot Act, the law enforcement
powers enacted after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Bank closes mosque account
March 11: A Palos Hills bank in Chicago closed the account of a Bridgeview mosque because the
mosque donated $10,000 to an Islamic charity that is now under federal scrutiny for allegedly
helping terrorists. Family Bank and Trust Co. told the Mosque Foundation to take its business
elsewhere in a December letter to mosque leaders. In a later meeting with mosque leaders, bank
officials said they took the action because the mosque wrote two checks totaling $10,000 to the
Islamic American Relief Agency, said Mosque Foundation President Oussama Jamal. Jamal said
the mosque made its donations in August and September, before the U.S. government froze the
charity's assets and raided its Missouri offices in October. At that time, the Treasury Department
alleged the organization was part of an international front group for Al Qaeda, a charge denied by
Islamic American Relief.
Four Iranian brothers released after long immigration detention in Los Angeles
March 16: Four Iranian brothers detained for more than three years after their arrest in an FBI
terrorism probe were freed after U.S. immigration authorities eased certain travel restrictions. The
Mirmehdi brothers - Mohammed, Mostafa, Mohsen and Mojtaba were released after the
government revised its offer and reduced the restrictions, said Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The brothers have been held since October 2001.
Federal authorities alleged they supported a Los Angeles-based cell of the Moujahedeen Khalk,
or MEK, which opposes Iran's regime and is classified by the State Department as a terrorist
organization. The brothers acknowledged attending protest events against Iran's current regime,
but denied belonging to the MEK. They never faced criminal charges. They were sent into
detention to await deportation for allegedly lying in the 1990s on their applications seeking
[Page 53]
political asylum, and for their suspected ties to the MEK. Last August, the Board of Immigration
Appeals ruled evidence tying the brothers to terrorism was inconclusive.
ACLU seeks documents in denials of visas to foreign scholars
March 16: The American Civil Liberties Union asked the Bush administration to turn over
documents detailing the use of immigration laws to bar foreign scholars from the United States
because of their purported support of terrorism or on other ideological grounds. Citing three
prominent cases in the past year, the ACLU said the administration appears to be denying visas
to Muslim and Hispanic academics because it disagrees with their political views. The ACLU said
the Patriot Act appears to have been invoked in the case of Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss citizen and
Muslim scholar whose work visa was revoked last year just days before he was to begin teaching
at the University of Notre Dame. The Department of Homeland Security cited security concerns
but released no specifics. Another recent incident cited by the ACLU is the denial of a visa to
former Nicaraguan Sandinista leader Dora Maria Tellez, who was to have taught a course this
spring at Harvard Divinity School. Tellez said last month the visa had been unfairly denied on
security grounds. Tellez, a historian, participated in a famous attack by Sandinista rebels on
Managua's congress building in 1978 during the revolt that toppled dictator Anastasio Somoza a
year later. She leads a party allied with the Sandinistas. The third incident involved more than five
dozen Cuban scholars refused permission to take part in the Latin American Studies
Association's meeting in Las Vegas last October. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher
defended the action at the time, saying the Cubans' aim was to "spout the party line."
Neocon magazine promotes anti-Muslim hate literature
March 17: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on a prominent
national neoconservative magazine to clarify its policy on anti-Muslim hate following revelations
that the publication distributed an Internet advertisement for an virulently Islamophobic book.
CAIR's request came in response to a complaint from a member of the National Review's e-mail
list who received a message promoting an apparently self-published book that, according to the
magazine, is a "guide into the dark mind of (the Prophet) Mohammed."The National Review's
review of the book states: "(The author) explains why Mohammed couldn't possibly be a true
prophet, and reveals the true sources of his 'revelations.'"
Woman leads Friday Prayers in New York
March 18: Amina Wadud, a professor of Islamic studies at Virginia Commonwealth University,
who says she has a problem with the Quran, leads Friday prayer in New York’s episcopal
Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. The Voice of America, reporting the events said that some
observers say the event represents a split between the thinking of older Muslims and a new
generation born and bred in the United States. Others say the event was to help publicize a new
book written by one of the organizers.
Dell reinstates 31 Muslim workers fired for praying on job
March 21: Dell Computer reinstated 31 Muslim workers, mostly Somalis, at its Nashville factory
who were fired after a disagreement over evening prayers. Council on American Islamic Relations
said that under the agreement the employees who left work last month will be reinstated, receive
back pay and be granted religious accommodation. Managers will also receive additional training
on existing religious accommodation policies and practices. Other terms of the settlement weren't
made public.
Judge apologizes to ex-terror defendant
March 22: A federal judge in Detroit apologized on behalf of the U.S. government to a Moroccan
immigrant who was tried on terrorism charges in a case marred by prosecutorial misconduct,
including the withholding of evidence. Judge Gerald Rosen's comments came during a hearing at
which Ahmed Hannan pleaded guilty to unrelated insurance fraud charges. Rosen sentenced
Hannan, 36 to six months in jail, with credit for the more than three years he already has served.
[Page 54]
Hannan was deported to Morocco at the end of the week. As part of a plea agreement, the Detroit
man waived any right to appeal deportation.
Columbia panel reports no proof of anti-Semitism against Arab professor
March 31: An ad hoc faculty committee charged with investigating complaints that pro-Israel
Jewish students were harassed by pro-Palestinian professors at Columbia University said said it
had found "no evidence of any statements made by the faculty that could reasonably be
construed as anti-Semitic." The committee was formed at the request of Columbia's president,
Lee C. Bollinger, after the release of a videotape in which students said they had been
intimidated by professors of Middle Eastern studies both in and out of class. Pro-Israel students
said they made the video because they had been unable for several years to get administrators to
take their complaints seriously. The film was backed by the David Project, a pro-Israel group
based in Boston. The report noted that although often combative exchanges occurred between
pro-Palestinian professors and pro-Israel students, no students received lower grades because of
their views.
World Bank study faults 9/11 commission’s "madrassa" estimates
March 31: A team of researchers funded by the World Bank has challenged the accuracy of
leading estimates of the number of Pakistani students who attend Islamic schools that are
considered potential incubators of terrorists - including the estimates of the U.S. 9/11
Commission. The researchers, who conducted a census of more than 100,000 households in
Pakistan's largest province, say their data show that no more than 1% - or fewer than 250,000 of all school-going students in the country attended "madrassas" in 2003. That is far fewer than
the "millions" estimated by the 9/11 Commission. "Madrassa enrollment figures cited in the
popular press and institutional reports, none of which are substantiated using publicly verifiable
data, are sometimes highly inflated," the researchers say in their study, published recently on the
World Bank's Web site. Even along Pakistan's often-lawless border with Afghanistan, madrassas
account for less than 7.5% of school enrollment, the study says. Ever since the terrorist attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. government has regarded madrassas as a dangerous fount of antiAmerican violence and has made their taming a priority.
(http://notapundit.myblogsite.com/blog/_archives/2005/3/31/499006.html)
April 2005
Survey: U.S. media censors Iraq reporting
April 5: The news media are self-censoring reports about Iraq because of concern for public
reaction to graphic images and details about death and torture, according to a survey of 210 U.S.
and international journalists, the United Press International reported. Many reporters and editors
chose less-graphic images and explicit details, or made them less noticeable, according to an
online, anonymous survey conducted between September and October 2004 by two American
University professors. Michael Hoyt, executive director of the Columbia Journalism Review, a
magazine that monitors the media, said the U.S. media has to think about the sensibility of its
audience, but was concerned that media self-censorship compromised accuracy.
Arizona: Text pulled after uproar over Islam
April 6: A world history textbook used by seventh-graders at Scottsdale's Mohave Middle School
(Arizona) was pulled from classrooms mid-semester amid growing criticism of the book's
portrayal of Islam. The removal came on the heels of a slew of angry emails to Scottsdale Unified
School District officials and entries on conservative Internet Web logs. Janie White is a Scottsdale
parent who complained about the "History Alive! The Medieval World and Beyond" textbook,
which was being used on a trial basis at her daughter's school. In an email to Superintendent she
objected to what she believed was "religious bias, dogma, and proselytizing." "I received a
significant number of e-mails saying (the book) was Islamic propaganda and we shouldn't use it,"
said district governing board member Christine Schild. The textbook covers history from the fall of
the Roman Empire in the fifth century to the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century. It devotes
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33 pages to Christianity and 42 pages to Islam. Bredin explained the book is meant to serve as
the second in a two-part series. The previous book in the series does not mention Islam, which
was founded in the seventh century. Yet it devotes 19 pages to Judaism, 13 pages to Christianity
and more than 20 pages to Buddhism and Hinduism.
Lawmaker targeted for 'looking Muslim'
April 6: A Houston lawmaker thinks he may have been the target of ethnic or religious profiling at
George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Palm Sunday as he prepared to fly to Washington, D.C.,
according to Houston Chronicle. Al Green, a Democratic congressman, was pulled out of line by
airport security officers March 20 as he waited to enter the primary security area. "It could have
been (a random security search), but I cannot say that it was random," Green said. Officers
escorted him to a separate area, where he was questioned and searched before being permitted
to enter the main security area. The experience left him with a feeling that he was targeted the
way Muslims say they have been profiled since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "Whether it is real or
imagined, I can tell you the perception exists that there is profiling taking place," he said.
Two 16-year-old Muslim immigrant girls arrested as terrorist threats
April 9: Two sixteen-year-old Muslim girls - one born in Bangladesh, the other in Guinea - were
detained in New York on immigration violations and shipped to a detention center in Leesport,
Pennsylvania, the New York Times reported . According to a government document obtained by
the paper, the FBI claims the girls present "an imminent threat to the security of the United
States based upon evidence that they plan to be suicide bombers." In a statement the Council on
American-Islamic Relations said that despite the continuing protests by immigrant and civil rights
communities following 9/11, the Federal government’s implementation of ethnic and religious
profiling and its use of immigration proceedings to circumvent the constitutional protections of the
criminal justice system persist. Today, it appears that the profiling of Muslim men has grown to
include Muslim women and children. In this case, two minors are being linked to terrorism based
at least in part on their interest in and observance of the Islamic religion. In one of the cases, a
girl was questioned by FBI agents, at one point posing as youth counselors, without the advice or
presence of an attorney.
Three Muslims elected in Illinois local elections
April 10: Community Builders Chicago (CBC) congratulates three of its members on their recent
successes at the polls. Mir Shamsuddin, a board member of CBC, easily won his seat to the
Skokie Board of Education, School District 73, for a 4-year term. He was the second highest vote
getter in a race with 7 candidates. Moin Moon Khan, founder President of DuPage Minority
Caucus won a closely fought election to become the first minority candidate to win as Trustee in
suburban York Township. There were 8 candidates with 4 positions to fill. Safa Zarzour, president
of CAIR Chicago's Board of Directors, won a seat as commissioner of Bridgeview Park district for
the next 4 years.
Palestinian presidential candidate and activist bank account closed in Northern Virginia
April 12: The Branch Banking &Trust Bank recently closed the account of Dr. Abdelhaleem
Ashqar and his wife, Mrs. Asma Ashqar, according to the Muslim American Society Freedom
Foundation. Dr. Ashqar is a well-known Palestinian political activist who was a candidate for the
Palestinian presidency during their last election. He resides in Northern Virginia. MAS Freedom
Foundation believes that the closing of Dr. Ashqar’s account raises serious concerns with regard
to civil liberties and the right to due process for all Americans. Several financial institutions, i.e.
Fleet Bank, American Express, Western Union, etc., in the past have targeted Muslim activists,
mosques leaders, and members of their community.
Secret FBI report highlights domestic terror: experts warn of future Timothy McVeighs
April 19: A secret FBI report, obtained by ABC News, identifies 22 domestic terror organizations
as the current subjects of 338 active FBI field investigations. The Aryan Nations, and other white
supremacist groups, are cited in the report for hate crimes, fire bombings, threats via mail, as well
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as robberies and murders. The National Alliance, one of the largest neo-Nazi organizations in the
world, is subject to 51 FBI investigations alone, according to the report. In fact there are "ticking
time bombs," said Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at
California State University, San Bernardino, "who have the capacity, skill and hatred to carry out
acts worse than what Timothy McVeigh carried out 10 years ago."
American Muslims welcome election of new Pope
April 19: American Muslim organizations welcomed the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of
Germany as Pope Benedict XVI and expressed the hope that the new Pope would continue his
predecessor's unprecedented policy of talking to the Muslim world. In their statements, the
American Muslim Voice, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and other organizations
while welcoming the election of Pope Benedict XVI said they look forward to working with him and
other representatives of the Roman Catholic Church to advance the cause of peace and justice
for people of all faiths. ”Muslim leaders who expressed sympathy after his death did not do so
simply because the pope opposed the invasion of Iraq or spoke out against the wall of separation
in the Israeli-occupied territories, they did so because the pope believed firmly that Christianity
should engage in a dialogue with Islam which will further the cause of world peace,” the AMV
pointed out.
Muslims detained at border sue Homeland Security
April 20: Five American Muslims detained at the border as they returned from an Islamic
conference in Toronto sued the Department of Homeland Security alleging they were targets of
ethnic and religious profiling. They told a news conference that customs officials detained dozens
of others returning from the conference in December, subjecting them to interrogations,
fingerprinting and photographing. The lawsuit seeks to prevent government agencies from
detaining, interrogating or photographing Muslims returning to the United States from religious
conferences. The five Muslims want their fingerprints and photographs taken at the border
destroyed or expunged. The lawsuit, which seeks no monetary damages, asks the U.S. District
Court to: declare that the Department of Homeland Security violated the constitutional rights of
the five American Muslims, stop border agents from detaining Muslims merely because they are
returning from a religious conference, and order the government to return or destroy all
fingerprints and photos of these people. The five American Muslims traveled separately and
arrived at the checkpoint throughout the afternoon and night. Travelers who told agents they had
attended the conference titled "Reviving the Islamic Spirit" were held for questioning, and women
wearing hijab were asked whether they had attended the conference, according to the lawsuit,
filed in U.S. District Court by the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Council for AmericanIslamic Relations.
HR bodies demand inquiry against Bush, Rumsfeld, Tenet
April 23: Prominent human rights groups – the American Civil Liberties Union abd Human Rights
Watch - urged Congress to launch an independent and bipartisan probe to determine the roles of
senior US leaders in prison abuses in Iraq. One of them — Human Rights Watch — named
President George W. Bush, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and former CIA director
George J. Tenet among the people it wants investigated. The group said that an independent
commission could compel evidence that the government has continued to conceal, including the
directives reportedly signed by President Bush authorizing the CIA to establish secret detention
facilities and facilitating the ‘rendition’ of suspects to brutal regimes. Rendition is the practice of
transporting prisoners to a third country where they can be tortured for extracting information. The
Human Rights Watch reported that since the Sept 11 attacks, US agents have secretly
transported up to 150 detainees to countries that practice torture.
Jurors convict Muslim leader in terrorism case
April 25: A prominent Muslim spiritual leader from Fairfax County was convicted of inciting his
followers to train overseas for violent jihad against the United States. The jury in U.S. District
Court in Alexandria, Virginia, decided that Ali Al-Timimi's words, coming shortly after the Sept. 11,
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2001, terrorist attacks, were enough to send him to prison for what prosecutors said will be a
mandatory life sentence. The heart of the government's case against Timimi was a meeting he
attended in Fairfax on Sept. 16, 2001 -- five days after the attacks on the Pentagon and World
Trade Center. Timimi told his followers that "the time had come for them to go abroad and join the
mujahideen engaged in violent jihad in Afghanistan," according to court papers. The conviction,
after seven days of deliberations, reignited a debate that played out in the courtroom over
whether Timimi was committing a crime with his often-incendiary rhetoric or was a Muslim scholar
exercising his rights to free speech. Mahdi Bray, Executive Director, Muslim American Society
Freedom Foundation, said that the verdict in Dr. Al-Timimi's case is a sad day for American
Muslims and the U.S. Constitution. It bodes ill for the Bill of Rights, and especially the First
Amendment (Freedom of Speech). I agreed with many of America's lawyers and constitutional
scholars that Dr. Al-Timimi's speech is constitutionally protected, even if others find it repugnant
and inflammatory.
America is spending millions to change the very face of Islam
April 25: U.S. News and World Report says: the U.S. government has embarked on a campaign
of political warfare in the Muslim world unmatched since the height of the Cold War. From military
psychological-operations teams and CIA covert operatives to openly funded media and think
tanks, Washington is plowing tens of millions of dollars into a campaign to influence not only
Muslim societies but Islam itself. The White House has approved a classified new strategy,
dubbed Muslim World Outreach, that for the first time states that the United States has a national
security interest in influencing what happens within Islam. The CIA is revitalizing programs of
covert action that once helped win the Cold War, targeting Islamic media, religious leaders, and
political parties. The agency is receiving "an exponential increase in money, people, and assets"
to help it influence Muslim societies, says a senior intelligence official.
Ann Coulter says “Arabs lie”
April 25: In an article published in the Time Magazine about an extreme rightist columnist Ann
Coulter, entitled Ms. Right, John Cloud quotes her as saying: "Liberals are about to become the
last people to figure out that Arabs lie." The magazine added that Coulter actually favors
discrimination based on skin color in airports. She argues that airports should establish a
separate line for men and boys whose complexion suggests they could be from the Middle East;
they would be screened more thoroughly than other passengers.
Domestic terrorists seen as viable U.S. threat
April 27: Domestic terrorism remains a clear and present danger to the United States, rights
groups and government agencies warn amid a number of fresh reminders of homegrown
terrorism's toll on the U.S. public, according to IPS. In recent weeks, people throughout the
country have witnessed Eric Rudolph's sentencing to four life sentences without parole for the
deadly 1996 Olympic park bombing in Atlanta and attacks at two abortion clinics and a gay
nightclub. Homegrown terrorism appears to be resurging as extremists have added Islam to their
list of targets. Since the Sep. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, Justice Department
reports a dramatic increase in hate crimes directed against people perceived to be Arabs. Sikhs
and Hindus frequently are attacked because to their attackers, they look like they might be of
Middle Eastern descent.
Discrimination against Muslim students: Bus company settles suit
April 28: A Florida company accused of discriminating against Muslim students on a Duval
County school bus in October 2003 admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to establish new
antidiscrimination training policies and make monetary payments of about $35,000, according to
settlement documents. Allegations that an employee of First Student Inc., who was driving a
Duval County school bus, forcibly removed the Muslim students from a bus and made derogatory
statements on Oct. 29, 2003, were investigated by Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist's Office.
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Sgt. Hassan Akbar sentenced to death for Kuwait attack
April 28 — A military jury sentenced Sgt. Hasan Akbar to death for the 2003 grenade and rifle
attack that killed two of his officers and wounded 14 others at an army camp in Kuwait during the
opening days of the Iraq war. The same jury last week took 2 1/2 hours to convict him of two
counts of premeditated murder and three counts of attempted premeditated murder. The
sentence will be the subject of an automatic appeal. Prosecutors said Akbar, 34, launched the
grenade attack on members of the 101st Airborne Division in March 2003 at Camp Pennsylvania
because he was concerned about US troops killing fellow Muslims in the Iraq war. Akbar’s father,
John Akbar, said his son complained in vain to his superiors about religious and racial
harassment before the attack.
Immigrants wary of complaining of bias
April 30: Discrimination cases involving Muslims in the workplace, at school and in airports
increased markedly after Sept. 11 but are most commonly brought by American-born Muslims
because immigrants are reluctant to take legal action, the New York Times quoted lawyers and
civil rights advocates as saying. A fear of retaliation by employers or more extreme outcomes, like
deportation, drives many Muslim immigrants to stay quiet. The cases, some of which have been
settled by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, cover a spectrum of harassment and
discrimination claims. Children have been barred from boarding airplanes because their names
resembled those on a terrorist watch list; longtime female employees were suddenly told, after
9/11, to remove their hijabs.
Muslim converts face discrimination
April 30: In the wake of 9/11, Muslim immigrants from Pakistan, Egypt and other countries have
found themselves living in a newly suspicious America, the New York Times reports. Many of
their businesses and mosques have been closely monitored by federal agents, thousands of men
have been deported and some have simply been swept away - "rendered" in the language of the
C.I.A. - to be interrogated or jailed overseas. But Muslim immigrants are not alone in experiencing
the change. It is now touching the lives of some American converts: men and women raised in
this country, whose only tie to the Middle East or Southeast Asia is one of faith.
Chronology of Islam in America (May - Aug 2005)
[Page 59]
May 2005
Religious leaders denounce Robertson comments
May 4: Religious leaders, left-leaning political activists and victims of the Sept. 11 attacks in New
York joined today to denounce recent comments Pat Robertson made about the escalating battle
over the federal judiciary. Robertson, who had a brief 1988 GOP presidential bid, told "This
Week" host George Stephanopoulos that federal jurists were a more serious threat to America
than "a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings" and that Muslims were unfit to hold federal
judgeships. MoveOnPAC, a progressive group that provides financial backing to congressional
candidates, said it's launching a TV ad campaign repudiating the religious broadcaster's Sunday
(May 1) comments on ABC's "This Week." In a telephone news conference, the Rev. Jim Wallis,
evangelical editor of Sojourners magazine and the author of "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It
Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It," said Robertson's remarks were "irresponsible, extreme and
hurtful." He added that Robertson's claims that "all Muslims want to kill us" were particularly
destructive to the healing process happening in the Islamic community. (Religion News Service)
Suit says Muslim fired because of his religion
May 4: Choose your prayers or your job. That's the ultimatum an Aurora man says his boss gave
him before he was fired from a suburban company two years ago. Amer Mirza, a 25-year-old
Indian Muslim, said the environment at Specialty Publishing in Carol Stream got increasingly
tense and unfriendly as the U.S. war in Iraq loomed in 2003. Particularly when it came to his
Friday prayers, Mirza said in a federal lawsuit filed this week by the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission on his behalf. Mirza, a U.S. citizen who came here from India in 1994,
said the harassment got so bad he was hospitalized with severe stomach and chest pains related
to stress. He said the company looked for an excuse to fire him and eventually did in September
2003. (Chicago Sun Times)
Arab American National Museum opens in Detroit
May 5: Metro Detroit Arab-Americans are looking forward with understandable pride and
excitement to the opening of the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn. Arab-Americans
are a vital part of this region's culture and economy, and understanding their story is essential to
understanding Metro Detroit. The $13 million, 38,500-square-foot museum, features exhibits on
the Arab world, the successive waves of Arab immigration to America, Arab religious and cultural
life and the Arab experience in America. (The Detroit News)
Harvard City Council rejects plan for Muslim school
May 6: The Harvard City Council this week rejected a request to open a Muslim boarding school
in the northwest McHenry County town, saying it wasn't compatible with nearby residences. After
about 10 minutes of discussion, the council denied the bid by the Ibrahim Education Foundation
to convert an old church into a boarding school for Muslim boys. (Chicago Tribune)
Baltimore County school calendar denies Muslim request
May 10: The Baltimore County school system has proposed a calendar for the 2006-2007
academic year that does not include days off for the two most religious Muslim holidays, despite
more than a year of lobbying by the Muslim community. The proposed calendar does include a
day off for the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Bash Pharoan, president of the Baltimore County
Muslim Council, said he would continue fighting for the schools to close for Muslim holidays.
(Baltimore Sun)
Judge bars discussion of Mideast conflict in Dr. Al Arian case
May 10: Attorneys for a former college professor accused of raising money for a Palestinian
terrorist group may not introduce the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as part of their defense at his
upcoming trial, a judge in Tampa, Florida, ruled today. Sami Al-Arian, 47, and three other men
face a 53-count indictment charging them with support of a foreign terrorist organization,
[Page 60]
racketeering, conspiracy and extortion. They face life in prison if convicted. Attorneys for the
former University of South Florida professor had argued that jurors must understand the 50-year
conflict to put Al-Arian's public statements and some of his activities into context. But Judge
James Moody Jr. agreed with prosecutors, who filed motions to block political and religious
issues relating to the conflict that would serve as explanations for the defendants' motives. (Los
Angeles Times)
Anti-Muslim hate crimes in US jumps 52 percent
May 11: Anti-Muslim hate crimes in the United States increased by more than 50 percent in the
past year, from 93 cases in 2003 to 141 in 2004, according to a report released today by the
Council on American-Islamic Relations' (CAIR). The CAIR report - the only annual study of its
kind - outlines 1522 incidents and experiences of anti-Muslim violence, discrimination and
harassment in 2004, the highest number of Muslim civil rights cases ever recorded in the group's
annual report entitled: 'Unequal Protection: The Status of Muslim Civil Rights in the United States
2005'. Among the most prevalent complaints: There were 225 alleging religious discrimination
such as community opposition to the presence of a mosque; 196 asserting employment
discrimination; and 190 reported instances of verbal harassment. Anti-Muslim Internet traffic and
radio broadcasts are fueling an atmosphere of hate and contributing to increased discrimination,
the report pointed out. (CAIR)
Tensions between U.S. and Muslims reaching new highs, say analysts
May 11: Far from abating since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, tensions between the
United States and Muslims appear to be reaching a fever pitch. A new report today documented a
sharp increase last year in hate crimes and civil rights violations against Muslims living in the
country. Author and academic Muqtedar Khan, on staff at the Institute for Social Policy and
Understanding in Clinton, Mich., says favourability ratings toward Muslims among Americans
were not significantly negative for some time after the Sept. 11 attacks but started going down in
2003. He blames increasingly tense relations on anti-Islamic rhetoric from right-wing religious
groups in the U.S. and a small segment of Muslims bent on reinforcing violent stereotypes. (The
Canadian Press)
American Muslims demand high-level investigation of Qur'an desecration at Guantanamo
prison
May 11: American Muslim organizations today called for high-level Pentagon investigation of the
reported desecration of Holy Qur'an at the US detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The
allegations have been made by recently released Pakistani and Afghan detainees and published
in the latest edition of the American Newsweek magazine. Leading Muslim organizations,
American Muslim Council, American Muslim Voice, Council on American-Islamic Relations,
Muslim Civil Rights Center and many other groups issued separate statements expressing their
dismay at the desecration of the holy Qur'an at the Guantanamo Bay Prison. (American Muslim
Perspective report)
Channel 25, Herald face libel suit
May 11: The chairman of the board of trustees of the Islamic Society of Boston filed a defamation
suit against the Boston Herald and WFXT-TV (Channel 25), marking the second time in three
months an official of that group said he had been unfairly harmed by news reports linking him to
terrorism. In the suit filed in Suffolk Superior Court, Osama Kandil, a biomedical researcher and a
US citizen residing in Egypt, alleges that a series of Herald stories that began in October 2003
and a Channel 25 broadcast in November 2004 destroyed his reputation ''by sensationalizing a
story that Dr. Kandil . . . was linked to radical Islamic terrorists and that both he and the ISB
[Islamic Society of Boston] presented a danger to the community." (Boston Globe)
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One of the largest mosques in US opens in Detroit
May 12: The Islamic Center of America in Detroit formally opened its $12 million complex to
provide its 3,000 members with more room to worship and have community activities. The Islamic
Center -- which is among the largest mosques in the country -- is a 120,000-square-foot complex
that includes the mosque, the Muslim American Youth Academy, an auditorium and library.
There are about 500,000 Arab-Americans in Metro Detroit. About 30,000 Dearborn residents -about one-third of the city's population -- are of Arab descent. The Islamic Center's existing
mosque in Detroit began as the Islamic Center of Detroit in 1963. Coupled with the American
National Museum and Cultural Center and mosque, Dearborn will now be the country's hub of
Arab American culture and religion. The Dearborn Arab Community Center for Economic and
Social Services also opened the $12.8 million museum this month. (The Detroit News)
Two Muslim teenage girls released after New York suicide bomb scare arrests
May 12: In New York, Immigration authorities have released two 16-year-old Muslim girls who
were detained for six weeks amid reports they were potential recruits for a suicide bomb plot that
never materialized. The girls - one from Bangladesh, the other from Guinea - were taken into
custody separately in New York on March 24 and held at a detention centre. The Bangladeshi
girl, her mother and two brothers left the country voluntarily on today, U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement spokesman Manny Van Pelt said. The Guinean girl was released last
week and was allowed to remain in the city but still faces removal proceedings, Van Pelt said in
Washington, D.C. (Associated Press)
U.S. neo-cons embellished “terror” threat
May 13: A British documentary which argues that U.S. neo-conservatives exaggerated the “terror”
was premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on today, with many believing it will stir up emotions
very much the way "Fahrenheit 9/11" did a year ago. "The Power of Nightmares" re-injected
politics into the festival that seemed eager to steer clear of controversy this year after American
documentary maker Michael Moore won top honors in 2004 for his film deriding President Bush's
response to terror. At a screening, "The Power of Nightmares" by filmmaker and senior BBC
producer Adam Curtis kept an audience of journalists and film buyers glued to their seats and
taking notes for a full 2-1/2 hours. The film, a non-competition entry, argues that the fear of
terrorism has come to pervade politics in the United States and Britain even though much of that
angst is based on carefully nurtured illusions. It says Bush and U.S. neo-conservatives, as well as
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, are exaggerating the terror threat in a manner similar to the way
earlier generations of leaders inflated the danger of communism and the Soviet Union.( Al
Jazeera)
MPAC campaign to redress grievances of American Muslims
May 13: The Muslim Public Affairs Council today announced a petition campaign to the President
calling for redress of grievances suffered by American Muslims. The petition calls for an
immediate investigation of detainee abuse and religious mistreatment by U.S. military
interrogators of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, and demands swift corrective action against
those responsible, including termination of employment of high-level officials who allowed such
abuses to take place. (MPAC)
Muslim charity officer pleads not guilty
May 16: In Worcester, Mass., a former officer of a defunct Islamic charity pleaded not guilty today
to federal charges of lying to authorities investigating the group's alleged ties to terrorist
organizations. Muhamed Mubayyid was released on bond and given an electronic monitoring
bracelet after a court hearing. He was one of two former officers of a group called Care
International to be indicted on charges of concealing information from federal agencies,
conspiring to defraud the government, and making false statements to the FBI. (Washington
Post)
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Student reports holy book in toilet at CA College
May 16: Campus police at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton CA, are investigating a report
that a student found a copy of the Quran in a library toilet at the college. The student claims to
have found the Muslim holy book in the toilet of a second-floor men's bathroom in the library.
(KESQ Channel)
Desecrated Quran delivered via Amazon.com
May 17: An American Muslim woman who ordered a copy of the Quran from Amazon.com
received one with the words "F*ck this piece of sh*t" and "Death to all Muslims" scrawled across
the inside cover. Customer Azza Basarudin and the Muslim Public Affairs Council demanded that
Amazon issue a formal condemnation and take corrective action. "The cult of hatred against
Islam and Muslims is manifesting in different sectors of our society," said MPAC Executive
Director Salam Al-Marayati. "The sooner we address these problems, the better we can serve
America's national and international interests." (MPAC)
CAIR elects Dr. Parvez Ahmed as new Chairman
May 17: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced today at its annual
conference the election of Dr. Parvez Ahmed as the new Chairman of the Board for CAIR
National. Assisting the new Chair will be Dr. Ahmad Al-Akhras as the Vice Chairman of the
Board. Omar Ahmad will be retiring as CAIR's Founding Chairman after 11 years of exemplary
and dedicated service to the American Muslim community. (CAIR)
ICRC told U.S. of disrespect of Quran at Guantanamo
May 19: The international Red Cross told U.S. authorities about American personnel at the
Guantanamo Bay detention center showing disrespect to Islam's holy book, the Quran, a
spokesman said today in Geneva. Delegates from the International Committee of the Red Cross
informed the relevant U.S. authorities, who took action to stop the abuse, said spokesman Simon
Schorno, who declined to specify the nature of the incidents. The Geneva-based ICRC
confidentially reported the incidents to U.S. authorities in 2002 and 2003, and has since been
able to verify that any disrespect of the Quran has been stopped. (Associated Press)
U.S. 'Thumbs Its Nose' at Rights, Amnesty Says
May 25: In coordinated broadsides from London and Washington, Amnesty International accused
the Bush administration today of condoning "atrocious" human rights violations, thereby
diminishing its moral authority and setting a global example encouraging abuse by other nations.
In a string of accusations introducing the organization's annual report in London, Irene Khan,
Amnesty's secretary general, listed the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, the
detention of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and the so-called rendition of prisoners to
countries known to practice torture as evidence that the United States "thumbs its nose at the rule
of law and human rights." Ms. Khan labeled the United States detention facility at Guantánamo
Bay, where more than 500 prisoners from about 40 countries are being held, as "the gulag of our
times." Defending its human rights record as "leading the way," the White House dismissed the
accusations as ridiculous and unfounded. (New York Times)
Inmates Alleged Koran Abuse: FBI Papers Cite Complaints as Early as 2002
May 25: Detainees told FBI interrogators as early as April 2002 that mistreatment of the Koran
was widespread at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and many said they were
severely beaten by captors there or in Afghanistan, according to FBI documents released today.
The summaries of FBI interviews, obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union as part of an
ongoing lawsuit, include a dozen allegations that the Koran was kicked, thrown to the floor or
withheld as punishment. One prisoner said in August 2002 that guards had "flushed a Koran in
the toilet" and had beaten some detainees. (Washington Post)
[Page 63]
Pakistani deported after one year in detention
May 27: Pakistani native Khamal Muhammad, who told authorities he was an armed guard and
cook for Harakat ul-Mujahidin — designated by the State Department as a terrorism organization
associated with al-Qaida, has been deported to Pakistan after being detained for over a year,
Homeland Security investigators said today. Muhammad, 23, was living in the San Francisco
area when he was arrested in January 2004 for overstaying his visa by eight months. The Justice
Department did not pursue criminal charges against Muhammad. "Knowledge or connection to a
terrorist activity may not be sufficient to prove a terrorism crime," said Justice spokesman Kevin
Madden. "Sometimes the best alternative from a national security standpoint is to pursue other
disruption efforts, including removal from the United States." (San Francisco Chronicle)
Prayer time for Muslim cabbies at Cleveland airport leads to police ticketing
May 27: Somali immigrants who work as cab drivers at the Cleveland airport say police are
ticketing them when they step out of their cabs for traditional Islamic prayer. Police say they are
enforcing a requirement that all drivers remain in their vehicles outside the terminal and are trying
to maintain order in an increasingly competitive airport cab scene. The USA Taxi company says a
third of its drivers have quit in recent months over the enforcement. They say the ticketing has
hurt efforts to attract Somali cab drivers to Cleveland from the big Somali immigrant community in
Columbus. "Nobody wants to work in an environment of harassment," said Abdifatah Samatar,
25, the manager of the Somali-owned company. "Everyone came here to work. Instead, everyone
feels unwanted." (Fox News)
June 2005
Iranian Americans launch “know your rights” campaign
June 2: In Los Angeles, at a breakfast briefing this morning the American Civil Liberties Union
and leaders of the Iranian American community launched a "Know Your Rights" Campaign
designed to address community-specific concerns. There have been increased patterns of
discrimination against Iranian Americans in the past six months, according to the organizations,
including allegations of employment discrimination, FBI interrogation and surveillance, problems
in getting security clearance and immigration discrimination. While mindful of security concerns,
the organizations unequivocally oppose targeting Iranian Americans on the basis of ethnic origin,
saying it does nothing to increase safety. As a result of these concerns, for the first time these
organizations have joined together to reach out to the Iranian American community to educate
individuals about their rights. (ACLU)
Desert Mosque burns to ground in California
June 3: A suspicious fire gutted a mosque early today in the high desert city of Adelanto, the site
of Southern California's only cemetery built exclusively for Muslims. San Bernardino County
arson investigators who inspected the ruins of the United Islamic Youth Organization mosque
believe that the blaze was possibly arson or a hate crime, authorities said. The fire was labeled
suspicious because the 1,500-square-foot mosque on Morning Glory Street did not have electric
or gas service, ruling out an electrical fire or a gas leak as possible causes. Power was provided
by a portable generator that was not on the premises, Martinez said. (Los Angeles Times)
Michigan Muslims protest Quran abuse
June 3: Members of the Muslim Community Association of Ann Arbor voiced their outrage at the
U.S. government and military today in response to Quran desecration and alleged mistreatment
of Muslim detainees in American Military detention facilities. The crowd of about 100 protesters
gathered outside the Islamic Center of Ann Arbor and demanded that a commission be created to
investigate allegations of torture and abuse. They also demanded that all detainees be given full
due process rights and that they either be charged with a crime or be released. Protesters
specifically said they want the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba shut down, saying it
disregards universal human rights and is a national embarrassment. (The Michigan Daily News)
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American prisons become political and religious battleground over Muslim inmates
June 4: Across the United States, tens of thousands of Muslims are practicing their faith behind
bars. Islam is most likely to win American converts there, according to U.S. Muslim leaders, and
the religion has for decades been a regular part of prison culture. But the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks
have brought new scrutiny to Muslim inmates, many of whom are black men focused on surviving
incarceration. While prison chaplains of various denominations argue that Islam offers a spiritual
path to rehabilitation, others say it has the potential to turn felons into terrorists. The FBI calls
prisons ''fertile ground for extremists.'' The reality is harder to read: Those on opposing sides
have such divergent views they seem irreconcilable. Who's right matters not only for national
security, but for the development of American Islam itself, which is struggling to be accepted
alongside the major faiths in the United States. Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat,
has said: ''Wahhabi influence is inculcating them with the same kind of militant ideas that drove
the 9-11 hijackers to kill thousands of Americans. Prison chaplains and others say such warnings
are dangerously ignorant. In interviews with The Associated Press, chaplains, prison volunteers,
correctional officials, inmates and former inmates all insisted that there was no evidence of
terrorist recruitment by Muslims in their prisons - although banned pamphlets and books
sometimes slip in. Chaplains describe the typical inmate convert as a poor, black American upset
about racism, not Mideast politics, or someone who turned to Islam to cope with imprisonment.
When they get out, these men are so overwhelmed by alcoholism or poverty that the crimes they
are most likely to commit are the ones that landed them in jail to begin with, chaplains say. (The
Salt Lake Tribune)
Five Lodi Pakistanis arrested in terrorist probe
June 6: FBI today arrested two Pakistani Americans and two Pakistani nationals in the city of
Lodi, CA., for allegedly operating an Al Qaeda cell in the city. One of the men arrested, 22-yearold American citizen, Hamid Hayat, is accused in a FBI criminal complaint of training in an Al
Qaeda camp in Pakistan to learn “how to kill Americans” and then lying to FBI agents about it. His
father, 47-year-old Umer Hayat, is charged in the complaint with lying about his son’s involvement
and his own financing of the Al Qaeda camp. Meanwhile, Two Pakistani nationals, Shabbir
Ahmed, imam of the Lodi Mosque, and Mohammad Adil Khan, a former Imam of the mosque,
were arrested this morning on immigration violations, according to official sources. Two days
later, on June 8, Mohammad Hassan Adil, 19, son of Mohammad Adil Khan was arrested on
immigration charges. (Sacramento Bee)
Islamic School of Miami vandalized for third time in past year
June 7: Islamic leaders renewed their calls for a hate-crime investigation today after someone
threw a rock through the glass doors of the Islamic School of Miami. The incident, which occurred
on June 6, was the third at the mosque and the fifth in South Florida in the past year, according to
Altaf Ali, executive director of the Florida branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Miami-Dade police spokesman Juan Del Castillo said officers will investigate the case but the
department has not classified it as a hate crime. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
Carter calls on U.S. to shut down Gitmo
June 7: Former President Carter today called for the United States to shut down the Guantanamo
Bay prison to demonstrate its commitment to human rights."The U.S. continues to suffer terrible
embarrassment and a blow to our reputation ... because of reports concerning abuses of
prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo," Carter said after a two-day human rights
conference at his Atlanta center. Such reports have surfaced despite President Bush's "bold
reminder that America is determined to promote freedom and democracy around the world,"
Carter said. (Washington Post)
Lodi arrests: Terror allegations disappear from court filing
June 10: The Los Angeles Times reported today that the Federal Bureau of Investigation
apparently gave the media a different, far more damaging version of an affidavit against a Lodi,
California father and son – Umer Hayat and Hamid Hayat - charged with lying to federal officials
[Page 65]
than the one that was finally given to a court in Sacramento on June 9. Under the title, “Affidavit
Changed in Terrorism Accusation:The FBI version filed in court lacks several prominent details in
the publicized original,” the Los Angeles Times reported that the affidavit filed did not contain any
of the sensation material from earlier in the week which said the son's "potential terrorist targets
included hospitals and groceries, and contained names of key individuals and statements about
the international origins of 'hundreds' of participants in alleged Al Qaeda terrorist training camps
in Pakistan." (Los Angeles Times)
Only 39 people and not 200, as officials have implied,
were convicted of crimes related to terrorism or national security
June 12: An analysis of the Justice Department's own list of terrorism prosecutions by The
Washington Post shows that 39 people -- not 200, as officials have implied -- were convicted of
crimes related to terrorism or national security. Most of the others were convicted of relatively
minor crimes such as making false statements and violating immigration law -- and had nothing to
do with terrorism, the analysis shows. For the entire list, the median sentence was just 11
months. Taken as a whole, the data indicate that the government's effort to identify terrorists in
the United States has been less successful than authorities have often suggested. The statistics
provide little support for the contention that authorities have discovered and prosecuted hundreds
of terrorists here. Except for a small number of well-known cases -- such as truck driver Iyman
Faris, who sought to take down the Brooklyn Bridge -- few of those arrested appear to have been
involved in active plots inside the United States. Among all the people charged as a result of
terrorism probes in the three years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, The Post found no
demonstrated connection to terrorism or terrorist groups for 180 of them. Just one in nine
individuals on the list had an alleged connection to the al Qaeda terrorist network and only 14
people convicted of terrorism-related crimes -- including Faris and convicted Sept. 11 plotter
Zacarias Moussaoui -- have clear links to the group. Many more cases involve Colombian drug
cartels, supporters of the Palestinian cause, Rwandan war criminals or others with no apparent
ties to al Qaeda or its leader, Osama bin Laden. But a large number of people appear to have
been swept into U.S. counterterrorism investigations by chance -- through anonymous tips,
suspicious circumstances or bad luck -- and have remained classified as terrorism defendants
years after being cleared of connections to extremist groups. (Washington Post)
The Terrorism Case That Wasn't -- and Still Is
June 12: Soon after Sept. 11, 2001, the FBI learned that 18 Middle Eastern men had obtained
licenses in Pennsylvania to haul hazardous materials across the nation's roadways. Deeply
concerned about another terrorist attack, prosecutors filed fraud charges against the men on
Sept. 24, 2001. The next day, then-Attorney General John D. Ashcroft appeared before
Congress. Invoking the threat of attacks with poisons from crop-dusting aircraft or other
hazardous materials, he said some of the defendants "may have links to the hijackers." Within
two days, the FBI was backing off that allegation. Two months later, prosecutors in Pittsburgh,
where the men -- mostly Iraqis -- were convicted, said they had no apparent terrorist ties. The
U.S. attorney's office later learned that the men never intended to buy the hazardous-materials
permits. Robert Cindrich, a former U.S. district judge who heard the case, said that he would "not
continue to characterize this as a successful prosecution of a terrorism case, because it was not."
Yet the case still makes up the largest single portion of the government's list of terrorism
prosecutions. Rena Zottola's husband, Kumeit Al-Saraf, was put on probation after pleading guilty
to a conspiracy charge and remains unemployed. She said that "what Americans need to realize
is that for the people in this case, their lives are ruined. His name is tainted now. That's it."
(Washington Post)
Immigration law as anti-terrorism tool
June 13: In the past two years, officials have filed immigration charges against more than 500
people who have come under scrutiny in national security investigations, according to previously
undisclosed government figures. Some are ultimately found to have no terrorism ties, officials
acknowledge. Whereas terrorism charges can be difficult to prosecute, Homeland Security
[Page 66]
officials say immigration laws can provide a quick, easy way to detain people who could be
planning attacks. Authorities have also used routine charges such as overstaying a visa to deport
suspected supporters of terrorist groups. "It's an incredibly important piece of the terrorism
response," said Michael J. Garcia, who heads Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, or ICE. And although immigration violations might seem humdrum, he said,
"They're legitimate charges." Muslim and civil liberties activists disagree. They argue that
authorities are enforcing minor violations by Muslims and Arabs, while ignoring millions of other
immigrants who flout the same laws. "The approach is basically to target the Muslim and Arab
community with a kind of zero-tolerance immigration policy. No other community in the U.S. is
treated to zero-tolerance enforcement," said David Cole, a Georgetown University law professor.
(Washington Post)
Baltimore Countryt Board approves calendar without Muslim holidays
June 14: With nine of its 12 members voting "yes," the Baltimore County (Maryland) school board
approved the 2006-07 school calendar without two days off for Muslim holy days. School board
members Luis Borunda, Michael Kennedy and student member Nicholas Camp abstained. When
the Muslim community appealed the 2005-06 school calendar, which did not include having
schools closed on its two major holy days, to the state school board, the state responded that it is
illegal to close schools on one particular religious holiday. "Being legal is not the issue," said
Bash Pharon, president of the Baltimore County Muslim Council and the American-Arab AntiDiscrimination Committee, Baltimore Chapter, at the June 14 school board meeting. "You have
discriminated tonight." Baltimore County started closing schools on the Jewish holy days of Rosh
Hashana and Yom Kippur in the late 1990s. (The Jeffersonian, Maryland)
Burned Qurans left at Virginia Muslim center
June 16: In Backsburg, Va., a bag stuffed with burned Qurans was left in front of an Islamic
center, shocking members when they arrived for prayers. The torched copies of the Muslim holy
book were inside a plastic shopping bag, members of the Islamic Center of Blacksburg said. They
said the bag had been placed at the center's front door sometime before Saturday prayers. Kevin
Foust, the agent in charge of the Roanoke FBI office, said his office is helping local police
investigate. He declined to speculate whether the incident would be classified as a hate crime
under state or federal law. An incident can only be deemed a hate crime if it was meant to
intimidate or harass, police said. Laila Al-Qatami, a spokeswoman for the American-Arab AntiDiscrimination Committee in Washington, D.C., said the Quran burning fits that definition.
(Newsday)
Muslim cadets allege unequal treatment
June 17: Muslim cadets at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs were prevented from
attending mosque services last semester because of school obligations, while similar duties were
scheduled to avoid conflict with Jewish and Christian services, a Muslim student says. The issue
of unequal treatment for the academy's Muslims comes as the school is working to address
charges of religious intolerance, favoritism and proselytizing by its large evangelical Christian
population. Of the 4,300 cadets at the academy, about 2,600 are Protestant, 1,300 are Catholic
and 43 are Jewish. The nine cadets who are Muslim are too few to justify their own chaplain, the
academy has said, so last fall they attended Friday services at Colorado Springs' only mosque as
their schedules permitted. (Rocky Mountain News)
Two Lodi Pakistani Americans indicted for lying to FBI
June 18 : Two Pakistani Americans, father and son, have been indicted by a federal grand jury on
charges that they lied to the FBI investigating links to terrorist camps in Pakistan connected to alQaeda. However, Hamid Hayat, 22, and his father Umer Hayat, 47, were not charged with
terrorism. Hamid Hayat is charged with two counts of making a false statement to FBI agents,
and Umer Hayat is charged with one count of making a false statement to FBI agents. The
indictment says Hamid Hayat was lying when he denied being with any type of terrorist
organization and denied attending any type of terrorist training camp. In an affidavit, the FBI said
[Page 67]
Hamid Hayat attended a terror camp for about six months before returning to the U.S. intending
to wage attacks. The indictment says his father, Umer Hayat was lying when he denied having
any first-hand knowledge of terrorist training camps in Pakistan. Hamid Hayat's lawyer, Wazhma
Mojaddidi said she was not surprised by the indictments but said her client was innocent.
Wazhma Mojaddidi said: "My client is not a terrorist. He does not associate with any terrorist
organizations or support any terrorist activities, and he has most definitely never attended a
terrorist training camp." (Sacramento Bee)
171-Month Prison Sentence for Attacking Mosque
June 22: The Justice Department announced today that Antonio Flores was sentenced to 171
months imprisonment for attempting to firebomb the Islamic Center of El Paso in El Paso, Texas.
On March 22, 2005, Flores pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to violating 18 U.S.C. § 247,
which prohibits damaging or attempting to damage religious property, and 18 U.S.C. § 844(h),
which prohibits the use of fire or an explosive device in the commission of a felony. At his plea
hearing, Flores admitted that he threw a Molotov cocktail at the Islamic Center and placed a
second, similar device near a gas meter on the Center's property. (Department of Justice news
release)
World view of U.S. improves slightly, except among Muslims
June 23: The anti-Americanism that surged through much of the world over the American-led war
in Iraq shows modest signs of abating, although distinctly negative views persist in the Muslim
world, according to a major new international opinion poll. The snapshot of world opinions
emerged from a Pew Global Attitudes Survey of nearly 17,000 people in the United States and 15
other countries: Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon,
Morocco, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Spain and Turkey. "Anti-Americanism in most parts of the
world we surveyed seems pretty entrenched," said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Center, in
Washington. "But there are some very positive signs of progress in India and Russia and
Indonesia." (New York Times)
America's rating was lowest in Turkey, Pakistan and Jordan
June 24: The United States' image is so tattered overseas two years after the Iraq invasion that
communist China is viewed more favorably than the U.S. in many long-time Western European
allies, an international poll has found. "It's amazing when you see the European public rating the
United States so poorly, especially in comparison with China," said Andrew Kohut, director of the
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, which surveyed public opinion in 16 countries,
including the United States.In Britain, almost two-thirds of Britons, 65 percent, saw China
favorably, compared with 55 percent who held a positive view of the United States. In France, 58
percent had an upbeat view of China, compared with 43 percent who felt that way about the U.S.
The results were nearly the same in Spain and the Netherlands. The United States' favorability
rating was lowest among three Muslim nations which are also U.S. allies -- Turkey, Pakistan and
Jordan -- where only about one-fifth of those polled viewed the U.S. in a positive light. Only India
and Poland were more upbeat about the United States, while Canadians were just as likely to see
China favorably as they were the U.S. The poll found suspicion and wariness of the United States
in many countries where people question the war in Iraq and are growing wary of the U.S.-led
campaign against terrorism. (CNN)
ACLU, HRW detail 'Kafkaesque' detention of Muslims
June 26: The government detained at least 70 men, all but one a Muslim, as material witnesses
and abused their civil rights in a largely secret operation launched by the Justice Department after
the Sept. 11 attacks, Human Rights Watch and the ACLU allege in a report out today. The civil
rights groups say that in many cases the detainees were not told why they were arrested and did
not get immediate access to lawyers, and that the Justice Department often would not confirm
whether they were being held.Federal law allows the government to temporarily detain people
who are suspected of having knowledge of a crime to ensure they testify. But the report accuses
the government of operating in "a Kafkaesque world of indefinite detention" for many people who
[Page 68]
were never linked to terrorism. Of the 70 men identified in the report, 42 were released without
any charges filed. Seven were charged with terrorism-related offenses. At least 13 received
apologies from the government for being wrongfully detained, says the report, which relies heavily
on interviews with witnesses, their lawyers and available court records. "Muslim men were
arrested for little more than attending the same mosque as a Sept. 11 hijacker or owning a boxcutter," it says. (USA TODAY)
Chicagoan stranded at the border files lawsuit
June 29: When Akif Rahman returns home to the United States after visiting family in Canada
over the 4th of July weekend, he doesn't expect a warm welcome. The last time Rahman, 32,
drove over the border, guards in Detroit stopped the Chicago man, handcuffed him to a chair and
grilled him for six hours about whether he has terrorist connections, Rahman said. Officials
detained his wife and two children in a small, dirty office while Rahman was questioned, he said.
He has been stopped five times. Today, lawyers from the Illinois chapter of the ACLU filed a
lawsuit against Homeland Security Department officials, saying Rahman's Fourth and Fifth
Amendment rights were violated when he was allegedly seized and searched with excessive
force, then not allowed to make phone calls.(Chicago Tribune)
Muslim worker wins race discrimination case
June 29: A former sales manager for Nicolet Biomedical - now Viasys NeuroCare - has won a
$1.56 million damage award in a race discrimination case, and he'll get his job back along with a
raise. A seven-member U.S. District Court jury in Madison (Wisconsin) sided with Sami
Elestwani, a native of Lebanon, who claimed he lost his job because he is an Arab and a Muslim.
Elestwani was a key account manager for Nicolet Biomedical, handling some of the Fitchburg
company's larger clients. He said his supervisor told him in 2002 to take a demotion because his
high profile with Nicolet was "not good for the company in light of 9/ 11." Elestwani was fired
when he reported the remarks to the company's human resources department. (Wisconsin State
Journal)
North Carolina Muslims ask judges to reconsider Quran oath
June 30: North Carolina's Muslim leaders said today they are not seeking legal action at this time
but want judges to reconsider their refusal to allow Muslims to swear on the Quran in court. The
leaders held a press conference at the Al-Ummil Ummat Islamic Center in Greensboro following
controversy surrounding a decision by local court officials to deny the use of the Quran for oaths.
Guilford Senior Resident Superior Court Judge W. Douglas Albright has said an oath taken on the
Quran is not a lawful oath under state law. However, the law refers to laying one's hand on the
"Holy Scriptures." (News & Record)
July 2005
OSCE Report: Guantanamo fuels hatred, boosts al Qaeda
July 1: The United States must close Guantanamo prison, where its treatment of some 500
terrorism suspects encourages hatred towards the West and bolsters Muslim membership of the
al Qaeda network, a new report concludes. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) commissioned the report from its human rights representative, Belgian senate
president Anne-Marie Lizin. "A generation of young Muslims, fed on the images of Abu Ghraib, of
the treatment reserved for the Guantanamo detainees and rumours about profanation of the
Koran, will have filled the al Qaeda ranks and those of other extremist groups," said the report.
"The longer the detention is in the camps the more the hatred against the U.S. and the West
becomes anchored in hearts and minds. Being fully aware of the U.S. authorities' dilemma
between national and world security and long procedures, we recommend terminating the
Guantanamo detention facility by announcing a calendar of closure." (Reuters)
[Page 69]
Arizona paper cleared over "kill Muslims" letter
July 1: -The Arizona state Supreme Court ruled on Friday a Tucson newspaper could not be held
liable for publishing a letter that urged people to kill Muslims to retaliate for the death of American
soldiers in Iraq. In a 5-0 ruling, Arizona's highest court found unanimously the Tucson Citizen was
protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and could not be sued for printing the
letter in December 2003. The opinion reversed a lower court judge. The court stated the letter to
the editor "does not fall within one of the well-recognized exceptions to the general rule of First
Amendment protection for political speech." It ordered the case be sent back to Pima County
Superior Court and dismissed without the chance to be refiled. (Reuters)
Air Force Academy Muslims face worship-time conflict
July 2: Air Force Academy, Colorado - Nearly two weeks after an Air Force task force found that
the academy failed to facilitate worship for diverse religions, Muslim freshmen had to choose
between worship and a required training activity. The training schedule listed "optional chapel
service" for Muslims from 7 to 8 p.m. Friday. However, that slot is also listed as "basic cadet time"
to "prepare room for inspection, work on uniforms, boots, etc." A task force created after
allegations mounted that the academy favored Christianity issued a report June 22 that blamed
perceptions of bias, in part, on a lack of accommodation for diverse religions when scheduling
events. (Denver Post)
Post-9/11 workplace discrimination continues
July 5: Nearly four years after the terrorist attacks, Muslim, South Asian and Arab-American
employees continue to report discrimination on the job. Compared with the first two years after
the Sept. 11 attacks, the number of employees saying they've been discriminated against as a
form of backlash because of the attacks has declined. But charges continue to come in, indicating
that Arab-American and other workers still feel discriminated against. "People are being called
'terrorist' at work, things of that sort," says Arsalan Iftikhar, national legal director at Washingtonbased Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). "A lot of cases continue to go on. People
have been called Osama bin Laden, told they are going to mosque to learn how to build a bomb."
Nearly 280 claims of discrimination in the workplace were received by CAIR in 2004, and the
workplace was the second-most-common location for an alleged incident. The first was
government agencies. At the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, about 980
charges alleging post-9/11 backlash discrimination have been filed through June 11 since the
2001 attacks. (USA TODAY)
National Guard under fire for anti-Islam display
July 11: Already under scrutiny for setting up a controversial new intelligence unit and keeping
tabs on a Mother's Day anti-war protest, the California National Guard is taking new heat for an
anti-Islamic flyer that was hanging in its Sacramento headquarters. Islamic groups and anti-war
activists criticized the Guard on Monday after learning that one Guard soldier had a historically
suspect flyer touting World War I General John J. Pershing as a hero for executing Muslim
terrorists with bullets dipped in pig's blood to deny them entry to heaven. ``Maybe it is time for this
segment of history to repeat itself, maybe in Iraq?'' states the flyer that was posted outside a
cubicle in the Guard's Civil Support Division. ``The question is, where do we find another Black
Jack Pershing?'' The flyer, which has circulated since Sept. 11 as a hard-line tale for fighting
Islamic terrorists, raised concerns for some activists about the mind-set of Guard soldiers. `Ìt's
troubling to see a governmental organization dedicated to the security of our country promoting
culturally and religiously insensitive ideas,'' said William Youmans, media relations manager for
the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Santa Clara. Initially, a Guard spokesman defended
the flyer Monday as ``historically accurate,'' but called back later to say that it had been removed
because of concerns raised by the activists. `Èvidently,'' said Lt. Col. Doug Hart, ``somebody
didn't like it so they took it down.'' The flyers came to light after a group of anti-war activists were
invited to tour the Guard headquarters last week to allay their concerns about a new intelligence
unit that has been given wide latitude to set up new anti-terrorism projects in California. (San
Jose Mercury News)
[Page 70]
For American Muslims, charity can carry risks
July 11: Here's the dilemma: Your religion, like most others, demands that you give to charity. In
fact, it's one of the central tenets of your faith. But giving to the wrong charity, even unbeknownst
to you, might put you on the wrong side of the War on Terror. "We want to live under the
command of our faith, but how can we if we fear arrest and deportation, profiling, persecution or
intimidation?" said Zaher Sahloul, vice president of the Council of Islamic Organizations of
Greater Chicago. Now, almost four years after the Sept. 11 attacks and a federal crackdown on
charities allegedly linked to terrorists soon thereafter, steps are being taken to alleviate the fear
and anxiety many Muslims feel when they attempt to fulfill one of the five pillars of Islam--Zakat,
which compels them to donate 2.5 percent of their annual income to the needy. In May, the
Illinois General Assembly passed bipartisan resolutions calling on the federal government to
create a list of Muslim charitable organizations to which one can safely donate, legislation that
Muslim and immigrant groups said was the first of its kind. It was natural that such an effort would
begin in Illinois because it is home to a sizable and well-organized Muslim population, as well as
some of the most prominent charities shut down after the attacks. (Chicago Tribune )
N.C. courts may ask legislators to decide Quran issue
July 12: Legislators may be asked to decide if the Quran and other religious texts can be used
for courtroom oaths, said a spokesman for the agency that manages (North Carolina) state
courts, as the ACLU pressed for a response on the texts' use. The legal foundation of the ACLU
of North Carolina has called on the state Administrative Office of the Courts to adopt a policy
allowing the Quran and other religious texts for oath-taking in North Carolina courtrooms. The
request came after Guilford County's two top judges decided that Muslims could not legally take
an oath on the Quran. "We think they are dragging their feet," said Jennifer Rudinger, the state
ACLU's executive director. (News & Record)
Texas: Hate crimes against Arabs, Muslims up in 2004
July 12: Reported hate crimes in Texas dropped to the lowest level since 1999 last year, but
offenses against Arabs and Muslims increased slightly, a state Department of Public Safety study
shows. Hate crimes against Arabs and Muslims peaked in 2001, according to DPS crime data.
The number of crimes against those groups had declined in 2002 and 2003 but remained higher
than those reported before 9-11. Texas DPS figures show that hate crimes against Arabs and
Muslims increased from 17 in 2003 to 20 in 2004. Arab and Islamic advocacy groups in the
United States say events such as 9-11, the war in Iraq and the recent terrorist attacks in London
typically fuel a backlash against their communities. "It is unfortunate that we are associated with
those acts, which we immediately have condemned," said Rabiah Ahmed, spokeswoman for the
Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington, D.C. "A Muslim who commits an act of
terror will always get more news coverage than a Muslim who fights against it." (Star-Telegram)
Dr. Ali Tamimi sentenced to life imprisonment
July 13: An influential Muslim scholar, whom prosecutors called a "purveyor of hate and war,"
was ordered on Wednesday to spend the rest of his life in prison for inciting his young followers in
Northern Virginia to wage war against the United States in the days after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The scholar, Ali al-Timimi, was defiant to the end, telling a federal judge as he was about to be
sentenced that he considered himself a "prisoner of conscience" who was being persecuted for
his strong Muslim beliefs. "I will not admit guilt nor seek the court's mercy," Mr. Timimi told a
hushed courtroom filled with more than two dozen Muslims who have rallied around him. "I do
this simply because I am innocent." The federal district judge hearing the case, Leonie M.
Brinkema, ordered the life sentence grudgingly, saying she was bound by federal guidelines.
While Judge Brinkema said there was significant evidence that Mr. Timimi had incited his
followers toward violence, she said she considered the prison terms mandated by the guidelines
under four counts of the conviction to be "very draconian." She said she had no choice but to
impose the life sentence after refusing a defense request to set aside the guilty verdicts. (The
New York Times )
[Page 71]
Congressman Tancredo advocates preemptive nuclear strike on Mecca
July 14: In a radio interview, Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) advocated the United States
preemptively strike Mecca with nuclear weapons. The Colorado Congressman made his
comments on the Pat Campbell Radio Show in response to Campbell's statement that terrorists
are seeking the means to attack the United States with a dirty bomb. Tancredo suggested that a
preemptive attack on Mecca would be enough of a threat to make terrorists think twice about
attacking the United States again. (Media reports)
Three years after raids, still no charges against Safa Group
July 14: A collection of Islamic-American businesses and non-profit entities have been under
federal investigation for allegedly bankrolling terrorist organizations. But more than three years
later, no charges have been filed. The group of organizations — which U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement officials call the "Safa Group" — has been under investigation since at
least March 2002, when federal agents raided their Herndon offices at 555 Grove St. and eight
homes in Herndon and Loudoun County. "All I can say is that the investigation is ongoing," said
Dean Boyd, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Department of
Homeland Security. The groups are being scrutinized for allegedly funding Hamas and
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, according to court documents. Through their attorney, members of the
Safa Group denied any connection to terrorist groups. None of them have been charged with any
illegal activity. (The Connection Newspapers Virginia)
Prominent British Muslim leader denied U.S. entry
July 14: One of Britain's most senior Muslim leaders said Thursday that he was denied entry to
the United States without explanation, nearly a week after the deadly subway and bus attacks in
London. Dr. Zaki Badawi, head of the Muslim College, had been invited to speak at the
Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, N.Y., where he planned to give a talk under the title ``The
Law and Religion in Society.'' But Badawi told The Associated Press that he was detained for
about six hours upon arrival Wednesday in New York and questioned. Badawi said authorities
didn't give him a reason for denying him entry to the United States. Badawi said he had visited
the United States many times before, the last time in 2003. He also was given an honorary
knighthood in Britain and in 2003 he was among the guests of Queen Elizabeth II at a state
banquet for President Bush. (The Guardian)
US Apologizes to British Muslim leader for Visa Mishap
July 15: The United States administration has lifted a visa ban on an internationally renowned
British Muslim scholar and apologized to him for the inconvenience, allowing him to visit the
country anytime. "I woke up Friday (July 15) to a phone call from the office of British Foreign
Secretary Jack Straw and his aides apologized on his behalf for the US move and told me that
the minister would raise the issue with top US officials," Zaki Badawi, head of the Islamic College
in London, told IslamOnline.net. Badawi said few hours after the conversation, the US embassy
in London called him to apologize in their turn and stressed that it was an unintentional mistake.
"They also allowed me to visit the country anytime I decide," he added. (Islam Online)
Mayfield's attorneys tell U.S. government: Sorry isn't enough
July 15: In Portland, Oregon, U.S. government attorneys repeatedly apologized again for having
wrongly arrested Portland lawyer Brandon Mayfield in connection with the deadly Madrid train
bombings, but his attorneys told a federal court Friday that sorry wasn't enough. A little more than
a year ago in May 2004, the bespectacled Mayfield sat in a holding cell inside Portland's federal
courthouse, suspected of involvement in bombings that ripped through commuter trains in
Madrid, killing 191 people that March. Mayfield's fingerprints, the FBI said, were found on a bag
of detonators near the scene of the carnage -- prints which three senior agents analyzed and
vetted. But their analysis was wrong and they later said the prints belonged to someone else.
Now, a year and two months after FBI officials released Mayfield and first apologized for bungling
the fingerprint examination -- the 39-year-old man returned to the courthouse, this time wearing a
suit instead of prison scrubs and accompanied by a team of attorneys to sue the U.S.
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government. During a pretrial hearing in a packed U.S. District courtroom, government attorneys
expressed their regret for Mayfield's two-week incarceration, calling the incident an "unfortunate
mistake," but they refused to bend on the key issues of his civil suit, filed last October. (Media
Reports)
Tancredo refuses to apologize for anti-Islam statement
July 18: Facing mounting criticism, Rep. Tom Tancredo on Monday refused to apologize for
suggesting the United States could target Muslim holy sites if radical Islamic terrorists set off
multiple nuclear attacks in American cities. "It's a tough issue to deal with," Tancredo told
reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference. "Tough things are said. And we should not shy away
from saying things that need to be said." (Rocky Mountain News)
Dingell condemns remarks attacking Islam by Rep. Tancredo
July 21: Congressman John D. Dingell (MI-15), the Dean of the House of Representatives,
condemned the comments made by Representative Tom Tancredo (CO-06) as "ignorant" and
"inexcusable" for a Member of Congress. During a July 14 interview on Tampa radio station
WFLA-AM, Mr. Tancredo said that the US might "take out (Muslim) holy sites" in response to
another terrorist attack on the US. When asked if he meant Mecca, Congressman Tancredo
responded "yeah." Said Dingell, "First of all, suggesting the bombing of a holy site of any religion
is simply inexcusable for an elected official in the United States Congress and an anathema to
the millions of people of faith across our nation. To even suggest an attack on Mecca shows
Congressman Tancredo has no understanding of the true nature of Islam and the peaceful
Muslims living in the Arab world. The holy sites of all religions - Christianity, Islam, Judaism,
Hinduism, Buddhism and all others - are the most sacred and hallowed places for their respective
followers and to suggest that any one of these sites be bombed is clearly an attack on that
religion and its followers. Mr. Tancredo's reprehensible attack on Islam is ignorant and offensive.”
(CAIR Bulletin)
Muslim youth across America unite against ideology of hatred
July 21: In response to the latest terrorist attacks in London, young Muslim leaders across the
country issued a statement today condemning all acts of terrorism and the ideology of hatred that
fuels them. The statement in part reads: "This afternoon, the world witnessed a second terrorist
attack on London. In light of these hostile events, we Muslim American students and youth stand
united in condemning all acts of terror and the burgeoning war on ideas. We refuse to remain
silent while others claiming to represent Islam preach an ideology of hatred. Islam does not
tolerate the use of terrorism for any purpose, regardless of who the aggressors are and what their
justifications might be. This sensitive time calls for solidarity not only for the people of London but
for the international community, regardless of race or faith, to oppose the evil of terrorism. As part
of this campaign, the Muslim Students Association-National, a coalition of Muslim student
organizations in universities across America and Canada, has pledged to be steadfast in
combating this ideology of hatred.” (MPAC News)
Arab & Muslim Americans condemn London bombings
July 22: Muslim organizations across the United States have condemned the terror attacks that
hit London July 7 and July 21 with strong statements that violence runs counter to the tenets of
Islam. "To those who seek to divide us through fear or hatred, we will not allow the voices of hate
to defeat the voices of unity and goodwill," the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) said in a
statement after the July 7 London bombings. The American Muslim Voice (AMV) vehemently
condemned the barbaric bombings in London causing death and injuring to score of innocent
people. An AMV statement said:”We reaffirm our principled position towards acts of terror,
regarding them as cowardly acts of violence irrespective of the identity of the perpetrators or their
motives. Those who commit these heinous crimes are not following any religion or acting as
human beings.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said its members "join
Americans of all faiths, and all people of conscience worldwide, in condemning these barbaric
crimes that can never be justified or excused." The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), said
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"Islam holds the sanctity of human life at the highest regard, and shedding the blood of innocent
people is considered a most heinous crime." The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
issued a similar statement saying it was "horrified by the series of bombings that rocked London's
public transportation.” The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), condemned "the exploitation of
people and issues, regardless of the perpetrators and their justifications." The Coalition of Islamic
Organizations of Chicago, a group that organizes Muslims in the Chicago area through cultural
and civil rights events, "unequivocally condemned the attacks." (Media Reports)
Muslim groups say police officials may engage in religious profiling
July 22: The growing relationship between Israeli and United States law enforcement, expanding
now after the London bombings, has prompted criticism among some Muslim groups, who say
they fear that American police officers will engage in religious or ethnic profiling. "Israel's antiterror tactics are largely based on profiling, whether it's on airlines or at checkpoints," said
Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, based in
Washington. "And they've produced tremendous resentment and hostility in the Palestinian
population through humiliating tactics and through abuses on a daily basis. And I don't think that's
something we want to replicate." But Chief Kerlikowske said that the focus of the work with
Israelis - an Israeli police general based at the Israeli Embassy in Washington is expected to
come here for training - was on technical skills, and that the police were focusing on the behavior
of potential bombers, not on race or religion. Many police and federal officials have gone to Israel
through a program organized by the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, a nonprofit
group in Washington that promotes close ties between the United States and the Israeli military
and the police. (New York Times)
What's in a Name? A Basis for Discrimination, Says 9th Circuit
July 26: "A good name," wrote Cervantes, "is better than riches." Mamdouh El-Hakem would
agree. After spending years fighting a former employer who thought his name wasn't good
enough, El-Hakem was vindicated by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week with a
modest amount of money -- and an opinion that reaffirms the value of his name. In a ruling that
bolsters plaintiff arguments that discrimination can take many forms, the 9th Circuit said that
Gregg Young, the CEO of BJY Inc. should not have insisted on calling El-Hakem "Manny." Or, for
that matter, "Hank." "Young intended to discriminate against El-Hakem's Arabic name in favor of
a non-Arabic name," Judge Johnnie Rawlinson wrote for a three-judge panel, "first by altering
Mamdouh to 'Manny' and then by changing Hakem to 'Hank.'" (The Recorder)
American Muslims issue anti-terrorism fatwa
July 28: The Fiqh Council of North America issued a fatwa, or religious edict, today saying that
Islam condemns terrorism, religious radicalism and the use of violence.The council's chairman,
Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, read the fatwa, which says "targeting civilians' life and property through
suicide bombings or any other method of attack is forbidden, and those who commit these
barbaric acts are criminals, not martyrs." "All acts of terrorism targeting the civilians are haram,
forbidden in Islam. It is haram, forbidden, for a Muslim to cooperate or associate with any
individual or group that is involved in any act of terrorism or violence." The fatwa also says it is
the "civic and religious duty of Muslims to cooperate with law enforcement authorities to protect
the lives of civilians." The Islamic scholars say the fatwa was prompted by a similar ruling from
the Muslim Council of Britain, following the July 7 terrorist attacks in London. The fatwa was part
of efforts by the 7-million strong American Muslim community to counter alleged links between
Islam and terrorism and avert any negative backlash after this month's bombings in London.
Ibrahim Hooper, spokesperson for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said it was the first
time Muslims in North America had issued an anti-terrorism edict, although they had repeatedly
condemned such acts of violence. (Media Reports)
California Muslims report more hate incidents
July 28: Hate incidents reported by California Muslims increased by about 38 percent in 2004
over the previous year, the highest number of annual cases ever reported to the Council on
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American-Islamic Relations. The greatest increase in complaints - up from 7 percent of all cases
in 2003 to 28 percent in 2004 - came from Muslims who felt they had been victims of
"unreasonable arrests, detentions, searches, seizures and interrogations." In their complaints,
Muslims told of being verbally harassed or discriminated against at their schools, workplaces, at
housing and government agencies, and in public places such as airports. (Orange County
Register)
August 2005
Brooklyn's Little Pakistan has lost plenty of residents since 9/11
Aug. 2: While in some ways, life goes on as usual in Brooklyn's Little Pakistan, in many other
ways, much has changed. Probably no ethnic enclave, in a city chockablock with them, has
drawn as much FBI and immigration-service investigation since 9/11. Merchants say the
neighborhood is still staggering from the attention, while many residents fearfully anticipate a new
wave of scrutiny by U.S. authorities in light of the recent terror attacks in London. In the tense
weeks after 9/11, federal agents began pounding on doors in the middle of the night and detained
hundreds of Pakistanis in the Little Pakistan area. Thousands of people, gripped with fear, soon
bolted. Many of them went to other states, back to their homeland, to Canada or even Western
Europe. Few have returned, by all accounts. (Newsday)
DC radio host claims Quran teaches Muslims to lie
Aug. 3: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on a Washington, D.C.,
radio station to address the incitement of anti-Muslim hatred caused by its talk show hosts. CAIR
issued that call after a replacement for a talk show host suspended for anti-Islam remarks made
similarly Islamophobic comments. On Friday, July 29, WMAL-AM replacement host Geoff Metcalf
stated: "And by the way, let me just add a sidebar here that's significant, and everybody forgets
this, but according to the Quran, believers in Islam are not required to tell infidels, and that's us,
the truth. So they apparently have permission to lie when it is appropriate." Most callers to the
program expressed similar hostility to Muslims and to the faith of Islam.
Metcalf was replacing host Michael Graham, who was suspended without pay by the station for
stating repeatedly that "Islam is a terrorist organization." Graham was suspended when CAIR
initiated a public campaign against WMAL and the station's advertisers after receiving complaints
from Muslim listeners. (CAIR)
Government targeting Iranians Americans, rights coalition says
Aug. 3: An increasing number of calls for legal advice from Iranian Americans sent up red flags
for a coalition of civil rights organizations monitoring the treatment of Muslims and natives of two
dozen countries in North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. Iranians are increasingly
seeking aid after being questioned by the FBI, put on government watch lists and losing their jobs
or security clearances. "Over the past year or so there are increasing numbers of Iranian
Americans who are being discriminated against across the board," Dalia Hashad of ACLU told a
news conference at the offices of the National Legal Sanctuary for Community Advancement in
San Franciso. (Mercury News)
Off Duty CBP Officer Charged with Killing Arab American
Aug. 4: An off-duty Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer who shot to death a young
Arab-American man was finally indicted, on July 6 2005, under state manslaughter charges, after
initially being released. A federal investigation of the incident continues. On February 5, Officer
Douglas Bates, shot and killed Bassim Schmait following an altercation outside his Los Alisos
Boulevard apartment in Orange County, California. Reports on the incident vary; with the Sheriff's
Department reporting that the officer apparently committed no crime when he came out of his
apartment to investigate a disturbance. Bassim’s friends however, contend that Bates had pistolwhipped one of them, and that when Bassim tried to intervene, he was brutally shot and killed.
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) had taken an active role in raising the
issue at various meetings with CBP and Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
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representatives, stressing the importance of a thorough investigation in building trust between
government agencies and the Arab-American community. (American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee)
Pakistani Community in California was taped
Aug. 5: Federal officials disclosed that they secretly tape-recorded Pakistanis in the agricultural
community of Lodi for nearly three years before bringing terror-related charges against a father
and son and seeking to deport two Islamic leaders. Fifty tapes in Urdu and Pashto were turned
over this week to lawyers for Hamid Hayat, 22, and his father, Umer Hayat, 47. The son is
charged with lying to the FBI about attending a terrorism camp in Pakistan in 2003 and 2004. His
father is charged with lying when he denied his son had attended such a camp. The tapes are
among scores of recordings made by an informant or undercover investigator starting in August
2002, prosecutors and defense attorneys said during a preliminary hearing in Sacramento, CA,
Friday. (Washington Post)
Wayne County law fines for fake Islamic diet ads
Aug. 5: Wayne County (Michigan) butchers selling bogus blessed meat soon could find
themselves in trouble with the law. Acting on a string of complaints, the County Commission has
made it a misdemeanor for food sellers to falsely claim their meat is halal or kosher. When the
ordinance takes effect in 44 days, violations will be punishable by $500 fines or 90 days in jail.
Although it applies to kosher and halal food, the ordinance was prompted because of the
popularity of halal food. Once hard to find, the blessed meat now is available at Metro Detroit
chain supermarkets, Asian restaurants and even two McDonald's restaurants in Dearborn. It's so
ubiquitous now that some of southeast Michigan's 100,000 Muslims have trouble trusting the
meat that claims to be halal. "You wonder if they're just saying it's halal," said Bushra Alawie of
Dearborn, who shops at a small butcher in the city's south end. "It's a gut instinct. You wonder if
those huge supermarkets are really following the Islamic way." The ordinance requires stores
making the halal or kosher claim to post conspicuous signs identifying the slaughterhouse and
wholesaler. County health inspectors would respond to complaints about scofflaws and issue
citations, said county Executive Robert Ficano. (The Detroit News)
Maher Arar case: U.S. defends detentions at airports
Aug. 10: Foreign citizens who change planes at airports in the United States can legally be
seized, detained without charges, deprived of access to a lawyer or the courts, and even denied
basic necessities like food, lawyers for the government said in Brooklyn federal court yesterday.
The assertion came in oral arguments over a federal lawsuit by Maher Arar, a naturalized
Canadian citizen who charges that United States officials plucked him from Kennedy International
Airport when he was on the way home on Sept. 26, 2002, held him in solitary confinement in a
Brooklyn detention center and then shipped him to his native Syria to be interrogated under
torture because officials suspected that he was a member of Al Qaeda. Syrian and Canadian
officials have cleared Mr. Arar, 35, of any terrorist connections, but United States officials
maintain that "clear and unequivocal" but classified evidence shows that he is a Qaeda member.
They are seeking dismissal of his lawsuit, in part through the rare assertion of a "state secrets"
privilege. The case is the first civil suit to challenge the practice known as "extraordinary
rendition," in which terror suspects have been transferred for questioning to countries known for
torture. (New York Times)
Auburn prison imam receives probation for violating sanctions against Iraq
Aug. 13: An imam at Auburn state prison hopes his probation sentence will persuade the state to
let him start earning the paycheck he's been collecting for a year while he sat home doing
nothing. U.S. District Judge Norman Mordue sentenced Osameh Al Wahaidy to two years'
probation, fined him $5,000 and ordered him to perform 100 hours of community service for
violating U.S. sanctions against Iraq by sending aid there without a license through the Syracuse
charity Help the Needy. Al Wahaidy said he's optimistic that because the sentence didn't include
jail time, officials at the state Department of Correctional Services will reverse their decision to
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ban him from the prison. The state's been paying Al Wahaidy his $57,000 annual salary since
July 2004, but ordered him to stay home. "I'm optimistic to go back to work," said Al Wahaidy, 43,
of Fayetteville. "I want to do my work." (The Post-Standard)
Nation of Islam leader calls for unity among races
Aug. 14: A decade after the Million Man March focused on the plight of black men and racial
divisions in America, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan visited Milwaukee to promote
another march in Washington, D.C. Encouraging a capacity crowd at a north side church that
they should be part of "something that is bigger than us all," Farrakhan said African-Americans
and people of other races should join the reunion of the march that drew hundreds of thousands
of people, mostly men, to the nation's capital in October 1995. "Why should we have a Millions
More Movement? The United States is the greatest nation in the world," Farrakhan told an
audience at Mercy Memorial Baptist Church. "But today America is losing friendship all over the
world." Milwaukee was the first of several cities Farrakhan is planning to visit to promote the
Millions More Movement, scheduled for Oct. 15 on the National Mall in Washington. Hundreds of
thousands camped out on the mall 10 years ago for the original daylong Million Man March,
which included speeches by Farrakhan and Jesse Jackson. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Young Muslims caught between two worlds
Aug. 15: High school, with its pressures to fit in and be cool, can be brutal for anyone. But try
wearing a Muslim head scarf, and you'll really see who your friends are. "Nothing had changed,
except I just had this piece of cloth on my head," says Zakiya Qadir, now a 19-year-old student at
the University of Washington. "When some people saw that, the friendship ended right then." For
Muslims, high school is "the most difficult part of ... growing up here," Qadir says. (There are
about 7 million Muslims in the United States) Many are young people who've grown up to face a
twofold challenge: integrating their faith into their lives as pop-culturally aware young Americans
and defending their religious beliefs against misunderstanding, prejudice and, sometimes, hate -even in relatively accepting cities such as Seattle. People have stopped Qadir to ask if she's
sheltered and if her father forces her to wear the scarf. Once, a man told her that Saddam
Hussein has been caught, so "you're free now." "People have these glaring misconceptions,
these falsehoods, these lies, that are magnified and reflected on the entire Muslim population,"
said Hanady Kader, 20, president of the UW's Arab Students Organization. Ijaz Khan is a thirty
something lawyer and partner at the Seattle law office of Mussehl and Khan, which regularly
serves Muslim clients. He says that because of 9/11, young American Muslims "have to confront
these issues (of self-identity) a lot sooner than before." "A lot of young people don't know if
they're fully American or Middle Eastern," he said. "You feel totally, 100 percent American, but
you feel a little bit different because your family's culture and religion is different." (Seattle PostIntelligencer)
Lodi Imam, son back in Pakistan after U.S. deportation
Aug. 17: A Pakistani imam and his son were deported after being arrested for immigration
violations during a terrorism probe focused on Lodi, California, U.S. officials in San Francisco said
on today.Mohammad Adil Khan, 47, who served as an imam at a Lodi mosque, and his son
Mohammad Hassan Adil, 19, agreed last month to the deportation ordered due to immigration
violations. They arrived back in Pakistan on a commercial airliner yesterday, accompanied by
officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency said in a statement.
Saad Ahmad, lawyer for the two men, said they had nothing to do with the federal probe focused
on Lodi in which a different father and son have been charged with lying about ties to al Qaeda
training camps in Pakistan. (News Agencies)
Terror-trial attorneys cite FBI's doubts about informant
Aug. 17: A key government informant in a high-profile terrorism case in Chicago was caught in a
lie in an unrelated investigation, prompting the FBI to question the informant's reliability,
according to records made public today. Citing the FBI's own concerns, lawyers for Muhammad
Salah, a Bridgeview man charged with financing terrorism by Hamas in the Mideast, are seeking
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to throw out portions of the indictment that rely on the word of the informant. Salah, identified by
authorities as a member of Hamas, and two other Palestinians were charged last August in
Chicago with laundering and disbursing more than $1 million to support the violent aims of the
militant Islamic group. (Chicago Tribune)
Diplomatic assurances worthless
Aug. 19: Countries that rely on ‘diplomatic assurances’ that other countries won’t torture
transferred prisoners “are either engaging in wishful thinking or using the assurances as a fig leaf
to cover their complicity,” a new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) charges. HRW said,
“There is substantial evidence that in the course of the global “war on terrorism,” an increasing
number of governments have transferred, or proposed sending, alleged terrorist suspects to
countries where they know the suspects will be at risk of torture or ill-treatment.” Recipient
countries have included Egypt, Syria, Uzbekistan, and Yemen, where torture is a systemic human
rights problem. Transfers have also been carried out or proposed to Algeria, Morocco, Russia,
Tunisia, and Turkey, “where members of particular groups — Islamists, Chechens, Kurds — are
routinely singled out for the worst forms of abuse”. (Human Rights Watch)
Outraged by government leaks, Muslim leaders underscore value of chaplains
Aug. 19: In a press conference held today in Los Angeles, Muslim leaders and chaplains called
upon the Federal Bureau of Prisons to hire more Muslim chaplains to combat potential
radicalization among Muslim inmates. The press conference was a joint effort by the Muslim
Public Affairs Council, the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California and the Southern
California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Fears of prison radicalization
arose in light of recent media reports that FBI officials suspect a Pakistani man arrested on
unspecified charges and two African American men arrested for a series of gas station robberies
were plotting an attack in Southern California. One of the men converted while serving time in
Fulsom County Prison, where authorities allege he joined an extremist group called Jamiyyat UlIslam Is Saheeh. Law enforcement officials say all three men attended the same mosque in
Inglewood, California. "The suggestion by the Rand Corporation, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task
Force, and several legislators that federal prisons are being used as bases for recruiting what
they call Islamic terrorists is not true and is unsubstantiated," said Shakeel Syed, who is a
contractor chaplain with the Federal Bureau of Prisons. "I have not come across even one
instance where such a suggestion is true in the course of my 15 years with the Bureau of Prisons
as a volunteer or contractor." (Muslim Public Affairs Council)
Talk show host fired over Islam remarks
Aug. 23: Washington radio station WMAL-AM fired talk show host Michael Graham yesterday
after he refused to soften his description of Islam as "a terrorist organization" on the air last
month, Washington Post reported today. Graham had been suspended without pay from his daily
three-hour show since making his comments July 25. The station had conditioned his return to
the midmorning shift on reading a station-approved statement in which Graham would have said
that his anti-Muslim statements were "too broad" and that he sometimes uses "hyperbole" in the
course of his program. WMAL also asked Graham to speak to the station's advertisers and its
employees about the controversy. But Graham refused both conditions, prompting the station to
drop him. According to WMAL, Graham said "Islam is a terrorist organization" 23 times on his
July 25 program. On the same show, he also said repeatedly that "moderate Muslims are those
who only want to kill Jews" and that "the problem is not extremism. The problem is Islam."
(Washington Post)
Robertson’s assassination remarks condemned
Aug. 24: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today condemned remarks made by
Christian televangelist Pat Robertson advocating the assassination of Venezuelan president,
Hugo Chavez. In addition to his advocating assassination, Robertson falsely claimed that
Venezuela is now "a launching pad for Communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the
continent." In a statement today, CAIR said: "True to form, Pat Robertson has crossed the line yet
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again. Not only has he advocated violating federal law and international treaties by calling for the
assassination of a head of state, he somehow manages to show his clear hatred of Muslims by
stating that somehow Islam is involved in the whole Venezuela issue.” The Canadian Islamic
Congress added its voice to a swelling North American denunciation of televangelist Pat
Robertson's endorsement of assassination to eliminate Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.
Calling Robertson's utterances "bloodthirsty, evil and an advocacy for terrorism," a CIC statement
called on moderate Christians to repudiate far right extremists "who abuse their religion as a blunt
instrument to further their personal agendas and diminish all humans who do not think as they
do." (CAIR)
Muslims seek days off school
Aug. 24: Muslim parents around the nation are lobbying school districts to add Islamic holidays to
the school year, or at least persuade schools not to penalize students for missing school to
observe their religion. Others are asking school districts to let children off early on Fridays or have
some time designated during the school day for students to get together for Juma'ah, the most
important Muslim prayer of the week. In Baltimore County, Md., Muslim groups have engaged in
a yearlong effort to add the Islamic sacred observances of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha to the
school's calendar. Schools in the district close for the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur and for the
traditional winter break that coincides with Christmas, but the Islamic holidays are not recognized.
So far, the quest has not been fruitful. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Three funding members of Progressive Muslim Union resign
Aug. 24: The Progressive Muslim Union of North America (PMU) suffered a major setback when
three of its four founding members resigned from the PMU Board of Directors today saying that
“the PMU is not a forum that will allow us to successfully pursue the agenda we envisioned at its
founding.” The three founding members, who resigned in an open letter, are: Omid Safi, Hussein
Ibish and Sarah Eltantawi. Ahmed Nassef, Executive Director of the PMU and Editor-in-Chief of
the controversial website Muslimwakeup.com, is the fourth founding member.One of its board
member, Dr. Muqtedar Khan, quit the PMU board on July 1, 2005 saying that he found the
environment with Progressive Muslims Union extremely oppressive, abusive and hateful. In an
open resignation letter Dr. Khan said: “I have found both PMU and MWU (Muslimwakeup.com)
extremely intolerant of difference and disagreement. This is the only Muslim group where people
who believe in the teachings of the Quran are ridiculed and those who express ambivalence
about it even about the existence of God are celebrated.” (AMP Report)
Muslims in Lodi believe mystery man who
spoke of jihad was a federal mole in terror investigation
Aug. 27: In the days after federal agents arrested five residents of Lodi, CA in a terror
investigation in June, a clean-cut young man who had befriended the suspects and had spent
nights at their homes vanished. He hasn't been seen in town since, and now members of Lodi's
Muslim community suspect they know why: The man, who called himself Nasim Khan, was a
government mole, they believe, an informer whose surreptitious tape recordings of one of the
suspects are at the heart of the federal probe. Federal prosecutors last week revealed they had a
"cooperating witness" in Lodi. Without naming him, they said he had recorded scores of
conversations with Hamid Hayat, a 22-year-old man accused of lying when he denied
participating in a terrorist training camp in Pakistan. His father, 47-year- old Umer Hayat, is
charged with lying about the same thing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Lapham, one of two
prosecutors trying the Hayats in federal court in Sacramento, said the "witness" will testify at the
trial of the father and son, which has been postponed until at least October. (San Francisco
Chronicle)
Post-9/11 work bias claims persist
Aug. 27: Nearly four years after the terrorist attacks, Muslim, South Asian and Arab-American
employees continue to report discrimination on the job. Compared with the first two years after
the Sept. 11 attacks, the number of employees saying they have been discriminated against as a
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form of backlash because of the attacks has declined. But charges continue to come in, indicating
that Arab-American and other workers still feel discriminated against. ''People are being called
'terrorist' at work, things of that sort,'' says Arsalan Iftikhar, national legal director at Washingtonbased Council on American-Islamic Relations. ''A lot of cases continue to go on. People have
been called Osama bin Laden, told they are going to mosque to learn how to build a bomb.'' (Salt
Lake Tribune)
Palestinian Authority's US assets are frozen
Aug. 30: A Rhode Island lawyer trying to collect a $116 million terrorism judgment against the
Palestinian Authority has obtained a court-ordered freeze on all its US-based assets, severely
limiting most Palestinian economic and diplomatic activities in the United States at a critical
moment for the fledgling government. The frozen assets include US holdings in a $1.3 billion
Palestinian investment fund meant to finance economic development as well as bank accounts
used to pay Palestinian representatives in Washington, according to lawyers and court
documents filed in Rhode Island, Washington, D.C., and New York. Also frozen are about $30
million in assets from the Palestinian Monetary Authority, the Palestinian equivalent of the US
Federal Reserve. Providence attorney David Strachman, who is representing the orphaned
children of a couple killed in Israel by Palestinian militants, has also initiated a court action to
seize and sell the Palestinian-owned building in New York that serves as the Palestine Liberation
Organization observer mission to the United Nations. (Boston Globe Staff )
U.S. Muslims feel sidelined in terrorism fight
Aug. 30: The Bush administration is neglecting American Muslims in the fight against terrorism,
undermining a potentially priceless resource that could be used to root out militants at home,
major Muslim groups say. Community leaders such as Salam al-Marayati, who heads the Muslim
Public Affairs Council advocacy group, say that to isolate terrorists political leaders from
President George W. Bush on down must embrace the U.S. Muslim mainstream, rather than
exclude them from serious debates on security. "For some reason, it's very difficult to get the
high-level officials to come down to the community at this point. I think a decision has to be made:
are we going to be partners or are we going to be suspects?" Marayati said. Concern about
increased suspicions and alienation of the Muslim American community has grown since the July
7 attacks by home-grown Muslim militants in London in which suicide bombers killed 52 people
on underground trains and buses. "It's the position of just about every Muslim leader in the United
States that the way you isolate extremists is to engage the mainstream. Unfortunately we haven't
seen much of that occurring in this administration," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the
Council on American Islamic Relations. (Reuters)
Muslim prisoner claims beating, abuse of Quran
Aug. 31: A Muslim prisoner claims he was assaulted, was forced to stand naked and was spat
upon, and alleges a guard damaged his Quran at the Dauphin County Prison in Pennsylvania in
May. William T. Smith II made the allegations in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed against
Corrections Officer Roger Lucas, four other guards identified only by last name or John Doe, and
a female prison nurse. Smith alleged the incident occurred May 20 after his transfer from the
State Correctional Institution at Smithfield for a hearing in Dauphin County court on a motion to
withdraw a guilty plea. He contended he was beaten for no reason other than that he is Muslim,
and that the Quran was desecrated to insult other prisoners who are Muslims. (The PatriotNews)
Chronology of Islam in America (Sept. – Dec. 2005)
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September 2005
The commissioner apologized for a chief inspector's view that
Philadelphia is a terrorist haven, but the chief inspector didn't budge
Sept. 1: The head of the Philadelphia Police Department's counterterrorism unit is standing by his
assertion that the city is a hideout for terrorists. His boss, Police Commissioner Sylvester M.
Johnson, apologized for him and contradicted him during a lunch with bemused and offended
Arab Americans and Muslims at the Al-Aqsa Mosque at the edge of Northern Liberties. But Chief
Inspector Joseph E. O'Connor would not take back the comment he made after the London
transit bombings that Philadelphia is "notorious for fund-raising and recruitment" by terrorist
organizations. "I do know they recruited at a mosque," said O'Connor, referring to the London
bombers. "I'm not saying that it's happening here... . I don't know." "It's not happening here,"
Marwan Kreidie, head of the Arab American Development Corp., a community organization, told
him. "It could," O'Connor shot back. When pressed, he could not provide any details to back up
his assertion that the city is a terrorist haven. Johnson, sitting beside O'Connor at a lunch
intended to mend fences at the Germantown Avenue mosque, jumped in to say that O'Connor's
position is not that of the Philadelphia Police Department. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Karen Hughes addresses ISNA convention
Sept. 2: Karen Hughes, one of President Bush's closest advisers, told a gathering of American
Muslims (in Chicago) that part of her new State Department job is to help amplify the voices of
groups like theirs that are condemning terrorism and religious extremism. The Islamic Society of
North America had invited Bush to attend its annual convention. He sent Hughes, who was
recently confirmed as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy. She also met with a number of
Muslims attending the convention. ISNA's vice president, Ingrid Mattson, said those attending the
meetings with Hughes were frank about their disagreements with the Bush administration on
everything from foreign policy to concerns over the erosion of civil liberties. Several told her about
the problems they regularly have with air travel because their Muslim names or dress prompt
suspicion. One man who was supposed to be in a meeting with Hughes walked in at the end
because he was held by airport security for three hours until his name was cleared, Mattson said.
(Media Reports)
Lodi Muslims not surprised by FBI mole
Sept. 3: A Sacramento prosecutor recently revealed in a court filing that the FBI had used a
“cooperative witness” over the span of some years to aid it in the Lodi (CA) terror probe. To
some, that could mean a mosque member turned informant. To others, it means the federal
government had a mole in the community. Some members of the local Muslim community say a
man named Nasim Khan stirred suspicion in some from the moment he came to Lodi three years
ago. Now, he could be the reason for the deportation of two mosque leaders and the linchpin in
the prosecution of two more mosque members awaiting trial in a federal court. Locals say they
wouldn’t be surprised if there were more of Khan’s kind among their ranks, or even native
residents willing to unearth more evidence against fellow Muslims. (The Tracy Press)
U.S. Muslims pledge $10 million for hurricane relief
Sept. 4: A coalition of major American Islamic groups meeting at the annual convention of the
Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) in Chicago today announced a pledge to raise $10
million in humanitarian relief for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The coalition also announced
the formation of a Muslim Hurricane Relief Task Force (MHRTF) to coordinate the aid effort.
MHRTF members include (in alphabetical order) Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR),
Islamic Circle of North American (ICNA), Islamic Relief, ISNA, Kind Hearts, Life for Relief and
Development, Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA), Muslim American Society (MAS),
Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), and Muslim Ummah of North American (MUNA). “It is a
national and Islamic obligation to assist one’s neighbors when they are in need,” said ISNA
Secretary General Sayyid Syeed. “The American Muslim community pledges to do its part in
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helping those Americans, of all faiths, who suffered such great losses in lives and property.”
(Media Reports)
Mosques vandalized in NE, CA and NY
Sept. 6: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on local and national
law enforcement authorities to investigate possible bias motives for recent vandalism at mosques
in Nebraska, California and New York. According to police reports, the Islamic Foundation in
Lincoln, Neb., was vandalized twice this past weekend. In California, representatives of the
Islamic Center of Redlands say their mosque has been a target of vandalism and trespassing.
And in Beacon, N.Y., a city garbage receptacle was reportedly thrown through a window of Masjid
Ur-Rashid on August 23. "We urge local law enforcement authorities and the FBI to determine
whether anti-Muslim bias played a role in any of these incidents," said CAIR Communications
Director Ibrahim Hooper. (CAIR Bulletin)
Bush's power to detain US enemy combatant upheld
Sept. 9: President George W. Bush has the power to detain Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen who has
been held in a South Carolina military brig for more than three years as a suspected enemy
combatant without being charged, a federal appeals court ruled today. "The exceedingly
important question before us is whether the president of the United States possesses the
authority to detain militarily a citizen of this country who is closely associated with al Qaeda,"
wrote Judge J. Michael Luttig in the opinion for the three-judge panel. "We conclude that the
president does possess such authority," wrote Luttig, a conservative whom the Bush
administration has been considering for a possible Supreme Court nomination. Padilla, a former
Chicago gang member and convert to Islam, was suspected by U.S. officials of plotting with al
Qaeda to set off a radioactive "dirty bomb" in the United States. On May 8, 2002, Padilla was
arrested at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport after returning from Pakistan. Bush then
declared him an enemy combatant, and Padilla was placed in solitary confinement at a Navy brig
in South Carolina -- where he remains.The appeals court reversed a decision by a federal judge
in South Carolina who ruled in February that Bush had no authority to have Padilla held as an
enemy combatant. The judge said Padilla must be released if he is not charged with a crime.
(Washington Post)
Muslim groups help Katrina victims on 9/11 anniversary
Sept. 11: About 2,000 Muslim volunteers helped victims of Hurricane Katrina at Houston’s
convention center today, the fourth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Muslim
leaders from around the country who were in Houston for the volunteer effort said the anniversary
was coincidental. But they welcomed the opportunity to highlight their faith's true meaning. "We're
not trying to prove anything, other than what our faith requires us to do," said Mahdi Bray,
executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Muslim American Society. "What goes with our
faith is to help others, to respond and show compassion when people need it, and I'm glad we
can do it." Religious and community groups who volunteered to help at shelters picked through a
random drawing what day they would work. Houston's Muslim community got Sunday. Muslim
groups such as Islamic Relief and the Muslim American Society, are part of the Muslim Hurricane
Relief Task Force, which is raising $10 million for victims of Katrina. Ahmed said the groups so far
have raised between $3 million and $4 million. (Media Reports)
Massachusetts Governor suggests: Wiretap mosques
Sept. 13: Governor Mitt Romney raised the prospect of wiretapping mosques and conducting
surveillance of foreign students in Massachusetts, as he issued a broad call for the federal
government to devote far more money and attention to domestic intelligence gathering. In
remarks that caused alarm among civil libertarians and advocates for immigrants rights, Romney
said in a speech to the Heritage Foundation that the United States needs to radically rethink how
it guards itself against terrorism. ''How about people who are in settings -- mosques, for instance - that may be teaching doctrines of hate and terror," Romney continued. ''Are we monitoring that?
Are we wiretapping? Are we following what's going on?" (Boston Globe)
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Groups Criticize Massachusetts Governor’s Comments
Sept. 15: Civil liberties and Muslim groups criticized Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney today for
suggesting that authorities should spend more time monitoring mosques and their attendees,
possibly with wiretaps. "It's irresponsible for the top elected official in any state to suggest blanket
wiretapping of houses of worship," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Washington-based
Council on American-Islamic Relations. Ali Noorani, the executive director of the Massachusetts
Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition said: "There's a need for the U.S. government and
the intelligence system to better understand the Muslim community," Noorani said. "The way not
to do it is to wiretap and surreptitiously surveil an entire community." (Washington Post)
Harassment against Middle Eastern groups has doubled since Sept. 11, 2001
Sept. 19: According to the most recent U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission report,
charges of discrimination against Muslims — or those perceived to be Muslim, such as South
Asians — has doubled nationwide from 1,100 to 2,168 since Sept. 11, 2001, given a similar time
span. The most common types of employment discrimination against Muslims include namecalling, job termination and denial of religious wear or other accommodations for religious
practices, said Shirin Sinnar, attorney at San Francisco-based Lawyers' Committee for Civil
Rights. A recent study shows that people with Arab or South Asian-sounding names may not
even get their foot in the door. Among all ethnic groups, Arab Americans and South Asians fared
the worst in employment hiring in the Bay Area, according to the Berkeley-based Discrimination
Research Center. Backlash from 9/11 hasn't cooled off because of the world climate, such as the
war in Iraq and the recent London transit bombings, all associated with Muslims or those
perceived to be Muslim, says Safaa Ibrahim of CAIR-San Francisco Bay Area. "The climate
around the world impacts public opinion here, creating backlash against certain ethnic and
religious groups," she said. (The Argus)
Ramstein center in Germany is Air Force's first designated Jewish-Muslim prayer space
Sept. 20: Just weeks after Air Force policymakers issued guidelines limiting public prayer, officials
at Ramstein Air Base (in Germany) threw open the doors to a unique new chapel dedicated to
interfaith worship and understanding. The new Kaiserslautern Military Community Interfaith
Chapel, which formally opened today, is an unusual hybrid by any religious standards: It's the Air
Force's first designated Jewish-Muslim prayer space. The project is the fruit of seven months of
work and collaboration by an unlikely pair: reserved, contemplative Chaplain (Capt.) Hamza AlMubarak, a Muslim imam; and outgoing, ever-smiling Chaplain (Capt.) Donald Levy, a Jewish
rabbi. The two helped design the center: an airy, light-drenched building with two identical
chambers, each decorated for Muslim or Jewish services. Both chaplains delivered opening
prayers at the center's dedication. (Stars and Stripes)
New York judge dismisses Saudi charitable organization, princes from Sept. 11 lawsuits
Sept. 21: A Saudi Arabian charitable organization and two Saudi princes were dismissed as
defendants today in three civil lawsuits accusing them of providing support to al-Qaida before the
Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack. U.S. District Judge Richard Casey made the rulings as he
continued deciding who could remain as defendants in cases brought by representatives,
survivors and insurance carriers of the victims of the attack. The judge dismissed the Saudi High
Relief Commission and Saudi Princes Salman and Naif as defendants in three lawsuits, saying
he lacked jurisdiction to let the cases proceed in the United States. He made similar rulings in
January, when the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, three princes and several financial institutions were
dismissed as defendants. (Newsday)
Jury awards $2.45 million to Egyptian-born doctor cleared of terrorism link
Sept. 23: An Egyptian-born radiologist initially suspected of having terrorist ties in the wake of
Sept. 11, 2001 and later cleared was awarded $2.45 million by a federal jury in Pittsburgh, PA,
that decided his right to privacy was violated. Dr. Basem Moustafa Hussein, 40, won the award
from his former landlord in Neshannock Township outside New Castle, where he was living in
2001. The jury said his building manager at The Meadows Apartments, Sherri Lynn Wilson, was
[Page 83]
liable along with her company for violating his privacy when she walked into his unit on Sept. 11
and saw, among other items, a compact disc jacket that showed a jetliner flying through two
buildings next to a fireball. Wilson called state police, leading to a federal investigation that ended
a few days later when the FBI concluded Hussein had nothing to do with terrorism. (Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette)
NJ counter-terror agents reportedly target suspects for practicing Islam
Sept. 26: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today urged state law enforcement
agencies nationwide to check suspect databases to make sure they are not being used to profile
Muslims. The CAIR made that request following reports that agents of the New Jersey Office of
Counter-Terrorism have been barred from filing reports to the State Police database after the
discovery of more than 100 entries that seemed to target suspects only because they practiced
Islam or were active in the Muslim community. The State Police action sparked a dispute that
became so intense, acting Gov. Richard Codey's office had to intervene two weeks ago by
summoning Attorney General Peter Harvey, State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes and
Counter-Terrorism Director Sydney Caspersen to a Statehouse meeting to broker a peace,
according to Star-Ledger. (Star-Ledger)
Supervisors say 'no' to Islamic center south of Lodi, California
Sept. 27: Plans for an Islamic community center and school south of Lodi, California came to a
grinding halt today when the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors decided unanimously
against a land use permit for the project. Farooqia Islamic Center supporters filed an application
at the county level nearly three years ago, though the vision for the project has been in the
making for more than a decade. The project, which included a worship hall and a K-4 school, was
approved by the county Planning Commission on July 21, but was soon appealed by residents
living in the agricultural area surrounding the Lower Sacramento Road property. The project has
been at the county level since former Imam Mohammad Adil Khan, who lived at a house on the
site, applied for a land use permit on Dec. 18, 2003. But in June, the property was put under the
microscope in a terror investigation led by the FBI against several members of the Muslim
community. During the investigation, Khan was arrested on an immigration violation and
subsequently agreed to be deported to his native Pakistan. (Lodi News News-Sentinel)
Sony Studio drops Muslim comedy film
Sept. 28: Hollywood studio Sony has come under fire for refusing to release a film about Muslim
comedy – allegedly fearing repercussions for even mentioning the religion. Studio chiefs
demanded comedian Albert Brooks change the name of his movie, Looking For Comedy In The
Muslim World, and expressed worries over its content. The film tells of a comedian (Brooks,
playing himself) sent by the US government to India and Pakistan to find out what makes Muslims
laugh. The Los Angeles Times has published a letter from Sony chairman Michael Lynton to
Brooks, saying: ‘I do believe that recent incidents have dramatically changed the landscape that
we live in and that this, among other things, warrants changing the title of the film.’ (Media
Reports)
Boeing, Bell apologize for mosque attack ad
Sept. 30: Boeing Co. apologized today for a published advertisement for its V-22 Osprey aircraft
showing troops dropping onto the roof of a mosque in what appears to be a simulated battle
scene. The ad, coming amid rising concern among Muslims over U.S. military action in Iraq and
Afghanistan, prompted immediate complaints from the Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR), which demanded the withdrawal of the campaign. But Boeing, which created the ad with
partner Bell Helicopter, said publication was a "clerical error" by the National Journal, which ran
the ad on September 24. "We consider the ad offensive, regret its publication and apologize to
those who like us are dismayed with its contents," said Mary Foerster, vice president at Boeing's
defense unit, in a statement. (Houston Chronicle)
[Page 84]
Imam expresses regret for remarks on 9-11 attacks
Sept. 30: The Imam who resigned from the Fire Department today because of controversial
remarks he made about the Sept. 11th attacks has expressed regret that his "innocent"
comments led to "pain" and "rage." In a letter addressed to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the Fire
Department and New Yorkers, Imam Intikab Habib said that his comments yesterday that he was
unsure if Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaida were behind the terrorist attacks -- were formed by the
conflicting media reports that he had heard. Habib, 30, also said his interview with a Newsday
reporter yesterday was the first time he'd ever dealt with the media. The native of Guyana who
studied Islam in Saudi Arabia made his remarks a day before he was to become the second
Muslim chaplain in the Fire Department's history. Today he resigned. (Newsday)
October 2005
Muslim group opens a mosque that's been 22 years in the making
Oct. 2: For 22 years, a group of Southland Muslims in Illinois have worshipped in a converted
airplane hangar they dubbed "The Shed." After years of sacrifice from its roughly 300 members,
the Sunni Muslim congregation opened a $2 million white-brick mosque next door. Construction
on the mosque took two years to complete. In a way, the mosque's completion is a quintessential
suburban success story. It began with some Muslim immigrant professionals moving their
families to the South Suburbs in the 1970s. The group — mostly engineers, physicians and
business owners — met in basements and then rented space, eventually settling in at a Frankfort
school. In 1983, they bought 14 acres, including the hangar. There was no money left to build a
mosque. (The Star)
Arab-Americans rank civil rights as key issue
Oct. 3: An Arab-American group said civil rights issues rank as its foremost concern in New
Jersey's gubernatorial race. At a political forum here on Sunday, participants said they hope New
Jersey's next governor will protect Arab-Americans from the specter of racial profiling - at a time
when the nation is jittery over terrorism. Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Forrester, who
attended the Arab American Institute's forum, told the group he would not permit such practices if
elected. "Racial profiling is something New Jersey has had a problem with," he said. If law
enforcement agencies are using ethnicity or religious affiliation as the sole basis for selecting
targets in terrorism probes, Forrester said, "we've got to end it now." (North Jersey.com)
Muslims feel vindicated by report finding profiling by New Jersey anti-terror cops
Oct. 7: Muslims say a federal report supporting charges that New Jersey counterterrorism
officials were compiling reports on Muslims solely because of their religion confirms what they
have been claiming for years. "This shouldn't surprise anyone," said Yaser El-Menshawy,
chairman of the Majlis Ash-Shura of New Jersey, the state's council of mosques. "Although it's
wrong and it's bad law enforcement, Muslims understand that we have fewer rights than anyone
else right now. I'm sure people in law enforcement realize that and know they can get away with
things with Muslims that they can't with any other group." The Institute for Intergovernmental
Research, at the request of the U.S. Justice Department, reviewed a dispute in New Jersey over
state counterterrorism investigators entering 140 reports into a law-enforcement database.
Fearing they would be accused of racial profiling after being ordered by the federal government to
halt the practice of targeting motorists based on race, New Jersey state police prohibited the
state's Office of Counter-Terrorism from entering any more of their intelligence reports into the
database. (Newsday)
European Commission calls for increased engagement with Muslim communities
Oct. 10: The Vice President of the European Commission has announced a "strategic decision
intended to strengthen the trans-Atlantic partnership." At a Ramadan iftar hosted in Washington
by Commission Head John Bruton, Franco Frattini stressed that Muslim communities in all
nations should not be courted only for security or counterterrorism purposes, but to encourage
the development of Muslim identities that are vested in Europe and the United States. Muslim
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Public Affairs Council (MPAC) National Director Ahmed Younis, and Board Members Dr. Yahya
Basha and Dr. Hassan Ibrahim attended the event, which was hosted by Ambassador John
Bruton, Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to the United States, and his wife
Mrs. Finola Bruton. U.S. government officials also in attendance as guests included Secretary
Michael Chertoff of the Department of Homeland Security and Attorney General Alberto Gonzale
who expressed his interest in understanding the "realities of this community," saying that he
intends on engaging with the Muslim American community personally to further understand its
concerns. Gonzales expressed his appreciation for the day-long talks he and Secretary Chertoff
had with their European counterparts. (MPAC Bulletin)
Muslim Americans pledge $20 million for south Asian quake victims
Oct. 13: Leaders from member organizations of the American Muslim Taskforce for Disaster
Relief (AMTFDR) gathered at a press conference in Washington to announce their pledge to
raise $20 million in aid for victims of the South Asian earthquake. Ahmed Younis, director of the
Muslim Public Affairs Council, called the AMTFDR pledge effort a "cooperative attempt by the
American Muslim community to provide relief in the most efficient and most abundant manner
possible for the brothers and sisters of humanity that have suffered as the result of the significant
earthquake in South Asia." The 7.6-magnitude earthquake swept across central Afghanistan to
western Bangladesh on October 8, killing more than 40,000 people, injuring more than 50,000,
and leaving approximately 3.5 million homeless. Its epicenter was in Muzaffarabad, the capital of
Pakistan-administered Kashmir. (Media Reports)
Muslim Charities Re-emerge for Quake Victims
Oct. 14: All across America, Muslim charities, many of which have shunned the spotlight since
9/11 lest they attract unwanted law enforcement attention, are now stepping up their efforts to
raise money for the victims of the earthquake that crumbled the northernmost corner of Pakistan.
In many cases, they have been more successful than their mainstream charitable counterparts,
many of which have said that donors are not responding to their appeals for contributions for
Pakistan. Islamic Relief, one of the largest Muslim charities in the United States, had raised
almost $1 million online alone through Oct. 12, or about 10 times the amount raised by Save the
Children. Other organizations reported similar success. After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11,
2001, the F.B.I. cracked down on several Muslim charities in the United States, contending that
they served as financial conduits for terrorist operations. The Justice Department froze the assets
of several Muslim organizations, and at least two prominent Muslim donors who contributed to
those organizations were arrested. Those actions caused great bitterness and wariness about
giving among Muslims, whose leaders often note that the government has not publicly provided
evidence for its suspicions. (New York Times)
Debate ensues over teaching Islam in schools
Oct. 19: Does teaching about Islam violate a child's right to be free from religion in a public
school? One Contra Costa family thinks so. They claim their daughter's school lesson on Islam
went too far. Their case was heard today before the ninth U.S District Court of Appeals. The
California Department of Education says every public school has to teach world religion. Now the
9th U.S. Circuit court of appeals has to decide whether this school in Contra Costa County did
just that -- teach Islam or did the school endorse it. Three years ago Excelsior Middle School in
the Delta community of Byron began teaching about Islam. It started as a lesson in tolerance
toward Muslims. The case has now ended up in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. For 8
weeks, the 7th grade history class focused on Islam. The teacher encouraged students to pick
Muslim names and dress up in Arabic-style clothes. The teacher even read a line from a prayer
out of the Koran: "Remember Allah always and you shall prosper." At that point, the Eklund family
accused the school and the Byron Union School District of trying to indoctrinate their daughter,
Samantha. (ABC News)
[Page 86]
Suspect in Bush plot says Saudis whipped him
Oct. 19: A U.S. citizen charged with plotting to kill President George W. Bush said on Wednesday
Saudi officials chained him to the floor, blindfolded him and whipped him in order to make him
talk. In his first comments since returning to the United States earlier this year to face a ninecount indictment, Ahmed Abu Ali said he was beaten and whipped shortly after being detained in
Medina, Saudi Arabia, in June 2003. "They chained me to the ground, and I was blindfolded,"
said Abu Ali, dressed in a green prisoner jumpsuit. "My knees were on the ground ... my legs
were shackled. They struck me many times. I had never felt any pain like it in my life." Abu Ali,
24, was testifying in a hearing (in Alexandria, Virginia) to determine whether confessions he
signed in Saudi Arabia will be permitted to be used at trial. His lawyers say the confessions and
other statements Abu Ali made should be thrown out because they were obtained by coercion,
but the U.S. government says there is no proof he has been tortured. Abu Ali said he was
arrested on June 8, 2003, while taking an exam at the Saudi university in Medina where he was
studying. He said the Saudi officials took him to a jail where he was handcuffed, shackled and
blindfolded. (Reuters)
Jail ends kosher and halal meals
Oct. 19: The Passaic County, New Jersey, Jail has stopped serving halal and kosher meals to
inmates, breaching federal immigration detention regulations. An internal jail memo stated, "As of
10/17/05 there will be no more kosher meals. The religious diet tray will be a vegetarian diet tray."
Four inmates, all federal immigration detainees, said the memo was passed out to them. The
food memo prompted a hunger strike of about 20 inmates, the immigration detainees said in
interviews Tuesday. The jail had been serving halal meals for only the past four months, the
detainees said. For up to two years before that, the jail served no halal meals, said Peter Ali, a
Muslim detainee from British Guyana. The Passaic County Jail, like all federal immigration
detention centers, is required to provide food that is prepared according to religious customs, said
Tim Counts, a spokesman for federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which falls under
the Department of Homeland Security. (Herald News)
Philadelphia tells Muslim police to trim beards or lose jobs
Oct. 19: Philadelphia police officer Kenneth Wallace, a nine-year veteran of the force, is serving
his second month-long suspension for refusing to shave. Wallace, a 31-year-old Muslim, has
asked for an arbitration hearing to challenge the department's 1/4-inch limit on the length of
beards. Muslim city workers sued Philadelphia, the fifth-largest U.S. city, beginning in February to
challenge grooming and dress codes they claim violate their rights to religious expression. ``The
Philadelphia community has a very large and visible Islamic core,'' said Craig Thorpe, a lawyer for
one of the plaintiffs. `Ìt's kind of an anomaly that the police department and the fire department
seem to be out of step.'' Muslims account for about 2 percent of Philadelphia's 1.5 million
population, almost equal to the 2.4 percent, or 7 million, for the entire U.S. The city's Muslim
population is the 18th largest in the nation. (Bloomberg)
Muslim program upsets parents
Oct. 20: A presentation about Muslim culture last month to students at Porter Lakes Elementary
School in Indiana upset parents and sparked an argument about the role of religion in public
schools. On Sept. 30, a second-grade class and the entire third grade listened to a cultural
presentation by the family of some Muslim students who are new to the school. In addition to
talking about Muslim traditions, the children were read the book "Ramadan" by Carol Gnojewski.
"The presentation was intended to share information, hopefully to answer some of the questions
children had," Porter Township School Corp. Superintendent Nick Brown said. The presentation
involved a lot of religious content because religion is heavily intertwined with the Muslim culture,
Brown said. The religious aspect of the assembly angered parents, who say that religion has no
role in the public school setting. (North West
[Page 87]
Anti-Islam books distributed to students
Oct. 21: Another church has been vying for the attention of students in the Tracy Unified School
District. On Wednesday afternoon in front of West High School, members of the Pleasant Valley
Baptist Church in Tracy, California, handed out "comic books" to students leaving school. The
small publication warned of the dangers of Islam, homosexuality and the teaching of evolution,
while hailing the importance of traditional Baptist Christian values. Pastor Gregory Bowser said
he was not targeting Tracy Unified specifically with the message, but rather a national school
system that promotes "anti-Christian propaganda" and its own "cultural agenda." "There is too
much anti-scholarly information being disseminated in schools across the country," said Bowser,
noting that his church's presence was an informational effort and "not a protest." (Oakland
Tribune)
Ex-chaplain, once jailed by army, defends his patriotism
Oct. 23: He was a West Point graduate from a proud military family, a third-generation American
of Chinese descent who joined the Boy Scouts, played snare drum in his school band and
passionately collected baseball cards like any other kid in his New Jersey suburban
neighborhood. Along the way, James Yee converted to Islam. He became one of the U.S. Army's
first Muslim chaplains and was assigned three years ago to minister to inmates at the
Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba. Taking to heart American values of religious freedom
and tolerance, Yee reported to superiors what he said was systematic abuse by his fellow
soldiers against the mostly Muslim detainees: degrading treatment, routine desecration of their
Korans, interference with their Islamic prayers. Those actions, Yee asserted in a Los Angeles
talk, explain in part why he found himself accused of espionage by his military superiors in
September 2003. (Los Angeles Times)
U.S. operatives killed detainees during interrogations in Afghanistan and Iraq
Oct. 24: The American Civil Liberties Union today made public an analysis of new and previously
released autopsy and death reports of detainees held in U.S. facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan,
many of whom died while being interrogated. The documents show that detainees were hooded,
gagged, strangled, beaten with blunt objects, subjected to sleep deprivation and to hot and cold
environmental conditions. “There is no question that U.S. interrogations have resulted in deaths,”
said Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU. “High-ranking officials who knew
about the torture and sat on their hands and those who created and endorsed these policies must
be held accountable. America must stop putting its head in the sand and deal with the torture
scandal that has rocked our military.” The documents released today include 44 autopsies and
death reports as well as a summary of autopsy reports of individuals apprehended in Iraq and
Afghanistan. The documents show that detainees died during or after interrogations by Navy
Seals, Military Intelligence and “OGA” (Other Governmental Agency) -- a term, according to the
ACLU, that is commonly used to refer to the CIA. (UCLA)
O'Reilly: Closing public schools for Muslim holiday "absurd in a Judeo-Christian country"
Oct 27: Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly calls the idea of closing public schools
for the observance of Muslim holidays "absurd in a Judeo-Christian country." O'Reilly made this
remark during a discussion with Hillsborough County, Florida, commissioner Brian Blair, who
opposed the Hillsborough County school board's decision to keep public schools open on Yom
Kippur and Good Friday during the 2006-2007 school year, a departure from the school district's
earlier practice of closing schools on those days. (Media Matters)
Professor Al Arian presents no defense in terrorism-support trial
Oct. 27: After hearing from government witnesses for nearly five months, an attorney for a fired
college professor charged with aiding Palestinian terrorists rested his case today without calling a
single witness. After summoning more than 70 witnesses, federal prosecutors rested their case
this morning against Sami Al-Arian and three other defendants accused of raising money and
supporting the murderous mission of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad or PIJ. Al-Arian's attorney,
William Moffitt, stunned most in the courtroom when he told U.S. District Judge James S. Moody
[Page 88]
Jr. in Tampa, Florida, that he also would rest. When asked about the decision, Moffitt would say
only that Al-Arian has done nothing wrong and the U.S. Constitution protects his right to speak.
"The government has not proven Dr. Al-Arian has done anything but speak," Moffitt said. (The
Ledger)
Muslim woman wins settlement in suit
Oct. 27: A Muslim woman fired at a Columbia store in Maryland shortly after the terrorist attacks
of Sept. 11, 2001 has won a settlement from the company that terminated her employment.
Shabana Ahmed, a Columbia resident, will receive $16,000 in an agreement reached with School
& Pre-School Supply Center Inc., of Baltimore County, the owner of Learning How, in Columbia,
according to the settlement. In November 2001, Ahmed filed a complaint with the Maryland
Commission on Human Relations alleging religious discrimination in the company's decision to
fire her the month before. The $16,000 represents the amount of salary the company would have
paid Ahmed prior to the time she found new employment after being fired, said Lee Hoshall, an
attorney with the Commission on Human Relations, which represented Ahmed in the matter.
(Howard County Times, Maryland)
MAS: Muslims’ green card and citizenship delay unfair
Oct. 27: Muslim American Society’s Freedom Foundation announced a national campaign to
speed up immigration process for Muslims because of delay in issuing Green Cards and
processing of their citizenship applications. It is dubbed as “Project BFAIR: Better Fair American
Immigration Rules” The MAS Freedom Foundation said that despite approval, many Muslims
have waited years to receive their green card or citizenship. “This unfair practice has created
undue hardship on families and the social and economic life of thousands of law-abiding Muslims
who make America their home. Additionally, while traveling, many Muslims are detained at
airports for hours without probable or legal cause.” Project BFAIR will (1) Collect a nationwide
database - at mosques, public events and online - of American Muslims affected by unreasonable
delays in receiving their green cards and citizenship. (2) Legally challenge all unwarranted or
unnecessary detention of Muslims at airports. (3) Convene a legal team to prepare to legally
challenge and sue the government on behalf unfair immigration practices directed at Muslims
concerning the lengthy time it takes for Muslims to receive their green cards and/or citizenship
after they have been approved.
Prisoner says abuse of his Islamic books preceded beating in 2001
Oct. 30: Long before charges of Koran abuse at Guantánamo Bay were news, Charles Paige,
one of the inmates in a lawsuit against New York City over practices in its jails, clashed with
guards on Rikers Island after, he said, they mishandled his Islamic books. Mr. Paige, 46, was in
the city jail in December 2001 awaiting transfer to state prison on a drug charge. Long a devout
Muslim, Mr. Paige had been praying five times a day and going daily to Islamic study classes in
the jail. On Dec. 4, guards ordered a general search in the cellblock. No stranger to incarceration,
Mr. Paige knew no talking was permitted during the search. But the officer who came to search
his cell, he said, stepped on his prayer rug. "I informed her she was standing on my rug," Mr.
Paige, a slight man who weighs less than 130 pounds, recounted in an interview. He said the
officer ordered him to be silent. A ward captain told the officer to step off the rug, Mr. Paige said.
She did, but she began rummaging through his things, and he protested again. Other officers
took him out of his cell for an hour until the search was over. When he returned, he said, "My cell
was tossed." Two books of the Hadith, which has instructional stories from the life of the prophet
Muhammad, were under water in the toilet……..(New York Times)
[Page 89]
November 2005
Federal judge dismisses lawsuit over headscarf removal
Nov. 2: A Muslim woman in Madison, Wis., forced to remove her religious headscarf while visiting
a state prison cannot sue the Department of Corrections or its secretary for damages in federal
court, a judge ruled."I am devastated," Cynthia Rhouni of Madison said Wednesday when told of
the ruling. U.S. District Judge John Shabaz dismissed Rhouni's lawsuit, saying the state cannot
be held liable for monetary damages sought by private citizens in federal court. Rhouni claimed
her constitutional right to practice religion was violated when she took her son to visit his father at
the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage. A security measure that took effect months
earlier banned visitors from wearing headgear inside state prisons. Rhouni said two male guards
ordered her to take off her hijab despite her protests. She said she was humiliated inmates saw
her without the garment, which practicing Muslim women are supposed to wear in public and
especially in front of men. (Duluth News-Tribune)
Muslims' prayers at game led to FBI queries
Nov. 3: The trouble started after five Muslim men were seen praying inside Giants Stadium (NJ)
before a Sept. 19 football game. A suspicious spectator notified authorities, who cornered the
men in the stands during the game. "All of a sudden, eight yellow-jacketed security officers come
up to us," said Sami Shaban, one of the five men, and a Mahwah High School graduate. "They
told us, 'Get up.'Ÿ" As the men complied, Shaban said, security guards clutched their arms and
other spectators shouted their approval. "Now I feel safer!" one bellowed. Several state troopers
waited at the bottom of the stairs. The men were then turned over to FBI agents, five of whom
questioned them for about 30 minutes before escorting them back to the stands during the game
between the Giants and the New Orleans Saints. Shaban and others, including Mostafa Khalifa of
Howell, described the incident Wednesday during a news conference timed to coincide with the
Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which begins this week. They called on law enforcement officials to
stop racial and religious profiling. (North Jersey Media)
Kirk 'OK' with visa bias against some Arab men
Nov. 6: Rep. Mark Kirk of Highland Park made what he admitted were "politically uncomfortable"
remarks when asked about the difficulties of the visa process for immigrants entering the United
States. "I'm OK with discrimination against young Arab males from terrorist-producing states. I'm
OK with that," Kirk said. "I think that when we look at the threat that's out there, young men
between, say, the ages of 18 and 25 from a couple of countries, I believe a certain amount of
intense scrutiny should be placed on them. "I'm not threatened by people from China. I'm not
even threatened by people from Mexico. I just know where the threat is from. It's from a unique
place, and I think it's OK to recognize that." Kirk (R-Ill.), speaking at a nanotechnology conference
at Northwestern University, Ill, had talked about China gaining an economic advantage over the
United States, producing 10 times the number of engineers as the United States. (Chicago Sun
Times)
UN nuclear chief, ElBaradei searched at US airport
Nov. 8: UN nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei, who is Egyptian, was pulled out of line at Logan
airport in Boston and searched by security officials before being allowed to fly on to Washington,
diplomats said in Vienna. They said the incident occurred on Sunday (Nov 6). ElBaradei's wife,
who was travelling with him, was also stopped and searched, as officials apparently screen
people according to their names. One diplomat, contacted in Washington from Vienna, said
ElBaradei was "really angry and embarrassed by the incident." IAEA officials refused to comment
on the report. ElBaradei spoke last week at the UN General Assembly and then was in Boston
where he spoke at both Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
(Hindustan Times)
[Page 90]
Muslim groups ask Kirk to apologize for remarks
Nov. 8: Arab-American and immigrant rights groups riled by U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk's recent
comments sanctioning discrimination against Arabs are asking for a retraction and an apology.
The Highland Park Republican made the controversial statements at a Saturday symposium on
nanotechnology at Northwestern University in Evanston. According to a published report, Kirk
said: "I'm OK with discrimination against young Arab males from terrorist-producing states ... I
think that when we look at the threat that's out there, young men between, say, the ages of 18
and 25 from a couple of countries, I believe a certain amount of intense scrutiny should be placed
on them." Kirk went on to say, "I'm not threatened by people from China. I'm not even threatened
by people from Mexico. I just know where the threat is from. It's from a unique place and I think
it's OK to recognize that." His remarks have infuriated some immigrant rights groups. "We ask for
a retraction and an apology and think it is incredibly counterproductive to make the type of
blanket statements that he has," said Mehrdad Azemun, senior organizer for the Illinois Coalition
for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Ahmed Rehab, a spokesman for the Chicago Council on
American- Islamic Relations, a national Muslim civil rights advocacy group, said Kirk's comments
are irresponsible because his suggestion has not been proven as an effective way to deal with
terrorism. (Daily Herald)
Facing community pressure, the Hillsborough School Board restores religious holidays
Nov. 9: After listening to passionate speeches about God, country, children and tradition, the
Hillsborough School Board (Florida) restored several religious holidays to next year's school
calendar, reversing a 2-week-old decision that garnered national attention. The vote came a year
after the Council on American-Islamic Relations requested all Hillsborough students be given a
day off for Eid al-Fitr, the end of the 30-day fasting period of Ramadan. The district's calendar
committee studied the issue this summer but forwarded the secular calendar to the board for
approval. The only dissent came from the committee's lone Muslim member. (St. Petersburg
Times)
Florida school religious holidays restored
Nov. 10: The Hillsborough County (Florida) School Board reinstated Good Friday, Easter Monday
and Yom Kippur as school holidays after getting more than 3,500 e-mails from around the country
criticizing its earlier decision to eliminate them rather than add a Muslim holiday. The School
Board voted 5-2 to restore the holidays to the 2006-07 school calendar after a Muslim group said
it didn't want its request to add the Islamic holiday Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan,
to result in Christian and Jewish holidays being taken away. "It is a temporary solution," said
Ahmed Bedier, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. ``We've been adamant
the last two weeks that we would give up on our request for a holiday so the other religions won't
lose theirs." (Associated Press)
VA: Muslims helped elect new governor
Nov. 10: Not since L. Douglas Wilder's historic run for governor in 1989 has a Democrat captured
a majority of the vote for governor in Loudoun County. Democrats in Prince William County have
been waiting even longer. But Virginia Gov.-elect Timothy M. Kaine (D) won both in Tuesday's
election. Republicans needed to win big in the outer suburbs to offset heavy support for Kaine in
areas closer to Washington, and their failure to do so was one of the keys to the defeat of
Republican Jerry W. Kilgore. Kilgore slipped in areas where Republicans have been so dominant
that they control the local boards of supervisors, sheriff's offices, commonwealth's attorney posts
and most delegate seats. Kaine reached out to voters in these rapidly growing outer communities
who are accustomed to the dust and traffic that come with new homes. Mukit Hossain, president
of the Virginian Muslim Political Action Committee said his group, which endorsed Kaine,
compiled a comprehensive database of Muslim voters in Virginia, finding that about 15,000 of
49,000 statewide live in Prince William and Loudoun. Many legal immigrants in the area were
turned off by Kilgore's pledges to use state police to fight illegal immigration and his opposition to
a proposed taxpayer-funded day labor site in Herndon, and voted accordingly, he said.
(Washington Post)
[Page 91]
Charter school may include Muslim holiday
Nov. 11: The Florida Muslim community failed to get it on Hillsborough County's school calendar,
but at least one public school in the district wants to recognize the holiday marking the end of
Ramadan. Terrace Community School, a charter school at the Museum of Science & Industry
serving fifth through eighth grades, wants to add a day off next school year to observe Eid al-Fitr,
the holy day at the end of Ramadan. (Tampa Tribune)
Staten Island (NY) Muslims claim police had
been asking improper questions about their citizenship
Nov. 12: Staten Island of New York’s top cop sat down with members of the board of trustees of
Muslim Majlis of Staten Island Inc. to defuse mosque members' recent concerns about post-Sept.
11 racial profiling by the city Police Department. Board chairman Suhail Muzaffar said the group
requested the sit-down with Borough Commander Albert Girimonte in reaction to four incidents
over the past 11 months in which cops investigating minor auto accidents or traffic infractions
allegedly asked mosque members inappropriate questions about their citizenship status. "The
typical question has been: 'Where are you from, where were you born?'" Muzaffar said. "Two
questions that are totally irrelevant at an accident scene." In one of the incidents near the Staten
Island Mall at Christmastime last year, a female Pakistani wearing a Muslim shawl repeatedly
was asked where she came from, he said. (Staten Island Advance)
NJ: Muslim becomes mayor after anonymous flier alleges terror ties
Nov. 13: The anonymous flier mailed to households days before a new mayor was to be chosen
was direct and devastating in its claims: A Muslim council member, one of three candidates for
the post, was "a betrayer living among us" with ties to the 9/11 terrorists. The mailing said
Mohamed Khairullah "should not be living in our clean town" and "will try to poison our thoughts
about our great country." But the letter failed to derail his candidacy; the Borough Council chose
Khairullah in a 4-0 vote Wednesday night, making him one of only two Muslim mayors in New
Jersey. (Newsday)
Muslim activists slam plan to register air travelers
Nov. 14: Muslim groups expressed concern about a move by the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security to urge Muslim air travelers who are experiencing problems at the airport to register with
the federal government before flying. U.S. officials said some people have experienced problems
getting cleared to fly as a result of a mistaken match on a no-fly list, and they may register with
the federal government to reduce the chances they'll be stopped at the airport. But local Muslim
activists said it appears to be another attempt by law enforcement to single out Muslims and Arab
Americans for closer scrutiny. "Either nobody should register or all of us should have to register.
Don't single us out," said Samina F. Sundas, executive director for American Muslim Voice, which
set up a hot line for Muslims during the INS registration after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11,
2001. "Let's just treat everyone equally." (The Oakland Tribune)
Senate committee concludes investigation
of Muslim groups in U.S., finds no wrong doings
Nov. 15: A U.S. Senate committee found nothing "alarming" in the financial records of the
Plainfield-based Islamic Society of North America and nearly two dozen other Muslim groups the
committee reviewed searching for terrorist connections. In seeking the tax records of the Muslim
groups in December 2003, Senate Finance Committee leaders said they would look at the
"crucial role that charities and foundations play in terror financing" and that "often these groups
are nothing more than shell companies." But almost two years later, the committee has
concluded its work with no plans to issue a report, forward any findings to law enforcement
agents, hold hearings or propose new legislation. "We did not find anything alarming enough that
required additional follow-up beyond what law enforcement is already doing," U.S. Sen. Charles
Grassley, the Iowa Republican who heads the committee, said in a statement. "If something in
the future does cause new concern, we will continue the investigation." (Indianapolis Star)
[Page 92]
Crackdown on a Middle Eastern banking system
Nov. 15: An informal banking system known by Middle Easterners as hawala, which began
centuries ago on the Silk Road and Sahara desert caravans, has become a target in the war on
terror by federal authorities who believe it allows terrorists to transfer vast sums of money without
a trace. Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the government has moved aggressively to halt
these money transfer services or at least force them to comply with federal financial reporting
laws. The campaign has resulted in the indictment of 138 people and the seizure of $25.5 million.
Three (San Francisco) Bay Area men have been caught up in the crackdown; one of them is a
Castro Valley man scheduled to be sentenced Thursday for illegally sending money to Sudan.
But critics say the government has found no links to terrorism in any of its cases and has done
little more than shut down mom-and-pop businesses guilty of failing to register their companies or
report their transactions. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Court clears school of pushing religion with lesson on Islam
Nov. 18: A Contra Costa County (CA) school was educating seventh-graders about Islam, not
indoctrinating them, in role-playing sessions in which students used Muslim names and recited
language from prayers, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals rejected a lawsuit by two Christian students and their parents, who accused the Byron
Union School District of unconstitutionally endorsing a religious practice. "The Islam program
activities were not overt religious exercises that raise Establishment Clause concerns,'' the threejudge panel said, referring to the First Amendment ban on government sanctioning a religion.
(San Francisco Chronicle)
Schakowsky blasts Kirk's remarks on Arab males
Nov. 20: U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) said she was "deeply offended" that her colleague
Mark Kirk thinks it's "OK" to discriminate against young Arab males, and she joined a diverse
group of immigrants' rights supporters in demanding an apology from the Republican
congressman. "No one should be OK with discrimination," Schakowsky said to an applauding,
standing-room-only crowd at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights convention at
Navy Pier, Chicago. "It is comments like this, which characterize an entire group of people, that
represent the kind of thinking that ultimately led to the internment of Japanese-Americans during
World War II." When Kirk, of Highland Park, was asked about the difficulties of the visa process
for immigrants at a nanotechnology conference at Northwestern University earlier this month, he
said, "I'm OK with discrimination against young Arab males from terrorist-producing states. I'm
OK with that." (Chicago Sun-Times)
Judge allows suit challenging sale of land for mosque
Nov. 22: A state judge in Boston has allowed a lawsuit to proceed that seeks to invalidate the
city's sale of Roxbury land at deep discount to a Muslim society that is building a mosque on the
property. Mission Hill resident James C. Policastro sued in an attempt to undo the Boston
Redevelopment Authority deal with the Islamic Society of Boston, saying the sale violated
provisions of the US and Massachusetts constitutions, which prohibit government from
establishing or unfairly assisting religious institutions. (Boston Globe)
Kirk's racial profiling comments draw protests
Nov. 22: Dozens of community groups are calling on U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk to apologize for a
remark they say he made in support of racial profiling. CBS 2's Mike Parker reports on protesters,
who took their message to the congressman's office. More than a dozen people marched into
Congressman Mark Kirk's Deerfield office carrying 800 signatures of people protesting what they
call Kirk's endorsement of profiling Muslims and Arabs. The demonstrators, representing more
than 20 religious and community groups, are upset over Kirk's recent comments at Northwestern
University. "I'm ok," Kirk said, "with discrimination against young Arab males from terrorist
producing states." "We need to make sure that even the smallest hint of discrimination against
any group of people, any race of people are tackled and dealt with," said Shafic Budron with the
Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee. "I wouldn't condone for others what I condemn for
[Page 93]
my own people," said Rabbi Isaac Serotta of Lakeside Congregation. A later written statement
from Kirk's office makes it sound like there won't be an apology. The congressman, it says, was
talking about tougher review policies on visa requests. "To do anything less," says the statement,
"would be a disservice to the safety of Americans." (CBS2Chicago)
U.S. indicts Padilla after three years in Pentagon custody
Nov. 22 - Jose Padilla, an American citizen held without charge for more than three years as an
enemy combatant, has been indicted in what the federal authorities said today was a plot to
"murder, kidnap and maim" people overseas. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who
announced the indictment here, said that Mr. Padilla had conspired as part of a "North American
support cell" to send "money, physical assets and new recruits" overseas to engage in acts of
terrorism and that he had traveled abroad himself to become "a violent jihadist." Almost from the
moment his arrest was announced in 2002, Mr. Padilla has been at the center of a debate over
the proper balance between national security and personal liberties, especially in an age of
terrorism and shadowy forces that neither serve nor operate under the conventions of nationstates. The government's announcement of a criminal indictment of Mr. Padilla today marked a
significant shift in its public position on certain people seized as "enemy combatants" in the
campaign against terrorism. The Bush administration position that it has the right to hold Mr.
Padilla without formal charges as an enemy combatant, despite his citizenship, was upheld two
months ago by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, which
threw out a lower court ruling to the contrary. But some lawyers continued to insist that keeping
an American citizen in a Navy brig with only limited access to legal counsel was a violation of civil
rights and the spirit of the Constitution. Scott Silliman, a Duke University law professor, who
specializes in national security, theorized that the government had secured the indictment against
Mr. Padilla so that it could sidestep a Supreme Court showdown over when and for how long
American citizens could be held in military prisons. "That's an issue the administration did not
want to face," Mr. Silliman said. (New York Times)
Abu Ali found guilty in Bush Qaeda plot
Nov. 22: A U.S. man was found guilty of conspiring with and aiding al Qaeda and plotting to
assassinate President George W. Bush. A 12-member federal jury at the U.S. District Court in
Alexandria, Virginia, found Ahmed Abu Ali, 24, guilty of all charges in a nine-count indictment. He
had been charged with conspiring to support and supporting al Qaeda, conspiracy to kill Bush
and conspiracy to commit aircraft hijacking. Abu Ali was arrested in June 2003 while studying at a
Saudi university. He signed confessions and made statements admitting to the plot against Bush
and to having ties to an al Qaeda cell. He was held in Saudi Arabia for 20 months before being
sent back to the United States earlier this year to face trial. Abu Ali said he made up the
confessions in order to stop members of the Saudi domestic security police from torturing him.
(Reuters)
New Jersey Sports Authority sets aside prayer spaces at stadium for Muslims
Nov. 22: The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority says it will provide a special area for
anyone who wants a place to pray while at Giants Stadium or the Continental Airlines Arena - a
reaction to Muslim groups' outcries after several fans who prayed at a New York Giants game
were detained and questioned by the FBI in September. Five Muslim men attending the Sept. 19
Giants game against the New Orleans Saints were detained and questioned for about a half hour
by the FBI after they were observed praying at the stadium. The men claimed they were singled
out because of their faith, but the FBI said the men were flagged by stadium security because
they were in a sensitive area near the stadium's main air intake duct. The men were allowed to
return to the stadium, but in different seats, and were escorted to their cars when they left.
George Zoffinger, the sports authority president, said space will be set aside at the stadium and
the arena for anyone of any faith who wishes to pray, he said. (Newsday)
[Page 94]
CAIR calls for release of UK 'bomb Al-jazeera' memo
Nov. 27: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on British authorities to
release the full contents of a memo that allegedly revealed plans last year by President Bush to
bomb the Arabic television station al-Jazeera in Qatar. According to media reports, the memo
contains detailed information about an April 2004 White House meeting during which British
Prime Minister Tony Blair attempted to persuade President Bush not to bomb al-Jazeera. "This
disturbing allegation damages our nation's image and undermines America's promotion of
democracy and press freedom in the Middle East," said CAIR Board Chairman Parvez Ahmed.
"One of the best ways to put this issue to rest is to release the memo so that everyone can
decide for themselves whether the allegation is credible or part of a conspiracy theory." (CAIR
News Bulletin)
December 2005
CAIR launches Patriot Act blog
Dec. 1: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today launched a "blog," or Internet
journal, focusing on the negative civil liberties impact of the USA Patriot Act currently up for
renewal in Congress. CAIR's blog, located at http://cairpatriotact.blogspot.com/, offers information
about the unsupervised domestic surveillance powers contained in the legislation and suggests
ways in which voters can express their concerns to elected officials. It will be updated daily with
new information. (CAIR Bulletin)
Dr. Sami Al-Arian acquitted on terror charges
Dec. 6: In a major defeat for prosecution, Dr. Sami Al-Arian, former University of South Florida
computer engineering professor, was acquitted today of charges related to terrorism, including
conspiring to maim and murder people in Israel. Dr. Sami Al-Arian, a fiery advocate for
Palestinian causes, was found not guilty of eight charges related to terrorist support, perjury and
immigration violations. The jury, in Federal District Court in Tampa, Fla., deadlocked on the
remaining nine counts against him. Jurors, who deliberated for 13 days, returned no guilty
verdicts against the three other defendants Sameeh Hammoudeh Ghassan Zayed Ballut and
Hatem Naji Fariz,. The trial, which lasted more than five months, hinged on the question of
whether Dr. Al-Arian's years of work in the Tampa area in support of Palestinian independence
had crossed the threshold from protected free speech and political advocacy to illegal support for
terrorists. Prosecutors, in a case built over 10 years, relied on some 20,000 hours of taped
conversations culled from wiretaps of conversations involving Dr. Al-Arian and his associates.
Officials charged that he had helped finance and direct terror attacks in Israel, Gaza Strip and the
West Bank from the cover of his faculty position as a computer engineering teacher at the
University of South Florida. But the jury found him not guilty of conspiring to kill people overseas
(Israel), and deadlocked on three of the other most serious terrorism charges against him. Dr. AlArian was considered one of the most important terrorist figures to be brought to trial in the United
States since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. His indictment in 2003 was hailed by then-Attorney
General John Ashcroft as one of the first triumphs of the Patriot Act, which was enacted in the
weeks after Sept. 11. (Media Reports)
Senate keeping Muslim inquiry open despite announcing its end
Dec. 8: A U.S. Senate committee is pressing ahead in its two-year-old investigation of 25 Muslim
groups despite a statement last month that nothing "alarming" had been found in tax records to
tie them to terrorism. The Senate Finance Committee began its probe of the Muslim groups,
including the Plainfield-based Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), with a December 2003
request that the Internal Revenue Service provide confidential tax documents submitted by the
groups. It was looking for evidence that the groups had financially supported terrorist groups. Last
month, Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican Finance Committee chairman from Iowa,
announced the probe had ended. In a written statement, Grassley said, "We did not find anything
alarming enough that required additional follow-up beyond what law enforcement agencies are
already doing." But Grassley's committee issued a new statement this week saying its lack of
[Page 95]
action does not mean the groups had been "cleared." The committee, the statement said, "will
continue to gather information and examine the operations of the charities." (Indianapolis Star)
OH: Muslim charity calls for fairness inquiry found no link to terrorism
Dec. 8: A board member of a Toledo-based Muslim charity said that a Senate panel's two-year
investigation into possible terrorist links, which ended recently with no allegations of wrongdoing,
was "reminiscent of the McCarthy era." Jihad Smaili, a Toledo native and Cleveland lawyer, said
at a news conference in KindHearts' West Toledo offices that the U.S. Senate Finance
Committee made a public announcement in 2003 that it was investigating 25 U.S. Muslim groups,
but never announced that it ended the inquiry two weeks ago with no evidence of wrongdoing. In
the meantime, some potential KindHearts donors were scared off by the investigation and the
charity's reputation was hurt by "false allegations" and "guilt by association," Mr. Smaili said.
When the Senate committee announced its investigation in 2003, Mr. Smaili said he wrote to the
chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa), and to each panel member inviting them to tour
KindHearts' Toledo offices and to examine the charity's books. But he never received a response.
(Toledo Blade)
30,000 fliers seek watch-list removal
Dec. 8: Nearly 30,000 airline passengers in the past year asked the Homeland Security
Department to remove their names from terrorist watch lists, and all but about 60 were
successful, Transportation Security Administration officials said. None of the passengers listed
was ever prevented from flying, but some were selected for additional screening ranging from
questioning to strip searches, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials said. Marcia
Hofmann, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center's open-government project, said
the number of passengers asking to be delisted is "greater than anybody anticipated," and shows
"the watch-list process doesn't work the way it is supposed to." Miss Hofmann said Jim Kennedy,
TSA's chief of staff, Tuesday disclosed the 30,000 figure for the first time when addressing a
public advisory board and said 60 applicants had been denied redress. The number of names on
the no-fly list and watch lists are classified. (The Washington Times)
NC: Judge dismisses lawsuit involving courtroom oaths
Dec. 8: A judge in North Carolina today dismissed a lawsuit prompted by outcry over the inability
of Muslims to be sworn in Guilford County courts using the Quran, a lawyer in the case said. In
throwing out the case, Superior Court Judge Donald L. Smith decided that no controversy existed
because the plaintiff was still able to affirm she could truthfully testify despite not being allowed to
swear on the Quran, attorney Seth Cohen said. The plaintiffs in the case were the American Civil
Liberties Union of North Carolina and Greensboro Muslim Syidah Mateen. The defendant was the
state of North Carolina because the plaintiffs were asking to clarify a state law referring to
someone laying his hands on the "Holy Scriptures." Guilford Senior Resident Superior Court
Judge W. Douglas Albright and Guilford Chief District Court Judge Joseph E. Turner believed an
oath on the Quran is not a legal oath based on their interpretation of that law. In the suit, Mateen
alleged she had appeared as a witness in a 2003 court hearing but was not allowed to take an
oath on the Quran as she preferred. (News Record)
CAIR Applauds Senate Defeat of Patriot Act Extension
Dec. 12: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a prominent national Islamic civil
rights and advocacy group, today applauded the U.S. Senate's vote to reject reauthorizing
several provisions of the USA Patriot Act because of civil liberties concerns. By a vote of 52 to 47,
Senate supporters of the act were unable to obtain the 60 votes necessary to overcome a
threatened filibuster. Several controversial provisions of the Patriot Act were due to expire at the
end of this month. (CAIR News Bulletin)
Ashraf al-Jailani deported to Yemen
Dec. 13: Ashraf al-Jailani, a resident of Kent, Ohio, was deported to his native Yemen. Al-Jailani,
42, gave up his fight of more than three years to stay in the country last week after the U.S. 3rd
Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia denied his request for an emergency stay of his
[Page 96]
deportation order. Al-Jailani had been detained after being picked up in October 2002, when the
government accused him of plotting to blow up GOJO Industries, where al-Jailani worked. The
government's terror case was rejected by every court that heard it. He was deported because of a
misdemeanor domestic violence conviction. (The Beacon Journal)
New study shows changing evangelical views on Islam since 9/11
Dec. 14: After the 9/11 terrorists attacks on the U.S., evangelical leaders--from Franklin Graham
to Jerry Vines of the Southern Baptist Convention-- emerged as the strongest critics and even
antagonists of Islam. Numerous surveys have likewise found evangelicals in general to have
more negative views on Islam than other Americans. This rhetoric is reflected in evangelical
books and articles that have been published in the last decade, but particularly since 9/11. .A new
study by Richard Cimino, editor of Religion Watch newsletter, finds that this discourse sheds as
much light on how evangelicals view the challenges of pluralism and relativism in American
society as it does about their views on Islam. The study, entitled, “No God In Common: American
Evangelical Discourse on Islam After 9/11,” is published in the December issue of the Review of
Religious Research. Through conducting an analysis of popular evangelical books published
before and after 9/11, the study finds that most of the post-9/11 literature draws sharper
distinctions between Islam and Christianity, as well as asserting that Islam is essentially violent.
(Religion Watch)
U.S. government releases new guidelines for non-profit organizations
Dec. 15: The U.S. Department of Treasury today released new guidelines to help nonprofit
groups prevent their charitable funds from unwittingly being used to support terrorists. The new
guidelines, which are voluntary standards for foundations and charities to follow, replace ones
Treasury issued three years ago, to much criticism. InterAction, the Council on Foundations, and
other associations that represent nonprofit groups objected to the department's suggested rules,
saying they would stifle international philanthropic efforts. The protests prompted Treasury to
meet with nonprofit officials to discuss their concerns, but the agency has insisted that guidelines
are necessary to prevent violent acts. While the new guidelines in many parts closely resemble
the original rules, they include several additions and changes. Nonprofit officials praised the
department for reworking the guidelines, but said the agency did not go far enough to assuage
their worries. (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
Advertising firm will not post racist billboards in North Carolina
Dec. 15: The Arab American Institute (AAI) and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee (ADC) announces that Lamar Advertising, has decided it will not post the extremely
negative and misleading billboard ads for the Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License. The
company was initially set to post the ads in North Carolina. In a statement today, Lamar
Advertising said that they, “flatly rejected this image and any other message that would be of a
discriminatory nature…We can assure you that there will be no discriminating content on any of
Lamar Advertising’s billboards for this or any other advertiser.” The billboards, which contain
extremely negative and racist images of Arabs and Arab cultural symbols, misleadingly utilize
false stereotypes and racist rhetoric to push an anti-immigrant agenda. (Arab American
Institute)
Civil rights groups question FBI interrogation of Muslim student
Dec. 15: Area civil rights groups are angry after a Muslim Elk Grove (CA) high school student was
taken out of class and questioned by FBI agents over three letters (PLO) he scrawled on his
binder two years ago. Calvine High School student Munir Raseh, 16, said he was pulled out of
class on September 27 and questioned by two men who identified themselves as FBI agents.
Raseh said the men asked him about a 2003 incident, when a math teacher at another school
reprimanded the teen for writing the letters "PLO" on his binder. "Basically, the teacher said he
saw the PLO and said it was a terrorist organization and that the people that run it are all
terrorists," Raseh said. "I was shocked," Raseh said. "I was born in California. I'm an American
citizen." Raseh believes his math teacher contacted the FBI about the incident. Representatives
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of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and the Sacramento Valley office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations asked why school officials allowed the questioning without notifying
the teen's parents. (Media report)
Florida school OKs Muslim holiday
Dec. 15: Terrace Community School has became the first public school in Hillsborough County
(Florida) to give students a day off for the Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan. During
their monthly meeting, board members for the charter school approved the 2006-07 school
calendar, which includes a day off for the Eid al-Fitr holiday. About 5 percent of the school's 352
students are Muslim. (Tampa Tribune)
CA: Muslim conference frustrated by airport security
Dec. 17: Muslim leaders who gathered in Long Beach, California, today to discuss their role in
combating extremism within the Islamic community complained that two scheduled speakers
missed the event after being detained at Los Angeles International Airport. “People are upset,”
said Salam Al-Marayati of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, which organized the conference. “On
one hand the U.S. government is asking us to do more, but on the other they are preventing us
from doing our work.” British citizens Mockbul Ali and Waqqas Khan had arrived on a flight from
London at 4 p.m., local time, but only cleared customs after 8 p.m., said Erin Robertson, a
spokeswoman for the British Consulate-General in Los Angeles. (The Globe & Mail)
Praised as beacon, Boston mosque project stalls amid rancor
Dec. 18: Boston's new Mosque and Cultural Center was meant to be a beacon of tolerance, a
symbol of understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims. Instead, the unfinished red-brick
shell at Roxbury Crossing has become just the opposite. Conceived before the terrorist attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001, and blessed by the city, the mosque has been beset by challenges. A Mission Hill
man is suing the city, alleging that the land deal that got the project underway was unfair. Others
have accused officials of the Cambridge-based Islamic Society of Boston, which is building the
mosque, of sympathizing with Islamic extremists. The accusations have battered the project.
Donations have slowed to a trickle and Islamic society officials blame the allegations of
extremism, which they have vehemently denied, for deterring benefactors. Mosque supporters
say the harm done goes beyond bricks and mortar, that the rancor surrounding the project has
deepened suspicions between Muslims and non-Muslims. The Roxbury site has become a setting
for conflicts that extend far outside the neighborhood, into issues of constitutional rights, Middle
East politics, and national security. (Boston Globe)
Leaders decry Ohio mosque complex blasts
Dec. 22: Cincinnati mayor, the Roman Catholic archbishop and a rabbi were among the religious
and civic leaders who stood together Wednesday to denounce the bombing of the Islamic Center
of Greater Cincinnati, Ohio. Two explosive devices inflicted minor damage to the entrances of
adjoining mosques tonight, about two hours after prayers had ended. No one was injured. "We're
all here in solidarity to speak out against this despicable act," Mayor Mark Mallory said. "From a
community standpoint, we need to make it clear that this type of criminal activity will not be
tolerated." (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
Islamic scholar denied entry into U.S.
Dec. 23: A Canadian Islamic teacher scheduled to speak at an upcoming Houston conference
was barred entry to the United States. Yahya Ibrahim arrived at the Detroit airport, where an
immigration inspector denied him entry. He was scheduled to speak at the Texas Dawah
Convention, an annual event for Muslims expected to attract 4,000 participants from across the
country. The government confirmed that Ibrahim was denied entry, but refused to say why.
Officials with the Council on American-Islamic Relations said the scholar told them he was
detained for five hours and given no reason for being refused entry. Kaleem Siddiqui, a
spokesman for the council's Houston office, said the organization was contacting congressmen
and other authorities for an explanation. (Houston Chronicle)
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Florida Mosque designs modified
Dec. 31: Without the 85-foot minarets that caused some controversy, a new $1.5 million mosque
will break ground this spring, said Hytham Bakr, a member of the board of directors of the Islamic
Society of Sarasota and Bradenton, Florida. The building, which will be built toward the rear of
the 2-acre property, will be no more than 40 feet tall including its dome, said Bakr, whose
Sarasota engineering firm, The Bakr Group, is the mosque's project management firm. Originally,
the mosque's leaders submitted plans to Sarasota County for a 62-foot tall building, including
dome, and two 85-feet minarets, Bakr said. But Sarasota County ruled that the building too
greatly exceeded the county's height restriction of 35 feet and approved a maximum height of 40
feet. (Bradenton Herald) (Center Daily)
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January 2006
Battle waged in Boston over new mosque
Jan. 5: The Islamic Society of Boston is trying to complete a mosque that would be the largest in
this region of the United States. After the city of Boston conveyed a parcel of land to the Islamic
Society of Boston (ISB), articles appeared in the Boston Herald in 2003 linking society leaders to
Islamic extremists. The ISB denied the story, responding in detail to what it saw as inflammatory
distortions. "When you place a picture of Osama bin Laden next to a picture of our mosque, that
is completely misrepresentative of who we are," says Salma Kazmi, assistant project director.
Boston's Fox TV station followed with broadcasts on the charges, and two local organizations the David Project, a pro-Israel group, and Citizens for Peace and Tolerance (CPT) - have
continued to publicize them and press for public hearings. CPT says Boston could become a
"potential radical Islamic center." The ISB counters that media and local groups, with help from
terrorism analyst Steven Emerson, have conspired to halt construction and "incite public
sentiment against area Muslims." The society has filed a defamation suit. A local resident has
also sued the city seeking invalidation of the land sale to the ISB. The specific charges may have
to be sorted out in court, but the Boston controversy fits a national pattern. Four years after 9/11,
mosques in many communities continue to encounter wariness and resistance ranging from
suspicions raised at zoning hearings to vandalism and worse. "It's all part of the unfortunate
temper of the times," says John Esposito, a professor at Georgetown University in Washington.
"There is such a thing as Islamophobia." "Unfortunately, I see the Boston case as indicative of a
growing trend in anti-Muslim rhetoric that has grown after 9/11," said Arsalan Iftikhar, legal
director of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation's largest
American Muslim civil rights group. "It has especially impacted local Muslim communities in terms
of building their mosques," he said. "High concentrations of Muslim populations are being given a
hard time for just trying to practice their faith." (Christian Science Monitor/Reuters)
CAIR launches eid voter registration drive
Jan. 5: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today urged American Muslims to
register to vote at events nationwide next week marking the Eid ul-Adha holiday. CAIR's Eid voter
registration drive is part of a major non-partisan Muslim political mobilization effort to be
conducted during the 2006 election cycle. The effort included in-person and online voter
registration drives, candidate forums, production of voter guides, get-out-the-vote campaigns,
conducting research on and surveys of American Muslim voters, and other grass-roots activities.
CAIR also called on Muslim students to volunteer in political campaigns. (CAIR Bulletin)
FBI tries to dispel surveillance concerns
Jan. 11 - F.B.I. officials met in Washington DC with Muslim and Arab-American leaders in an
effort to dispel anger and concern over the bureau's secret monitoring of radiation levels at
Muslim sites around the country. John Pistole, deputy director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, and John Miller, the bureau's assistant director of public affairs, tried to reassure
those at the session that the surveillance of mosques and Muslim businesses and homes had
been based on intelligence leads. Leaders of Muslim and Arab-American groups requested the
meeting after the program was disclosed last month by U.S. News & World Report. The
nationwide surveillance program included air monitoring of more than 100 private properties in
the Washington area. "This current situation reinforces the notion that our community is viewed
more as suspects rather than partners," said one attendee, Salam Al-Marayati, executive director
of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, a national advocacy organization. (New York Times)
CT: Cheshire parent says textbook distorts Islam
Jan. 11: A controversy has developed over a seventh-grade textbook being used at Dodd Middle
School, Cheshire, CT, that some parents say provides an unbalanced view of Islam. Ken Whelan,
who has a son in seventh grade at Dodd, said he would like to see the social studies textbook
"History Alive! The Medieval World and Beyond" removed from the school’s curriculum, although
the information he finds offensive hasn t been presented to students. Dodd Principal Donald
Wailonis has been an educator in Cheshire schools since 1971 and said this is the first time he
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can recall that there has been controversy over a textbook. Wailonis said the curriculum
addresses the good and bad aspects of religion, which is important if students are to learn critical
thinking. Curriculum Committee Chairman James Sima said Judaism and Christianity are also
taught, at different times. "We look at it in a critical fashion. & I think our students know that
religion can be misused," Wailonis said. "We don t teach from a singular perspective. We have no
agenda to promote that puts one religion over another." (New Haven Register)
Fremont mosque under surveillance as spying targets Muslims
Jan 13: On the back wall of a store in a shopping complex on Fremont Boulevard, a surveillance
camera points directly at the parking lot of a local mosque. The camera was installed there about
a year ago, and worshippers at the Islamic Center of Fremont , CA, say they don't know who put
it there. But they believe Uncle Sam could be behind it. Last week, following the revelation a few
days earlier that the government has been secretly spying on U.S. citizens without court
permission, federal law enforcement officials admitted that FBI agents have secretly monitored
radiation levels at mosques, Islamic businesses and homes for several years in large cities to see
whether nuclear or chemical bombs were being assembled. Up until now, no suspicious radiation
levels have been found in any of those places. (India West)
Bible replaced by Quran in ceremony for Muslim taking seat on planning board
Jan. 18: In Boonton, New Jersey, three men stood at the front of the courtroom before the
planning board attorney last week, their right hands raised in preparation to become the latest
members of the town's planning board. Two of the men placed their left hands on the Bible to
take their oaths and "solemnly swear" before God. The third man, 49-year-old Tajammul "Taj"
Khokhar, placed his hand on his family's Quran and took an affirmation. Khokhar, a well-known
Boonton resident who is also a Boonton Main Street trustee and an active member of the Jam e
Masjid Islamic Center, may well have made town history in that moment. Although other Boonton
Muslims have served on various boards, including the Housing Authority and the Library Board,
the Pakistan-born American is the only Muslim in anyone's memory to serve on the town's
planning board, let alone use a Quran in lieu of a Bible during the ceremony. (Daily Record)
American Muslims step up effort to free hostage
Jan. 20: Amid a growing international outcry against her kidnapping, more than two dozen local
Arab and Muslim groups in Detroit today called on insurgents in Iraq to immediately release Jill
Carroll, a reporter for The Christian Science Monitor who grew up in Ann Arbor. Her captors said
they would kill Carroll, 28, if Iraqi women held by United States forces are not released by this
evening. Spokesmen for the local groups say they are speaking out because kidnapping and
killing are an affront to Islam and human rights, and also because of Carroll's local ties and what
they called her "balanced reporting" on the war in Iraq and issues in the Middle East. "Miss
Carroll is an innocent reporter, a civilian who was doing her job reporting on the war in Iraq and
the suffering of the Iraqi people," said Dr. Mouhib Ayas, chairman of the Islamic Shura Council of
Michigan, an umbrella organization of 24 mosques and Islamic organizations in Metro Detroit.
"We remind those who hold her of what God said in the Koran that, 'Whoever kills an innocent
soul unjustly, it is as if he murdered all mankind, and whoever gives it life, it is as if he had given
life to all mankind.'?" (Detroit News)
Held in 9/11 Net, Muslims Return to Accuse U.S.
Jan. 23: Hundreds of noncitizens were swept up on visa violations in the weeks after 9/11, held
for months in a much-criticized federal detention center in Brooklyn as "persons of interest" to
terror investigators, and then deported. This week, one of them is back in New York and another
is due today - the first to return to the United States. They are no longer the accused but the
accusers, among six former detainees who are coming back to give depositions in their federal
lawsuits against top government officials and detention guards, at a time when the
constitutionality of part of the government's counterterrorism offensive is under new scrutiny. As
in the cases of all the Muslim immigrants rounded up in the New York area after the terror
attacks, the six were never accused of a crime related to 9/11; officials eventually cleared all of
them of links to terrorism. A report by the inspector general of the Justice Department found
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systemic problems with immigrant detentions and widespread abuse at the federal detention
center where the six had been held; several guards have since been disciplined. (New York
Times)
First Muslim girl scouts troop in Utah
Jan. 23: About 10-thousand Utah girls belong to the Girl Scouts of America. Of that number, at
least 20 percent are sponsored by a religious group. But one religion has just recently joined the
program. Five high school girls make up Girl Scout troop 786. Tonight, they're learning how to
pitch a tent. The young women hold a special distinction. They're part of the first Muslim Girl
Scout troop in Utah. The girls do everything the other girl scouts do, like sell cookies. But they
also draw on their culture and religion. The troop begins each meeting with a prayer to Allah,
during which the girls wear "hijab"-- the traditional Muslim head covering. They also revise the
Girl Scout promise. (KSL.com)
ACLU seeks government information on alleged spying in Ohio
Jan. 24: The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio requested information today from the
government about whether it spied on two anti-war groups and an attorney for a man suspected
of terrorism connections. ACLU officials said at news conference in Cleveland that members of
the anti-war groups want to know whether two meetings were attended by government agents.
One meeting was last year in Akron by the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee,
a Quaker organization, and another was in 2004 in Cleveland by the Northeast Ohio Anti-War
Coalition. The ACLU filed Freedom of Information Act requests with the Department of Defense,
Justice Department, the FBI and police seeking records that document any collection of
information about the groups. Gary Daniels, the ACLU's litigation coordinator, said the ACLU
became involved because the groups were included on a Defense Department classified
database of information about suspicious people and activity inside the United States as reported
by NBC News. The ACLU also requested information about several people, including Akron
lawyer Farhad Sethna, based on his association with the American Friends Service Committee.
Sethna said he hopes the request will shed light on whether the government spied on his
conversations with a client, Ashraf Al-Jailani, who recently was sent back to his native Yemen
after being jailed three years on suspicions that he associated with suspected terrorists. (The
Beacon Journal)
Ohio High school accommodates Muslim student's prayer
Jan. 24: The Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) announced
today that a high school in that state has agreed to accommodate a Muslim student's right to
pray. CAIR-Ohio says the 17-year old junior wished to perform her mandatory Islamic prayers,
but had been told she was not allowed to pray at school. After discussions with the school, a
compromise was reached in which the student has a list of teachers who are willing to let her use
their classrooms for prayer before and after school and at lunch. (CAIR Bulletin)
Muslims decry U.S. ouster of Tempe doctor
Jan. 26: Representatives from leading Islamic organizations in Arizona and the nation blasted the
Department of Homeland Security, alleging that the government used discrimination, dishonesty
and smear tactics to force a prominent Muslim physician out of the country. The organizations,
including the Council on American Islamic Relations and Muslim American Society, demanded
that federal authorities allow Dr. Nadeem Hassan to return to Tempe from Pakistan and said that
they are seeking meetings with the FBI, Homeland Security and congressional leaders about the
treatment of immigrants. Hassan, a Pakistani who belongs to an Islamic group known as Jamaat
al Tabligh, was forced out of the country last week under threat of indefinite detention based in
part on a Homeland Security finding that JT is a terrorist organization. Hassan had lived in the
United States for more than 15 years, and practiced medicine at Maricopa Medical Center under
a temporary-work permit. He applied for permanent residence in 2002 and, last year, sued the
government for its delayed handling of the green-card request. He and his wife, Amber, also
sought visas so they could travel in December to Mecca for the Muslim pilgrimage known as hajj.
The Hassans were granted visas. Last week, while they were still overseas, Citizenship and
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Immigration Services, or CIS, denied the green card and revoked their travel authorization,
leaving them stranded. When the Hassans returned Jan. 18 to New York, they were held by
Customs and Border Protection agents who threatened to jail them unless they voluntarily left the
country. They flew to Pakistan. (The Arizona Republic)
VA county's first female Muslim police officer
Jan. 26: The latest graduates of the Prince William County Criminal Justice Academy are its most
diverse. Almost half speak a second language. One can build a computer from scratch. Another
can organize a museum exhibition. One is a former all-conference basketball player. Another is a
Sunday school teacher. There's also a skeet shooter. "They're an impressive group," Prince
William Police Chief Charlie T. Deane said of this month's class of 27 graduates. "I'm very
pleased with the diversity of this group because it reflects our community." One of the new
graduate, Sara Khan, is the force's first Muslim woman. "People are so fascinated with my
culture. The main thing that comes up is arranged marriages," she said. As foreign as her culture
might seem to her fellow officers, her being a police officer is just as alien to her fellow Muslims,
she said. "In our community, females don't become police officers," said Khan who was
born in Pakistan and fluent in Urdu and English. She came to Virginia when she was 11.
(Washington Post)
KFI Los Angeles host under fire for making fun of
a stampede that killed hundreds of Muslim pilgrims during Hajj
Jan. 27: Clear Channel talk KFI Los Angeles morning man Bill Handel is under fire from a Muslim
civil liberties group because of comments he reportedly made earlier this month. The Council on
American-Islamic Relations has asked that Handel apologize for making fun of a stampede that
killed hundreds of Muslims during an annual pilgrimage. Two years ago, KFI issued an on-air
apology after the group filed a complaint with the FCC following a skit that claimed Muslims have
sex with animals, don't bathe and hate Jews. (Billboard Radio Monitor)
Muslim reaction to Jerry Vines' retirement
Jan. 29: The announcement that Rev. Jerry Vines is stepping down from the helm of First Baptist
Church has elicited mixed reactions within the American Muslim community. While recognizing
the positive contributions made by Rev. Vines in his stewardship of the congregation and as a
former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Muslims remain disappointed that a
prominent religious leader used divisive rhetoric at a time when the world needed spiritual
healers. In 2002, Rev. Vines sparked a national controversy when he defamed the Prophet
Muhammad by calling him a "demon-possessed pedophile." Besides the fact that his comments
were offensive to Muslims, Rev. Vines lacked basic understanding of Islam and Muslims.
Unfortunately, Vines is not alone. Evangelist Franklin Graham claimed that Islam is an "evil and
wicked religion," while Rev. Jerry Falwell called Prophet Muhammad a "terrorist." Such
malediction reflects rather poorly on faith leaders who fail to distinguish between the atrocities of
a few Muslims who misguidedly kill in the name of Islam versus the peaceful practices of
mainstream Islam. This failure to dissociate the evil of individuals from the faith of Islam points to
an un-American double standard. No other faith group in America bears this burden of guilt by
association. The incessant defamatory portrayal of Islam as an evil and violent faith is not without
consequences. Anti-Muslim incidents, including hate crimes against American Muslims, have
reached record highs. That such Islamophobia hurts Muslims is obvious, but what is often
overlooked is that Islamophobia also threatens the image and interests of America. (TimesUnion)
Clinton warns of rising anti-Islamic feeling
Jan. 30: Bill Clinton warned of rising anti-Islamic prejudice, comparing it to historic anti-Semitism
as he condemned the publishing of cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammed in a Danish
newspaper. "So now what are we going to do? ... Replace the anti-Semitic prejudice with antiIslamic prejudice?" he said at an economic conference in the Qatari capital of Doha. Clinton
described as "appalling" the 12 cartoons published in a Danish newspaper in September
depicting Prophet Mohammed and causing uproar in the Muslim world. (AFP)
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Controversial documentary pulled after Texas Muslims said it's biased
Jan. 31: A TV documentary about terrorism and Islamic militancy got caught in the crossfire last
weekend, as some previewers persuaded the show's producers and KERA-TV (Channel 13,
Dallas) to pull it for further review. The Roots of War: The Road to Peace had been set to air
Sunday. It's the first installment of a two-year project filmed here and in the Middle East by
director/producer Niki Nicastro McCuistion and her former husband, moderator Dennis
McCuistion. But the special edition of the weekly McCuistion Program was criticized after a Jan.
23 screening as inaccurate and unbalanced. The producers and station officials decided "that the
program needed further editing to ensure that the documentary would meet KERA's standards for
accuracy and balance," station spokesman Steve Anderson said. "If there is any way that it can
be improved, it will," he added in an interview. (The Dallas Morning News)
February 2006
Closed-court ruling in Hamas case is assailed
Feb 3: A coalition representing more than 20 Arab-American, legal and civil rights groups in
Chicago protested a federal judge's decision to close her courtroom when Israeli agents testify at
a hearing next month. Members of the Coalition to Protect Citizens' Rights held a news
conference in Chicago to say the decision would foster distrust of the justice system, especially in
the Islamic community. "More secrecy ... in administering justice leads to more severe erosion of
the civil rights of Americans," said Yaser Tabbara, Chicago executive director of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations. "We, naturally, are the community that is bearing most of the brunt of
the continuous [civil rights] violations." U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve agreed Tuesday to close
the courtroom when the agents testify at a March 3 hearing in the case of Muhammad Salah, a
Bridgeview man accused of helping to fund Mideast terrorists. The Chicago Tribune and a New
York-based civil rights group, Center for Constitutional Rights, filed legal briefs in the case on
Monday, opposing closing the courtroom. (Chicago Tribune)
Provocative Danish cartoons: American Muslims reject violent response
Feb 6: American Muslim organizations, while vehemently condemning the recent offending
Danish cartoons about the Prophet of Islam (which were later published by other European
newspapers in the name of freedom of speech), rejected violence and called for a restraint
response. On February 5, the Council on American-Islamic Relations held a news conference in
Washington, D.C., to express the U.S. Muslim community's rejection of violence in response to
the defamatory caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. The CAIR urged the American Muslim
community and American media outlets to continue to show the restraint they have exhibited
during this controversy. The American Muslim Alliance (AMA) called on Muslim communities
everywhere to recognize the provocation and resist the “trap” set by those who would manipulate
Muslims religious sensitivities. It also called on all religious and intellectual organizations to
increase their efforts to teach tolerance and mutual respect. The American-Arab AntiDiscrimination Committee (ADC) while condemning the cartoons said that these racist attacks,
that do nothing but perpetuate hate and violence against Muslims. The Muslim Public Affairs
Council called on American Muslims to demonstrate calm and restraint, following the violence
and destruction in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, where protestors set a building housing the
Danish Mission on fire and attacked a nearby church. The MPAC also called on Western media
to feature American Muslim spokespeople urging calm and restraint in this deteriorating situation.
In Toronto, the Canadian Islamic Congress strongly rejected the violent protests against the
publication of anti-Islam cartoons in a number of European newspapers. In a statement, the CIC
said that "treating people as guilty-by-association is against Islamic teachings. Instead, those
journalists -- whether cartoonists, commentators, or editors -- who show no respect for other
religions or faiths, should themselves be treated no differently than Holocaust deniers. They
should be legally challenged on that basis." (American Muslim Perspective Report)
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Protesters at Philadelphia paper ask it to apologize for cartoon
Feb 6: The Philadelphia Inquirer became the first major American newspaper to publish any of
the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, prompting a small protest outside the newspaper's
offices today. About two dozen demonstrators, holding signs reading "No to Hate" and "Peaceful
Protest for Religious Tolerance," dispersed after about an hour. Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for
the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington, said that despite The Inquirer's
decision, he had seen restraint on all sides of the issue within the United States. "I think The
Inquirer's move was the exception that proves the rule," Mr. Hooper said. On February 5, the
Philadelphia Inquirer reprinted the blasphemous cartoons. "This has nothing to do with free
speech, its pure sensationalism that reeks of religious disrespect," said Muslim American Society
Freedom Executive Director Mahdi Bray. "What the Philadelphia Inquirer has done in
irresponsible, provocative and reckless." (American Muslim Perspective Report)
KFI host, clear channel apologize to Muslims
Feb 8: After attracting world-wide attention, Clear Channel talk KFI Los Angeles morning man Bill
Handel and Clear Channel have apologized to Muslims for comments Handel made on his Jan.
12 show. The Southern California office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
announced that Handel and the station have apologized for mocking the deaths of Muslims on
Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca. Handel has also been reprimanded in writing by the station for his
"insensitive remarks." At issue is a parody that Handel did on the same day of the stampede in
which 350 people were killed. Handel imitated people screaming and then joked that the Muslims
at the pilgrimage should use a helicopter to monitor pilgrimage traffic. (Orange County Register
& Media reports)
Islamic Charity with tie to Missouri is under fire
Feb 11: A United Nations committee has recommended stripping privileged status from a
Sudanese charity that U.S. officials contend supported terrorism and is linked to a Columbia
nonprofit. In two late January meetings, the U.N.’s Committee on Non-Governmental
Organizations debated and ultimately recommended the Islamic African Relief Agency’s “special
consultative status” be withdrawn. Such status allows the charity, usually called IARA, special
access to U.N. facilities and permits it to attend and participate in meetings and serve as a
technical expert and adviser. IARA has held special consultative status since 1985. Federal
officials have said the Islamic American Relief Agency in Columbia is the U.S. affiliate of IARA. In
October 2004, Treasury and FBI agents raided the Missouri group’s office and officially
designated it as a terrorism supporter. (The Kansas City Star)
Illinois Paper apologizes after cartoon flap
Feb 14: The editorial staff of the independent daily newspaper at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign said that its members were embarrassed by how the decision was made to
run controversial Danish cartoons of the prophet Muhammad last week. "We want to make it
clear that while we do not necessarily disagree with the decision to print these cartoons, we
disagree with how they were run," read the unsigned editorial in the Daily Illini. The decision to
run six of the 12 Danish cartoons in the paper's Feb. 9 edition was made by only two editors--a
decision not supported by the full editorial staff, according to the editorial. (Chicago Tribune)
Governor declares Feb. 15 as Muslim Recognition Day in Iowa
Feb 15: In the face of worldwide Muslim outrage at Western media depictions of their most holy
prophet, Muslims in Iowa are celebrating their inclusion and acceptance. Gov. Tom Vilsack has
declared Feb. 15 as Muslim Recognition Day in Iowa. For the first time, members of four area
mosques welcomed Iowans to "join in the making of history and get a taste of what it feels to be a
Muslim." That's quite a different environment than was experienced in European countries in
recent weeks, where Muslims joined in violent demonstrations in response to the publication of
editorial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Muslim leaders here have decried the cartoons and
the violence, while saying that they are appreciative of their welcome in Iowa. "Muslims in Iowa
and the United States would just handle it in a peaceful way," said Ibrahim Dremali, imam for the
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Des Moines Islamic Center, 6211 Franklin Ave. "Muslims in Iowa are more interested in teaching
people about Islam. Perhaps we are wiser when it comes to such things." (Des Moines Register)
Apologies given after anti-Muslim comments of Idaho State Prayer Breakfast organizer
Feb 15: Anti-Muslim comments by an organizer of the Idaho State Prayer Breakfast forced others
in the group to apologize. Dave Baumann told the Idaho Statesman that Islam is a violent religion
that espouses killing all Jews and Christians. Jim Flecker, president of the Idaho Prayer
Fellowship, which organizes the March Fourth breakfast, apologized to the Muslim community -and anyone else who was offended by Baumann's comments. Flecker says the spirit of the
breakfast is one of peace and unity. (Associated Press)
Muslims launch teaching effort to counter furor over cartoons
Feb 16: In response to the controversy surrounding cartoons lampooning the prophet
Muhammad, Muslim officials from Anaheim to Washington launched a nationwide campaign
aimed at educating the public about the religious leader. Caricatures of Muhammad appeared in
the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten last fall and have been reprinted in recent weeks
elsewhere in Europe. Their appearance has triggered often-violent protests by Muslims. "The
only way we can end this vicious cycle of violence is by understanding each other," said Hussam
Ayloush, executive director of the Southern California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations in Anaheim. By holding a dozen news conferences throughout the United States and
Canada on Tuesday, the council said it hoped to turn a negative incident into a learning
opportunity. Islamic leaders said many of the Southland's 70 mosques would hold open houses
this month focusing on the life of Islam's prophet. (Los Angeles Times)
District criticized over FBI interview of student
Feb 22: Several civil rights groups criticized the Elk Grove Unified School District for allowing the
FBI to question a 16-year-old Palestinian American student last year at school without notifying
his parents. The FBI interviewed Munir Rashed at Calvine High School on Sept. 27 after receiving
a complaint that he had pictures of suicide bombers on his cell phone and the letters "PLO" on his
binder. The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area and the Council
on American-Islamic Relations, Sacramento Valley, had sent a letter to the district in December,
saying that Elk Grove failed to follow its own policy requiring that parents be notified before law
enforcement officials interview a student. (Sacramento Bee)
New policy to let Muslim women wear scarves in court
Feb 22: The Pierce County Municipal Court in Tacoma, Washington, is drafting a policy that
would let Muslim women wear scarves in court. Presiding Judge Jack Emery said the policy will
say no one should be excluded from a courtroom because of attire worn for religious or medical
purposes. The court set out to draft the policy after a 37-year-old real estate agent, Mujaahidah
Sayfullah, complained that a judge made her leave his courtroom because she would not take off
her hijab. Judge David Ladenburg said her head scarf violated court policy prohibiting people
from wearing hats in court. Earlier this week, Ladenburg said he never meant to discriminate
against Sayfullah. "I offer my sincerest apology for any discomfort, embarrassment or humiliation
she may have felt as a result of my request," Ladenburg wrote to the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations. He also offered to apologize to Sayfullah in person. (Associated Press)
Arab leaders: Lawmakers exploiting ports issue
Feb 23: The furor over handing control of some operations at six U.S. ports to an Arab company
has more to do with politics than security, U.S. Arab and Muslim leaders charged. ArabAmericans and Muslims say a mix of bigotry and political opportunism is fueling opposition to the
$6.8 billion sale last week of the London-based Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. to
Dubai Ports World. P&O runs shipping terminals in Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia, New
Jersey, Miami and New Orleans. "There's an anti-Arab sentiment that is being exploited by
members of Congress who see it as an election-year win," said James Zogby, president of the
Washington-based Arab American Institute. "You can stoke up a whole lot of fear by saying 'The
Arabs are coming.' Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., one of a handful of members of Congress of
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Lebanese Christian descent, said, "There's no question that if this had been a German company,
it would have been unlikely they would have brought up the fact that the 9/11 hijackers trained
and were radicalized in Germany." Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
said the deal represented "normal business practice" in a global economy. "Only when Arabs
became involved did we see concerns being raised," he said. "That sends a message ... to the
Arab and Muslim world of a double standard, that no Arabs or Muslims need apply." (USA
Today/ Baltimore Sun)
Washington rally in support of Danish newspaper
Feb 24: About 150 conservatives, liberals and libertarians gathered peacefully today in front of
the Danish Embassy -- at the behest of author Christopher Hitchens -- to support free speech and
protest Islamic radicalism. "We are not for profanity or for disrespect, but we are ... without any
conditions or any ifs or any buts, for free expression in all times at all places," said Mr. Hitchens,
a former Marxist who in recent years has become more conservative and is now one of the most
prominent defenders of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Mr. Hitchens proposed the demonstration in a
column he wrote about the ongoing violent reaction in Europe and the Middle East to cartoons,
published in a Danish newspaper, that mocked the prophet Muhammad and the religion of Islam.
Only three major U.S. newspapers -- the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Austin-American Statesman in
Texas and the New York Sun -- have reprinted the cartoons. A State Department spokesman
called the cartoons "offensive to the beliefs of Muslims" and said that a free press "must be
coupled with press responsibility." (Washington Times)
Maryland schools proposal disturbs Muslims
Feb 27: A Baltimore County, MD, school board committee has made recommendations about
religious holidays for the school system's calendar, and a leader of the Muslim community said he
is disappointed that it didn't suggest closing for two Islamic holy days. One of the
recommendations is to allow students to have two "excused absences" from school for religious
holidays. But Bash Pharoan, president of the Baltimore County Muslim Council, has been
lobbying to close schools on two Islamic holy days since 2004 because the system closes for the
Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. "The main issue is that the ad hoc
committee failed again to recognize that the issue is about equality," he said. "We want equal
treatment." (Baltimore Sun)
U.S. Is Settling Detainee's Suit in 9/11 Sweep
Feb 28: The federal government has agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by an
Egyptian who was among dozens of Muslim men swept up in the New York area after 9/11, held
for months in a federal detention center in Brooklyn and deported after being cleared of links to
terrorism. The settlement, filed in federal court late yesterday, is the first the government has
made in a number of lawsuits charging that noncitizens were abused and their constitutional
rights violated in detentions after the terror attacks. It removes one of two plaintiffs from a case in
which a federal judge ruled last fall that former Attorney General John Ashcroft, the director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation and other top government officials must answer questions under
oath. Government lawyers filed an appeal of that ruling. In the settlement agreement, which
requires approval by a federal judge in Brooklyn, lawyers for the government said that the officials
were not admitting any liability or fault. In court papers they have said that the 9/11 attacks
created "special factors," including the need to deter future terrorism, that outweighed the
plaintiffs' right to sue. (New York Times)
Islamic holiday closings rejected
March 1: The Baltimore County Board of Education (Maryland) has endorsed a subcommittee
recommendation not to close schools on two Islamic holidays, as proposed by a Muslim group.
The recommendations would have given special treatment to the Muslim holy days, including
noting them on the school calendar and taking class time to teach their significance. School board
member John A. Hayden III said that hundreds of religious sects are represented in county
classrooms and that teaching all religions would be impractical. But Muslims in the county point
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out that schools are closed on Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year celebration, and Yom Kippur,
the Jewish day of atonement. The group wanted county schools closed for Eid al-Adha, which
marks the end of the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca, and Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of
Ramadan, the month of fasting. In the upcoming school year, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.
(Washington Times)
FBI's informant worked at Muslim charity 3 years
March 2: The FBI operative (Darren Griffin) known as the Trainer was a part-time employee for
three years at KindHearts, the Toledo-based Muslim charity shut down by the government.
During the three years Darren Griffin worked a $7-an-hour, part-time job at KindHearts, his coworkers knew him as Bilal and considered him to be a faithful Muslim and an American patriot
who served in the U.S. military in Iraq. His work led to the arrests of three men on terrorism
charges last month. Federal officials declined to confirm that Griffin, 39, of Toledo, is the Trainer.
KindHearts' attorney and a board member Jihad Smaili said he believes investigators planted
Griffin inside KindHearts in an effort to link the charity with terrorists. (The Plain Dealer)
Bush signs new version of Patriot Act
March 9: President Bush today signed the new version of the USA Patriot Act, the broad antiterrorism law that gave the FBI expanded powers after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "America
remains a nation at war," Bush said at a White House signing ceremony. " . . . In the face of this
ruthless threat, our nation has made a clear choice. . . . We are not going to be attacked again."
Bush's signature followed approval by the House and Senate after an often emotional debate
over whether the law tramples on civil liberties. Provisions of the original law expired at the end of
last year, but Congress twice temporarily extended the expiration date while members debated
how to handle the issue. Bush accepted some changes in the law. For example, one change
involves National Security Letters, which are subpoenas for financial and electronic records that
do not require a judge's approval. Libraries functioning in their "traditional capacity" would no
longer be subject to such letters. The reauthorization would make permanent all but two of the
Patriot Act's provisions. The Senate, in which four Republicans joined most Democrats in pushing
for greater safeguards, insisted on four-year sunsets of the FBI's authority to conduct "roving
wiretaps" of targets with multiple phones or e-mail devices, and of the government's powers to
seize business records with the FISA court's approval. (Washington Post)
Dubai firm to shed stake in U.S. ports backlash led to decision
March 9: Bowing to extreme public and political pressure, a United Arab Emirates company said
today that it would give up its management stake in U.S. seaports, including Baltimore's, rather
than continue to fight what increasingly appeared to be a lost battle. For more than three weeks,
the pending sale of British-owned Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. to state-owned
Dubai Ports World has generated controversy, splitting many congressional Republicans especially in the House of Representatives - from President Bush, who had said repeatedly that
he supported the deal. Republican leaders told Bush at a White House meeting that the backlash
was too extreme to overcome. Within hours, Virginia Sen. John W. Warner was on the Senate
floor, announcing that DP World had decided to shed the U.S. holdings. Warner, a Republican
who helped run interference between the company, the White House and his colleagues, said the
prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheik Muhammad bin Rashid al Maktoum, had told
the company that giving up the U.S. portion of the deal was the best course for the interests of
both countries. (Baltimore Sun)
Secrecy in Salah case hearing angers civil liberties advocates
March 9: A hearing is taking place at the federal courthouse in Chicago that has all the intrigue of
a spy novel — Israeli agents, disguises and allegations of torture. But that intrigue is being kept
far from the public eye: Two security guards block the public and press from entering the closed
courtroom, a move that has raised many eyebrows and incensed some civil liberties advocates.
The pretrial hearing involves Muhammad Salah, a Bridgeview, Ill., man charged with laundering
money for the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Salah was arrested in Israel in 1993 and
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confessed but says he was tortured into giving that confession. Two Israeli intelligence agents are
being called to testify about Salah’s interrogation in an effort to determine whether the confession
can be used at Salah’s trial. Although experts say judges frequently take special precautions to
protect witnesses, the judge’s decision to keep the pretrial hearing secret to better safeguard the
agents against reprisals has upset opponents of government secrecy. “I don’t believe serving the
interest of a foreign intelligence agency is high priority for the American people,” said Ahmed
Rehab, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Chicago. “A higher priority is
a fair and open trial guaranteed in the Constitution.” (MSNBC)
$360K Settlement for Harassment of Muslim Worker
March 9: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced a
$360,000 settlement of a workplace discrimination lawsuit against Lithia Subaru of Oregon City
on behalf of two former car salesmen, one of whom was subjected to a hostile work environment
because of his national origin (Iranian) and religion (Islam), forcing him to quit. The company, a
national car dealership with headquarters in Medford, Oregon, also agreed to make policy
changes to address any future discrimination. The EEOC's suit alleged that a new management
team subjected the Iranian charging party to a daily barrage of slurs, including "terrorist" and
"camel jockey" as well as commenting that he went to Al-Qaeda training camps. The charging
party was also physically harassed, including being intentionally tripped by a co-worker, resulting
in a broken nose and a knee injury. (CAIR bulletin)
ACLU files suit to stop domestic surveillance program
March 9: A civil rights group has asked a federal court in Detroit to immediately stop the Bush
administration’s domestic surveillance program. The American Civil Liberties Union filed legal
papers before U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor, saying that the program is illegal and
unconstitutional, according to a news release from the civil rights group. After the New York
Times reported that the National Security Agency was eavesdropping on people inside the United
States without court approval, the ACLU field a lawsuit against the agency on behalf of a group of
journalists, terrorism experts, and advocacy groups. Some of them are from Michigan, including
the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “The president does not have
a blank check that allows him to ignore basic constitutional rights of Americans,’’ said Kary Moss,
executive director of the Michigan branch of the ACLU, in a news release. (Detroit Free Press)
Two new polls show negative image of Islam in America
MARCH 10: Two polls released today indicate that almost half of Americans have a negative
perception of Islam and that one in four of those surveyed have "extreme" anti-Muslim views. A
growing proportion of Americans are expressing unfavorable views of Islam, and a majority now
say that Muslims are disproportionately prone to violence, according to a new Washington PostABC News poll. The proportion of Americans who believe that Islam helps to stoke violence
against non-Muslims has more than doubled since the attacks, from 14 percent in January 2002
to 33 percent today, the poll indicated. Meanwhile, an independent survey by the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a leading American Muslim civil rights group, showed that
some one-fourth (23 to 27 percent) of Americans consistently believe stereotypes such as:
"Muslims value life less than other people," and "The Muslim religion teaches violence and
hatred." A similar poll released today by the Washington Post and ABC News also found that one
in four Americans "admitted to harboring prejudice toward Muslims." That survey indicated that 46
percent of Americans have a negative view of Islam, a seven percent jump since the months
following the 9/11 terror attacks. The Washington Post-ABC poll also showed that the number of
Americans who believe that Islam promotes violence has more than doubled since 2002.
Analysts blame the surge on a confluence of factors: the proposed takeover of US ports
operations by a Dubai firm (now abandoned); the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; the election of
Hamas in the Palestinian territories; and, above all, the riotous protests across the Muslim world
against Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad. (American Muslim Perspective
Report)
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Judge issues secret ruling in case of two at mosque
March 11: A federal judge issued a highly unusual classified ruling yesterday, denying a motion
for dismissal of a case against two leaders of an Albany mosque who are accused of laundering
money in a federal terrorism sting operation. Because the ruling was classified, the defense
lawyers were barred from reading why the judge decided that way. The defense lawyers had
asked the judge to dismiss the case, saying that they believed the government's evidence came
from wiretaps obtained without a warrant by the National Security Agency. The two mosque
leaders, Yassin M. Aref, 35, and Mohammed M. Hossain, 50, were charged in August 2004 with
conspiring with a government informant to take part in what they believed was a plot to import a
shoulder-fired missile and assassinate a Pakistani diplomat. The classified order by Judge
Thomas J. McAvoy of United States District Court for the Northern District of New York came only
a few hours after the government filed its own classified documents to the judge. Prosecutors
were responding to a motion filed on Jan. 20 by Mr. Aref's lawyer, Terence L. Kindlon. The
prosecutors asked the judge to review their papers in his chambers without making them public or
showing them to the defense. At mid afternoon the judge issued a document announcing that he
had entered the classified order denying Mr. Kindlon's request. It is common in federal court for
judges to place documents and legal discussions under seal, meaning that the judge and the
lawyers can be informed of the proceedings, but the public cannot. In this case, Judge McAvoy's
order is classified, a higher degree of secrecy. (New York Times)
U.S. bungled cases against terror suspects
March 14: Mistakes and bungled prosecutions have bedeviled the Bush administration's
prosecution of suspected terrorism. The Los Angeles Times listed a series of what it called
"missteps and false starts," including the botched handling of witnesses in the current trial of
accused al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui. It noted that in 2002, then-Attorney General
John Ashcroft announced that Jose Padilla, a Bronx-born Muslim, had been arrested on
suspicion of "exploring a plan to build and explode a radiological dispersion device, or 'dirty
bomb,' in the United States." Padilla was held for nearly four years in a military brig without being
charged. This year, as his lawyers appealed his case to the Supreme Court, the administration
indicted him in Miami on charges of conspiring to aid terrorists abroad. There was no mention of a
"dirty bomb," the newspaper said. In May 2004, the FBI arrested Brandon Mayfield, an Oregon
lawyer and Muslim convert, saying that his fingerprint was on a bag containing detonators and
explosives linked to the Madrid train bombings that had killed 191 people two months before.
Mayfield was freed after almost three weeks in custody and received an apology from the FBI,
which blamed the misidentification on a substandard digital image from Spanish authorities, the
newspaper said. The Los Angeles Times noted that a computer science student in Idaho was
accused of aiding terrorists when he designed a Web site that included information on terrorists in
Chechnya and Israel. A jury in Boise acquitted Sami Omar Al-Hussayen of the charges in June
2004. And after Florida college professor Sami al-Arian was indicted on charges of supporting
terrorists by promoting the cause of Palestinian groups, a jury in Tampa acquitted him in
December, the paper said. (United Press International)
U.S. leaders asked to repudiate Pat Rebertson’s anti-Islam remarks
March 14: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on mainstream
American political and religious leaders to repudiate the most recent Islamophibic remarks by
televangelist Pat Robertson, who claimed yesterday that the goal of Islam "is world domination."
The CAIR said Robertson made that claim and other anti-Muslim remarks on his Christian
Broadcasting Network "700 Club" program. He told his audience: "Islam is not a religion of
peace," and "The goal of Islam, ladies and gentlemen whether you like it or not, is world
domination." He also referred to some Muslims as being motivated by "demonic power." In the
past, Robertson has repeatedly defamed Islam and Muslims on the "700 Club" program. He
called Islam the "religion of the slavers" and said Americans who converted to Islam exhibited
"insanity." Robertson once said he would be wary of appointing Muslims to positions in the U.S.
government, including judgeships. "The failure by mainstream religious and political leaders to
challenge Mr. Robertson's Islamophobic remarks will send the false message to Muslims
worldwide that the majority of Americans agree with his hate-filled views," said CAIR executive
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Director Nihad Awad. "The constant, and largely unchallenged, drumbeat of anti-Muslim rhetoric
is poisoning the public's attitude toward ordinary American Muslims." (CAIR Bulletin)
Muslim immigrants' lives in limbo
March 14: It took immigration authorities nearly three years to determine that commercial jet pilot
Mazin Shalabi was not a security threat. Each time Mazin Shalabi settles into the cockpit of an
American Eagle jet, he is entrusted with the lives of all passengers on board. As a Jordanian
citizen and a pilot for the regional affiliate of the world's largest airline, Mr. Shalabi is vetted
regularly by the Federal Aviation Administration, the FBI and other federal agencies. But when
Mr. Shalabi applied for U.S. citizenship, it took immigration authorities nearly three years to
determine that he was not a threat. Mr. Shalabi is not a devout Muslim . But he is one of at least
40 Muslim men from North Texas, and hundreds more across the country, who have waited years
on end for an answer to citizenship or green card applications. They are told their cases are
snagged because of security issues, including an FBI background check. Until that hurdle is
cleared, their immigration applications can remain pending indefinitely. (The Dallas Morning
News)
Group drops plan for Turkish cultural center in South Park, Pennsylvania
March 15: After facing what it saw as anti-Muslim sentiment at a public hearing last week, a
Turkish organization has dropped its plan to turn a vacant school in South Park into a cultural
center. "As a group that promotes peace and dialogue, we have never encountered such
negativity in our long history here," the West Penn Cultural Center board said in a statement. The
group withdrew its application for a permit to turn the old Broughton Elementary School into a
facility where members of the Turkish community could adapt to American culture while
maintaining Turkish traditions and language. They also planned to worship in one of the
classrooms on Friday afternoons. At the public hearing, some residents said they didn't want the
cultural center to renovate the school, claiming Islamic centers and mosques can harbor sleeper
cells of terrorists. The group, which has been in Pittsburgh for six years, said it was looking for a
place to keep its traditions alive and to engage in interfaith dialogue. It bought the graffiti-covered,
boarded up school for $100,000 and planned to make about $300,000 in improvements, their
attorney, Dwight Ferguson, repeatedly told South Park officials and residents. In a letter to the
editor that appeared in Tuesday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Rob Belan, of South Park, demanded
that the cultural group openly denounce radical Islam and terrorism if it hopes to be accepted in
South Park. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Franklin Graham reaffirms scorn for Islam
March 15: The Rev. Franklin Graham, who outraged Muslims in 2001 when he said that Islam "is
a very evil and wicked religion," told an interviewer of ABC News "Nightline" that he hasn't
changed his mind about the faith. Asked by ABC correspondent John Donvan whether Muslim
groups had succeeded in altering his outlook about Islam, Graham said "No." Frank Graham
angered Muslims following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks when he told NBC News: "We're not
attacking Islam but Islam has attacked us. The God of Islam is not the same God. He's not the
son of God of the Christian or Judeo-Christian faith. It's a different God, and I believe it is a very
evil and wicked religion." (Associated Press)
Author says American Muslim women defy stereotypes
March 15: Contradicting traditional stereotypes of Muslim women as veiled and oppressed,
Muslim Women in America: The Challenge of Islamic Identity Today (Oxford University Press,
2006), by Georgetown University Professor Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and co-authors Jane I.
Smith and Kathleen M. Moore, reveals Muslim women in America to be diverse and active in
shaping the role of Muslims in the West. “Muslim women have been empowered to participate in
the public arena to pursue their interests, whether these interests are counteracting prejudice or
pursuing professional dreams or serving the common welfare through community service,” the
authors write. “They have contributed in especially significant ways in the negotiation of what it
means to be Muslim in the American context.” Haddad, Smith and Moore argue that Western
imperial history, the entertainment industry and the government have helped reinforce negative
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stereotypes of Muslim women. The authors, rather, aim to show that Muslim women in America
are “members of American society who act in conformity neither with Western assumption nor,
necessarily, with the dictates of Islamic traditionalism.” (Georgetown University News)
Muslim father and son removed from airplane because flight attendant felt 'uncomfortable'
March 16: The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights today asked the U.S. Department of
Transportation to investigate a recent incident of racial profiling on board UA flight 6501, operated
by United Express/SkyWest Airlines, and to take action against the airlines. Two Muslim men of
South Asian descent were removed from the flight simply because their presence made a flight
attendant uncomfortable, and despite the fact that they posed no security risk. On January 31,
2006, Mohammed Khan and his father, Fazal Khan, had boarded their flight from Los Angeles to
Oakland and were waiting for the plane to take off. Both men wore traditional South Asian tunics
and white skullcaps, and both had long beards. After the flight was delayed an hour on the
runway, a customer service representative boarded the plane and told the Khans that they would
have to leave the aircraft to discuss something inside the terminal. There, the representative
informed the men that they could not remain on the flight because their presence made the flight
attendant uncomfortable. She found them seats on a different flight that departed two hours later.
The circumstances make it abundantly clear that no security rationale existed for the Khans'
removal. The airline even left the men's checked luggage on board the original flight, which took
off shortly after the Khans were removed. In addition, when the Khans protested to the customer
service representative that they had done nothing wrong, the representative did not deny their
claim or state that their behavior was suspicious, but only repeated that the flight attendant was
not comfortable with them on board. Moreover, the Khans were not questioned or searched
before they boarded the second flight, and to their knowledge, no airport security official was
even informed of their removal."Racial stereotypes must never be the basis for a decision to
remove someone from an airplane," said attorney Shirin Sinnar of the Lawyers' Committee for
Civil Rights. "In the months after 9/11, South Asian or Middle Eastern passengers were removed
from flights numerous times based purely on prejudice. (CAIR Bulletin)
Angry Arabs denounce dumping Merhi
March 27: Arab-Americans from both political parties expressed outrage and sadness a day after
Passaic County Democrats pulled their support from Lebanese-born freeholder candidate Sami
Merhi. Merhi was booted from the party ticket when Democratic Party leaders feared that
comments he made in 2002 about Palestinian suicide bombers would hinder their election
chances in November. "It's a sad day for Muslims, it's a sad day for Arabs, and a sad day for
immigrants in general, and for any community that wants to participate in the great political
process in the U.S.," said Sohail Mohammed, a Clifton-based general counsel for the American
Muslim Union. (Herald News)
Arab-Americans tell NJ Governor of candidate's 'political lynching'
March 29: Arab-American leaders told the New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine that dumping a
Lebanese-born candidate for a county office because of comments he made about terrorism
amounted to "political lynching," and asked the governor for help fighting what they feel is a
renewed climate of Arab-bashing. At a private meeting with the governor in the Statehouse, eight
Arab-American community leaders protested the treatment of Sami Merhi of Totowa. Merhi was
chosen by Passaic County Democrats to run for freeholder, then dumped from the ticket a week
later over comments he made in 2002 that some interpreted as sympathetic to suicide bombers.
Merhi reiterated that he has always condemned terrorism in all forms. When he said he could not
see the comparison between the Sept. 11 hijackers and Palestinian suicide bombers, he meant
that while all murder is wrong, the 9/11 attacks were mass murder on an unprecedented scale.
Corzine and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez publicly opposed Merhi's nomination, citing the
comments. (Associated Press)
Michigan Muslims worked for Carroll's release
March 30: From holding news conferences to making a hazardous trip to Baghdad, Iraq, Muslims
in Michigan and across the United States launched an extraordinary campaign to help secure the
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release of kidnapped journalist Jill Carroll. During the three months that she was held hostage,
Muslims - with their words and their actions - organized for her freedom and condemned the
kidnapping as un-Islamic. Some even worked their political and religious contacts inside Iraq.
American Muslims have called for the freeing of hostages before. But this time, they went all out.
In Michigan, local Muslims swung into action in the days after Carroll's kidnapping on Jan. 7. On
Jan. 18, the Islamic Shura Council of Michigan - an umbrella group of more than 20 Muslim
groups from across the state - said in a statement that "kidnapping and hurting innocent civilians
will help no cause." (Detroit Free Press)
Terror prosecutor indicted
March 30: Richard G. Convertino, the one-time federal prosecutor who won two convictions in the
nation's first terror trial after September 11, was formally indicted Wednesday on charges that he
built that case on perjury and deception. The four-count indictment alleges Convertino and Harry
Raymond Smith III, a State Department security officer in Amman, Jordan, concealed
photographs and lied under oath about a hospital in that country that was supposedly a terrorist
target. The pictures could have helped the defense attorneys, authorities say. The indictment
marks another low point for the government in the disastrous Detroit sleeper cell case.If
convicted, Convertino faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Smith faces up to 20
years and a $750,000 fine. (The Detroit News)
AI expresses concern over Ahmed Abu Ali’s trial and conviction
March 31: In a statement, Amnesty International said today: Ahmed Omar Abu Ali was yesterday
(March 30, 2006) sentenced in a US federal court to 30 years’ imprisonment with an extra 30
years of supervised release, after being convicted in November 2005 by a federal jury on nine
counts of conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism, including plotting with members of al Qa’ida to
assassinate US President George W. Bush. US District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee stated that the
sentence would “provide just punishment” and Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty called
the conviction and sentencing a “milestone achievement in the international effort to bring
terrorists to justice”. Amnesty International remains seriously concerned that the trial of Ahmed
Abu Ali was flawed as the jury was not allowed to hear evidence supporting his claim that he was
tortured into confessing while he was held for one and a half years without charge or trial in Saudi
Arabia. Amnesty International is seriously concerned that the case may have set a worrying
precedent on the admissibility of torture evidence in US courts. Amnesty International urges that,
if appealed, the courts will address this issue. (Amnesty International)
Court skips enemy combatant issue
April 3: A potential showdown between the Supreme Court and the Bush administration over the
president's war powers was averted today when the court declined to hear the appeal of a U.S.
citizen who was held in military custody for more than three years. By a 6-3 vote, the court
granted the administration's request not to review the case of Jose Padilla, an alleged member of
al-Qaida arrested in Chicago in 2002, because the administration in November met Padilla's
demand to be indicted in a civilian court and transferred from a Navy brig to a civilian jail. That
made consideration of his rights "hypothetical," according to an opinion signed by three of the
justices in the majority. The decision is an administration victory because it left intact an appeals
court ruling that upheld the president's authority to detain Padilla as an "enemy combatant." (The
Washington Post)
Muslim student attacked on Baylor campus
April 3: A Muslim Baylor University (Michigan) senior of South Asian heritage who was active in
Muslim-Christian relations was attacked on the school’s campus Saturday night, suffering multiple
injuries. Chief Jim Doak of the Baylor Department of Public Safety confirmed that police were
alerted about the attack and that the incident is being investigated, but he refused to release
further details. Rabiah Ahmed, a spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said the victim called them Monday and said a man, thought
to be in his 30s, grabbed her hijab, an Islamic head scarf, and threw the woman to the ground. As
he did, the attacker allegedly yelled anti-Muslim and ethnic slurs at the woman including “Arabian
(expletive)” and “(expletive) Muslims.” When the woman screamed, her attacker reportedly
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slapped her and kicked her multiple times in the ribs, according to Ahmed. An emergency room
examination found bruises and a dislocated shoulder, Ahmed said. (Chicago Tribune-Herald)
9/11 Detainees in New Jersey say they were abused with dogs
April 3: The photograph, seen worldwide, is one of the defining images from Abu Ghraib: a dog
strains at its leash, lunging at a terrified prisoner in an orange jumpsuit. One United States
military dog handler was recently convicted of abusing detainees at Abu Ghraib, the prison in
Iraq, and the court-martial of another is to start in May. But for Ibrahim Turkmen and Akhil
Sachdeva, the image evokes something closer to home: the dogs used inside the Passaic County
Jail in New Jersey. The two men, plaintiffs in a pending class-action lawsuit known as Turkmen v.
Ashcroft, were among hundreds of immigrant detainees held in the Passaic jail for months after
9/11 before they were cleared of links to terrorism and deported on visa violations. Until now,
lawsuits brought by former detainees against top American officials have focused attention on the
maximum security unit of a federal detention center in Brooklyn where the Justice Department's
inspector general found widespread abuse. But today in Toronto, as Mr. Sachdeva, a Canadian
citizen born in India, gives his first deposition for the class-action lawsuit, the spotlight will shift to
the New Jersey jail. There, about 400 of the 762 mainly Muslim detainees rounded up in the
United States after 9/11 were held. The lawsuit charges that the detainees' confinement was
arbitrary, illegally based on their religion or national origin, and that guards routinely terrorized
them with aggressive dogs. In November 2004, federal officials who oversee the detention of
immigrants facing deportation said they would no longer send detainees to jails that used dogs to
patrol inside. That decision by the Department of Homeland Security came a day after National
Public Radio broadcast an investigative report saying that the dogs had been used over a threeyear period to intimidate, attack and, in at least two cases, bite immigrant detainees in the
Passaic County Jail. (New York Times)
Boykin promotion would send negative message to Muslims
April 5: His career apparently stalled after superiors chided him for casting the war on terrorism in
religious terms , Army Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin was caught up in a campaign for the
U.S. Senate and a budding contest for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. A letter from
U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., urging Boykin's promotion and transfer to a high-profile
assignment drew howls of outrage from a potential Democratic challenger to Allen. Boykin's past
comments about Muslims "are inappropriate and reckless, and George Allen knows it," said
Harris Miller, one of two Democrats vying for their party's nomination to oppose Allen's reelection. Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Institute of Politics, meanwhile,
saw the letter as a sign that Allen continues to look beyond this year's Virginia campaign and is
bolstering his support among Christian conservatives for the 2008 presidential race. (VirginianPilot)
Methodists, Muslims, form pact in Illinois
April 6: United Methodists and Muslims in Northern Illinois have officially created a covenant
relationship between the two faith groups. More than 100 leaders of the greater Chicago Islamic
community and the United Methodist Northern Illinois Conference celebrated that covenant at an
6 interfaith banquet at the Islamic Foundation in Villa Park. United Methodist Bishop Hee-Soo
Jung and Abdul Malik Mujahid, chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater
Chicago, signed a "Declaration of Relationship" committing the two groups to "a relationship
grounded in our mutual love for God and dedication to the ethical core of our faiths." The
covenant includes an agreement that the two groups will continue in dialogue with each other and
expand the dialogue to include local faith communities; work together on issues of social justice;
inform one another of situations that may affect each other's faith community; and gather annually
to celebrate, reflect on the relationship and reaffirm the commitment. (Spero News)
Bridgeview mosque gets expansion OK
April 7: The Bridgeview Village Board (Michigan) approved expansion of a mosque on the
village's southwest side this week after a group of homeowners dropped their opposition. The
mosque proposal had languished for months before the village's Zoning Board of Appeals while
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residents and officials considered traffic and other quality-of-life issues surrounding expansion of
the Mosque Foundation of Bridgeview's worship center. The Plan Commission was deadlocked
3-3 on the project last month. (Chicago Tribune)
MI: First female Arab Muslim takes the bench
April 10: As the first Arab American to sit on the 3rd Circuit Court of Wayne County, Charlene
Mekled Elder knows she plays an important role. Not only does she carry the weight of serious
decision making, but she serves as a role model for Middle Eastern women around the globe.
Appointed to the Wayne County 3rd Circuit Court by Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, Elder
embarks on a new phase in her career at the age of 36 - marked by a balanced commitment to
her profession, her family, and her community. Also, she is the first Arab-American female judge
in this circuit to speak Arabic fluently. Elder's press release says she is also the first female
(Immigrant) Muslim to hold a judicial position in the country. (Arab American News)
Jury awards Southwest passenger $27.5 million
April 11: A California woman of Iranian descent arrested in El Paso three years ago after
Southwest Airlines employees accused her of assaulting a flight attendant and interfering with a
flight should receive $27.5 million in damages for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution,
an El Paso jury decided. El Paso lawyer Enrique Moreno said the verdict showed that jurors
agreed that his client, Samantha Carrington, was wrongfully arrested on Oct. 7, 2003, when a
flight to Houston from Los Angeles made a scheduled stop in El Paso. "In the evidence it came
out that one of the flight attendants stated that Ms. Carrington reminded her of a terrorist, and in
our views she was the victim of profiling stereotypes and discrimination," Moreno said. According
to court documents, the jury found the airline caused Carrington to be maliciously prosecuted and
falsely imprisoned. The jury also found that Carrington's conduct did not contribute to her arrest
and prosecution. Moreno said the verdict sends a national message about racial profiling. (El
Paso Times)
Justice Department urged to protect rights of Muslim teen
April 12: The Sacramento Valley chapter of the Council on Islamic-Relations (CAIR-SV) today
called on the Department of Justice to protect the civil rights of Halema Buzayan, a Muslim
teenager arrested following an alleged "fender bender" that media reports now indicate may
never have occurred. According to an ABC 7 News investigative report: "A Muslim family from the
town of Davis, CA, appeared in court for the eighth time Monday in a minor fender bender. The
case raises questions of racial discrimination and whether Yolo County prosecutors are wasting
tax dollars by pursuing the matter so vigorously. "The fact that county officials have taken such
extreme measures in a minor traffic case creates the impression that there is something
motivating them other than the pursuit of justice," said CAIR-SV Executive Director Basim
Elkarra. (CAIR Bulletin)
Mosque exposes fears in Michigan
April 12: The plans for Warren's first mosque were approved two days back, but a series of illinformed, fear-tinged and derogatory comments from residents and city planning commissioners
still echoed a day later. "It's reminiscent of the Jim Crow South of the 1950s and 1960s," said
Dawud Walid, executive director for the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations who attended the meeting. "There were blatant Islamophobic comments made by two
members on this board," he said, adding that he is happy the plan was approved. "But we're also
very discouraged by some of the comments from both the residents and the commissioners."
During the two-hour session, one Warren resident was loudly applauded for demanding that the
developer prove the Islamic Organization of North America won't have ties to terrorists. Planning
commissioner Maurice Daniels asked if sacrifices would be made. The planning commission
rejected the plan a month ago, and nearly tabled it this month before giving it the OK. Steve
Elturk, the 50-year-old. "What I saw were not only anti-Islamic sentiment, but anti-minority
sentiment," Walid said. "We are hopeful that there are no types of retaliatory actions taken
against the mosque. One positive is that there are people in the academic and religious
communities in Warren that spoke out in favor of the mosque." (Detroit Free Press)
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Bank of America resolves complaints of anti-Muslim bias by former fleet bank
April 12: Bank of America Corp. in Boston has agreed to resolve allegations by Arab and Muslim
groups that the former Fleet Bank discriminated against 15 customers with Arabic names by
closing their accounts in 2002 and 2003 over suspicions of terrorism or money laundering.
Although a state investigation found no evidence of discrimination, Bank of America agreed to
take steps including paying the state $50,000 to create a brochure and video on consumer
finance geared toward Arab-American and Muslim communities. Attorney General Tom Reilly,
who announced the agreement, also said the bank will name a senior vice president as a liaison
to local Arab-Americans and Muslims. (Boston Globe)
Iraq-born woman's ordeal prompts federal inquiry
April 13: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will investigate the treatment of an Iraq-born
woman who was strip-searched at the Pinellas County Jail, where she was detained after being
barred from entering the country. Safana Jawad, 45, was sent home tonight without seeing the
teenage son she planned to surprise or her ex-husband, who was lauded last year by Gov. Jeb
Bush as a symbol of progress in Iraq. She was treated as if she were a common criminal, said
Ahmed Bedier, director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Tampa. Jawad was
fingerprinted, photographed, strip-searched, given a navy blue jumpsuit and placed in a 6- by 6foot maximum security cell, Bedier said. "Why did she have to go through this?" Bedier asked.
"There has to be a different way to deny people entry into the U.S. without treating them like a
dangerous criminal." Homeland Security officials declined for a second day to provide details for
why Jawad was denied entry, citing privacy concerns. Jawad said that federal agents told her she
is connected to someone they view as suspicious, but refused to identify that person. (St.
Petersburg Times)
Radio host Savage advocates killing 100 million Muslims
April 17: Nationally syndicated radio host Michael Savage called for "kill 100 million" Muslims. On
his radio show, Savage told listeners that "intelligent people, wealthy people ... are very
depressed by the weakness that America is showing to these psychotics in the Muslim world.
They say, 'Oh, there's a billion of them.' " Savage continued: "I said, 'So, kill 100 million of them,
then there'd be 900 million of them.' (Media Matters)
Teen’s hit-run case dismissed
April 17: A Yolo County judge in Woodland, CA, today dismissed a hit-and-run charge against a
17-year-old Davis girl whose family claimed they were the targets of police discrimination. “Case
dismissed, justice is done,” Jamal Buzayan, father of Halema Buzayan, said as he left Judge
Thomas Warriner’s courtroom. Warriner’s ruling comes about 10 months after Halema’s June 13,
2005, arrest at her Pistachio Court home, an incident that prompted the discrimination claims.
Davis police say they arrested the teen after one of two witnesses identified her as the driver of a
sport-utility vehicle that was seen moving next to a parked vehicle — which later showed damage
to its bumper — in a South Davis parking lot. Halema has denied driving the family car, and her
mother, who says she was the driver that day, claims to have no knowledge of an accident. Still,
the Buzayan family later agreed to pay the hit-and-run victim $870 to repair the damage to her
car. The family, which is Muslim, believes Davis police have treated them differently by arresting
Halema because of their ethnic and religious background. The case has generated considerable
discussion and controversy in the city of Davis, where police have been on the receiving end of
numerous allegations of racial profiling, discrimination and harassment. (The Davis Enterprise)
Davis, CA: Marchers protest police treatment
April 18: Protestors march in Davis, CA, today in support of Halema Buzayan, who was arrested
on June 13 for an alleged hit-and-run. Protestors chanted at a "March for Justice," organized by
Davis Senior High students and UC Davis graduate student David Greenwald. The march took
place to draw attention to the controversial arrest of a Halema Buzayan, the 16-year-old Muslim
teen arrested June 13 for what many alleged to be a fender-bender. The Buzayan family said
they believed that the police did not handle the case fairly due to their religion. The criminal case
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filed against Buzayan for the incident has recently been thrown out by a local judge. Now the
family intends to file a civil suit against the DPD. "The reason for this march was first to support
Halema, and secondly to send a message to the council that there is a problem with the system
and they need to write a policy to make sure that this doesn't happen again," said Dina ELNakhal, member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of the Sacramento Valley.
(California Aggie)
Muslims Villainized in American Culture
April 19: While there existed a climate of intolerance toward Muslims prior to 2001, it has become
more acceptable to be blatantly ignorant and prejudiced against Islam after the events of Sept.
11, according to As’ad Abukhalil, an associate professor of political sciences at CSU Stanislaus
and a research fellow at UC Berkeley. In his lecture, he addressed the various stereotypes and
prejudices that exist against Muslims and Islam. “It seems to me that we now have room for
people to express their bigotry and prejudice against Muslims,” Abukhalil said. Abukhalil provided
examples of prejudice in Stockton, Calif. and at UC Irvine. In both instances, individuals called
their local police because they were suspicious of the activities of Muslims. In the case of the
UCI, someone called the police department to report Muslims praying in a parking lot. “When a
government sets the tone for prejudice, you will see that society often follows,” Abukhalil said. Of
all the religions in the United States, Islam is the only religion for which the government has a
foreign policy, according to Abukhalil. “You do not have American foreign policy for Buddhism, for
Judaism, Presbyterian [or] Quakers, but for Islam, you do,” Abukhalil said. “This is because Islam
is not a reference to a religion here. Muslims are referred to as people who inhabit a world that is
apart from anything else.” (UC Irvine News)
FBI detains tech student, but won't say why
April 20: A Georgia Tech student born in Pakistan has been in federal custody for nearly a month,
apparently because authorities suspect a videotape he made of a building may have been related
to terrorism, his family said. Syed Haris Ahmed, a 21-year-old mechanical engineering major who
had become increasingly religious in his Islamic faith, was arrested by the FBI March 23 and has
been held since, his family said. It is unclear what charges face Ahmed, but his family is
convinced that they stem from suspicions that he was participating in activities that could be
related to terrorism. Ahmed's family denied that he could be involved in anything related to
terrorism. He came to the United States with his family in 1997, is an American citizen and lived
with his family near Dawsonville before moving to an off-campus apartment near Georgia Tech.
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Americans ponder Evangelical, Muslim president
April 24: Many adults in the United States would not see faith as a deterrent for a politician
seeking the nation's highest office, according to poll by Ipsos-Reid released by CanWest Global.
64 per cent of respondents say they would be willing to vote for a presidential candidate who was
an Evangelical, and 63 per cent would back a Muslim. (Angus-reid)
Pat Robertson compares Islam to Nazism
April 24: On The 700 Club, televangelist Pat Robertson warned his viewers that "we are not
listening" to what Islam "says," just as we did not listen to "what Adolf Hitler said in Mein Kampf."
Robertson claimed that we are ignoring the threats by "not only the radical Muslims but Islam in
general," because "it is not politically correct to believe that any religious group would do what
they claim they are going to do." (Media Matters)
Scarf pulled off by cops
April 25: Dozens of area Muslims have placed protest calls to Arlington Heights Mayor Arlene
Mulder demanding that charges against a Muslim civil rights protester be dropped after
allegations were made that police ripped off the woman's headscarf during her October arrest.
The protester, Rehana Khan of Chicago, was arrested Oct. 15 with four other people while
demonstrating in Arlington Heights in support of immigrant rights and against the Minutemen, a
group that opposes illegal immigration. Khan is charged with battery and resisting arrest. She is
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accused of hitting a female officer and trying to break free while being arrested, authorities said.
Khan alleges that police handcuffed her and then ripped off her headscarf, or hajib, which
observant Muslim women believe Allah commanded them to wear, according to Christina
Abraham of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. (Chicago Tribune)
For Arab men, U.S. citizenship can be elusive
April 25: Ali Ali, Iraqi immigrant of Dearborn, says he has been unable to become a U.S. citizen,
despite passing all the citizenship tests and requirements and waiting for almost a year. His
problem is shared by other Arab and Muslim men in metro Detroit and across the United States,
attorneys in Dearborn said today. Ali, along with attorneys and civil rights advocates,held a news
conference held by the Michigan chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
The committee also held conferences in Dallas, Anaheim, Calif., and Washington, D.C., to
highlight problems. Under federal law, immigrants who have taken citizenship interviews are
supposed to be notified within 120 days on whether their U.S. citizenship request has been
approved. Ali had his interview in May 2005, but he still hasn't heard from the U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Service. A spokesman for the service, Shawn Saucier, said that the agency is
"working hard to refine the process." The problem, he said, is that in some cases, it takes a while
for the FBI to conduct background checks. Many of the people who are finding it difficult to
become U.S. citizens are Arab and Muslim men. (Detroit Free Press)
Ali Al-Tamimi wins appeal ruling over wiretaps
April 25: An appellate court today directed a lower court to consider statements by a Muslim cleric
in northern Virginia that he had been illegally wiretapped under the warrantless eavesdropping
program that President Bush authorized. The ruling opened the door to what could be the first
ruling by a federal court on whether information obtained under the program, operated by the
National Security Agency, had been improperly used in a criminal prosecution. The cleric, Ali alTimimi, who was sentenced to life in prison last year for inciting his Muslim followers to violence,
is challenging his conviction because he says he suspects that the government failed to disclose
illegal wiretaps of his e-mail messages and telephone conversations. In an order released today,
the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit did not rule on the merits of Mr. Timimi's
assertions about the N.S.A. program, but sent the case back to the federal trial court in
Alexandria, Va., for a rehearing. (New York Times)
Government backs away from claim that Tariq Ramadan endorsed terrorism
April 25: In response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York
Civil Liberties Union on behalf of academic organizations, the Departments of State and
Homeland Security have backed away from a claim that noted Swiss Muslim scholar Tariq
Ramadan is being denied entry to the United States because he endorsed or espoused terrorism.
"As this case has progressed, it has become increasingly obvious that the government has no
legitimate basis for barring Professor Ramadan from the United States," said Jameel Jaffer, the
lead ACLU attorney in this case. "All the evidence suggests that the government is barring
Professor Ramadan simply because it doesn't want Americans to hear what he has to say." In
July 2004, the Departments of State and Homeland Security revoked a visa that would have
allowed Ramadan to accept a tenured teaching position at the University of Notre Dame,
explaining their action by pointing to a provision of the Patriot Act that allows the government to
bar those who have "endorsed or espoused terrorism." In court, however, the government failed
to introduce evidence that Ramadan had endorsed terrorism, and in papers filed it acknowledged
that, despite its July 2004 statement to the media, it had never determined that Ramadan was
inadmissible to the United States under that provision of the Patriot Act. (ACLU Press Release)
More secrecy cloaking terror cases
April 25: Nothing in Terence L. Kindlon's 30-year legal career prepared him to represent a man
facing terrorism charges. Kindlon got security clearance to look at classified documents in the
case, but watched as government lawyers repeatedly brought matters to the judge privately.
However the judge responded, he did so without telling Kindlon. Kindlon's case is unfolding in
upstate New York, but secret discussions between government lawyers and judges are cropping
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up at what experts say is an unprecedented level in terrorism-related cases around the country,
including in Oregon. The emerging national trend goes to the very foundation of America's legal
system: transparency. If one side makes an argument to a judge, the other side gets to be there
to disagree. In Oregon, the issue is before the judge presiding over a lawsuit by Al-Haramain, an
Ashland-based Islamic charity challenging the legality of a warrantless surveillance program set
up by the National Security Agency. "Something remarkable and disturbing is happening in this
case and in others across the country," Al-Haramain lawyers wrote in a court brief filed. The
government "is attempting to draw a veil of secrecy over judicial proceedings." Bryan Sierra, a
Justice Department spokesman, said federal law permits prosecutors to communicate privately
with judges in cases of national security. Although lawyers occasionally communicate privately
with judges, a wide range of experts expressed surprise at the government's extensive use of the
practice in terrorism cases. (The Oregonian)
MSU professor apologizes for 'intemperate' e-mail
April 25: The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) today
said that a Michigan State University (MSU) professor has offered an apology for an
Islamophobic e-mail sent to Muslim students. In an e-mail reply to a person expressing concern
over his offensive remarks, MSU engineering professor Indrek Wichman said: "I wrote my
comments in haste to what I thought was a private organization and I used intemperate language.
My apologies to you and others whom I have offended. I regret this very much and my comments
have nothing to do with my classes or any research." In the e-mail, after citing several
international incidents of what he said was Muslim violence directed against others, Wichman
wrote: "I counsel you dissatisfied, aggressive, brutal and uncivilized slave-trading Moslems to be
very aware of this as you proceed with your infantile 'protests.' If you do not like the values of the
West -- see the 1st Amendment -- you are free to leave." "I hope for God's sake you choose that
option," Wichman wrote. "Please return to your ancestral homelands and build them up
yourselves instead of troubling Americans. Cordially, I.S. Wichman, Professor of Mechanical
Engineering." (Media Reports)
Chronology of Islam in America (May - Aug 2006) [Page 119]
May 2006
Muslim Americans join immigration marches nationwide
May 1: In solidarity with immigration activists around the country, the Muslim Public Affairs
Council as well as the Council on American-Islamic Relations - Los Angeles (CAIR-LA), the
Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, the L.A. Latino Muslim Association (LALMA), the
Muslim American Society - Los Angeles (MAS-LA), and the Muslim Students Association - West
(MSA West) joined millions calling for comprehensive immigration reform in at least a dozen cities
across the country today. In Los Angeles, Muslim Americans joined more than one million people
who attended two Immigrants' Rights marches in downtown and along Wilshire Boulevard. The
nationwide day of action calling for immigration reform has been described in recent days as one
of the largest rallies in American history. Mobilizing local Muslim communities around the issue of
immigration has brought Muslim Americans into the fold of activism with people from diverse
racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds around common issues of concern. Among the most
controversial components of HR 4437 is a provision which seeks to criminalize people individuals
and institutions for providing humanitarian assistance to undocumented individuals. This would
include physicians, educators, and members of the clergy. (MPAC Bulletin)
Informer in bomb plot trial tells of his visits to mosques
May 1: The paid police informer who is the central witness at the trial of a Pakistani immigrant
charged with plotting to blow up the Herald Square (N.Y.) subway station testified that he
collected a wide range of information on his visits to two city mosques, from the tenor of the
sermons to how many people attended the services. The informer, Osama Eldawoody, 50,
secretly recorded roughly two dozen conversations about the plot with the immigrant, Shahawar
Matin Siraj, in the summer of 2004 many of them incriminating. He was questioned by Mr. Siraj's
lawyer about the information he provided to the police on his frequent visits to mosques in
Brooklyn and Staten Island. The visits occurred over roughly 13 months in 2003 and 2004, both
before and after the informer met Mr. Siraj. Regardless of the outcome of the trial for Mr. Siraj, 23,
who faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, Mr. Eldawoody's testimony is shedding light on
what seem to be new police tactics to uncover terrorist plots before they come to fruition. While a
federal judge gave the police expanded powers in 2003, critics have nonetheless raised
objections to the use of informers in places of worship, political events and other gatherings.
(New York Times)
FBI sought data on thousands in 2005
May 2: The FBI sought personal information on thousands of Americans last year from banks,
Internet service providers and other companies without having to seek approval from a court,
according to new data released by the Justice Department. In a report to the top leaders of both
parties in the House, the department disclosed that the FBI had issued more than 9,200 "national
security letters," or NSLs, seeking detailed information about more than 3,500 U.S. citizens or
legal residents in 2005. The report represents the first official count of NSL use. It was required
under legislation that extended the USA Patriot Act anti-terrorism law. The count does not include
other such letters that are issued by the FBI to obtain more limited subscriber information from
companies, such as a person's name, address or other identifying data, according to the report.
Sources have said that would include thousands of additional letters and may be the largest
category of NSLs issued. The Washington Post reported in November that the FBI now issues
more than 30,000 NSLs each year, including subscriber requests. (Washington Post)
Muslims accosted by 'United 93' viewers
May 2: The Arizona office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations reported today that
several young Muslim women were verbally abused by two people who said they recently saw
the movie "United 93" about one of the planes hijacked on 9/11. The three Muslim women say a
white middle-aged couple approached them on April 29 at the Desert Ridge Marketplace in
Scottsdale, Ariz., and asked whether they were Muslim. After learning that the women were in
fact Muslims, the couple indicated they had seen "United 93" and then said: "Take off your f***ing
burqas and get the f*** out of this country. We don't want you in this country. Go home." [Note:
Two of the three women are American-born citizens.] (CAIR Bulletin)
US government creating "climate of torture"
May 3: Amnesty International today made public a report detailing its concerns about torture and
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of prisoners and detainees both in the US and in US
detention sites around the world. "Although the US government continues to assert its
condemnation of torture and ill-treatment, these statements contradict what is happening in
practice," said Curt Goering, Senior Deputy Executive Director Of Amnesty International USA.
"The US government is not only failing to take steps to eradicate torture it is actually creating a
climate in which torture and other ill-treatment can flourish -- including by trying to narrow the
definition of torture." The Amnesty International report describes how measures taken by the US
government in response to widespread torture and ill-treatment of detainees held in US military
custody in the context of the "war on terror" have been far from adequate. This is despite
evidence that much of the ill-treatment stemmed directly from official policy and practice. The
report reviews several cases where detainees held in US custody in Afghanistan and Iraq have
died under torture. To this day, no US agent has been prosecuted for "torture" or "war crimes".
(Amnesty International)
Suit by Muslim men claims delay in citizenship
May 4: Ten Chicago area Muslim men filed a class-action lawsuit against the federal government
today alleging their quest to become U.S. citizens is being delayed because of their Islamic faith
and male gender. The Syrian, Moroccan, Jordanian, Pakistani and Egyptian natives have no
criminal records, but they have been waiting one to four years for the government to make a
decision on their applications, Midwest Immigrant & Human Rights Center attorney Chuck Roth
said. Some of their wives applied at the same time and have since received their U.S. citizenship.
The plaintiffs, including the Council on American Islamic Relations' Chicago office, agree the
government must conduct background checks on all potential citizens. But they say Muslim men,
more than any other group, have their cases delayed too often with no explanation. (Sun Times)
US Muslim women Americanizing mosques, book finds
May 10: The face Muslim women present to America is as diverse as the faith itself -- and one
that is changing as waves of often impoverished immigrants come to the United States. That is
part of the picture that emerges from a new book shedding light on the lives of Muslim women by
way of well-crafted profiles of more than four dozen of them, cutting across cultures and lifestyles.
"Part of what we found is that the United States is one of the best places in the world for women
to practice Islam because they do have freedom, because of our ideas about women having
careers and a voice in houses of worship," said Donna Gehrke-White, author of "The Face
Behind the Veil" (Citadel Press). "Muslim women here have much more to say in how the religion
is practiced," challenging some traditions such as separate entrances and second-rate worship
spaces in some mosques, she said in an interview. "In some countries women don't even go to
mosques." (Reuters)
CAIR calls for special counsel on NSA phone data spy program
May 11: Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a prominent national Islamic civil rights
and advocacy group today called for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate
revelations that the National Security Agency (NSA) has built a giant database of Americans'
phone records. According to a USA Today article, the NSA "has been secretly collecting the
phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and
BellSouth…The NSA program reaches into homes and businesses across the nation by
amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans - most of whom aren't suspected of
any crime." The phone records monitoring program, reportedly authorized by the president shortly
after the 9/11 terror attacks, authorizes the NSA to bypass a secret court set up to provide
warrants for such surveillance. In its statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) said: "The recent revelations of the secret domestic spying program should be an issue of
concern for all Americans, but especially for American Muslims who have been previously
targeted in other surveillance measures such as the mosque radiation monitoring, and the
warrantless wiretapping program. It is a moral, legal and political imperative for Congress to
ensure that civil liberties and the right to privacy are maintained, even during times of
international conflict and crisis. An independent investigator should be appointed to look into
whether the NSA phone data surveillance program violated existing laws." (CAIR Bulletin)
Muslim candidate receives endorsement of Democratic-Farmer-Labor party Detroit
May 15: Detroit State Representative Keith Ellison's style and personal history are under
inspection as never before since he received the DFL (Democratic-Farmer-Labor party)
endorsement in stunningly strong fashion May 6 to succeed Rep. Martin Sabo in the Fifth District
Congressional seat. The seat, which Sabo held for 28 years, has been a DFL stronghold,
although Ellison appears likely to face a challenge in the September primary, and Republican,
Independence and Green Party candidates are running in November. Ellison became a Muslim
while at Wayne State University in Detroit, and if he wins, he would apparently be the only Muslim
in Congress. He said he became interested in Islam after reading 'The Autobiography of Malcolm
X,' but that there was no 'epiphany' that led him to the faith. 'I just started studying it and found it
interesting and here I am,' he said.' I lead my life in a way to not make religion a big deal.'"
(Detroit Star Tribune)
Gloomy look at U.S.-Muslim relations
May 16: With a long history of conflict, hostilities and misperceptions as the backdrop, it was no
wonder that the "State of US-Islamic World Relations" was described in gloomy terms at a
University of Delaware panel discussion tonight. About 200 people packed a room in Kirkbride
Hall to hear five panelists -- academics and policy analysts -- describe facets of the tension
between the United States and Islamic states around the globe. One of them, UD professor
Stuart Kaufman, traced the worldwide decline in public support of the United States. He said the
country is in a state of "low-intensity war with the entire Muslim world," and ended his stinging
commentary on the "catastrophic, inept" foreign policy by saying he had no answers. "I'll just
leave being really depressed about the Middle East," he said. (The News Journal)
ACLU seeks FBI records on monitoring of Islamic groups
May 16: Six groups, including the Anaheim-based Council on American Islamic Relations in
Southern California, filed a Freedom of Information Act request today asking about suspected law
enforcement monitoring of Islamic religious institutions. The American Civil Liberties Union of
Southern California filed the request on behalf of CAIR, the Islamic Shura Council of Southern
California, area mosques and six leaders in the Muslim community. The Freedom of Information
Act, which outlines request procedures, was enacted by Congress in 1966 to give the public
greater access to the federal government's records. Ranjana Natarajan, the attorney handling the
matter, said the ACLU decided to request FBI records after working with the Muslim community
and conducting "know your rights" presentations at mosques.Natarajan said worshippers at
mosques have been asked what their imam is preaching, where they go and what they do on
pilgrimages to Mecca, and for details about religious practices. (The Orange County Register)
DNC Chairman Howard Dean meets with Muslim American leaders
May 17: Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean met today with a diverse group
of Muslim leaders to talk about the Democratic agenda for change along with efforts to reach out
to members of the religious community early on in the election process. Muslim leaders joined
Chairman Dean in an informal discussion in which they talked about civil liberties, the Patriot Act,
immigration, poverty, engagement of Muslim Americans in the political process, ways the DNC
can best reach out to the community and other issues important to Muslim Americans. This
meeting was part of a larger outreach by the DNC's Faith in Action Initiative, a mission to involve
state parties and religious leaders from around the country in an ongoing dialogue about their
shared values within the Democratic Party. Chairman Dean issued the following statement: "With
millions of Muslims in America, Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in this country.
Muslims mirror the diverse melting pot that is America, including peoples of many regional, ethnic
and racial backgrounds. They are deeply patriotic, and they make invaluable contributions to our
society. It is my hope that this meeting will be the first in a series of on-going discussions with
leaders of the Muslim American community. We had a productive discussion about a wide range
of subjects and opened a healthy dialogue on our shared values, including the protection of
religious freedom and civil liberties. No American should be subjected to discrimination because
of his or her race, ethnic background or religious beliefs. It is our obligation as Democrats and as
Americans to speak out against such discrimination, whenever and wherever it rears its ugly
head. Likewise, as part of Democrats' national outreach efforts, it is no longer enough to say that
Muslim Americans should have a place at the table; more importantly, we must have diversity on
our tickets. I look forward to continuing to work with the leaders of the Muslim American
community to advance our shared values and goals for America." (U.S. Newswire)
Detective was 'walking camera' among city Muslims
May 18: A young police detective testified today at the Herald Square bombing plot trial that he
was recruited from the Police Academy 13 months after 9/11 to work deep undercover in the
Muslim community to investigate Islamic extremists. The detective, a Muslim who came to
America from Bangladesh when he was 7, testified that he was a 23-year-old college graduate
when he was plucked from the academy in October 2002. He took an apartment in Bay Ridge,
Brooklyn, where, he testified, his assignment was to be a "walking camera" among Muslims
there. His testimony in federal court in Brooklyn confirmed what many Muslims have believed
since the Sept. 11 attacks: that law enforcement agencies have worked to infiltrate their
community during terrorism investigations. It also revealed the extraordinary steps the
department took to create a fictitious identity so a Muslim investigator could live for years in an
insular neighborhood where people have become highly suspicious of the authorities. (New York
Times)
Over 70 Million American Adults Support New 9/11 Investigation
May 23: Although the Bush administration continues to exploit September 11 to justify domestic
spying, unprecedented spending and a permanent state of war, a new Zogby poll reveals that
less than half of the American public trusts the official 9/11 story or believes the attacks were
adequately investigated. The Zogby poll is the first scientific survey of Americans’ belief in a 9/11
cover up or the need to investigate possible US government complicity, and was commissioned
to inform deliberations at the June “9/11: Revealing the Truth, Reclaiming Our Future” conference
in Chicago. Poll results indicate 42% believe there has indeed been a cover up (with 10% unsure)
and 45% think “Congress or an International Tribunal should re-investigate the attacks, including
whether any US government officials consciously allowed or helped facilitate their success” (with
8% unsure). (Zogby International)
Feds' linking of restaurant owner to Hezbollah prompts criticism
May 23: Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations, today criticized federal prosecutors for claiming that an Arab businessman has
terrorist ties without actually charging him with terrorism-related offenses.The businessman, Talal
Chahine, is the owner of the La Shish restaurant chain. He and his ex-wife, Elfat El Aouar, are
charged with tax evasion. The government says they concealed $16 million or more in cash
received by the southeast Michigan restaurants. The government claims in recent a court filing
U.S. District Court in Detroit that Chahine has ties to top officials of the Lebanese militant group
Hezbollah. The U.S. classifies Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Dawud Walid called the
government's allegations without formal charges "really tacky." (MLIVE)
Two Chicago companies supply meals to meet Muslim, Jewish military personnel needs
May 24: Dietary requirements of Muslim and Jewish military personnel were long overlooked by
the armed forces, leaving many strict followers to survive on peanut butter, fruits and vegetables,
and cereal. Thanks in large part to two Chicago companies, these troops now have everything
from lamb and lentil stew, and cheese tortellini, without feeling a burden on their consciences. My
Own Meals Inc. and J&M Food Products Co. are the U.S. military's sole suppliers of prepackaged
meals that meet Muslim and Jewish dietary standards. Produced and packaged under the careful
eye of Jewish and Muslim inspectors, the kosher and Halal meals Ready to Eat have only been
available in the military since the mid-1990s. Jewish or Muslim personnel make up .5 percent of
the U.S. military, said Mary Anne Jackson, president of My Own Meals. (Medill News Service)
Pakistani Immigrant Convicted in NYC Plot
May 24: A high school dropout who drew the attention of undercover police with his anti-American
rants after Sept. 11 was convicted Wednesday of plotting to blow up one of Manhattan's busiest
subway stations in retaliation for the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. A federal jury in Brooklyn
deliberated two days before convicting Shahawar Matin Siraj of conspiracy and other charges in a
case that cast a spotlight on how authorities sought to monitor radical Muslims after the 2001
terrorist attacks. He faces up to life in prison.Siraj, 23, listened to the verdict with downcast eyes.
The defense had sought to portray him as an impressionable simpleton who was lured into a
phony plot by a paid informant eager to earn his keep. Prosecutors disputed that claim, arguing
that even if it was not the defendant's idea to bomb a subway station, no law-abiding citizen
would have gone along with it. (Houston Chronicle)
America under Bush "doesn't feel like it has to play by the rules," says Prof Cole
May 25: The U.S. government has a habit of creating laws that strip foreign nationals of their
freedoms then expanding them to take away rights of American citizens, a Georgetown University
Law Center professor said today. David Cole delivered the keynote speech at the University of
South Florida for a discussion titled "Executive Power in the War on Terror: Are There Any
Limits?" Cole began his remarks to the more than 250 people with a history lesson about a bomb
explosion in 1919 outside the home of then-U.S. Attorney General Alexander Mitchell Palmer,
one in a series of explosions in different cities that day. The government responded, Cole said, by
rounding up foreign nationals in what became known as the "Palmer raids."J. Edgar Hoover, the
FBI director, focused much of his time on trying to expand the Palmer raids so the government
controlled U.S. citizens' rights, Cole said. "These were mistakes that we should avoid, not
mistakes we should repeat," said Cole. "The Bush administration has done just that." (St.
Petersburg Times)
Court upholds decision to deny Muslim center
May 25: Upholding a decision by the borough's Board of Adjustment, a Superior Court Judge last
week denied the Muslim Center of Somerset (NJ) a conditional use variance. The ruling is the
latest in a step of obstacles the center has faced in its quest to run operations out of small house
on Southside Avenue. Had the judge approved the request, his decision would have cleared the
way for the county's first mosque. The center acquired the Southside Avenue property in 1998
and had used the facility as a home for its imam -- or spiritual leader -- and as a place for its five
daily prayer services. When the borough realized the center was in violation of parking
ordinances, the center applied for variances and site plan approval, which included a proposal for
a small expansion. Since then, the center has been renting space at the Redwood Inn in
Bridgewater and the Manville Elks for its services. The board rejected the application last June,
but when the center sued the borough and board last year, Superior Court Judge Peter
Buchsbaum ordered the board to revisit the application, this time considering its beneficial use.
But even with conditions in place, the board found the mosque put too much of a burden on the
residential neighborhood and denied the application for a second time. (New Jersey Reporter)
Undercover work deepens police-Muslim tensions
May 27: It is no secret to the Muslim immigrants of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, that spies live among
them. It is another thing for them to be officially revealed. Over the last several weeks, during the
trial of a Pakistani immigrant who was convicted on May 24 of plotting to blow up the Herald
Square subway station, Muslims in Bay Ridge learned that two agents of the police had been
planted in the neighborhood and were instrumental to the case. They absorbed the testimony of
an Egyptian-born police informer who had recorded the license plate numbers of worshipers at a
mosque. They heard that an undercover detective, originally from Bangladesh, had been sent to
Bay Ridge as a "walking camera." The trial's revelations, and its outcome for the defendant,
Shahawar Matin Siraj, have brought a bitter reckoning among Muslims in the city. Many see the
police tactics unveiled in the case as proof that the authorities - both in New York and around the
nation - have been aggressive, even underhanded in their approach to Muslims…..And despite
the conviction of Mr. Siraj, who was found guilty on all four of the counts he faced, some Muslim
leaders remain convinced that he was entrapped, including an imam who knew the informer and
had found him to be suspicious. (New York Times)
Arab candidate sues after losing endorsement over 9/11 comments
May 27: An Arab-American political candidate who was dumped by Passaic county Democratic
leaders for comments some people interpreted as sympathetic to suicide bombers is suing to get
on the ballot. Democrats put forward Sam Merhi's name as a nominee for a county freeholder
seat in the June 6 primary, but withdrew it in March amid political backlash from remarks Merhi
made in 2002 about the 9/11 attacks. Merhi, a Totowa (NJ) businessman active in Democratic
politics, said during a political fundraiser that he was outraged by the 9/11 attacks. When asked
whether those feelings also applied to Palestinian suicide bombers in Israel, Merhi said he did not
see a comparison. He later elaborated, saying that while all terrorist attacks are wrong, 9/11 was
unique because it was on such a massive scale. The lawsuit alleges that Merhi was the victim of
anti-Arab prejudice, saying that his removal as a candidate violated his civil rights and the rules of
the Democratic organization. The suit calls for Merhi's name to be reinstated on the primary
ballot. (Newsday)
Delay in citizenship process for Arab-sounding immigrants
May 28: Immigrant advocates say hundreds - if not thousands - of men with Arabic-sounding or
Muslim names are experiencing endless delays in what should be the pro forma final step of the
citizenship application process. "I understand the burden that the government has in wanting to
make sure that all security checks go through," said Dev Viswanath, a Queens attorney who said
he has two clients who have waited years for their swearing-in ceremonies. "But having to wait
two or three years ... is just ridiculous." Last month, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee launched a national legal campaign to get the government to resolve hundreds of
cases. More than 40 lawyers filed lawsuits in federal courts, requesting that a judge step in and
force U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to complete the stalled naturalization cases. In
response, CIS decided it will stop interviewing people whose FBI background checks have not
cleared. Bill Carter, an FBI spokesman, said the delays began in 2002, when CIS booted 2.7
million names of applicants back to the FBI for additional checks, causing a backlog. (Daily
News)
Four librarians finally break silence in records case
May 30: Four Connecticut librarians who had been barred from revealing that they had received a
request for patrons' records from the federal government spoke out today, expressing frustration
about the sweeping powers given to law enforcement authorities by the USA Patriot Act. The
librarians took turns at the microphone at their lawyers' office and publicly identified themselves
as the collective John Doe who had sued the United States attorney general after their
organization received a confidential demand for patron records in a secret counterterrorism case.
They had been ordered, under the threat of prosecution, not to talk about the request with
anyone. The librarians, who all have leadership roles at a small consortium called Library
Connection in Windsor, Conn., said they opposed allowing the government unchecked power to
demand library records and were particularly incensed at having been subject to the open-ended
nondisclosure order.The organization won part of its court fight last week, when a three-judge
panel of the United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan dismissed the
government's appeal and allowed a lower court judge's revocation of the nondisclosure order to
stand. But the four librarians say they remain concerned that other provisions of the Patriot Act
could deter people from using libraries. (New York Times)
Magistrate rules that government must reveal monitoring
May 30: A federal magistrate in Brooklyn today insisted that government lawyers defending
former Attorney General John Ashcroft and other top officials in a lawsuit brought by former
immigrant detainees cannot dodge the plaintiffs' persistent and unwelcome question: Are
members of the United States trial team and likely witnesses — including Mr. Ashcroft and Robert
S. Mueller III, the FBI director — aware of any secret government monitoring of communications
between the plaintiffs and their lawyers? "Plaintiffs' effort to learn whether their conversations with
their attorneys were monitored by the government is not a mere fishing expedition based on
unfounded speculation," the magistrate, Judge Steven M. Gold, wrote in an 11-page decision.
The order rejected the government's request that he reconsider a similar order that he made
orally on March 7. He noted that "the government's electronic surveillance of individuals
suspected of links to terrorism has received widespread publicity and has even been
acknowledged by the president of the United States." And he cited findings by the inspector
general that on more than 40 occasions, staff members of the Metropolitan Detention Center
secretly video-recorded visits between lawyers and Muslim immigrants swept up and detained
there after the Sept. 11 attacks, and later deported after being cleared of links to terrorism. (New
York Times)
Alamo car rental guilty of religious bias federal court rules in EEOC lawsuit
May 30: In a legal victory for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC),
Arizona Federal District Court Judge Roslyn Silver ruled that Alamo Car Rental committed post9/11 backlash discrimination based on religion when it terminated a Somali customer sales
representative in December 2001 for refusing to remove her head scarf during the Muslim holy
month of Ramadan. In the first post-9/11 backlash case brought by the EEOC's Phoenix District
Office, the court took the unusual step of finding the religious discrimination so clear cut based on
the pleadings that it did not need to be resolved by a jury. "It is extremely rare that a court will find
discrimination based solely on the pleadings," said Mary Jo O'Neill, Regional Attorney for the
Phoenix District Office. "The court found undisputed evidence that Alamo should have approved
this employee's request to wear her head scarf as a religious accommodation or proposed a
reasonable alternative." (CAIR Bulletin)
CAIR calls on Rumsfeld to resign over Iraq massacre
May 31: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called for the resignation of
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld over reports that U.S. Marines killed 24 Iraqi civilians last
November in the city of Haditha. Survivors say American troops shot the men, women and
children after a bombing killed a Marine on November 19. Media reports indicate that murder
charges may be brought against some of the Marines involved in the incident. In its statement,
CAIR said: "We believe Secretary Rumsfeld's resignation, and bringing those involved in the
massacre to justice, would send a clear message that America will not tolerate or excuse the kind
of atrocities that reportedly took place in Haditha. This stain must be removed from the reputation
of America's military personnel." A number of retired generals have similarly called for Secretary
Rumsfeld's resignation over his execution of the war in Iraq. Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), a former
Marine, said U.S. troops "killed innocent civilians in cold blood" and has called the Haditha
massacre a bigger setback to U.S. interests in Iraq than the Abu Ghraib scandal. (CAIR Bulletin)
Judge sides with Muslim in Ramadan scarf lawsuit
May 31: A national car rental firm illegally discriminated against a Muslim woman in the wake of
9/11 by refusing to let her wear a scarf during the holy month of Ramadan, a federal judge has
ruled in Phoenix, AZ. U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver rejected arguments by Alamo Rent-A-Car
that it could not exempt Bilan Nur from its corporate dress code. Silver said the company made
no efforts to reasonably accommodate Nur's beliefs and failed to show that making any
accommodations would have caused the company undue hardships. In fact, Silver noted that the
company's regional manager admitted under questioning that the only hardship Alamo might
suffer is the image that the firm has with customers. Nur's claim was among the first filed by
EEOC dealing with anti-Muslim discrimination after the terrorist attacks. (Capitol Media
Services)
June 2006
Suit says children services tried to steer kids from Islam
June 2: A Grandview Heights(Columbus, Ohio) mother who fought Franklin County Children
Services after her daughters were placed in foster care for a year says that the agency tried to
steer the children from Islam to Christianity. Hadiya AbdulSalaam, who was cleared of neglect
charges last year, has filed a federal lawsuit in Columbus claiming discrimination and
harassment. "It's a despicable and horrifying example of abuse of governmental power," said her
attorney, Rex Elliot. The suit contends that caseworkers attempted to persuade the girls to
renounce Islam, in part by falsely reporting that AbdulSalaam forced her children to work long
hours in the family store to the detriment of their education and well-being, and that she was
physically and emotionally abusive. It also says the agency, through the foster parents with whom
the girls lived, encouraged the daughters to adopt Christianity. Children Services also initiated
contact with the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority, which resulted in AbdulSalaam being
evicted and made homeless, the suit says. (Columbus Dispatch)
Attorney says Mc Henry County (Michigan) avoiding Muslim jurors
June 2: The family of an Algerian national suing the McHenry County sheriff's office over her
jailhouse suicide last year are accusing the county of trying to move the case out of Chicago to
avoid dealing with Muslim or Arab jurors. In court papers filed in U.S. District Court this week, the
family's lawyer, Janine Hoft, claims county attorneys want the case moved to Rockford where
they would be less likely to deal with a racially and ethnically mixed jury. "Transferring this case
would change the jury pool to the detriment of the plaintiff," Hoft said. "The defendant's motion
amounts to forum shopping to avoid a more diverse jury pool."The charge comes after the
McHenry County state's attorney's office last month asked that the lawsuit on behalf of Hassiba
Belbachir be moved from Chicago to Rockford. ( Daily Herald)
Poll finds Muslim women admire western values, but don't want to imitate them
June 6: The Gallup Organization has found many Muslim women admire western values, but do
not necessarily want them applied in their culture. These findings come from analysis of data
Gallup collected in its 2005 poll of the Muslim World, with a focus on the attitudes of women in
eight predominantly Muslim countries.The data came from face-to-face interviews with women in
eight countries, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Gallup Muslim Studies executive director Dalia Mogahed calls this the first wave of polling the
organization is doing in Muslim countries. "By the end of 2006, we will have interviewed Muslims
in up to 40 Muslim countries, covering 90 percent of the global Muslim population," she said. Of
the poll's findings, Mogahed said strong majorities of Muslim women in nearly all of the countries
surveyed believe they deserve the right to vote, the right to drive, the right to work outside the
home and the right to serve in government. She said many respondents also expressed
admiration for political freedoms and legal gender equality they see in the west. But Mogahed
added that, while the respondents expressed admiration for some western values, they did not
consider these values necessary for the development of their society. "Muslim women did not
choose 'adopting western values will help Muslim progress.' In fact, this statement was least often
associated with the Muslim world. The statement most often associated with the Muslim world
was "attachment to spiritual and moral values is crucial to their progress," she said. (VOA)
Judge: Chicago terror suspect's statements to Israeli cops admissible
June 8: A federal judge in Chicago ruled Thursday that prosecutors may use statements made to
Israeli authorities a dozen years ago by a Chicago man when he comes to trial on charges of
laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Palestinian militant group Hamas. U.S.
District Judge Amy J. St. Eve said in her 138-page opinion that federal prosecutors had proven in
13 days of hearings that began in March that Muhammad Salah had made most of the
statements voluntarily and not after being tortured as he claimed. Salah, 53, is one of three men
charged in the indictment with taking part in a racketeering conspiracy that included funneling
cash to Hamas to commit murders, bombings and other violence. The indictment was announced
in August 2004 by then Attorney General John Ashcroft who said at a news conference that the
three operated "a U.S.-based terrorist recruiting and financing cell." The evidence prosecutors
plan to use at the trial, which is scheduled for October, includes statements Salah made after his
January 1993 arrest in Israel on terrorism financing charges. He served five years in Israeli
prisons before returning to Chicago. The soft-spoken, Palestinian-born Salah, who has worked as
a substitute teacher in Chicago public schools, has long claimed that he made the statements
only under torture at the hands of police and interrogators for Israel's Shin Bet internal security
service. Salah's legal defense team headed by Chicago attorney Michael E. Deutsch told St. Eve
that he was stripped naked, forced to sit in an uncomfortable children's chair, slapped, left for
long periods in a tiny freezing cell and subjected to a variety of other tortures. They said he also
was forced to listen to music at high volume for long periods. (Chicago Tribune)
New York politicians back profiling
June 9: New York State legislation proposed yesterday would allow law officers to consider race
and ethnicity in identifying potential terrorism suspects - a move decried by a civil rights advocate.
The bill would allow "the use of race as one of many criteria in the war on terror," said Assemb.
Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn). "Suicide bombers and terrorists fit a very specific intelligence profile,
and race and ethnicity is very much a part of that profile." The proposed legislation would
authorize law enforcement officials to "consider race and ethnicity as one of many factors that
could be used in identifying persons who can be initially stopped, questioned, frisked and/or
searched." The bill has the support of politicians from both sides of the aisle who joined Hikind for
a rainy-day news conference on a Manhattan sidewalk. They included the main sponsor of the bill
in the Senate, Serphin Maltese (R-Elmhurst), and Assemb. Vivian Cook (D-South Ozone Park).
(Newsday)
Justice lost in diary's translation?
June 9: The Justice Department's year-and-a-half-old quasi-terrorist case against an Albany
mosque leader looks more ridiculous at every turn. Yassin M. Aref, 35, is in solitary confinement
in the Rensselaer County jail until a September trial. Although issues related to wiretaps by the
government in establishing its case will in all likelihood delay that for months, at least. Terry
Kindlon, Aref's attorney, has filed a ruthlessly specific and compelling rebuttal in U.S. District
Court in Albany to every point in the government's wobbly case as part of yet another bail
application. The bottom line to the 43-page memorandum is this: If what Kindlon and his
associates are alleging is true, then the government not only has no case against Aref, but it
owes him a profound apology. Because, according to Kindlon, in the zeal to make anything stick
to Aref the government has deliberately mistranslated the imam's personal diary, which was used
against him; and the government has distorted and outright lied to create the impression Aref was
a terrorist sympathizer who had insinuated his way into this country as a mole. (Times Union)
NJ: Mosque gets township approval
June 11: Franklin Township (New Jersey) officials have approved the first official mosque in
Somerset County in a ranch home that has quietly served as a house of worship for local Muslims
for the past several years. "We're absolutely thrilled," said Ibrahim Conteh, one of the imams at
the Da'awatu Islamia of Somerset mosque. "We've been fighting for this for quite some time."
Conteh, a native of Freetown in Sierra Leone, lives in the neighborhood. He and other founders
initially met for pray and religious study at each other's homes. (Star-Ledger)
After 9/11, Arab-Americans fear police acts
June 12: In the aftermath of Sept. 11, Arab-Americans have a greater fear of racial profiling and
immigration enforcement than of falling victim to hate crimes, according to a national study
financed by the Justice Department. The study also concluded that local police officers and
federal agents were straining under the pressure to fight terrorism, and that new federal policies
in this effort were poorly defined and inconsistently applied. The two-year study, released today
by the Vera Institute of Justice, explored the changed relationship between Arab-Americans and
law enforcement in the years since the 2001 terrorist attacks. The Vera Institute is a nonprofit
policy research center based in New York.About 100 Arab-Americans and 111 law enforcement
personnel, both FBI agents and police officers, participated in the study, which was conducted
from 2003 to 2005. Both Arab-American community leaders and law enforcement officials
interviewed in the study said that cooperation between both groups had suffered from a lack of
trust. "It underscores the importance of community policing, of engaging the Arab and Muslim
community in a constructive way and bringing them in to be partners," said Farhana Khera, the
executive director of Muslim Advocates, a national nonprofit organization of lawyers. (New York
Times)
New Bush Aide Karl Zinsmeister says: U.S. at war against considerable part of Islam
June 13: Although Bush avoids casting terrorism as a battle with Islam, (Whie House’s new
domestic policy chief Karl) Zinsmeister has not been so reluctant. "First, let's recognize that we're
in a full-blown war; that (contrary to mealy-mouthed platitudes) it is indeed a war against a
considerable part of Islam," he wrote in 2001. Yet he fretted at American sensitivity. "Would you
believe that the number of formal U.S. investigations of how terror detainees are being treated
recently reached 189?" he wrote last fall. "What mad self-doubt and softness!" (Washington
Post)
Jury awards $61M to two FedEx drivers
June 13: A jury in Oakland, CA, has awarded $50 million in punitive damages and $11 million in
compensatory damages to two FedEx drivers who said a manager subjected them to a hostile
work environment because of their ethnicity. The two drivers, who are independent contractors for
FedEx Ground, claimed that over a two-year period, a manager directed ethnic slurs, such as
"terrorists" and "camel jockeys," at them because they are Lebanese-Americans. In the lawsuit,
they alleged that they complained to management but the company failed to take steps to prevent
harassment. (The Oakland Tribune)
Pompano Beach Council, Florida, grants approval for controversial new mosque
June 14: The Islamic Center of South Florida received the go-ahead yesterday to begin
construction on a new mosque, despite a fight from some residents in the neighborhood where it
would be built who are opposed to bringing a Muslim place of worship into a predominantly black
community. The city council voted 3-2 to change the zoning of the proposed site from residential
to commercial, allowing the Islamic Center to erect a larger mosque on undeveloped land on
Northwest 16th Avenue (Pompino Beach). Commissioner Pat Larkins was one of the most
outspoken critics of a new mosque. Larkins, who is black, said there is a perception in the
neighborhood he represents that Muslims do not give back to the community. "I am not opposed
to constructing the facility," Larkins said. "I am opposed to the conduct of the Muslim business
community in our neighborhood." Areeb Naseer, a member of the Council of American Islamic
Relations, objected to Larkins' comments, saying that the decision to allow a new mosque in the
neighborhood should not be based on perceptions. "I find it very disturbing, to say the least,
especially these comments coming from somebody in the leadership of the city," Naseer said. "Of
all people, I think Mr. Larkins should not be the one talking about stereotypes or having
perceptions and making decisions based on perceptions." (Media Reports)
New York Judge rules that U.S. has broad powers to detain non-citizens indefinitely
June 15: Federal judge John Gleeson of United States District Court for the Eastern District of
New York ruled yesterday that the government has wide latitude under immigration law to detain
non-citizens on the basis of religion, race or national origin, and to hold them indefinitely without
explanation. The ruling came in a class-action lawsuit by Muslim immigrants detained after 9/11,
and it dismissed several key claims the detainees had made against the government. This is the
first time a federal judge has addressed the issue of discrimination in the treatment of hundreds of
Muslim immigrants who were swept up in the weeks after the 2001 terror attacks and held for
months before they were cleared of links to terrorism and deported. The roundups drew intense
criticism, not only from immigrant rights advocates, but also from the inspector general of the
Justice Department, who issued reports saying that the government had made little or no effort to
distinguish between genuine suspects and Muslim immigrants with minor visa violations. Lawyers
in the suit, who vowed to appeal the decision, said parts of the ruling could potentially be used far
more broadly, to detain any non-citizen in the United States for any reason. "This decision is a
green light to racial profiling and prolonged detention of non-citizens at the whim of the
president," said Rachel Meeropol, a lawyer for the Center for Constitutional Rights, which
represented the detainees. "The decision is profoundly disturbing because it legitimizes the fact
that the Bush administration rounded up and imprisoned our clients because of their religion and
race." (New York Times)
Muslim cemetery opens in Westland, Michigan
June 15: A Muslim cemetery with space for 15,000 graves is opening in suburban Detroit,
making it easier for families to adhere to Islam's burial traditions, an organizer says. The Islamic
Memorial Gardens has been in planning for at least six years and now has begun selling graves.
Dearborn is the center of southeastern Michigan's about 300,000-member Arab-American
community, many of whose members are Muslim. (The Detroit News)
Arab-Americans sue U.S. over re-entry procedures
June 20: A group of Muslim and Arab-Americans, frustrated by what they say is the climate of
suspicion and fear that dogs their re-entry into the United States from trips abroad, sued the
Department of Homeland Security and the FBI yesterday, demanding that the courts protect their
civil rights. The seven main plaintiffs in the class action suit assert that both the United States
Congress and the federal government are ignoring the plight of innocent Americans harassed
repeatedly because of problems with the terrorist watch list. The lawsuit, filed in Federal District
Court in Chicago by the American Civil Liberties Union, contends that the courts alone can
ensure that antiterrorism policies do not repeatedly subject ordinary Americans to detention,
questioning, fingerprinting and the like. "These are law-abiding citizens, and it is too extreme, too
offensive," said Harvey Grossman, the legal director for the A.C.L.U.'s Illinois branch, saying that
repeated complaints to Homeland Security as well as senators or congressmen barely get a
response. "The court is the only forum where these people have a chance to get a hearing." The
lawsuit asserts that repeated border detentions and improper actions of border guards violate the
plaintiffs' constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure and their right to
travel. (New York Times)
"King"dom of Heaven?
June 20: Iowa Congressman Steve King (R) has sunk political discourse to a new low. According
to “Radio Iowa” news director O. Kay Henderson, King told GOP delegates at the state's
Republican convention: "There probably are not 72 virgins in the hell [Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's]
at…And if there are, they probably all look like Helen Thomas." Henderson reports that King's
disgusting comments were met with "extended laughter" from the audience. AAI President
James Zogby demanded that King apologize to the Dean of the White House press corps:
"Whatever you may think of Ms. Thomas’s political views, she is a revered icon in American
journalism, having covered every President since Eisenhower, and having earned a place of
distinction in the annals of the White House Press Corps…As an elected official operating in a
deeply divided political environment such as the one we have, you owe your constituents more.
You should be providing leadership and examples of civil discourse. Unfortunately, in this
instance, you chose boorishness and disrespect. You owe Ms. Thomas an apology, to say the
least." (The Arab American Institute)
Arab, Muslim, South Asian, and Sikh-American organizations object to FBI comments
June 21: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) expressed deep concerned
over the comments attributed to John Miller, Assistant Director for Public Affairs at the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI), regarding the Community Relations Executive Seminar Training
(CREST) program. ADC's concerns were shared by the Arab American Institute (AAI), the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), the
South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT), and the Sikh American Legal Defense and
Education Fund (SALDEF). The following comments were attributed to Miller, "Speaking in plain
terms, if I go to you and say, 'Listen, I've got a great plan that we can blow up a building at 50th
and third,' and I keep talking to you about it, your job is to pick up the phone and call the police or
the FBI - not to say, 'Yeah, well, what kind of explosives would we use, and where would we get
them, and how would we get the money.' 'You might call that entrapment because it's my idea.
But when you get down to the bottom line, somebody who has no proclivity towards terrorism or
violence can't be sucked into one of these plots without some level of intention.' Miller's
comments have already been picked up by some media outlets and the following is an example
of the headlines already generated- "FBI’s Newest Anti-Terror Tactic: Community Outreach,
Make Friends with Potential Enemies." (ADC Press Release)
LA 8: Man renews 20-year battle for citizenship
June 21: A man at the center of a long-running immigration legal fight that came to be known as
the "L.A. 8" case returned to court yesterday to renew his two-decade-long quest for citizenship.
Aiad Barakat, 45, walked with a pronounced limp to the witness stand in federal court downtown
(LA) and in halting English fielded a barrage of questions in a bid to avoid deportation. Almost 20
years ago, federal officials sought to deport Barakat and seven others because of their
association with causes promoting Palestinian statehood, such as the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine. The eight were never accused of an act of terrorism or of any other crime.
Rather, they were targeted for deportation on the grounds that they allegedly had raised money
for the Popular Front, a group the government suspected of terrorist activities. The group won a
victory in 1989 when a judge struck down as unconstitutional portions of a federal law that
allowed deportation to be based on political affiliation and advocacy. The charges against the L.A.
8 have been reworked at least three times since, reflecting changes in immigration and antiterrorism laws, some of which were tailored to be applied retroactively to this case. Constitutional
questions are not at issue in the current case. The only question in court yesterday was whether
Barakat should be denied citizenship for allegedly lying about his association with Palestinian
advocate Ali Kased when he sought U.S. citizenship. (Los Angeles Times)
Muslim sorority opens new doors to American university women
June 21: Fraternities and sororities are an important part of student life on most American
university campuses. These privately run clubs organized around common interests and activities
provide students with leadership experience, social outlets, support groups, community service
opportunities and housing options. They offer a home-away-from-home for the roughly half million
students who seek admittance and are selected by current members. Fraternity and sorority
members are often active in campus affairs and maintain a lifelong social and professional
network with other former members after graduation. Founded little more than a year ago, the
Gamma Gamma Chi sorority has dedicated itself to giving young women the positive aspects of a
sorority experience while maintaining Islamic traditions. While the group's core principles are
Islamic, it opens its membership to all women, Muslim and non-Muslim, who support its mission.
(Washington File)
U.S. tracks bank records in terror investigations
June 23: The Bush administration has been quietly tracking people suspected of bankrolling
terrorism through a secret program that gives the government access to a massive data base of
international financial transactions. Treasury Department officials said they used broad
subpoenas to collect the financial records from an international system known as Swift. Stuart
Levey, Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, called the subpoenas “a
legal and proper use of our authorities.” “Since immediately following 9/11, the American
government has taken every legal measure to prevent another attack on our country,” Dana
Perino, deputy White House press secretary, said. “One of the most important tools in the fight
against terror is our ability to choke off funds for the terrorists.” Under the program, U.S.
counterterrorism analysts could query Swift’s financial data base looking for information on
activities by suspected terrorists as part of specific terrorism investigations, a Treasury
Department official said. They would do so by plugging in a name or names, the official said.The
program involved both the CIA and the Treasury Department. Swift, or the Society for Worldwide
Interbank Financial Telecommunication, is a cooperative based in Belgium that handles financial
message traffic from 7,800 financial institutions in more than 200 countries. (MSNBC)
FBI: Plot to blow up Sears Tower ‘more aspirational than operational’
June 23: A plan hatched by seven men to blow up Chicago’s Sears Tower and other buildings
was “more aspirational than operational,” FBI Deputy Director John Pistole said. The group of
men, who were arrested yesterday when authorities busted their alleged hideout in a Miami
warehouse, had no explosives and lacked adequate funding. Their only link to al-Qaida was
through an FBI informant fronting as a member of the terrorist group, authorities said today. Five
of the defendants, including alleged ringleader Narseal Batiste, appeared in federal court in Miami
today under heavy security. Minutes after U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta announced indictments
against the alleged terror cell, a Muslim leader took to the steps of the city's federal courthouse
and said the suspects "were not known" at either of two mosques near the warehouse in the
Liberty City neighborhood where authorities arrested them. Ahmed Bedier, of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, said he and other Muslims feared some would try to connect Islam
and the men's alleged plot to blow up a slew of federal buildings and the Sears Tower in Chicago.
The seven men accused of plotting terrorism claim to follow teachings of the Moorish Science
Temple of America, a religion that blends aspects of Christianity, Judaism and Islam and stresses
self-discipline through martial arts, a close friend of one of the arrested men said today. Sylvain
Plantin, 30, a distant cousin and friend of indicted group member Stanley Grant Phanor, said the
group's leader, Narseal Batiste, followed the religious teachings of the Prophet Noble Drew Ali,
who founded the Moorish Science Temple. (Media reports)
Three years on - Ali al-Marri remains in solitary confinement without charge or trial
June 23: President George W. Bush issued an executive order for Qatari national Ali Saleh
Kahlah al-Marri to be detained in US military custody as an ‘enemy combatant’. In doing so,
President Bush was once again seeking unchecked executive power in the “war on terror” and
exposed Ali al-Marri to indefinite arbitrary detention. To date, Ali al-Marri’s treatment has
remained entirely at the discretion of the military and executive authorities. Three years later Ali
al-Marri remains detained without charge or trial in a military prison in Charleston, South Carolina,
in solitary confinement, often shackled, in a cell measuring approximately three metres by two
metres. Amnesty International is concerned that the totality of his conditions of detention have
amounted to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in violation of international
law and that he has not received adequate treatment for his deteriorating mental and physical
health. Ali al-Marri is the only person now held as an ‘enemy combatant’ on the US mainland. He
is held in similar conditions to detainees at Guantánamo, facing the prospect of many more years
of indefinite detention without charge or trial. In its report on the USA issued on 19 May 2006, the
United Nations Committee Against Torture stated that detaining people indefinitely without charge
constitutes per se a violation of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which the USA is a State Party. (Amnesty
International)
Parking has mosque at odds with neighbors
June 26: Turf battles on Karatzas Avenue (Manchester, New Hampshire) are continuing between
homeowners and a planned mosque. Neighbors are calling for the strict enforcement of on-street
parking bans, which has mosque officials charging they are being targeted. Construction
manager Nermin Cejvan said workers occasionally park two or three cars on the street when they
can't be accommodated elsewhere. In response, residents regularly call police, he said. The
dispute made it to City Hall last week when homeowners sent aldermen a petition demanding
parking remain prohibited on both sides of the road. "We're not making this a mosque issue," said
Blaise Blouin, the neighbor who started the petition. "We're making this a no parking issue." But
Cejvan and a state representative said residents are trying to hinder the project because a
mosque is being built. (Union Leader)
July 2006
U.S. rules force Western Union to block money transfers by Muslims
July 2: Money transfer agencies like Western Union have delayed or blocked thousands of cash
deliveries on suspicion of terrorist connections simply because senders or recipients have names
like Mohammed or Ahmed, company officials said in Dubai, UAE. In one example, an Indian
driver said Western Union prevented him from sending US$120 (euro96) to a friend at home this
month because the recipient's name was Mohammed. "Western Union told me that if I send
money to Sahir Mohammed, the money will be blocked because of his name," said 36-year-old
Abdul Rahman Maruthayil, who later sent the money through UAE Exchange, a Dubai-based
money transfer service. In a similar case, Pakistani Qadir Khan said Western Union blocked his
attempt this month to wire money to his brother, Mohammed, for a cataract operation. "Every
Mohammed is a terrorist now?" Khan asked. Western Union Financial Services, Inc., an
American company based in Colorado, said its clerks simply are following U.S. Treasury
Department guidelines that aim to scrutinize cash flows for terrorist links. Most of the flagged
transactions are delayed a few hours. Some are blocked entirely. (Fox News)
Pig's head thrown into Maine mosque during prayers
July 4: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called for stepped up outreach
efforts by the Muslim community in Maine after a severed pig's head was thrown into one of that
state's mosques during prayers. CAIR said the frozen pig's head was rolled into the Lewiston
Auburn Islamic Center last night as worshipers bowed in prayer. It said the use of pigs or pork
products is a favorite theme of Islamophobic bigots who wish to attack or insult Muslims. Muslims
are prohibited from eating pork. A 33-year-old Lewiston man told police today that he had thrown
the head into the mosque. He was charged with desecration of a church, a misdemeanor, and is
out on bail. (CAIR Bulletin)
Mediating the mosque dispute in Boston
July 4: A group of prominent Christian and Jewish leaders has begun trying to settle quietly a
bitter dispute over construction of a mosque in Roxbury that has deeply strained relations
between Muslims and Jews in Greater Boston. The 40-member panel of ministers, priests, rabbis,
and laymen has talked with both sides in the battle: a Jewish group that accuses the mosque's
developers of anti-Semitic views and terrorist sympathies, and the Muslim group building the
mosque, which has sued the Jewish group and several of its allies for defamation and conspiracy.
Each side presented its case to the panel and was told that court was not the place to resolve the
dispute, according to participants in the reconciliation effort. The religious leaders fear that the
acrimony and public posturing that have accompanied complex legal maneuvers will poison interreligious relations in the wider community and create resentment that will endure even if the
disagreements are resolved in the courts. The Islamic Society of Boston, the Cambridge-based
organization designated by the Boston Redevelopment Authority to build New England's largest
mosque on a 1.9-acre site in Roxbury Crossing, presented its view of the conflict to members of
the inter-religious center May 11. The David Project, a Jewish leadership center, made its
presentation on June 12. (Boston Globe)
Probes of links to Hizballah grow in Detroit
July 5: The clashing views of Muslims and U.S. authorities over Hizballah are playing out in
southeastern Michigan as federal investigators increasingly target local residents purported to
have ties to the group. Prosecutors have tried to link at least 29 metro Detroit men with Hizballah
over the past three years, according to a review of court records and interviews with attorneys.
About half the men were accused of the links in criminal cases over the past three months,
including the owner of the La Shish restaurants, Talal Chahine. The FBI in Detroit says Hizballah
has a presence in Michigan, and the bureau has set up a division to investigate the Shi'ite Muslim
group. In recent cases, federal agents are looking at ties to Sheikh Muhammad Hussein
Fadlallah, a Shi'ite Muslim cleric in Lebanon who the U.S. government says is a Hizballah leader.
The FBI in Detroit also has divisions that investigate Hamas and Al Qaeda, but those groups are
not cited as often as Hizballah in local cases. (Detroit Free Press)
Neo-Nazi sympathizers slip into U.S. military
July 7: Neo-Nazis and other white supremacists have increasingly been able to infiltrate the U.S.
military due to recruitment pressures created by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a watchdog
group said today. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks racist activities in the United
States, said thousands of hate group members are now in the armed forces, especially in the
Army, increasing the threat of domestic terrorism. "There is mounting evidence that military
recruiters and commanders, under intense pressure to meet manpower goals with the country at
war in Iraq and Afghanistan, have relaxed standards designed to prohibit racist extremists from
serving in the armed forces," the center's Chief Executive Richard Cohen told Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld in a letter. (CNN)
Jeb Bush ally slams Islam
July 7: The Rev. O'Neal Dozier, a Broward clergyman who has advised President Bush and is a
political appointee of Gov. Jeb Bush, took to the air waves today to criticize Islam as a "cult"
religion. The radio appearance by Dozier, who serves on the governor's committee that screens
Broward judicial nominees, startled a local Muslim leader, and prompted the governor to
immediately distance himself from the statements. "The Islamic religion in my view is a cult,"
Dozier said, when asked to recap the controversial comments he made earlier on The Steve
Kane Radio Show on WNN-AM 1470. "On the show I said that Islam is a dangerous religion."
Dozier was on the program to address efforts by him and other black ministers to block a plan by
the Islamic Center of South Florida to build a center in Northwest Pompano Beach. Reached later
in the day by The Miami Herald, a contrite Dozier said he was "concerned" his comments could
jeopardize his position on Broward's Judicial Nominating Commission. But he did not disavow
those comments. (Miami Herald)
Bill prevents exams on religious holidays in New York
July 10: The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today
welcomed passage of a bill in the New York State Legislature that prevents scheduling statewide
school exams on religious holidays. CAIR-NY said the legislation is a victory for religious freedom
and civil rights in New York, particularly for the Muslim community. Earlier this year, Muslim
students in New York were not able to celebrate Eid-ul-Adha, one of two main Islamic holidays,
due to state mandated exams which coincided with the event. Following that incident, CAIR-NY,
the New York City Human Rights Commission and other advocacy groups began an initiative to
ensure religious freedoms were upheld in New York public schools. (CAIR Bulletin)
Israel bars Palestinian Americans for first time since 1967
July 10: For the first time since 1967, Israel is preventing the entry of Palestinians with foreign
citizenship, most of them Americans. Most of those refused entry are arriving from abroad, but
have lived and worked for years in the West Bank. The Interior Ministry and Civil Administration
made no formal announcement about a policy change, leaving returnees to discover the situation
when they reach the border crossings. By various estimates, the ban has so far affected several
thousand American and European nationals, whom Israel has kept from returning to their homes
and jobs, or from visiting their families in the West Bank. (Haaretz)
Myspace video spurs Muslims' call for investigation
July 10: The Council on American-Islamic Relations reported to federal officials today that a video
titled "kill the koran" was posted on MySpace.com showing two men shooting a Quran with a
military rifle. The video was later tossed down outside a Chattanooga mosque, in Tennessee. The
footage first shows a man identified as mully88 holding a paperback Quran outside a Barnes &
Noble Booksellers. The next scene, taped in a wooded area, shows mully88 and another man
taking turns shooting the Quran with a rifle mully88 identifies as a Colt M-16. The final scene
shows a man tossing the bullet-riddled book onto the sidewalk outside the Islamic Center. In his
profile on the Web site, mully88 identifies himself as a 33-year-old college-educated Chattanooga
resident working as a paramedic and mechanic. He says he would "love to see the white race
rule the world" and lists his heroes as "anyone who has killed a Muslim or tried to kill a Muslim."
(Times Free Press)
Mosque protest at Pompano, Florida city hall
July 11: A group of black ministers and dozens of their supporters took their protest of a planned
mosque to the Pompano Beach Commission today. Although the issue wasn't on the meeting
agenda, the Rev. O'Neal Dozier addressed commissioners during public comments after leading
a protest outside City Hall. Dozier, the pastor of Worldwide Christian Center Church, is leading
the effort to block construction of a mosque in a ``black Christian community." Some called
Muslims "dangerous" and "terrorists." Dozier, who last week called Islam a cult, said in an
interview commissioners face repercussions at the ballot box if they do not change the June 14
decision. If the commissioners didn't change their minds, Dozier said, he would sue the city.
Inside the commission's chambers, Dozier also repeated some of the rhetoric that prompted Gov.
Jeb Bush's office to ask him to resign from Broward County's Judicial Nominating Committee
recently. "We must remember that no matter how peaceful many Muslims seem to be, their core
religion's doctrine allows for no other faith to exist peacefully alongside them," Dozier told the
commissioners during a public comment period. (Miami Herald/South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
ACLU: U.S. government increasingly blocking entry at the border because of ideology
July 12: The American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union today
released new documents that indicate the government is broadly interpreting and using a
controversial Patriot Act power known as the "ideological exclusion" provision to block people
from entering the country. The ACLU is concerned that the provision is increasingly being used to
target foreign scholars and others whose politics the government disfavors. The ACLU and
NYCLU obtained the documents through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed in
coordination with PEN American Center and the American Association of University Professors
(AAUP). Although the documents are heavily redacted, the records suggest that the government
used the ideological exclusion provision to exclude from the country, among others, an Italian
woman residing in Colombia, a mother and daughter residing in Canada, a businessman from
Venezuela, and a woman from Costa Rica. The names of the individuals have been redacted.
The ideological exclusion provision permits the government to exclude anyone from the country
who, in the government’s view, "endorses or espouses" terrorism or "persuades others" to
support terrorism. While the provision is nominally directed at terrorism, the government appears
to be using the provision to censor and manipulate debate, said the ACLU. (ACLU)
Maine Community denounces mosque attack
July 12: Earlier this month, Muslim men participating in a serene evening prayer ritual at Lewiston
Auburn Islamic Center were sharply interrupted: A severed, frozen pig's head, slightly larger than
a basketball, was thrown into the mosque. The man charged in the incident, 33-year-old Brent
Matthews of Lewiston, told police it was a joke. But community leaders and others say the act
was a hate crime, and the incident has heightened concerns that local discrimination against
Somalis has not eased. "Our message is simple: An attack on any house of worship is an attack
on all houses of worship," Rabbi Hillel Katzir told a group of about 150 including the town's
mayor, governor, students and community activists who rallied in support of the Somali
worshippers. (San Francisco Chronicle)
A Muslim's choice: Help FBI or lose visa
July 13: Last November, when (24-year-old Moroccan) Yassine Ouassif crossed into Champlain,
New York, from Canada, border agents questioned him for several hours. Then they took away
his green card and sent him home to San Francisco by bus, with strict instructions: As soon as he
got there, he was to call a man named Dan. Dan, it turned out, was Daniel Fliflet, a
counterterrorism agent for the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Mr. Ouassif met the agent at
a train station in nearby Oakland on Nov. 30. Mr. Fliflet made him an offer: Become an informant
and regularly report to the FBI on what his Muslim friends in San Francisco were saying and
doing. In exchange, he would get back his green card. He could resume his education, bring his
Moroccan wife to America and pursue his dream of buying a car, moving to Sacramento,
California's capital, and becoming an engineer. If he refused? asked Mr. Ouassif. "I will work hard
to deport you to Morocco as soon as possible," Mr. Fliflet responded. His story provides a
window into a largely covert front of the war on terror: the FBI's aggressive pursuit of Muslim
informants. Since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the bureau has had the difficult task of
penetrating a culture that few agents know anything about. It has responded with a forceful effort
to conscript eyes and ears within Muslim communities. (Wall Street Journal Europe)
8 workers fired in wake of bias lawsuit
July 13: Saying it would not accept discrimination on the job, Super Steel Schenectady Inc. fired
eight employees, three months after black workers at the locomotive manufacturer sued the
company claiming they were subjected to repeated racial slurs and intimidation. Reports of racial
abuse at the Milwaukee company's Glenville plant surfaced in April, when nine present and past
black employees of the plant lodged a $175 million lawsuit against the company. The suit, filed in
U.S. District Court in Albany, alleged racial harassment and discrimination were deeply
embedded in the company's culture and work climate, and that the plant contained a segregated
break room. Black and Muslim employees were allegedly subjected to threats of violence, pro-Ku
Klux Klan graffiti and racial taunts on the job. It seeks $25 million in compensatory damages
and $150 million in punitive damages, plus sensitivity training for the company's 200
employees. (Times-Union)
Hamas-trial secrecy bid
July 14: Federal prosecutors requested today that Israeli intelligence agents be permitted to
testify under official aliases and outside the presence of the public in the upcoming trial of a
Bridegview man accused of aiding the terrorist group Hamas. They also argued the agents
should be allowed to appear before the court "in light disguise" if they choose. Muhammad Salah
of Bridgeview and Abdelhaleem Ashqar are scheduled to face charges in October that they
funneled money to the Palestinian terror group Hamas. Prosecutors succeeded earlier this year in
having two Israeli agents testify in private during a pretrial hearing involving allegations that Salah
was tortured into confessing while in Israeli custody in 1993. Before that testimony, no Israeli
Security Agency officer had testified in any legal proceeding abroad. U.S. District Judge Amy St.
Eve also allowed those agents to use aliases on the stand. Based in part on their testimony, she
ruled Salah's confessions could be used against him at trial. Salah's attorneys argued vigorously
against allowing the agents to testify in secret and against the admission of the confessions.
(Chicago Tribune)
Wayne (NJ) sued over mosque application: Islamic group claims bias by the township
July 17: An Islamic organization in Wayne (NJ) has sued the township, contending it has
discriminated against the group's application to build a mosque on its 11-acre site. In the case
filed today in federal court in Newark, the Albanian Associated Fund asked for financial damages
and for the court to stop the township's ongoing effort to condemn its land for open space. The
lawsuit contends Wayne's planning board has for 3 1/2 years forced the group to take application
steps not asked of non-Muslim religious groups. It claims the township has violated state and
federal constitutional protections of religious freedom, as well as the federal Religious Land Use
and Institutionalized Persons Act. The lawsuit contends the township has caved in to anti-Muslim
sentiment at government meetings. In a sworn statement included in the lawsuit, Violca Camaj, a
Montville resident who attends the mosque, said that although planning board members "for the
most part" never said outright they don't want a mosque in town, at government meetings "the
cold hatred in the faces of the neighbors, the palpable tension in the hearing room, the snide
remarks and people jumping out of their seats when we would describe our prayer rituals and
religious practice made it very clear." Earlier this year, the township sent the group a letter saying
it intends to take the property by eminent domain, for use as open space. (Star-Ledger)
Retaliation case of Arab specialist at FBI advances
July 18: The Justice Department has concluded there is "reasonable cause" to believe that senior
FBI officials retaliated against the bureau's highest-ranking Arabic speaker for complaining that
he was cut out of terrorism cases despite his expertise. An internal investigation by the
department's Office of Professional Responsibility found "sufficient circumstantial evidence" that
Special Agent Bassem Youssef was blocked from a counterterrorism assignment in 2002 after he
and U.S. Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.) met with FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III to discuss
Youssef's complaints. The 12-page report, dated last month and provided to The Washington
Post by the office of Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), represents a rare endorsement of a
whistle-blower's allegations by the Justice Department's internal review office. It also represents
another setback for the FBI as it struggles to attract Arabic speakers and informants in its fight
against Islamic extremists. (Washington Post)
ADC advice on possible FBI interviews
July 18: In the past few days, media reports have discussed a possible plan by the FBI to
monitor and interview Arab Americans in an effort to identify potential threats to national security.
An ADC statement said that according to media reports, this plan may involve tracking and
interviewing thousands of Arab nationals and Arab Americans in the United States. This would
not be the first time that the FBI has engaged such tactics. Similar initiatives, in the form of
voluntary interviews, were conducted by the FBI in 2001 and 2002. If media reports are correct,
this proposed plan would ethnically profile thousands of individuals, including American citizens,
which smacks of guilt by association and the criminalization of an entire ethnic population. (ADC
Bulletin)
Domestic Detainee From 9/11 Released
July 20: Benamar Benatta, believed to be the last remaining domestic detainee from the Sept. 11,
2001, attacks, was released today after negotiations involving Canada, the United States and his
attorneys ended his captivity at nearly five years. Benatta crossed the border from the United
States to Canada, where he will be allowed to resume the bid for political asylum that resulted in
his detention shortly before the terrorist attacks. The Algerian air force lieutenant spent more than
58 months behind bars even though the FBI formally concluded in November 2001 that he had no
connection to terrorism. He was among more than 1,200 mainly Muslim men who were arrested
after the attacks and held under tight security while authorities scoured their backgrounds for links
to terrorist groups. It is believed that Benatta was the last to be released, though it is difficult to be
certain because of the secrecy that surrounded some of the cases. (Washington Post)
Islamic fascism the enemy, not terror, says santorum
July 20: The United States is not fighting a war against terrorism so much as a war against
Islamic fascism, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) said today. Days after Sept. 11, 2001,
President George W. Bush announced that the United States would fight a war against terrorism,
starting with Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda and the group's political benefactors - Afghanistan's
Taliban government. But today, Santorum said labeling the conflict a war against terrorism was
politically "safe and misleading." (CNSNews.com)
Schools across the country juggle holidays for Muslims and other faiths
July 21: Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu, and Christian - each faith has its holy days.
Schools across the country are asking how to respect them all. Consider the University at Albany,
which canceled classes on major Muslim holidays. Faculty wanted the move out of concern for
Muslim students after the Sept. 11 attacks. But then came the questions: What about Hindus?
Buddhists? President Kermit Hall last fall decided to return to the original calendar. "Can you
operate a university and give each religious group an accommodation? I think the answer is,
'No,'" he said. Make that "maybe." School administrators across the country are rethinking their
calendars as their student bodies become more diverse. In May, Muslim parents asked New York
City's education department for days off on two major Muslim holidays, which some districts in
Michigan and New Jersey already have granted. In January, a Long Island mosque petitioned
New York Gov. George Pataki to consider the holidays when scheduling mandatory statewide
testing. Last month, the state Legislature passed a bill that would take all religious holidays into
account when scheduling the mandatory tests. But also last month, despite a Muslim group's
lobbying at every board meeting, the Baltimore County district in Maryland approved a calendar
with a day off for the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashana, but none for Muslim holidays. (CBS News)
Muslims told state is safe after mosque attack
July 21: Authorities reassured Muslims today that Maine is safe after the state filed a civil-rights
lawsuit against a man accused of rolling a frozen pig's head into a mosque during prayers.Noel
Bonem, director of the northeastern state's new office of multicultural affairs, said Maine was
working with public safety officials to protect its 6,000 to 8,000 Muslims after the incident in
Lewiston, the state's second-largest city. The incident angered state politicians and local
community leaders, who feared it would intimidate Lewiston's estimated 2,000 Muslims, many of
them members of its burgeoning Somali community. Bonem said a civil-rights lawsuit filed
yesterday by the state attorney-general against Brent Matthews, 33, sends a message to Maine's
Muslims "that mosques will continue to be a safe haven, and that such acts will not be tolerated."
The suit, which calls the pig-head toss "a threat of violence," would require Matthews to stay
away from the mosque, and its members, and could carry a fine of $5,000. ( Reuters)
Islamic charity will get literature back
July 21: Federal officials today agreed to return 155 cartons of religious literature seized two
years ago from an Ashland-based Islamic charity, according to the charity's attorney. "They are
turning all the materials over to me. No strings attached," said Thomas Nelson, a Portland
attorney representing the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation. Nelson filed suit earlier this year on
behalf of Al-Haramain, claiming that the government's refusal to release the materials and allow their
dissemination violated the charity's First Amendment rights. (The Oregonian)
Plans for Muslim centers stir concerns from neighbors
July 22: A long-abandoned Roman Catholic high school in this northern Westchester (NY) town
still bears a few markers of its past. There is the metal cross near the main entrance and the
small, granite placard that offers a simple mission statement: “For God and Country.” But the old
Franciscan High School is in the midst of a conversion, both physical and spiritual. A new
religious institution, the Hudson Valley Islamic Community Center, is taking shape there. “It’s
really the coming of age of a community,” said Zead Ramadan, spokesman for the center, which
closed on the $3 million property in May. After some minor renovations, Mr. Ramadan said, the
center will combine a mosque, meeting space and a weekend school in the first large-scale
Muslim institution in the northern half of the county. The Westchester Muslim Center in Mount
Vernon is the largest mosque in the county, and many Muslims from northern Westchester are
among the 700 people who attend Friday prayers there. The Yorktown center and a similar one
planned for nearby New Castle are, in a sense, simple statements of arrival: a small Muslim
population, growing in numbers, is staking claim to this land of well-kempt lawns and quaint Main
Streets just as Protestants, Catholics and Jews did before them. But almost five years after 9/11,
making those statements has proved difficult. In Yorktown, the welcoming words of town officials,
church leaders and several neighbors have found a counterpoint in a series of anti-Muslim
statements at public meetings of the Planning Board and angry letters to town hall, some
expressing fears about the spread of terrorism in suburbia, but most voicing concerns about
traffic. While many parents at George Washington Elementary School next door have greeted the
center’s arrival with a shrug, some said they were uncomfortable. “I’m scared,” said Beka Brucaj,
48, who has two children in the school. “It’s a stupid thing to put the mosque next to the school,”
added Mr. Brucaj, who said he fears recruitment of children for extremist ends. (New York Time)
Former Army chaplain says he was unfairly detained at border
July 24: Former Army Capt. James Yee, whose work as a Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo ended
when he was arrested and accused of spying, says he believes he was unfairly detained at the
Canadian border over the weekend on his way back from a day trip. Yee, who spent 76 days in
solitary confinement before being cleared of all charges in March 2004, said in a telephone
interview with The Associated Press that memories of his experience in Army detention came
back to him while he was being questioned for two hours at the border last evening. "Perhaps this
is an indication I'm still of interest to the federal government," Yee said. He said customs' officials
were polite and professional but would not tell him why he was stopped or if he had done
anything wrong. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
Wisconsin lawmakers want Islam teacher booted
July 25: After Kevin Barrett started talking about a class he planned to teach this fall on Islam, the
little-known lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found himself in the middle of a fierce
political battle between the school and state politicians. Barrett told a Milwaukee talk show host in
June that he believed that the U.S. government used "controlled demolitions with explosives" on
Sept. 11 to bring down the World Trade Center buildings and later said that the idea of a hijacked
plane hitting the Pentagon was "preposterous." He plans to discuss these beliefs over one week
of the 15-week course for undergraduate students. Wisconsin lawmakers, however, are trying to
stop him. In a letter delivered to university administrators and Wisconsin Gov. James Doyle, state
lawmakers demanded that school officials fire Barrett before the fall semester begins. Sixty-one
of the legislature's 133 members — now on summer recess — signed the letter. And if the school
allows Barrett to teach "these lies," some of the legislators who signed the letter are threatening
to cut the university system's public funding when the next state budget is reviewed next year,
said Republican Rep. Stephen L. Nass. (Los Angeles Times)
Muslim inmate ordered to handle pork can sue staff
July 25: Prison staff who punished a Muslim inmate for refusing to handle pork do not have
immunity from his religious-freedom suit, a federal appeals court ruled in Philadelphia. Henry
Williams sued on First Amendment grounds, saying he lost his cook's job and was restricted to
his cell for 30 days after refusing to handle roast pork. Williams missed religious and other events
during his confinement, and ended up with a lower-paying janitorial job, according to the 3rd U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals ruling issued today. (Center Daily)
FBI paid key informants $56,000 to trap the Miami seven
July 26: The FBI paid almost $56,000 to two confidential informants who are key to the case
against seven men accused of being involved in a terrorist plot to blow up the Sears Tower and
other targets. According to a document filed by federal prosecutors, the FBI paid one unnamed
informant $10,500 and an additional $8,815 in expenses. They also paid a second informant
$17,000 with another $19,570 for expenses. U.S. officials also granted the second informant a
"significant public benefit" -- immigration parole so he could remain in the country. The seven
men, part of a religious group headquartered in the Liberty City area of Miami-Dade County, are
facing various charges in connection with attacks they allegedly planned. Much of the case
hinges on the two informants, one of whom knew the men and participated in the investigation
after alerting authorities. The second man posed as an al-Qaida operative at the FBI's direction,
according to prosecutors. Secret recordings made by the informants are also central to the case.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel - July 26 2006
American troops ordered to stop posting combat videos online
July 26: The Pentagon is asking American soldiers in Iraq to stop posting private combat videos
on to the Internet amid fears that they could be regarded as anti-Arab. Many of the digital clips
feature explosions, gunfire, and even dead bodies, with the images often set to a soundtrack of
rock ballads, rap, or heavy metal music. Defense officials believe they could be interpreted as
portraying the military as unsympathetic to Arabs and obsessed with barbarism. Dozens of such
clips can be found by searching for "Iraq" and "combat" on video-sharing sites such as
YouTube.com and Ogrish.com, creating an unprecedented opportunity for the public to view
servicemen's unedited perspective of the war. (Daily Telegraph)
Congresswoman Maxine waters recognizes the first Muslim-founded community clinic
July 26: Congresswoman Maxine Waters proudly proclaimed that "the UMMA Clinic provides
Muslim-Americans with an institution in which they can take pride, one that enriches the
community with services that save lives." The University Muslim Medical Association (UMMA)
Community Clinic was celebrating its tenth anniversary of dedicated service to the residents of
South Los Angeles -- regardless of their race, religion or socio-economic status. Her address
before a session of the U.S. Congressional House of Representatives may be the first time in
over two centuries of U.S. Congressional history that a Muslim-American institution was hailed as
a model of hope, progress and benefit to the whole of American society. Noting that the UMMA
Clinic is the nation's first Muslim-American founded charitable health center, Congresswoman
Waters underscored that UMMA emerged "as a result of the obligations Muslim-Americans feel
to ensure the well-being of everyone in society." (MPAC News Bulletin)
CAIR condemns attack on Seattle Jewish center
July 28: The Council on American-Islamic Relations today condemned an attack on a Jewish
community center in Seattle, Wash., that left one person dead and several more injured.
A lone gunman who reportedly said, "I'm a Muslim American; I'm angry at Israel," entered the
Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle and began shooting. The alleged gunman was later
arrested. In a statement CAIR said: "We condemn this senseless attack on a religious institution
and offer sincere condolences to the loved ones of those killed or injured. The American Muslim
and Jewish communities must do whatever is within their power to prevent the current conflict in
the Middle East from being transplanted to this country. We also urge local, state and national law
enforcement authorities to step up security measures at synagogues, mosques and other
religious institutions of both faiths." (CAIR Bulletin)
Muslim scouts; Gulf Stream Council launches its first Islamic troop
July 28: Hassene Chaabane, 31, who attends religious services at the Islamic Center of Boca
Raton, Florida, is spearheading the formation of Cub Scout and Boy Scout Troop 394, the first
Muslim troop in the Gulf Stream Council, which covers Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian
River and Hendry counties. "I can't imagine the life of a boy without Boy Scouts," Chaabane said.
Chaabane, a native of Tunisia, drives from his home in Hallandale Beach to attend the Boca
Raton mosque and help form the troop. Participating in scouting in his homeland helped him grow
into the man he is today, he said. Members of the mosque approached Jennifer Thomason,
district executive of the Gulf Stream Council, about starting a new troop. "We are very excited
about it, because Boy Scouts are for no specific faith, and we look to any community organization
of faith or not of faith to take our standards," Thomason said, adding that there are several new
troops forming in Boca Raton, two at synagogues. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
Islamic charity fundraiser released
July 31: The top fundraiser for an Islamic charity, Abdel-Jabbar Hamdan, 45, that the government
claims has ties to terrorism was released today from a federal detention center where he had
been held for more than two years. Earlier today the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a
last-ditch government request to keep him locked up.Hamdan, who founded a mosque in
Anaheim, was arrested on immigration charges in July 2004 when federal authorities unsealed an
indictment against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. The government
charged that the Texas-based charity funneled millions to the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The Holy Land Foundation's president, chairman and director of endowments were also charged
with terrorism-related crimes. Hamdan himself was never charged with terrorism. Instead, he was
convicted of overstaying a student visa he got 27 years ago. The month after the Holy Land
Foundation was charged, he was ordered deported on the immigration charge. His requests to be
released while he fought the charge were denied until U.S. District Judge Terry Hatter ordered
him freed. (Washington Post)
It is a "hard time" to be a Muslim in America
August 1: An Islamic charity fundraiser who was detained two years on suspicion of ties to
terrorism said today he had no connections to terrorists and accused the U.S. government of
sidestepping justice in its efforts to prevent another Sept. 11 attack. Abdel-Jabbar Hamdan, who
has never been charged with terrorism, was released yesterday on a federal court order.He said
he was a victim of paranoia that swept the United States after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11,
2001. The fear that followed them, he said, has made it a "hard time" to be a Muslim in
America."The government is trying to win at any cost," said Hamdan, 46, who spoke with
reporters alongside his wife outside their home in this Los Angeles suburb. "They seem not to
care about what is just or unjust." (Mercury News)
ACLU, Muslim group demand end to citizenship delays
August 1: The American Civil Liberties Union and a Muslim civil rights group filed today on behalf
of 10 Southern California immigrants who have been waiting two years or more for their
citizenship. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, accuses government officials
of illegally delaying their background checks and allowing applications to linger indefinitely. The
lawsuit says federal law requires government officials to approve or deny a citizenship application
120 days after an immigrant passes the naturalization exam. The suit asks that a federal judge
review the files and administer the oath of citizenship. It also asks the court to certify it as a class
action and include all immigrants who have been waiting six months or more for naturalization
after filing applications at the Los Angeles office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.
(Los Angeles Times)
$ 100,000 spent on false ‘terror’ alert: Man is accused of reporting terrorist hoax to hot line
August 1: In a call to New York City’s terrorism hot line in May (2006), the informant described the
plot in chilling detail: Syrians working in the jewelry business had hatched a plan to carry out a
suicide bombing in the subway system on one of the most symbolic days of the year,
Independence Day. They had hidden explosives in hollowed-out jewelry, the informant said, and
then used their professional know-how to import the jewelry and bring it to a store that one of
them owned in New York. To clinch the story, the informant, who identified himself as Jose
Rodriguez and said he was from Israel, told the police officer answering the hot line that he had
overheard the plotters use the Arab expression “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is great.” The post-Sept.
11 antiterrorist law enforcement apparatus sprang into action, with city, federal and even Israeli
officers following leads, conducting 24-hour surveillance and searching homes and businesses
with bomb-sniffing dogs. A New York detective stationed in Jerusalem tried to track down the
man called Jose Rodriguez. In the end, the investigators concluded that the call was a hoax, they
said yesterday, perpetrated by a Syrian Jewish refugee named Rimon Alkatri, 34, the owner of a
jewelry store in Brooklyn. The five conspirators identified by Mr. Alkatri were not Muslims but
Christians and Jews, the police and prosecutors said. He had done business with four of the men,
officials said, and had named them as terrorists because he had a grudge against them stemming
from a business deal that had ended in a bitter disagreement. The arrest offered what
investigators said was a disturbing account of how law enforcement officers could be manipulated
by a malicious prankster, especially in these times, when the specter of a terrorist attack seems
possible and almost no threat seems too outlandish to ignore. This caller seemed credible
because of the specific names and details that he offered, officials said. (New York Times)
Connecticut: Islamic Community Center will have new home
August 2: A community center that helps Muslim immigrants learn English and adapt to American
culture will open in a building in Brigeport, Connecticut. Plans for the Bridgeport Islamic
Community Center, approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission, will convert a building at
525 Clinton Ave. into a facility that will help immigrants become acculturated in their new
homeland, as well as host programs for all Muslims in the region. The Bridgeport Islamic
Community Center was established in 2002, but has had to rent space and never had a home of
its own. P&Z Commission member Barbara Freddino said the center would help add "stability to
the neighborhood" and provide a "helping hand" to immigrants. (Connecticut Post)
Judge refuses to move Sept. 11 perjury case out of New York
August 3: A federal judge has ruled that a man charged with lying to a grand jury investigating the
Sept. 11 attacks can get a fair trial in New York even though the city bears emotional scars from
the tragedy. U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin today turned down a request to move the
perjury retrial of one-time material witness Osama Awadallah out of the city, saying a jury
elsewhere wouldn't necessarily be more impartial. "The effects of the September 11 attacks were
felt nationwide," she wrote, "and there is no reason to believe that jurors in a different jurisdiction
would lack an emotional response with prejudicial effects." Awadallah, a Jordanian citizen who
has lived in the U.S. since 1999, had asked that the case be moved after his first trial in April
ended with an emotionally charged jury deliberation that failed to produce a verdict. Afterward,
members of the panel revealed that as many as four jurors had tearfully recalled personal stories
of the Sept. 11 attacks, despite instructions from the judge to avoid the topic. A mistrial was
declared with one juror holding out for acquittal. The judge called those deliberations "a miner's
canary, alerting all parties to the possibility of dangerous prejudice flowing from jurors' personal
experiences." But she concluded that careful selection could still produce a fair jury. Awadallah, a
student who met two of the Sept. 11 hijackers when they were living in San Diego, is charged
with lying to a grand jury about how well he knew one of the men. He was jailed as a material
witness for weeks after investigators found a phone number he had used in a hijacker's car.
Authorities ultimately concluded he knew nothing about the 2001 terror plot but said he broke the
law by telling a grand jury he couldn't remember the name of one of the terrorists, Khalid alMihdhar. Awadallah later returned and revised his testimony, but prosecutors said the damage
had already been done. Defense lawyers said the young man, now 25, was simply confused and
exhausted after 20 days of harsh treatment in jail. (Newsday)
Muslims share tales of being detained at airports, other points of entry
August 7: Houston Islamic religious and community leaders criticized the Homeland Security
office, saying the department routinely discriminates against Muslims, especially at airports and
other points of entry. Ten Houston-area imams and community leaders voiced their displeasure
to Daniel W. Sutherland of the Homeland Security's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in an
inaugural meeting today between the federal office and the city's Islamic leaders at Rice
University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. "The main problem the Muslim community has ... is
the presumption of guilt," said Yasir Qadhi, a Houston imam and a doctoral candidate at Yale
University. "It is the singling out of people just because of their looks or their identity." Muslims
are routinely detained and questioned at airports and other ports of entry, he said. Qadhi also
protested the denial of visas to imams and other religious leaders who are invited to this country
to speak. Sutherland said his office was empowered to investigate any complaints over
discrimination and urged Muslims to report any incidents and problems. (Houston Chronicle)
Judge refuses to release al-Marri held as 'enemy combatant'
August 9: A federal judge in South Carolina has thrown out a former Bradley University student's
demand to be released from military custody. U.S. District Judge Henry Floyd wrote in a 16-page
order filed today in U.S. District Court in Charleston that the government had proved that Ali
Saleh Kahleh al-Marri was an "enemy combatant," and therefore could be held indefinitely by the
military. Al-Marri, a Qatari national, who has been held in custody since his arrest in midDecember 2001, remains the only named person still held as an enemy combatant. Only two
others have been identified; Yaser Esam Hamdi, who was released after it was deemed he was
no longer a threat, and the other, Jose Padilla, was charged criminally. Authorities have alleged
al-Marri was an al-Qaida "sleeper agent" who was in the United States to disrupt the nation's
banking system. Al-Marri has denied those allegations. (Peoria Journal Star)
Judge rules out anonymous jury at terrorism trial
August 9: A federal judge in Chicago today rejected a government request for an anonymous jury
at the upcoming trial of two men charged with helping to finance terrorism by the Palestinian
militant group Hamas. "The government has not presented evidence that either defendant has a
history or likelihood of obstruction of justice or has previously attempted to interfere with the
judicial process to the extent necessary to warrant empaneling an anonymous jury," Judge Amy
J. St. Eve said. Her ruling came in the case of Muhammad Salah, 53, of suburban Bridgeview,
and Abdelhaleem Ashqar, 48, of Alexandria, Va. They are charged in a racketeering indictment
with financing Hamas terrorism. Prosecutors had asked for an anonymous jury, saying the two
men were associated with Hamas, whose members might be able to intimidate or take reprisals
against jurors. The government claims the two raised money for Hamas and smuggled it into
Israel to use in attacks by the group on the Israeli army and civilians. Salah was arrested in Israel
in January 1993 and served five years in prison there for Hamas activity before his release and
return to Chicago. Salah says he was tortured by the Israelis into making a number of admissions
he now recants. The case has been marked by extraordinary secrecy. When Salah objected to
the use of the now-recanted statements as evidence at his upcoming trial, the government
brought in two Israeli security agents to testify that he was not tortured but made the statements
freely. The Israeli agents were allowed to testify under bogus names to hide their true identities
from Hamas. They took the witness stand in a courtroom from which the public was barred, and
some of their testimony was given in the judge's chambers without even defense attorneys
present. (Chicago Tribune)
Cynthia McKinney challenger says 'Arab surnames'
of donors mean 'I could say she's under the control of terrorists'
August 10: In a televised debate in August 2006 with Rep. Cynthia McKinney, Georgia primary
challenger Hank Johnson said: "...But since we're talking about Middle East policy I will say that
the abundant number of contributors to Mrs. McKinney's campaign are, have Palestinian and
Arab surnames, now I could accuse her of being under the control of terrorists." Johnson won
runoff for Georgia's Fourth Congressional District. In a letter to Johnson, CAIR Government
Affairs Director Corey Saylor wrote: "This comment seems to suggest that Arab-American and
Muslim participation in the political process has sinister connotations and that having an Arabic
name somehow indicates a propensity for violence." (The Raw Story)
Two Dearborn men linked to terrorism
August 9: Two Dearborn men were charged today in Ohio with money laundering in support of
terrorism by allegedly buying hundreds of cell phones that they planned to send overseas,
authorities said. Osama Sobhi Abulhassan, 20, and Ali Houssaiky, 20, a former star running back
at Fordson High School in Dearborn, were charged in Marietta, Ohio, after they were arrested on
a traffic violation, said Susan Vessels, assistant prosecutor in Washington County. In recent
months, federal law enforcement officials have been concerned about suspicious customers
buying large numbers of cell phones, Vessels said. In this case, police found about a dozen cell
phones and more than $10,000 in the vehicle, she said. Vessels would not comment on how the
two men were tied to terrorism. But she said an Ohio law that went into effect this year allows
prosecutors to charge people suspected of using money to purchase items that would support
terrorists or that terrorists would use. Prosecutors asked for $1-million bonds, but the judge set
bond at $200,000 each, Vessels said. (Detroit Free Press)
Four in ten Americans admit feeling prejudice against Muslims
August 10: Substantial minorities of Americans admit to having negative feelings or prejudices
against people of the Muslim faith, and favor using heightened security measures with Muslims
as a way to help prevent terrorism. Personally knowing someone who is Muslim -- which 41% of
Americans say they do -- corresponds with more favorable attitudes on these questions. These
are they key findings of a July 28-30, 2006 USA Today/Gallup Poll focusing on U.S. attitudes
toward Muslims living in the United States. Americans' personal discomfort with Muslims is
reflected in survey questions dealing with their reaction to being near Muslims in different
situations. Nearly one quarter of Americans, 22%, say they would not like to have a Muslim as a
neighbor. Slightly fewer, 18%, say they would feel nervous if they noticed a Muslim woman flying
on the same airplane as themselves, while significantly more -- 31% -- say they would feel
nervous if they noticed a Muslim man on their flight. (Gallup News Service)
Protesters from all over US call for Israeli withdrawal
August 12: Thousands of people circled the White House today in a passionate demonstration
supporting Lebanon, the country at the center of the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
Hundreds of red, white, and green Lebanese flags bearing the country's emblematic cedar tree
waved beneath Lafayette Square's canopy of elms as demonstrators demanded a cease-fire,
many of them mourning their war-ravaged homeland. In San Francisco, about 2,000 people
marched at a rally in support of Lebanese and Palestinians and against the Israel military action.
``The occupiers are being seen as the victims, and I'm really ashamed of what is going on in the
Middle East," said Alicia Jrapko, a member of the ANSWER coalition, the primary organizer of the
Washington rally. The ANSWER coalition is a left-wing group that has sponsored numerous
antiwar rallies that often attract socialists and anarchists. The National Council of Arab Americans
and the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation also were sponsors. (Washington Post)
Arabic T-shirt sparks airport row
August 12: Mr. Raed Jarrar, an architect of Iraqi descent, was forced to remove a T-shirt that bore
the salogan, in both Arabic and English, "We will not be silent" before boarding a flight at New
York today. He said he had cleared security at John F Kennedy airport for a flight back to his
home in California when he was approached by two men who wanted to check his ID and
boarding pass. Jarrar said he was told a number of passengers had complained about his T-shirt
- apparently concerned at what the Arabic phrase meant - and asked him to remove it. (Pacific
News/Democracy Now)
Arab Americans take part in National Lobby Day
August 16: Reinvigorated by the crisis in the Middle East, Arab Americans across the U.S. met
with their members of Congress in their home districts today as part of National Arab American
Lobby Day. Among other things, Arab Americans pressed their representatives to expand U.S.
assistance efforts to Lebanon and Palestine. AAI member Angele Ellis detailed along with six
other community members met with Congressman Mike Doyle (D-PA) at his Pittsburgh office. AAI
member John Fiscella joined six other activists from Christian and Jewish organizations as well
as representatives from secular peace movements recently in lobbying Rep. John Olver (D-MA)
in his district office. (Arab American Institute)
Arab-Americans say profiling, paranoia led case
August 17: Two Arab-American men formerly charged in Ohio as terrorists said today they hope
their case will serve as a warning about the perils of profiling. "I hope this unfortunate turn of
events will open some eyes and shed some light on the paranoia and xenophobia that is gripping
the country," Osama Abulhassan told reporters two days after his release from a Marietta, Ohio,
jail. "I would hope that police, prosecutors and other law enforcement agencies exhibit a higher
sense of responsibility in carrying out the crucial functions that they serve." Abulhassan and Ali
Houssaiky, both 20 and born in this country, were charged by authorities in southeastern Ohio
after a sheriff's deputy found them with a dozen disposable cell phones, $10,837 in cash and
airport documents in their car. Earlier this summer, federal authorities sent a nationwide warning
to police about men buying large quantities of such phones. A store clerk in Marietta reported the
Dearborn pair was acting suspiciously when buying phones. (Detroit News)
CAIR welcomes ruling on NSA wiretaps
August 17: The Council on American-Islamic Relations today welcomed a ruling by a federal
judge in Michigan that the government's warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor struck down the National Security Agency's (NSA)
program, saying it violates freedom of speech and privacy rights. She also ruled that the
wiretapping violates the separation of powers doctrine mandated by the Constitution and ordered
an immediate halt to the program. The bipartisan lawsuit, filed in Detroit by the American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU), alleged that the NSA surveillance program violates the First and Fourth
Amendments to the Constitution and the constitutional separation of powers because it was
authorized by President Bush in excess of his executive authority. It also sought a court order to
bring the program to an end. Plaintiffs in the ACLU lawsuit included CAIR, the American Civil
Liberties Union Foundation, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the
environmental advocacy group Greenpeace, award-winning author James Bamford, Larry
Diamond of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, author Christopher Hitchens, American
Prospect Senior Editor Tara McKelvey, and Barnett Rubin, a senior fellow at the New York
University Center on International Cooperation."This ruling is a victory for the Constitution and for
all Americans who value freedom of speech and the right to privacy," said CAIR National Legal
Director Arsalan Iftikhar. (CAIR Bulletin)
Happy landing for former Syrian pilot
August 17: Let it be known that good news occurred in a government building south of downtown
Seattle today. Safouh Hamoui, a Syrian national, learned that America would allow him to stay.
He received his lawful permanent residency status, or "green card." He had applied for political
asylum in 1997. The wrong thing would have been to deport to his native Syria, where he had
been a top military pilot for the country's late president, Hafez al-Assad. Hamoui came to the
United States with his family in 1992. He overstayed a visitor's visa. In Syria, he had been privy to
state secrets. He later spoke out against that country's government. In 1997, Hamoui applied for
asylum. He was denied. He was not allowed by the Board of Immigration Appeals to appeal
because his lawyer at the time submitted a brief almost two months late. Another lawyer
appealed the case to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals but failed to invoke the international
Convention Against Torture. The appeals court didn't take the case. In February 2002, federal
agents raided their Lynnwood home, arrested family members and imprisoned them as part of a
sweep targeting hundreds of thousands of people looking at deportation orders…..After 10
months of imprisonment, Hamoui, his wife and daughter were free, though not in the clear. In
November 2004, when a federal appeals court reversed deportation orders against Hamoui.
Judge William Canby wrote that the Board of Immigration Appeals "abused its discretion" acting
"arbitrarily, irrationally, or contrary to the law." (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
Federal judge orders end to warrantless wiretapping
August 17: A federal judge in Detroit ruled today that the Bush administration’s eavesdropping
program is illegal and unconstitutional, and she ordered that it cease at once. District Judge Anna
Diggs Taylor found that President Bush exceeded his proper authority and that the
eavesdropping without warrants violated the First and Fourth Amendment protections of free
speech and privacy. “It was never the intent of the Framers to give the president such unfettered
control, particularly where his actions blatantly disregard the parameters clearly enumerated in
the Bill of Rights,” she wrote, in a decision that the White House and Justice Department said
they would fight to overturn. In becoming the first federal judge to declare the eavesdropping
program unconstitutional, Judge Taylor rejected the administration’s assertion that to defend itself
against a lawsuit would force it to divulge information that should be kept secret in the name of
national security. “Predictably, the war on terror of this administration has produced a vast
number of cases, in which the states secrets privilege has been invoked,” Judge Taylor wrote.
She noted that the Supreme Court has held that because the president’s power to withhold
secrets is so powerful, “it is not to be lightly invoked.” She also cited a finding in an earlier case by
the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that “whenever possible, sensitive
information must be disentangled from nonsensitive information to allow for the release of the
latter.” In any event, she said, she is convinced that the administration could defend itself in this
case without disclosing state secrets. Judge Taylor’s ruling came in a suit filed by the American
Civil Liberties Union on behalf of journalists, scholars, lawyers and various nonprofit organizations
who argued that the possibility of eavesdropping by the National Security Agency interfered with
their work. (New York Times)
Even now, some afraid to make calls
August 18: In homes, mosques and community centers, Muslims across metro Detroit say they
often wonder whether the government is spying on them. Those fears were momentarily
assuaged after a federal judge ruled yesterday that the Bush administration's domestic
surveillance program is unconstitutional. The impact of the surveillance program has been felt
acutely in Michigan, home to the highest concentration of Arab Americans in the United States.
Some residents are afraid to call family members in the Middle East out of fear their words may
be monitored and misinterpreted by law enforcement. Others shy away from talking about fundraising for Arab or Muslim causes. In fact, yesterday some parents warned their kids not to talk on
the phone about an upcoming fund-raiser for Lebanon out of fear their calls may be tapped, said
Ammerah Saidi of Dearborn. (Detroit Free Press)
Muslim doctor forced off plane
August 17: Three young Winnipeg (Canada) doctors -- one a Muslim -- were kicked off a flight
home from Denver today after a passenger falsely identified them as a terrorist threat. Dr. Ahmed
Farooq, a fourth-year radiology resident, and two physician friends want an apology from United
Airlines and assurances staff will be better trained to identify genuine threats. Farooq, 27, and his
fellow residents were on their way home from a physics course near San Francisco, Calif., in
preparation for an upcoming board exam. They were settling into their connecting flight from
Denver to Winnipeg when Farooq asked his friend -- a young doctor of East Indian decent who
did not want his name published -- to switch seats. Farooq was looking for some privacy so he
could discreetly recite his evening prayers. Shortly before take-off, the two doctors noticed a
young man seated a row ahead was giving them distasteful looks and at one point threatened to
"pound" Farooq. Farooq and his friends learned later the passenger, who had clearly been
drinking, told a flight attendant he had overheard Farooq's friend say "Now, I can control the
aisle." The aircraft returned to the terminal and an airline official came to escort Farooq, his
seatmate and their female colleague off the flight, an experience Farooq called "humiliating."
Within moments, the three were surrounded by Denver police, airport security and an official from
the Transportation Security Administration. Their identification was taken from them, they were
told not to speak to one another and an FBI agent was consulted via telephone. Meanwhile, their
flight to Winnipeg departed with the passenger who lodged the complaint still on board. "Within
two or three minutes, the guy from the TSA said he thought the airline staff overreacted and that
we never should have been pulled from the plane," said Farooq. United Airlines officials said they
are obliged to take any allegations threatening passenger safety seriously, particularly in a period
of heightened tension like the one following last week's discovery of a British terrorist plot
targeting transatlantic flights. (Winnipeg Free Press)
U.S. Postal Service investigating possible sabotage against Chicago Muslim charity
August 17: The Chicago Office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations announced today
that the U.S. Postal Service is currently conducting an investigation into concerns of possible foul
play expressed by a Chicago-area Muslim Charity. The Zakat Foundation reported its concerns to
CAIR-Chicago earlier today who requested the investigation. The Zakat Foundation sent out
approximately 70,000 mailings soliciting donations for the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon. Shortly
thereafter, approximately 10,500 of those mailings were returned, in the same sequence they
were sent out, with a notice stating "undeliverable as addressed." When the Zakat Foundation
took the mailings back to the postal office to have an employee look up the addresses, the
addresses were verifiable in the computer system. The employee expressed concerns that an act
bigotry may be to blame for this unusual occurrence. The Zakat Foundation reportedly lost about
$4,000 in raw materials and postage from the returned mailings, and an estimated $105,000 in
projected donations that would have resulted from the mailings. (CAIR Bulletin)
NH: Manchester's first mosque still faces uphill battle
August 20: Ever since the Islamic Society of Greater Manchester set out to build its mosque on a
Church property, it bought in 1999, it has been greeted with one obstacle after another.
Neighbors voiced their opposition early when the project came before the city Planning Board. In
2003, a couple living up the street sued the society for ownership of a small strip of land between
their properties, without which the Islamic Society would not have met an essential frontage
requirement. Two months later, a neighbor, Frank Scarito, a financial adviser, took the Planning
Board to court with a list of 22 complaints about the project. Each challenge was defeated. With
equal measures of relief and anticipation, the society began to clear the 3-acre site in May 2006.
Its difficulties, however, have persisted. In June, as volunteer crews swarmed the site, neighbors
called the Manchester Police Department to complain the crews were violating on-street parking
ban. Another time, Scarito called the police to report that the volunteers were violating a city
ordinance that bans construction work on nights and weekends. Islamic Society members, who
maintain their depleted coffers make it near impossible to complete construction without the night
and weekend contributions of volunteers, say their neighbors may not be as concerned with
legalities as they would have people believe. "Maybe they don't like Muslims," said Dr. Salman
Malik, a member of the Islamic Society's Board of Trustees. "I wouldn't be surprised." When the
neighbors sought to block the volunteers from working on nights and weekends, the society's
attorney, Andrew H. Sullivan, asked the city building commissioner for an exemption. "It would be
disrespectful to Manchester's heritage," he wrote, "to not allow now - in 2006 - the same
opportunity that was afforded our grandparents of years ago who built their churches through
volunteer labor on the weekends. It is unfair to these present-day volunteers to not be allowed the
same opportunity." Sullivan's request has been denied. (Union Leader)
Profiling of Muslims: Latest Republican campaign issue?
August 21: Mark Flanagan, a congressional candidate in Florida today became the fourth
Republican office-seeker to call for profiling of Muslim airline passengers since the alleged airline
bombing plot in Britain announced on August 10. "It is a fact that over the past 34 years, starting
with the Munich Olympics, the majority of terrorist attacks have been carried out by Muslims,"
said Mark Flanagan, a candidate in the 13th District of Florida, in a statement. Flanagan's political
consultant, David Johnson explained that under the proposal, passengers who appear to be Arab
or Muslim would be pulled out of security lines for additional screening. Flanagan claimed that he
was the only congressional candidate calling for profiling of Muslim passengers. But he was
wrong. There were at least three other Republican politicians who called for profiling of Muslims
last week. Declaring that airport screeners shouldn't be hampered by "political correctness,"
House Homeland Security Chairman Peter King also endorsed last week requiring people of
"Middle Eastern and South Asian" descent to undergo additional security checks because of their
ethnicity and religion. Paul Nelson, a Republican running in the third district of Wisconsin, also
endorsed the idea last week on a local radio show. Asked on the show how screeners would spot
a Muslim male, Nelson said, "If he comes in wearing a turban and his name is Muhammad, that's
a good start." The GOP gubernatorial candidate in New York, John Faso also has supported
profiling of Muslims. In light of alleged UK plot, Faso said law enforcement officials should be able
to question a Muslim man without fear of being slapped by an ACLU lawsuit. “Looking for
Muslims for participation in Muslim jihad is not playing the odds. It is following an ironclad
tautology." (AMP Report)
Muslim-Americans say profiling is up
August 21: On three occasions in a nine-day stretch, a total of five Arab-American men and a
Pakistani woman formerly of Jackson were tagged as potential terrorists. Each of the cases
eventually unraveled. But not before damage was done. "In the minds of the public, they are now
terrorists," said Imad Hamad, Midwest regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee. "They are cleared of charges, but they are doomed." Hamad and others are certain
that none of the six would have been questioned had they not been of Middle Eastern or
Pakistani descent. [On Aug. 8, two Dearborn men are arrested in southeastern Ohio after being
caught with a dozen prepaid cell phones and $11,000. On Aug. 11, three Texas men of
Palestinian heritage are arrested near a Wal-Mart outlet in Caro after buying 80 cell phones.
Police said the men also had videos and photos of the Mackinac Bridge and 1,000 more cell
phones in their van. On August 17, a terminal at the Tri-State Airport in West Virginia was shut
down for nine hours after an airport security screener grew suspicious of two bottles of liquid
inside the carry-on bag of a Pakistani woman traveling to Detroit to visit her mother in Jackson.
Chemical tests of the bottles' contents turned up no explosives.] (Lansing State Journal)
ADC withdraws lawsuit against Rumsfeld & Rice
August 22: As a ceasefire is being implemented, today the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee (ADC) announced its withdrawal of the lawsuit it filed against Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld regarding their failure to fulfill their
constitutional and professional obligations and protect US citizens in a crisis or time of war. In the
lawsuit ADC requested a ceasefire to hostilities, the ceasefire has now been in place for over a
week. ADC believes the goal of the lawsuit has been achieved. (ADC)
Civil right groups protest profiling at JFK airport
August 23: Civil right groups today held a news conference in New York to express the Muslim
community's concerns about allegations that people of Middle Eastern and South Asian heritage
have been "profiled" at JFK Airport. The Council on American-Islamic Relations New York
President Omar Mohammedi stated that law enforcement agencies should focus on behavioral
profiling as opposed to racial profiling. Dennis Parker, director of racial justice at the ACLU,
stated: "Targeting people without particularized suspicion squanders law enforcement resources,
subjects individuals to humiliation, increases alienation, and undermines the legitimacy of the
criminal justice system. Profiling decreases law enforcement ability to gather information by
worsening relations between targeted groups and law enforcement." Udi Ofer from the NYCLU
said that those detained had for all practical purposes been arrested for six hours at JFK and that
their constitutional rights as citizens had been suspended for that period of time. Katherine
Metres Abbadi, executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, stated
that racial profiling is ineffective, un-American, unwise and a distraction for governments and
security from their responsibilities. (CAIR Bulletin)
Study: 9/11 Hurt Arab and Muslim Men's Wages
August 23: Wages and weekly earnings for Arab and Muslim men living in the United States fell
10 percent following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, a new study shows. In addition, the
adverse affects of Sept. 11 on wages were greater in areas that reported high rates of hate crime
related to religious, ethnic or country of origin bias, according to the upcoming study in the
Journal of Human Resources. Evidence also suggests the terrorists' attacks reduced intrastate
migration, making Arab and Muslim men more reluctant to seek better opportunities in new
destinations due to the uncertainty of their reception. The study measured changes in wages of
first- and second-generation immigrants from countries with predominantly Arab or Muslim
populations between September 1997 and September 2005 and compared them to changes in
wages of first- and second-generation immigrants with similar skills from other countries. There is
some evidence that the adverse wage and earnings effects are dissipating, concluded the study,
scheduled to appear in the journal's spring 2007 edition. Figures from the most recent period
available (2005) indicated a rebound in wages and earnings for Arab and Muslim men.
(Newswise)
ISNA elects first woman president
August 23: Ingrid Mattson has been elected President of the Islamic Society of North America
(ISNA) in the newly held general election of ISNA, the ISNA announced today. The incumbent
President of ISNA, Muhammad Nur Abdullah, said that "ISNA's General Election has been
completed, and the Election Committee has reported the results to the Majlis Ash-Shura in a
conference call on August 22. Dr. Ingrid Mattson is the first woman elected President of ISNA.
She was elected Vice President in the last election. Dr. Ingrid Mattson, born in Canada, is
Professor of Islamic Studies and Director of Islamic Chaplaincy at the Macdonald Center for
Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford Seminary in Hartford, CT. (ISNA)
AAI members make their voices heard
August 24: Arab American Institute members were successful in contacting local and national
media to express their opinions about the violence in the Middle East. Whether in an interview
with reporters, letters to the editor or more expansive op-ed pieces, AAI members made the case
for more active, balanced U.S. engagement in the Middle East that more closely reflects
American values. Meanwhile, building on the momentum built in organizing National Arab
American Lobby Day, AAI members continue to plan and hold meetings with their Members of
Congress. Among those responding to the AAI call to get politically involved were members Pam
and Ali El Ahmadiyyah, who met with Democrat Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey in Marin County,
California. (AAI Newsletter)
Arsonists strike Minneapolis mosque
August 24: A Minneapolis mosque was targeted with a suspected arson early this morning while
prayer was in session. No one was hurt in the incident, but dozens of books and other
equipments were destroyed. Sheikh Abdirashid Hassan, the director of Abubakar Assadique
Islamic Center, which was bought by Muslims a year ago for $1.7 million, said he believes a hate
crime is involved. Fresh graffiti showing the Star of David and what looks like a Menorah, both
Jewish symbols, have been painted on the wall facing the street side of the building. Mosque
leaders said that they have been receiving weekly – and sometimes daily- fax messages riddled
with insults and “go back to your country” rhetoric since they bought the property. (The Daily
Planet)
Two Pakistani Americans barred from returning to US
August 25: The US government has barred two relatives of Hamid Hayat, a Pakistani American,
convicted of supporting terrorists from returning to the country after a lengthy stay in Pakistan.
Muhammad Ismail, a 45-year-old naturalized citizen born in Pakistan, and his 18-year-old son,
Jaber Ismail, who was born in the United States, have not been charged with a crime. However,
they are the uncle and cousin of Hamid Hayat, 23, who was convicted in April of supporting
terrorists by attending a Pakistani training camp. US authorities said that the men, both Lodi (CA)
residents, would not be allowed back into the country unless they agreed to FBI interrogations in
Pakistan. An attorney representing the family said agents have asked whether the younger Ismail
trained in terrorist camps in Pakistan. The men and three relatives had been in Pakistan for more
than four years and tried to return to the United States on April 21 as a federal jury in Sacramento
deliberated Hayat's fate. But they were pulled aside during a layover in Hong Kong and told there
was a problem with their passports, said Julia Harumi Mass, their attorney. The father and son
were forced to pay for a flight back to Islamabad because they were on the government's "no-fly"
list, Mass said. Muhammad Ismail's wife, teenage daughter and younger son, who were not on
the list, continued on to the United States. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Vice Mayor apologizes for Muslim remark cover-up
August 28: Ed Sileo, the recently re-elected vice mayor the city of Lancaster, CA, today admitted
to sending an e-mail that was bound to offend Muslim people, then lying to cover it up. The e-mail
contained an offhand jibe that was a partial response to a recruitment e-mail to sign up volunteers
for an emergency services drill that would train people to respond to an event like a bio-terror
attack.Sileo said he was joking around with some friends when he typed into his Blackberry
personal data device, "Maybe my friends Muhammed, Omar and Khalid will volunteer." He said
he intended to erase the offensive jibe. Instead of erasing it, Sileo pressed send to all, passing
the message on to a range of fellow community leaders. "I made a huge mistake," Sileo said
today. (Antelope Valley Press)
Americans back racial profiling of Middle Eastners
August 29: Most Americans expect a terrorist attack on the United States in the next few months
and support the screening of people who look "Middle Eastern" at airports and train stations, a
poll showed today. The Quinnipiac University Polling Institute said 62 percent of Americans were
"very worried" or "somewhat worried" that terrorists would strike the nation in the next few months
while 37 percent were "not too worried" or "not worried at all." The poll of 1,080 voters,
conducted August 17-23, comes as many Americans are jittery after British authorities foiled a
plot to blow up planes but is broadly in line with other surveys on expectations for another attack
since September 11. By a 60 percent to 37 percent margin, respondents said authorities should
single out people who look "Middle Eastern" for security screening at locations such as airports
and train stations -- a finding that drew sharp criticism by civil liberties groups. (Reuters)
Judge rules that pig's head roller was racially motivated
August 31: A judge ruled that 33-year-old Brent Matthews violated Maine's Civil Rights Act when
he tossed a pig's head into a Lewiston (Maine) mosque earlier this summer. Matthews has never
denied that he tossed the pig's head into the Lewiston Islamic Center. He has said all along it was
a practical joke. Justice Ellen Gorman said there was nothing remotely funny about what
Matthews did and determined that his actions were racially motivated. As a result of the ruling,
Matthews must abide by a court order that forbids him from threatening or using physical force
against the mosque or it's members. He must also stay at least 150 feet away from the mosque.
(WCSH6)
Chronology of Islam in America (Sept - Dec 2006)
[Page 150]
September 2006
Academic under fire over 9/11 theory
Sept 1: A University of New Hampshire professor has come under fire from state politicians for
teaching his unconventional view that a U.S. government conspiracy allowed the Sept 11, 2001,
attacks to occur. William Woodward, a professor of psychology at the Durham, New Hampshire,
university, belongs to Scholars for 9/11 Truth, a group which believes it took more than two
planes to bring down the Twin Towers and that an explosive charge in the building’s basement
played a role. But, he said, the theory comes up only once in his class, to encourage students to
think critically. Some state lawmakers, who last year appropriated $61.7 million in funding for the
university, said taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay to provide Woodward a platform. “This kind of
nonsense is ridiculous,” said State Senate President Ted Gatsas, a Republican. “He has the
ability of free speech, there’s no question, that’s what makes this country great. But ... speaking
his free speech in a classroom with the taxpayers paying for it, I don’t think is appropriate.”
(Reuters)
References to 'Islamic fascism' slammed
Sept. 1: Islamic Society of North America's newly elected president, Ingrid Mattson, said today
she objects to President Bush's use of the term "Islamic fascism" when describing the enemy in
the global war on terrorism. Mattson, like other ISNA leaders, expressed empathy for the
challenges government officials face in trying to keep the country safe, but she said the
"inaccurate and unhelpful" rhetoric by Bush and other Republican lawmakers hurts peaceful, lawabiding Muslims who face growing scrutiny even five years after 9/11. "This is a term that had
very bad resonance in the Muslim majority world and makes us feel uncomfortable, so we're
hoping there can be some adjustment to this language," Mattson said at a news conference
kicking off ISNA's four-day annual convention in Chicago. (Chicago Sun-Times)
US Muslims plagued by discrimination after 9/11
Sept. 3: Discrimination and harassment by law enforcement have come to plague American
Muslims in the years since the terrorist attacks of September 11. There have been suspicious
looks, slurs, physical attacks, extra screening at airports and arrests on groundless charges.
And it seems to be getting worse. A recent Gallup poll showed that 39 percent of Americans
admit to being prejudiced against Muslims and that nearly a quarter say they would not want a
Muslim for a neighbor. "Most Americans don't know Muslims except for those they work with in an
urban environment so all the information they get is through the media," said Dawud Walid,
director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). After
having shown some restraint in his rhetoric after 19 Muslim men affiliated with Al-Qaeda flew
planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, President George W. Bush has of late
been using far more inflammatory language such as 'Islamofacists,' Walid said. "When the
religious and political leaders use polarizing language these are the unfortunate side effects. It
stretches from the likes of (Christian Coalition leader) Pat Robinson all the way up to President
Bush." (Agence France-Presse)
Post-9/11, U.S. Muslims insist they're American too
Sept. 3: Ihsan Saadeddin is proud to be an American. But he's tired of having to prove it just
because he's a Muslim too. The Palestinian grocery store owner in Phoenix has called the United
States home for 25 years and feels as American as the next guy. But Saadeddin says the Sept.
11 attacks were a tragic watershed which turned U.S. Muslims from ordinary citizens into objects
of suspicion and discrimination overnight. He believes it is why he was questioned at the airport
for 45 minutes last month and asked repeatedly if he supports terrorism. "Being born in another
country does not make me less American than the secretary of homeland security," Saadeddin
said. News of domestic wiretapping, monitoring of mosques, immigration crackdowns, public
support for racial profiling and bans on some Muslim scholars visiting the United States has made
many Muslim Americans feel like targets of racism. (New York Times)
[Page 151]
NY: Exam-free rule for religious holidays
Sept. 4: A Queens state senator and an array of clergy hailed a new law that prohibits the state
Education Department from scheduling statewide exams during religious holidays. "The law is
now on your side," declared state Sen. John Sabini (D- Queens). The law was spurred after
statewide English exams for third-graders were scheduled during the Muslim holidays of Eid-alAdha and Eid-al-Fitr during the last school year. (New York Daily News)
Arab-American men freed in cell phone case; Judge says there was no terror plot
Sept. 5: A federal judge has thrown out all charges against three Texas men who were arrested
last month in Caro, Michigan, after buying hundreds of cell phones. Investigators initially
suspected the men may have links to terrorism and were possibly targeting the Mackinac
Bridge.State prosecutors slapped them with terrorism charges, but soon dropped them. Federal
prosecutors then charged them with operating a counterfeit operation. U.S. Magistrate Judge
Charles Binder dismissed the federal charges of conspiring to traffic in counterfeit goods and
carrying out an unlawful activity involving a financial transaction. (Detroit Free Press)
Teaching 9/11 – Texts paint all Muslims as terrorists
Sept. 7: The events of Sept. 11, 2001, leapt with remarkable speed from dynamic daily news
reports to the static pages of history books. By the following fall, millions of students across the
country were reading about the terrorist attacks in social studies texts put out by the nation's
major publishers. With every school year that passes, increasing numbers of students and
parents come across the lessons on 9/11. Now, as the fifth anniversary approaches, reactions
are mounting to the textbooks' treatment of this high-profile act of terrorism. Some Muslims say
the texts unfairly paint all people of their faith as terrorists. They say frequent references to "Arab
terrorists," "Muslim terrorists," "Muslim extremists," or "Islamic fundamentalists" give
schoolchildren a negative impression of their religion. "Because these terms are repeated so
many times, it's very alarming," said Maren Shawesh, of the Sacramento chapter of the Council
on American Islamic Relations. "We don't want these younger students to grow up with that
perception of Islam and Muslims." (Sacramento Bee)
Post-Sept. 11 terror prosecutions unsuccessful
Sept. 8: Despite a sharp increase in the prosecution of terrorism cases just after Sept. 11, 2001,
only 14 of the defendants have been sentenced to 20 years or more in prison, according to a
study based on Justice Department data. Of the 1,329 convicted defendants, only 625 received
any prison sentence, said the study, released on Sept. 3 by the Transactional Records Access
Clearinghouse, a data research group at Syracuse University. More than half of those convicted
got no prison time or no more than they had already served awaiting their verdict. The analysis of
data from Justice's Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys also found that in the eight months ending
last May, Justice attorneys declined to prosecute more than nine out of every 10 terrorism cases
sent to them by the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies.
Nearly 4 in 10 of the rejected cases were scrapped because prosecutors found weak or
insufficient evidence, no evidence of criminal intent or no evident federal crime. (Fox News)
Khatami blasts wave of 'Islamophobia'
Sept. 8, 2006 - Iran's former president decried a wave of "Islamophobia" that he said is being
spread in the United States by fear and hatred of Islam in response to terror perpetrated by
Muslims. Khatami condemned the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States and
said those who carried them out will never go to heaven. During the calamity of September 11,
two crimes were committed: one was the killing of innocent people and the second was making
this crime in the name of Islam," said the former president, who was on a speaking tour of the
United States. "We, Muslims, should condemn this atrocity even more strongly," Khatami said.
"Terrorism, which means killing civilians in whatever name or title, lacks morality, and nobody
who lacks such principle will go to heaven," Khatami continued. "Those who kill others and
commit acts of terror, if they identify themselves with Islam, they are lying." (Media reports)
[Page 152]
New Yorkers to study about Israel
Sept. 8: The New York City Council's education committee approved a curriculum on Israel
initiated by the public relations department of the Israeli Consulate in New York. The curriculum
will be integrated into the training program for educators teaching in 1,400 public high schools in
New York City. The teachers will be able to register to a 30-hour course dealing with the history of
the State of Israel, its economy, the high-tech industry, Israeli art and Ethiopian Jews. The
incentive offered to teachers who will take the course: Credit points for an academic degree.
(Ynetnews)
Republican gubernatorial candidate meets Arab Americans
Sept. 11: In an effort to clear the air with the local Arab community, Michigan Republican
gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos initiated a last-minute meeting with Arab American Public
Affairs Council (AAPAC) President Osama Siblani, according to DeVos' campaign officials.
DeVos was on the political hot seat last week after bowing out of a scheduled dinner sponsored
by AAPAC. Truscott said DeVos canceled because he had a family conflict, but also had
concerns about pro-Hezbollah comments made by Siblani. Siblani, who publishes the Arab
American News, said the meeting went well and that it's time to move on. "He explained that the
campaign made mistakes," Siblani said. (Detroit News)
'Either the Judeo-Christian philosophy will survive or the Islamic philosophy will survive'
Sept. 11: The Council on American-Islamic Relations Sacramento called on Californians to
repudiate remarks insulting to Muslims made by the Redding (California) Mayor Ken Murray who
claimed Shia Muslims "believe it's acceptable to lie, cheat, steal and kill as long as it ultimately
glorifies Allah." "Folks, they're not like us," Murray added. When asked about his offensive
remarks, Murray drew a distinction between "mainstream" and Shia Muslims, who he called "wing
nuts." "Either the Judeo-Christian philosophy will survive or the Islamic philosophy will survive,"
said Murray. Murray's comments came during an event co-sponsored by the Shasta County
Sheriff's Department, the Shasta County Jail Chaplaincy and the Marshal's Office. (CAIR
bulletin)
Two Pakistani Americans allowed to return to US
Sept. 13: Two relatives of a Lodi man who was convicted of supporting terrorists have been
cleared to return home from a long trip to Pakistan, ending a five-month standoff in which the U.S.
citizens were told they had to cooperate with the FBI to get off the government's no-fly list, a
federal law enforcement official said. Lodi residents Muhammad Ismail, a 45-year-old naturalized
citizen born in Pakistan, and his 18-year-old son, Jaber Ismail, who was born in the United
States, were never charged with a crime. But they are the uncle and cousin of Hamid Hayat, 23,
who was convicted in April of supporting terrorists by attending a Pakistani training camp. The
Ismails were on the government-maintained list that bars some people from flying on airlines to or
from the United States. Julia Harumi Mass, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney who filed a
complaint with the Homeland Security Department on behalf of the Ismails, said the two received
a letter from Homeland Security last week stating that their records had been "modified to
address any delay or denial of boarding." (San Francisco Chronicle)
Muslim candidate advances to general election in Maryland
Sept. 13: In Maryland District 39, political newcomer Saqib Ali, a 30-year-old North Potomac
resident, beat incumbent Del. Joan F. Stern by about 6 percent with 4,205 votes in the
Democratic House primary. Ali was behind incumbent delegates Charles E. Barkley of
Germantown and Nancy J. King of Montgomery Village (Maryland). The top three vote-getters will
advance to the general election in the House of Delegates race to face off against Republicans
David Nichols, Gary Scott and Bill Witham, all of Gaithersburg. (Gazette) [Saqib Ali was
elected to the Maryland State House in November 7 elections.]
[Page 153]
In Minneapolis race, fresh attack on Muslim candidate's past
Sept. 13: One day after a Muslim state representative, Keith Ellison, captured the Democratic
nomination for Congress, his Republican opponent today unleashed a bitter attack on Ellison's
past ties with Louis Farrakhan. Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, has a history of
harshly criticizing Jews. Business professor Alan Fine, who's running an uphill race in
Minnesota's bluest district, compared Ellison with former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke,
emphasizing the black Democrat's Muslim background with a series of pen names formerly used
by Ellison. "I'm extremely concerned about Keith Ellison. Keith Hakim. Keith X Ellison. Keith
Ellison Muhammad," Fine, who is Jewish, said at a Capitol news conference. "I'm personally
offended that this person is a candidate for U.S. Congress. He is unfit to represent the voters of
the 5th District." (Associated Press)
Michigan: Political activities denounced
Sept. 13: Republicans on campus and in Washington distanced themselves today from
controversial political activities discussed by an intern for the College Republican National
Committee. The intern, Morgan Wilkins, a sophomore at the University of Louisville, who is being
paid to organize College Republicans throughout the state told The Michigan Daily that she was
considering organizing an event at campuses around the state that would have had participants
shoot paintball or BB gun at cardboard cutouts of prominent Democrats like senators Hillary
Clinton and John Kerry. She also said she might hold "Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day," where
students would try and find a volunteer hidden on campus wearing a shirt that said "illegal
immigrant" on it. Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean sent a letter to his
counterpart at the RNC, Ken Mehlman, demanding that he denounce the activities and put a stop
to them. (Michigan Daily)
The politics of fear in US elections
Sept. 13: Six days before the 9/11 commemoration, President George Bush opened the fall
election campaign season with a hard hitting speech on national security amid flagging public
support for the war in Iraq. In a sharp rhetoric, President Bush said that Al Qaeda and its allies
were intent on global domination and creating a "radical Islamic empire" that stretches from Spain
to Iraq. While comparing Bin Laden with Hitler, he said: "Bin Laden and his terrorist allies have
made their intentions as clear as Lenin and Hitler before them." To send the message home,
Bush mentioned Bin Laden 17 times in the 44-minute speech. Ironically, any mention of Osama
bin Laden was absent from the White House report, titled “National Strategy for Combating
Terrorism” released the same day. President Bush’s comments came just eight weeks before the
midterm elections with the GOP control of the House and Senate hanging in the balance. Bush's
approval ratings have been sagging and he has come under fire from conservative critics who
have argued that his “war on terror” was too squishy, and losing impact with mainstream
America.According to Harris Interactive Poll, President Bush's approval rating is just 34%.
President Bush's approval rating is 38% in a Newsweek poll. Harris Poll also indicated that if
elections for Congress were held today, 45% of Americans say they would vote for the
Democratic candidate and 30% would vote for the Republican. Hence, in an effort to bolster
sinking public opinion about the unpopular war in Iraq and other national issues, President Bush
and Republican leaders see “national security” or “fear factor” as their biggest advantage over
Democrats. (The politics of fear in US elections by Abdus Sattar Ghazali)
Bush: 'If it's about Christianity versus Islam, we'll lose'
Sept. 17: In an off the record remark, President George Bush tells to the right-wing radio jocks Mike Gallagher, Neal Boortz, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Michael Medved - that the War
on Terror has to be about right versus wrong, "because if it's about Christianity versus Islam, we'll
lose." (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
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VA: Muslim, Jewish communities secure halal-kosher labeling law
Sept. 18: Muslim and Jewish communities in the state of Virginia successfully have lobbied for
enactment of a halal/kosher labeling statute. The new Virginia law requires that any food offered
for sale as kosher or halal be labeled with the name of the person or organization certifying the
item kosher or halal. Violations are punishable by a $500 fine. (Washington File)
L.A. panel reaffirms award for Maher Hathout
Sept. 18: The Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission voted today to reaffirm its
selection of Muslim leader Maher Hathout for a human relations award, ending a bitter, two-week
battle that many lamented has seriously set back the region's Muslim-Jewish relations. After a
hearing marked by vitriolic name-calling and the expulsion of one unruly audience member, only
four of the 14 commission members voted to support Hathout, chairman of the Islamic Center of
Southern California and the first Muslim to receive the county's John Allen Buggs Award. Five
members abstained; four were absent. The furious fight over what has normally been a quiet
award selection process was sparked when some Jewish groups charged that Hathout, a 70year-old retired cardiologist, was a closet extremist who denounced Israel as an apartheid state
and was soft on terrorism. Their opposition prompted the commission to reopen its July decision
selecting Hathout. (Los Angeles Times)
Anti-Muslim bias incidents jump 30 percent in US
Sept. 18: There is an almost 30 percent increase in the number of anti-Muslim bias incidents from
2004 to 2005 with a substantial increase in California which has one of the largest Muslim
population, the Council on American-Islamic Relations' (CAIR) said today. The CAIR report - the
only annual study of its kind - outlines 1,972 incidents and experiences of anti-Muslim violence,
discrimination and harassment in 2005, the highest number of civil rights cases ever recorded in
the group's annual report. According to the report, called "The Struggle for Equality," that figure is
a 29.6 percent jump over the preceding year's total of 1,522 cases. CAIR also received 153
reports of anti-Muslim hate crime complaints, an 8.6 percent increase from the 141 complaints
received in 2004. (CAIR Bulletin)
Bush assures Muslims U.S. not at war with Islam
Sept. 19: President Bush today appealed directly to Muslims to assure them that the United
States is not waging war with Islam as he laid out a vision for peace in the Middle East before
skeptical world leaders at the United Nations. "My country desires peace," Bush told world
leaders in the cavernous main hall at the U.N. "Extremists in your midst spread propaganda
claiming that the West is engaged in a war against Islam. This propaganda is false and its
purpose is to confuse you and justify acts of terror. We respect Islam." (Associated Press)
Muslim scholars' treatment at Miami airport spurs outcry
Sept. 21: Federal immigration authorities held four Muslim scholars for 24 hours at Miami
International Airport, denying them access to a bed or a phone, then sent them back to Egypt
without a clear explanation for their removal, an American Muslim association charged. Sofian
Abdelaziz, director of the American Muslim Association of North America in Miami, said his group
had invited the four to lead prayers at mosques in Broward and Miami-Dade counties during the
holy month of Ramadan. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
Effort aims to push Muslims to the polls
Sept. 28: National Muslim civic leaders announced a new push today to get the country's
estimated 2.2 million registered Muslim voters to the polls, unveiling a Web site that spells out key
races of "Muslim interest" and ATM-like voter registration machines that will be put in mosques
and Islamic student centers. The campaign by the Washington-based Muslim American Society is
a continuation of an effort that has been underway since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to increase
American Muslims' involvement in the political process. A 2005 survey by the Muslim American
Political Action Committee said 84 percent of registered Muslims voted in the November 2004
election, compared with 41 percent in 2000. The efforts are getting more tailored, Muslim leaders
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said in announcing the creation of the society's Center for Electoral Empowerment. The center's
main feature is a Web site that offers details on issues that the political action committee says are
the most important to Muslim voters: concerns about "the erosion of civil liberties," "fair"
immigration reform and foreign policy, said Mukit Hossain, president of MAPAC. The focus on
Muslim voting -- both by Muslim American leaders and political candidates -- rose again after the
2004 election, when the Muslim vote moved significantly away from the Republican Party.
(Washington Post)
Islamic society of Boston suit against media outlets
Sept. 29: A judge ruled today that a lawsuit brought by the Islamic Society of Boston asserting
that news media outlets and other individuals had conspired to publish false and defamatory
information about mosque leaders could go forward. The Islamic Society sued a group of
individuals and entities including the Boston Herald, WFXT-TV (Channel 25), a pro-Israel group
The David Project, and terrorism specialist Steven Emerson asserting that they coordinated a
campaign falsely linking mosque officials to Islamic extremism and terrorist groups in television
and newspaper stories. The plaintiffs say that the connections were fabricated and that the
stories have interfered with their right to the free exercise of their religion. They also said the
stories stalled development of their planned Roxbury mosque, drying up donations to the project.
(Boston Globe)
October 2006
Wait ends for father and son exiled by FBI terror inquiry
Oct. 1: Two American citizens of Pakistani descent returned to the United States today, five
months after they were denied permission to fly home to California unless they submitted to an
interrogation by F.B.I. terrorism investigators. The men, Muhammad Ismail, 45, and his son,
Jaber, 19, of the Northern California farming town of Lodi, are an uncle and cousin of Hamid
Hayat, a Lodi man who was convicted in April in federal court of providing material support to
terrorists. Mr. Hayat's father, Umer, was convicted on a lesser charge of lying to investigators
about the amount of cash he carried to Pakistan on a 2003 trip, but a jury deadlocked on
terrorism charges. The Ismails were not charged in the case. Legal experts said the matter raised
questions about balancing terrorism investigations against American citizens' right to travel freely
without having been charged with a crime or detained as a suspect. (New York Times)
Supreme court declines to take case from
parents objecting to teaching Islam to seventh-graders
Oct. 2: The Supreme Court today refused to consider a lawsuit by parents objecting to a threeweek class for seventh-graders on Islam. Jonas and Tiffany Eklund say pupils at a public school
in California were given pages from the opening chapter of the Koran to read and studied Islam's
Five Pillars of Faith in a world history unit on Muslim culture. The Eklunds wanted the Supreme
Court to find that the world history unit entitled "The Roots of Islam and the Empire" violates
constitutional guarantees separating church and state. "Parents entrust public schools with
educating their children, not indoctrinating them in religion," the Eklunds' lawyers stated in a brief
asking the Supreme Court to take the case. "The public school here had children become
Muslims for three weeks." The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the Islam program activities
were not overt religious exercises and therefore did not raise U.S. constitutional concerns.
(International Herald Tribune )
Minneapolis radio station apologizes for Muslim satire
Oct. 2: Top 40 radio station KDWB-FM (Minneapolis) has apologized for an on-air comedy skit
called "Muslim Jeopardy." The skit included an announcer using a fake South Asia accent
introducing contest categories such as "infamous infidels" and "potent portables." The skit also
included a threat to behead a female host when she got an answer wrong. The station's Web site
today contained a short apology: "KDWB does not condone making light of Islam and Muslims.
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We regret that listeners found the Muslim Jeopardy comedy skit of one of our on-air hosts to be
insensitive." (Associated Press)
Workplace bias against Muslims, Arabs on rise, advocates say
Oct. 3: The restaurant manager from Morocco, the Armenian caterer from Syria and the Yemeni
sailor aren't all Muslims and hail from different homelands. But all three say they suffered
discrimination at work after Sept. 11, 2001, because of their national origin or perceptions that
they were Muslim. Now, they are among those who have filed lawsuits through the California
offices of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - reflecting increasing discrimination
against people of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent, according to advocacy groups.
Reports of workplace discrimination against people perceived to be Muslim or Arab soared after
the Sept. 11 attacks and then declined, government statistics indicate. But some advocates say
they've seen a resurgence in the last year that corresponds to global political events.After 9/11,
the EEOC introduced a category of employment discrimination against people who are or are
perceived to be Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern, South Asian or Sikh. Nationwide statistics from the
EEOC indicate that such complaints - so far exceeding 1,000 - have decreased each year since
2002. (Los Angeles Times)
Dr. Maher Hathout honored by LA County Commission on Human Relations
Oct. 5: The Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations today presented their
prestigious John Allen Buggs Award for excellence in human relations to Muslim American leader
Dr. Maher Hathout before a sold-out audience of more than 300 people. In his acceptance
speech, Dr. Hathout, advisor to the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), thanked all the
religious, civic and community leaders who stood by him publicly after a nasty smear campaign
was launched by the Zionist Organization of America and the American Jewish Committee
following the Commission's decision to honor him in July. "For those who opposed me with an
extra dose of passion, in the spirit of this blessed time when the Muslim and Jewish holidays
overlap, I am extending a hand of friendship, opening a mind of dialogue, and offering a heart of
love. Your children and my children are stuck together in America. They better learn how to make
it a better place." This award is a landmark for the Muslim American community, one which
demonstrates their ongoing work to forge stronger bonds within their broader communities in
civic, cultural and religious life. (MPAC Bulletin)
Group opposed to Roxbury mosque sues Boston Redevelopment Authority
Oct. 6: The David Project, a non profit Jewish advocacy organization, has charged in Suffolk
Superior Court that the Boston Redevelopment Authority is withholding public records related to
the authority's sale of land to the Islamic Society of Boston for construction of a mosque. The
organization asked the court to order the BRA to surrender the documents, in particular copies of
e-mails written and received by BRA deputy director Mohammad Ali-Salaam regarding the
Roxbury land deal, and documents relating to travel by Ali-Salaam to the Middle East on behalf of
the mosque project. The David Project is among numerous organizations and individuals sued by
the Islamic Society for allegedly conspiring to circulate false and defamatory information about its
leaders in order to prevent the building of the mosque. (Boston Globe)
Texas mosque vandalized three times in one month
Oct. 10: Vandals have struck a Lubbock (Texas) mosque three times in one month, prompting
fear and calls for understanding among some in the religious center's community. Most recently
someone used black spray paint to write the misspelled word "Redemtion" on the building.
Vandals have also trampled the mosque's flower beds and smashed exterior lights within the past
month. Members of Lubbock's Muslim community estimate the local population of Muslims to be
between 500 and 700 people. (Associated Press)
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2nd Quran found in toilet at New York City University
Oct. 17: The discovery of the Quran in a toilet at Pace University's lower Manhattan campus was
the latest in a series of recent acts of vandalism tinged with racial or religious overtones at the
school, the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said. In September, a
copy of the Quran was found in a toilet at Pace, and in October someone scrawled racial slurs on
a student's car at the Westchester County satellite campus and on a bathroom wall at the
campus in lower Manhattan. (International Herald Tribune)
ADC files lawsuit against DHS and ICE concerning the “October Plan”
Oct. 17: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) filed a lawsuit today against
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its component U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE), in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The lawsuit,
which ADC filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), seeks information that would
either validate or dispel the widespread perception that DHS and ICE have been misusing
information from the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) to impermissibly
target, or “profile,” Arab-Americans and Muslims for general law enforcement purposes. In
particular, this lawsuit demands the immediate disclosure of government records concerning the
national origin, ethnicity, race, religion, and gender of the more than 230 individuals detained by
the government in connection with a law enforcement operation known as the “October Plan,”
which federal law enforcement officials carried out in connection with the 2004 Presidential
Elections. Community concerns about the potential for similar law enforcement activities during
the upcoming national elections prompted ADC to file this suit today. (ADC Press Release)
Head-covering scarf is a symbol of faith
Oct. 21: More American women who follow the Muslim faith are wearing a hijab, the headcovering scarf that publicly identifies them as a follower of Islam. The hijab is a symbol of a
Muslim woman's faith and modesty. Thousands of Muslim women in Michigan wear a hijab in
public. Hijabs vary in color, cut and fabric, and women can treat them as fashion accessories to
coordinate with their outfits. While some non-Muslims may consider the hijab a symbol of female
oppression and second-class status, Muslim women say it was a choice they made to renew their
relationship with God, and identify with their faith rather than stereotypes. Hijabis -- as women
who cover their hair call themselves -- say they aim to strengthen their faith and challenge
stereotypes about Muslims reignited in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. (Detroit Free
Press)
ACLU elects first Arab American to its national board of directors
Oct. 18: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) congratulates Laila Al-Qatami,
ADC Communications Director, on being the first Arab American to be elected to the National
Board of Directors of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Laila Al-Qatami was elected by
the ACLU's national electorate to fill one of 30 at-large seats on the ACLU's National Board of
Directors. She will serve a three-year term on the National Board, which includes representatives
from the 53 ACLU affiliates across the nation, in addition to the at-large seats. Additionally, she
was also elected to serve as a member of the Board of Directors for the ACLU National Capital
Area (ACLU-NCA) affiliate by the members of the ACLU-NCA. The ACLU, which is nonpartisan
and nonprofit, was founded in 1920, and over the years has significantly strengthened and
solidified its position as the nation's guardian of liberty. (ADC Press Release)
Suit seeks data on immigration profiling of Arabs
Oct. 18: In an effort to establish whether the government is using prohibited profiling methods
against Arab-Americans and Muslims, a civil rights group filed a suit yesterday against the
Homeland Security Department and one of its branches, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The suit, by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, asked the Federal District Court in
the District of Columbia to compel the immigration agency under the Freedom of Information Act
to release the nationalities of 237 people arrested for immigration violations in October 2004.
The agency announced the arrests at the time in an effort to disrupt possible terrorist threats in
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the presidential elections.Over the past two years, two previous requests by the committee to
obtain the information through standard channels failed. Refusing to release the nationalities
leaves open a possibility that immigration laws are being disproportionately enforced against
Arab-Americans and Muslims, said Kareem Shora, the new executive director of the committee,
which is based in Washington. (New York Times)
U.S. security officials prevent an influential
Islamic scholar from attending a conference in New York
Oct. 18: A leading member of Britain’s Muslim community, headed to New York for an academic
conference, was forced to leave his transatlantic flight without explanation by the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security earlier today. The removal of Kamal Helbawy, the 80-year-old
founder of the Muslim Association of Britain, came just minutes before his American Airlines flight
was due to take off from London’s Heathrow Airport. The incident is the latest instance in which
U.S. security officials have denied prominent Muslim leaders entry to the United States. Helbawy,
an Egyptian-born Islamic scholar, was for years a leading spokesman in Europe for the Muslim
Brotherhood, an organization founded in Egypt that some U.S. officials say is dedicated to
spreading a radical brand of Islam throughout the world. While not denying his affiliation with the
Brotherhood, Helbawy described himself in a telephone interview today as a moderate who has
publicly denounced terrorism “thousands of times.” He also noted that he serves on the Muslim
Council of Britain—a semiofficial British government advisory committee that works to turn British
Muslims away from violence. (Newsweek)
Veil costs her claim in court
Oct. 22: Ginnnah Muhammad of Detroit criticized Hamtramck Judge Paul Paruk: "I didn't feel like
the court recognized me as a person that needed justice." Ginnnah Muhammad of Detroit was
looking for her day in court. Instead, she said she felt as if a judge forced her to choose between
her case and her religion in a small-claims dispute in Hamtramck District Court. A devout Muslim,
she wore a niqab -- a scarf and veil to cover her face and head except for her eyes -- Oct. 11 as
she contested a rental car company's charging her $2,750 to repair a vehicle after thieves broke
into it. Judge Paul Paruk said he needed to see her face to judge her truthfulness and gave
Muhammad, 42, a choice: take off the veil when testifying or the case would be dismissed. She
kept the veil on. (Detroit Free Press)
South African Muslim scholar turned away from US
Oct. 22: An Islamic scholar from South Africa has been denied entry into the United States,
prompting questions from Muslims in the San Francisco Bay area who had invited him to
participate in activities marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Fazlur Rahman Azmi was
detained by officials from US Customs and Border Protection when he arrived at San Francisco
International Airport from London. Azmi, who had made previous visits to the country as recently
as April without problems, was questioned for hours before being denied entry and sent on a
plane out of the country the next day. Michael Fleming, a Customs and Border Protection
spokesperson, confirmed that Azmi was forced to leave the country after a brief detainment. "His
application for entry into the US was determined to be inadmissible," said Fleming, refusing to
give any details of the case. Last month, another Islamic scholar from South Africa, Ismail Mullah,
was denied entry into the country when he arrived at Dulles International Airport for a trip to visit
Muslims in northern Virginia. (Main & Guardian of South Africa)
Muslim ousted from Phoenix Human Relations Commission
Oct. 25: Tensions in the Middle East are manifesting themselves on a Phoenix commission that is
supposed to foster unity among people. Phoenix City Council members last week removed
Marwan Ahmad, a Palestinian and Muslim, from the Human Relations Commission after more
than five years of service, saying he was promoting messages of intolerance against Israel, the
Jewish community and at least one member of the Islamic community. Ahmad said the City
Council violated his freedom of speech and is mixing local and international politics. (Arizona
Republic)
[Page 159]
November 2006
Judge blocks Wayne (NJ) from taking mosque's land
Nov 1: Finding the township's motives suspect, a federal judge today temporarily blocked Wayne
(New Jersey) from instituting condemnation proceedings to acquire an 11-acre tract where a
Paterson-based Muslim group hopes to build a mosque. At the same time, U.S. District Judge
Peter G. Sheridan enjoined the Albanian Associated Fund from moving ahead with construction
of the mosque if it receives the necessary site plan approvals from the Planning Board. The suit,
filed in July, said township officials have stalled the mosque for nearly four years at the Planning
Board level, imposing unusually stringent requirements and orchestrating a series of delays.
Upon realizing it couldn't stop the project, the suit alleges, the Township Council approved a
resolution authorizing it to obtain the Colfax Road tract via eminent domain. (NorthJewsey.com)
Baptist leader, politicians stereotype Islam and Muslims
Nov. 1: The Council on American-Islamic Relations today reacted to a series of physical and
rhetorical attacks on Islam and Muslims nationwide by calling on religious and political leaders to
repudiate growing Islamophobia in American society. The CAIR reported that a county
commissioner in Florida said that he agrees with a letter his wife wrote to a local newspaper
calling Islam a "hateful, frightening religion." In Missouri, a top Baptist leader in that state told
1,200 convention delegates: "Today, Islam has a strategic plan to defeat and occupy America."
He said Muslims are planning to take over America one city at a time, starting with Detroit. "They
are trying to establish a Muslim state inside America, and they are going to take the city of Detroit
back to the 15th century and practice Sharia (or Islamic) law there." Also in Missouri, "KKK" and
"Kill Muslim" were scrawled in spray paint on the garage door of a family of Pakistani heritage. In
Pennsylvania, Sen. Rick Santorum compared the Islamic concept of "Jihad" to Nazism. "Mein
Kampf means struggle; jihad means struggle," said Santorum. (CAIR Bulletin)
Governor Jeb Bush criticizes anti-Islam letter by official's wife
Nov. 1: Governor Jeb Bush today criticized remarks a Hernando County commissioner's wife
made calling Islam a "hateful, frightening religion." In an Oct. 23 letter to the St. Petersburg
Times, Mary Ann Hogan objected to the county's assistance to a mosque celebration of the end
of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting. "The stated goal of the Muslim faith is to kill us,
the 'infidels.' By providing county employees for their use Hernando County is sanctioning this
hateful, frightening religion," she wrote. Commissioner Tom Hogan Sr., a Republican, defended
his wife's comments. "I'm not seeing that as bigotry, because I don't feel bigoted on it. It's just a
matter of fact," he said. Bush, who appointed Tom Hogan in August, condemned the couple's
remarks. "He's disappointed. He thought their comments were entirely inappropriate," said Alia
Faraj, a spokeswoman for the governor. (Associated Press)
American Muslims gear up for the next week’s elections
Nov. 2: An intensive voter registration and get-out-the-vote drive is under way in the seven-million
strong American Muslim community before the Nov 7 mid-term election. The Muslim groups are
targeting 12 states with a high concentration of Muslim population: California, Illinois, New York,
Texas, New Jersey, Michigan, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota.
The Muslim American Society, which has set up voter registration booths in mosques across the
country, has added 30,000 new voters to the rolls in recent weeks.In Illinois, another state with a
heavy concentration of Muslims, the Council of Islamic Organisations of Greater Chicago has
been working to register more of the area's approximately 400,000 Muslims to vote. In California
which hosts 20 per cent of the American Muslim population, American Muslim Voice (AMV) and
American Muslim Alliance (AMA) are also encouraging Muslims to register as voters and
participate in the national political process. The AMA has issued an election advisory suggesting
its preference for the candidates who supported the Muslims on the issue of civil rights which
remains the top Muslim concern in elections since 2000. (American Muslims gear up for the
next week’s elections By Abdus Sattar Ghazali)
[Page 160]
CAIR seeks profiling clarification from congressman
Nov. 3: The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations announced today that it
has issued a letter, along with several other diverse organizations, demanding a clarification from
Congressman Jerry Weller (R-IL, 11th congressional district) on his recent comments about racial
profiling. In a recent debate against his opponent John Pavich, Congressman Weller remarked: "if
we know a Middle Eastern male has entered our community, I believe our law enforcement needs
to be able to go out and look for Middle Eastern males, if that Middle Eastern male was part of a
jihadist movement and part of a terrorist threat to our nation," when asked what he would do
about racial profiling. Sadiya Ahmed, CAIR-Chicago Governmental Relations Coordinator, said
that the practice of racial profiling "creates a cycle of discrimination that is difficult to break out of."
"Elected officials have the ability to protect the civil rights of their constituents," remarked Ahmed.
"Singling out a group of people, Middle Eastern men, and encouraging law enforcement to seek
them out only encourages a dangerous climate of hate. Our representatives should be the ones
protecting people against such mistreatment in the first place." (CAIR Bulletin)
Rift over Israeli attack on Lebanon tears Muslims, Jews apart
Nov. 3: "Building Bridges," a new half-hour interfaith talk show, is being carried nationally by the
Muslim-owned cable channel Bridges TV. In metro Detroit, the channel is carried by Comcast.
Michigan Muslim leaders occasionally appear on the programs. Rabbi Bradley Hirschfield of New
York is the cohost. On the holiest day of the Jewish year, Rabbi Joseph Klein rose before his
congregation in Oak Park last month to deliver a stunning sermon in which he apologized for
working with local Muslim leaders and vowed to boycott interfaith events. He accused Muslim
leaders of complicity in "hate-filled and violence-promoting rallies" against Israel in Dearborn this
summer. The sermon was a thunderclap marking the edge of a storm that has been building for
more than a year as local Jewish and Muslim communities pulled apart. Now, the tensions are
open and obvious. Rabbis are avoiding events attended by imams and, when they do show up,
conversation often becomes strained. As a result, after years of pioneering efforts in southeast
Michigan to create a haven for dialogue among Jews, Christians and Muslims, metro Detroit's
world-famous interfaith tapestry is unraveling. (Detroit Free Press)
Eid Postage stamp causing controversy
Nov. 6: An Internet campaign to boycott a holiday postage stamp is once again circulating around
Central Texas. The stamp in question commemorates the two biggest Muslim festivals of the
year. An email message from retired postal worker Ron Smith is all over the web, asking people
to remember attacks on the U.S. done in the name of Islam when it's time to buy stamps, and not
buy ones, commemorating Muslim celebrations Eidulfitr and Eid Uladha. Smith said, "From the
little kids up, they're trained to be a terrorist and for us to honor. I’m sure there are good Muslims,
but I just don't think it's appropriate for our country to honor their holidays." Despite the growing email campaign, at the post office said there have been no complaints about these stamps. The
stamp was first released on September 1st of 2001. (KCEN-TV )
First Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress
Nov. 7: Keith Ellison, a Democratic candidate from Minnesota’s 5th District, today created history
when he became the first Muslim to be elected to the US Congress. Ellison got 136,061 or 56%
votes while his rival, Republican Party candidate, Alan Fine, received only 52,263 or 21% votes.
Independent candidate Ms. Tammy Lee also got 21% or 51,456 votes. Voters responded to his
liberal message calling for peace, withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and universal health care.
In a victory message to his voters, Ellison said that he made history because he showed that a
candidate can run a 100% positive campaign and prevail, even against tough opposition.
American Muslim Voice Executive Director, Samina Faheem Sundas, welcoming the election of
Ellison said that the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, have both heightened prejudice against Muslims
and spurred Muslims to be more politically active in hopes of countering that prejudice. "There
are millions of Muslims in this country. It shouldn't have taken this long to elect one to Congress."
(AMP Report)
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Al-Arian’s prosecutor openly condemned Islam
Nov. 9: Documents unsealed in the Sami Al-Arian case today raise questions about an assistant
U.S. attorney's motives for requiring Al-Arian to testify before a federal grand jury in Virginia. AlArian's Tampa attorney, Jack Fernandez, wrote that on Sept. 18 he asked Gordon Kromberg,
assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, to delay Al-Arian's transfer 30 days until
after the Islamic religious holidays of Ramadan. According to a court motion filed by Fernandez,
Kromberg responded: "If they can kill each other during Ramadan, they can appear before the
grand jury, all they can't do is eat before sunset. I believe Mr. Al-Arian's request is part of the
attempted Islamization of the American Justice System. I am not going to put off Dr. Al-Arian's
grand jury appearance just to assist in what is becoming the Islamization of America." On Oct. 19,
Kromberg called Al-Arian before a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., and questioned him
about his knowledge of the workings of an Islamic think tank in Northern Virginia. Al-Arian refused
to answer, saying his "forced cooperation violated the plea agreement" he had made with
prosecutors in Tampa. In April, Al-Arian pleaded guilty to one count of aiding the terrorist group
Palestinian Islamic Jihad with nonviolent activities. He was sentenced to 57 months in prison. (St.
Petersburg Times)
American Muslims in 2006 elections
Nov. 10: The seven-million-strong American Muslim community got a big political push when the
Minnesota Democrat Keith Ellison was elected as the nation's first Muslim member to the US
Congress in November 7, 2006 elections. Ellison's election was accompanied by a massive
turnout of the American Muslim voters to make their voices heard. It is not clear how many
Muslim Americans contested in the 2006 elections but there are fragmented reports that dozens
were candidate for various offices from US Congress, State Senate and assemblies to local
bodies. An informal poll of Muslim voters, conducted by the New Jersey Chapter of the Council
on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ), indicated that the vast majority in that state voted for
Democrats in the mid-term elections. There are at least 18,000 registered Muslim voters in the
state of New Jersey. An informal poll of Muslim voters, conducted by the CAIR Columbus office
indicated that the overwhelming majority of Muslim voters in that state voted for Democrats in the
mid-term elections. Seventy-five Muslim voters from Ohio responded to a post-election survey.
More than 90 percent of the respondents said they had voted for Democratic Party candidates.
(American Muslims in 2006 elections By Abdus Sattar Ghazali)
Senator Webb's thin margin of victory in Virginia boosted by Muslim voter turnout
Nov. 10: The Muslim American Society's Center for Electoral Empowerment (CEE) has reported
a significant increase in the turnout among Muslim voters for the 2006 midterm election. It
attributed Jim Webb’s thin victory in Virginia against the incumbent senator George Allen partly to
the Muslim vote. There are approximately 60,000 Muslim voters in Virginia, with 85% of them
living in Northern Virginia. According to MAS CEE Director Mukit Hossain, it is estimated that
47,700 Muslims voted for Jim Webb, which positively contributed to his narrow victory over
Senator George Allen. (MASNET)
`Wear a Hijab Day” honors slain Afghan mother in Fremont, CA
Nov. 13: Samantha Keller of San Jose wrapped a pink scarf around her face today, covering her
long, curly brown hair. The church-going Catholic donned a Muslim veil as part of a global social
experiment to show that she respects other people's cultures and faiths. The event was dreamed
up by a handful of Fremont (CA) community activists in response to the Oct. 19 slaying of Alia
Ansari, 38, an Afghan mother of six who wore a hijab the day she was killed. Because Ansari had
no known enemies, many perceive the brazen daytime shooting as a hate crime. Hijab-day
organizers wanted to show Ansari's family, and the wider community, that Fremont is not a
hateful place. With 212,000 residents who hail from 155 countries, the Bay Area's fourth-largest
city is the most diverse of its size in the country. Countless people from London to New York and
Saudi Arabia e-mailed the organizers to say they would wear head scarves, too. The event
expanded to include Sikh turbans, Jewish yarmulkes and African-American-style head wear.
(Mercury News)
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Anti-Muslim posters at Yale University
Nov. 15: An unknown party posted what many called an anti-Muslim cartoon across Yale's
campus this morning, the third recent instance of anonymous postering on campus. The cartoons
on the posters - which were taken down mid-morning by members of the Muslim Students
Association - depicted the prophet Muhammad with a sword in one hand and a decapitated head
in the other, underneath a speech bubble which included the phrase: "Don't mess with
Ahmadinejad's nukes." MSA President Altaf Saadi said she was shocked that the cartoons would
be posted on a campus like Yale's and was unhappy that the individuals responsible decided to
remain anonymous. (Yale Daily News)
UCLA student stunned by taser plans suit
Nov. 17: The UCLA student stunned with a Taser by a campus police officer has hired a highprofile civil rights lawyer who plans to file a brutality lawsuit. The videotaped incident, which
occurred after the student refused requests to show his ID card to campus officers, triggered
widespread debate on and off campus about whether use of the Taser was warranted. It was the
third in a recent series of local incidents captured on video that raise questions about arrest
tactics. Attorney Stephen Yagman said he plans to file a federal civil rights lawsuit accusing the
UCLA police of "brutal excessive force," as well as false arrest. He said that Mostafa
Tabatabainejad, when asked for his ID, declined because he thought he was being singled out
because of his Middle Eastern appearance. Tabatabainejad is of Iranian descent but is a U.S.born resident of Los Angeles. The lawyer said Tabatabainejad eventually decided to leave the
library but when an officer refused the student's request to take his hand off him, the student fell
limp to the floor, again to avoid participating in what he considered a case of racial profiling. After
police started firing the Taser, Tabatabainejad tried to "get the beating, the use of brutal force, to
stop by shouting and causing people to watch. Generally, police don't want to do their dirties in
front of a lot of witnesses." (Los Angeles Times)
Six Imams removed from flight
Nov. 20: Six Muslim religious leaders were taken off a US Airways flight in Minneapolis on
Monday evening and detained for several hours after some passengers and crew members
complained of behavior they deemed suspicious, including prayers at the gate. The incident
prompted the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Washington officials of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People to call yesterday for Congressional hearings
on profiling and an investigation by the Justice Department and the Transportation Security
Administration. The six men detained, all imams, had attended a Minneapolis conference of the
North American Imams Federation. They were handcuffed by the police and led off the flight,
bound for Phoenix, after reports from passengers and crew members of “unsettling” behavior,
according to a police report. One passenger had slipped a note to a flight attendant that began, “6
suspicious Arabic men on plane,” the report said. After being detained for five hours and
questioned separately by federal agents, all six men were released, said Patrick Hogan, a
spokesman for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. (New York Times)
Savage calls for a ban on Muslim immigration and construction of mosques
Nov. 27: Michael Savage – on his nationally syndicated radio show today - declared that in order
to "save the United States," lawmakers should institute "an outright ban on Muslim immigration"
into the country. Savage also recommended making "the construction of mosques illegal in
America, and the speaking of English only in the streets of the United States the law." Savage
made the remarks while discussing a November 20 incident in which six imams were detained at
the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport after a passenger became alarmed that the imams
were praying. The imams were cleared of any wrongdoing. Savage claimed that the imams'
prayers in the airport -- and not the fact that they were asked to de-board the plane -- constituted
a "complete and total assault upon our civil rights," adding that the Justice Department should
"stand up to these imams and possibly throw them out of the country for having staged this attack
at the airport against US Airways specifically to impose Muslim views on society through civil
rights and diversity training." Savage also baselessly suggested that the American Civil Liberties
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Union (ACLU) planted the imams at the airport to incite the incident, saying that "there's an email
trail about how to do this and it goes right into the ACLU and the other subversive organizations."
Savage has previously described Arabs as "non-humans" and "racist, fascist bigots," advocated
"kill[ing] 100 million" Muslims, and claimed that there is no difference between "radical Islam and
the rest of Islam over there." (Media Matters for America)
Raided Muslim charity sues bank
Nov. 27: A Muslim charity raided by federal agents in September has sued a bank, saying it
violated the charity's civil rights by planning to close its accounts. The charity, Life for Relief and
Development, also seeks an injunction to stop Comerica Bank from giving other banks any
information it might have about the organization. The charity is challenging the constitutionality of
a section of the Patriot Act, which allows financial institutions to share information about
suspected money laundering or terrorist activity. Comerica had told the charity that it planned to
terminate the accounts Nov. 15, but granted an extension, according to the lawsuit. FBI agents
assigned to a terrorism task force searched Life's offices Sept. 18, seizing computer servers,
donor records and other financial documents. They also searched the homes of the charity's chief
executive, an ex-employee and two board members. The FBI would not say what agents were
looking for, but charity officials have said it might be related to relief work the group did in Iraq.
The international humanitarian organization also is active in Afghanistan. No charges have been
filed against the charity. (Washington Post)
Radio spoof draws support for Nazi-like treatment of U.S. Muslims
Nov. 27: A parody of anti-Muslim bigotry on a Washington, D.C., radio station drew support for
treating American Muslims in a manner similar to how the Jewish community was targeted in Nazi
Germany. The Council on American-Islamic Relations said today that the reaction to the parody is
a "wake-up call" for religious and political leaders who remain silent on the issue of growing
Islamophobia in America. In his 630 WMAL program on Sunday, November 26, talk show host
Jerry Klein seemed to advocate a government program to force all Muslims to wear "identifying
markers." He stated: "I'm thinking either it should be an arm band, a crescent moon arm band, or
it should be a crescent moon tattoo." Klein said: "If it means that we have to round them up and
do a tattoo in a place where everybody knows where to find it, then that's what we'll have to do."
The program focused on public reaction to the removal of six Imams, or Islamic religious leaders,
from a US Airways flight in Minnesota last week. Some callers to the program rejected
discriminatory treatment of Muslims, but others supported Klein's statements and even suggested
that even more severe measures be taken against American Muslims. "Richard" in Gaithersburg,
Md., said: "Not only do you tattoo them in the middle of their foreheads; you round them up and
then ship them out of this country, period." (CAIR Bulletin)
Federal judges slows administration attempts to shut down charities
Nov. 28: A federal judge struck down President Bush's authority to designate groups as terrorists,
saying his post-Sept. 11 executive order (13224) was unconstitutional and vague. Some parts of
the Sept. 24, 2001 order tagging 27 groups and individuals as "specially designated global
terrorists" were too vague and could impinge on First Amendment rights of free association, U.S.
District Judge Audrey Collins said. The order gave the president "unfettered discretion" to label
groups without giving them a way to challenge the designations, she said in a Nov. 21 ruling that
was made public today. The judge, who two years ago invalidated portions of the U.S. Patriot Act,
rejected several sections of Bush's Executive Order 13224 and enjoined the government from
blocking the assets of two foreign groups. (Associated Press) Commenting on the court ruling
the Muslim Public Affairs Council said: Over the past five years, the Bush Administration has
designated several charities "specially designated terrorist groups" under Executive Order 13224.
As a result of the designation, several U.S. charities have been effectively shut down without any
checks or balances from Congress or the Judiciary. Since the War on Terror began, a handful of
Muslim American charities have had their operations suspended by government action (including
having their assets frozen). To date, such efforts have not yielded a single conviction of anyone
involved with the designated charities for terrorist financing or support. Those charities have
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either been shut down or have been under more scrutiny because of their desire to provide
humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in particular. (MPAC Bulletin)
Cedar Rapids residents work to restore oldest mosque
Nov. 28: The first mosque built by Muslims in the U.S. is located in Iowa. It's called the Mother
Mosque of America and was built in 1934 in Cedar Rapids. Residents are working to restore the
mosque that is used as a cultural center, a library and a place of worship. In the late 1800s,
Cedar Rapids had its first influx of immigrants from a region that is now Lebanon. (KCCI)
Mayfield settles case against feds for $2 million
Nov. 29: The Washington County lawyer wrongly arrested by the FBI in connection with the 2004
terrorist bombings of passenger trains in Madrid has settled his lawsuit against the federal
government for $2 million. Brandon Mayfield, a Muslim who lives in Aloha and practices law in
Beaverton, sued the United States, the U.S. Attorney General, the FBI and federal agents for
continuing to investigate him after Spanish authorities eliminated him as a suspect. In May 2004,
the FBI apologized to Mayfield and his family for confusing the lawyer's fingerprints with those of
an Algerian man, but Mayfield sued the government, alleging that agents mistreated him during
his arrest and illegally investigated him after he was released. As part of the settlement, the
federal government issued this apology to Mayfield and his family this week: “The United States
of America apologizes to Mr. Brandon Mayfield and his family for the suffering caused by the
FBI’s misidentification of Mr. Mayfield’s fingerprint and the resulting investigation of Mr. Mayfield,
including his arrest as a material witness in connection with the 2004 Madrid train bombings and
the execution of search warrants and other court orders in the Mayfield family home and in Mr.
Mayfield’s law office. The United States acknowledges that the investigation and arrest were
deeply upsetting to Mr. Mayfield, to Mrs. Mayfield, and to their three young children, and the
United States regrets that it mistakenly linked Mr. Mayfield to this terrorist attack. The FBI has
implemented a number of measures in an effort to ensure that what happened to Mr. Mayfield
and the Mayfield family does not happen again.” Mayfield said in his statement that his financial
settlement with the federal government does not preclude him from pursuing his claim that the
USA Patriot Act, passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and renewed this year, is
unconstitutional. (Portland Tribune)
Federal judges slows administration attempts to shut down charities
Nov. 30: In a significant development on the right of charitable giving, a federal judge ruled that
the Bush administration violated the U.S. Constitution when it froze the assets of more than two
dozen alleged terrorist groups after the 9/11 attacks. The ruling held that an executive order
President Bush issued on Sept. 24, 2001, designating 27 groups and individuals as "specially
designated global terrorists", was "unconstitutionally vague" and flawed because it failed to
explain the criteria used to make the designations and included no process to challenge the
decision. Over the past five years, the Bush Administration has designated several charities
"specially designated terrorist groups" under Executive Order 13224. As a result of the
designation, several U.S. charities have been effectively shut down without any checks or
balances from Congress or the Judiciary. Since the War on Terror began, a handful of Muslim
American charities have had their operations suspended by government action (including having
their assets frozen). To date, such efforts have not yielded a single conviction of anyone involved
with the designated charities for terrorist financing or support. Those charities have either been
shut down or have been under more scrutiny because of their desire to provide humanitarian aid
to the Palestinians in particular. (MPAC Bulletin)
December 2006
Israel lobby terrorizes US congress - former senator
Dec. 4: In a letter to Jeff Blankfort, a civil rights activist, James Abourezk, former US Senator from
South Dakota said: I can tell you from personal experience that, at least in the Congress, the
support Israel has in that body is based completely on political fear--fear of defeat by anyone who
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does not do what Israel wants done. I can also tell you that very few members of Congress--at
least when I served there--have any affection for Israel or for its Lobby. What they have is
contempt, but it is silenced by fear of being found out exactly how they feel. I've heard too many
cloakroom conversations in which members of the Senate will voice their bitter feelings about
how they're pushed around by the Lobby to think otherwise. In private one hears the dislike of
Israel and the tactics of the Lobby, but not one of them is willing to risk the Lobby's animosity by
making their feelings public.
New chapter needs new thinking
Dec. 5: The Islamic Center of Southern California, has initiated a program which it called
“jurisprudence for minorities.” According to Dr. Maher Hathout, an advisor to the Muslim Public
Affairs Council, the project could contribute to the much-needed revival of Islamic scholarship for
an ever-changing world. “For Muslims in adopted lands, life will be easier if they avoid imposing
on themselves unneeded restrictions and hardships and instead follow Islamic teachings that
discourage hardship and promote the development of a moderate and facile way of realizing the
goals of sharia, which is what is good for people in this life as well as the life of eternity. By doing
this, minority Muslim populations will not place themselves in either physical or virtual ghettos, but
rather will be ready to cooperate in a constructive way with their fellow, non-Muslim citizens.”
(Newsweek)
Police antiterrorism analyst sues NY city, citing anti-Muslim e-mail
Dec. 6: For several years, the New York Police Department has touted an elite undercover unit of
mostly Middle Eastern and Asian investigators who use their foreign-language skills online to
search out potential terrorist threats against the city. But now the department is under criticism
from a member of the unit, an Egyptian-born analyst who filed a suit yesterday that charges he
was subjected to hundreds of blistering anti-Muslim and anti-Arab e-mail messages sent out by a
city contractor over the course of three years. The analyst, not named in the court papers, filed
the discrimination lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan as "John Doe Anti-Terrorism Officer"
because he still works undercover in the Cyber Unit. The man, described in the lawsuit as "a
proud Arab-American, a practicing Muslim and a patriot," blamed the city for failing to respond to
his repeated complaints about the contractor, who was alleged to have sent e-mails saying
"Burning the hate-filled Koran should be viewed as a public service at the least" and "Without
Islam, there wouldn't be any Islamic terror." He said the hateful rhetoric, unchecked by
supervisors, infected the workplace, where other employees felt comfortable making anti-Muslim
comments and jokes and where a high-ranking police official thought it was OK to say, "All Arabs
are animals." (New York Times/Newsday)
Former Alabama chief justice smears Islam
Dec. 6: "A basic teaching of the Quran is that all infidels, i.e., those who do not acknowledge
"Allah" as the true god, should be killed wherever they are found. Such is the nature of this new
war. A great danger to our country exists when government offices and institutions are opened to
Islamic influence. . ," writes Judge Roy Moore former chief Justice of Alabama. (World Net Daily)
Baker panel's mention of Palestinian "right of return" raises eyebrows
Dec. 6: A reference to Palestinians' "right of return" in the report issued by the high-level Iraq
Study Group broke a diplomatic taboo which sparked immediate concern in Israel and surprise
among Middle East policy experts. The reference was buried deep inside a 160-page report that
urged US President George W. Bush to renew efforts to revive Israel-Palestinian peace talks as
part of a region-wide bid to end the chaos in Iraq. Among his group's 79 recommendations for a
policy shift on Iraq, number 17 concerned five points it said should be included in a negotiated
peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The final point in the list was: "Sustainable
negotiations leading to a final peace settlement along the lines of President Bush's two-state
solution, which would address the key final status issues of borders, settlements, Jerusalem, the
right of return and the end of conflict." "This report is worrisome for Israel particularly because,
for the first time, it mentions the question of the 'right of return' for the Palestinian refugees of
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1948," said a senior Israeli official, who was reacting to the US policy report on condition he not
be identified. (Agence France Presse)
At swearing in, congressman wants to carry Quran, outrage ensues
Dec. 7: Keith Ellison hasn't even started his new job, and he's already under fire. When America's
first Muslim congressman, a Democrat from Minnesota, let it be known he will carry a Quran to
his swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 4, conservative pundit Dennis Prager called it "an act of hubris
... that undermines American civilization." In a web column, the talk-show host said, "Insofar as a
member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned,
America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that
book, don't serve in Congress." The column has sparked a brouhaha on talk radio, in the
blogosphere, and in newspapers across the country. The congressman's office has been
inundated with angry e-mails. (Christian Science Monitor)
Houston suburb objects to mosque plans
Dec. 7: A plan to build a mosque in this Houston suburb (Katy) has blown up into a neighborhood
dispute, with community members warning the place will become a terrorist hotbed and one man
threatening to hold pig races on Fridays just to offend the Muslims. One resident has set up an
anti-Islamic Web site with an odometer-like counter that keeps track of terrorist attacks since
Sept. 11. A committee has formed to buy another property and offer to trade it for the Muslims'
land. And a next-door neighbor has threatened to race pigs on the edge of the property on the
Muslim holy day. Muslims consider pigs unclean and do not eat pork. "The neighbors have
created havoc for us and we didn't expect that," said engineer Kamel Fotouh, president of the
500-member Katy Islamic Association. Fotouh vowed to press ahead with plans for a mosque on
the 11-acre site, as well as a community center that would offer after-school activities, housing for
senior citizens, a fitness center and an Islamic school. (Associated Press)
Senate judiciary leaders introduce bill to restore habeas rights for detainees
Dec. 7: US Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), outgoing chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee,
and current ranking member of the committee Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) have introduced a
bill which would restore habeas corpus rights to military detainees and amend the Military
Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA). This bill would restore the great writ of habeas corpus, a
cornerstone of American liberty for hundreds of years that Congress and the President rolled
back in an unprecedented and unnecessary way with September's Military Commissions Act.
Introducing the bill Senator Leahy said: This bill would restore the great writ of habeas corpus, a
cornerstone of American liberty for hundreds of years that Congress and the President rolled
back in an unprecedented and unnecessary way with September's Military Commissions Act.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who helped craft the detainee legislation,
said he would oppose the move. (Source media reports)
Hate crimes reported in Florida, Ohio
Dec. 8: Muslims in Florida and Ohio have been victims of alleged racially-motivated attacks, the
Council on American-Islamic Relations said. The group urged the Federal Bureau of Investigation
to launch investigations into the attacks. "In Melbourne, Fla., a Muslim of North African heritage
was badly beaten during a robbery Nov. 14 in which a witness told police that one of the
assailants shouted "you stupid Arab ..." and used other abusive terms, CAIR said. "A mosque in
that same city was struck by gunfire in September as worshipers prayed inside," the organization
said. "In Ohio, a Muslim woman wearing an Islamic head scarf said she was verbally assaulted
on Tuesday by another customer at a Lakewood Walgreens when she used a passport as
identification to cash a check. She told CAIR that the cashier and other customers looked on as
the man shouted obscenities, made obscene gestures and shouted 'go back home' and 'who
needs to use a passport for ID in America.' (United Press International)
Dennis Prager supporters spew anti-Muslim hate
Dec. 8: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said today that it has received
hundreds of hate-filled e-mails from supporters of radio talk show host Dennis Prager who says
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the first Muslim elected to Congress should be prevented from taking his oath of office using the
Quran. This week, CAIR called on President Bush to rescind Prager's appointment to the United
States Holocaust Memorial Council because of his intolerant views toward Islam in American
society. CAIR had earlier called on the head of the museum council to remove Prager from his
post because his views are incompatible with the mission of that taxpayer-funded institution.
A number of other commentators and groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, the
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and the American Jewish Committee, have rejected
Prager's views. (CAIR Bulletin)
Proposed New Jersey Mosque stirs heated debate
Dec. 10: The Albanian Associated Fund, which represents nearly 200 families, has outgrown its
Paterson mosque and is seeking permission to build a combination mosque, recreation and
school building in Wayne, where a number of members already live. About five years ago, the
group bought 11 acres in the township for about $350,000 in an attempt to expand its facilities in
safer surroundings. The complex would sit atop a hill where Colfax Road and Paterson-Hamburg
Turnpike meet. Neighbors have opposed the project, saying it will bring heavy traffic and
contribute to existing flooding problems in the area. In a July discrimination lawsuit filed at the
federal level, Albanian group members claimed that township officials stalled approving the
4,715-square-foot mosque and 7,957-square-foot school for nearly four years at the planning
board level, imposing unusually stringent requirements and several delays. (Herald News)
Fliers at Pennsylvania church take aim at Islam
Dec. 11: Islam is a "clear and present danger," according to the pamphlet in the foyer of the
Milford Bible Church. "Christians are in danger from the spread of the doctrines of Islam," reads
the first sentence of the flier. The pamphlet is published by the Personal Freedom Outreach, a
nonprofit group with offices in Missouri, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. (Times Herald-Record)
Furor grows over bank closure of charity account
Dec. 12: The U.S. Department of Justice may defend the Patriot Act in a case involving Comerica
Bank and a Muslim charity based in Southfield, according to court documents the department
filed in Detroit. Comerica officials have told Life for Relief and Development that it intends to close
its accounts. The bank's move came after the charity was raided by federal agents in September.
The government has not said what the raid was about, but charity officials say it may be related to
work the charity did in Iraq. In response, the charity sued Comerica, saying the bank violated its
civil rights. The suit, filed last month, challenges the constitutionality of a section of the Patriot Act
that allows financial institutions to share information about suspected money laundering or
terrorist activity. On Dec. 1, Justice Department attorneys filed a notice in U.S. District Court in
Detroit that said it may "intervene in this action to defend the constitutionality" of the section under
question. Some Arab Americans and Muslims charge the bank is discriminating against the
charity because it is operated by Arab-American Muslims. (Detroit Free Press)
Muslim charity seeks dismissal of charges of terrorism
Dec. 12: In a new challenge to Washington over its closing several American Muslim charities
that it has accused of aiding terrorism, the largest such group filed a motion seeking dismissal of
many of the charges. Lawyers for the group, the Holy Land Foundation of Richardson, Tex., filed
the motion in Federal District Court in Dallas two weeks after a federal judge in California called
into question a crucial provision in designating terrorist supporters. Since December 2001, the
Treasury Department has designated Holy Land and five other Muslim charities in the United
States as terrorist supporters, seizing millions of dollars in assets and halting their activities. No
accused charity or any senior officer have been convicted on a charge of terrorism. Some
charities have faced no criminal charges. (New York Times)
Effigy of 'Arab' stirs uneasiness in Aan Anselmo, CA
Dec. 13: An effigy of a man in Arab headdress hanging from a gallows in a San Anselmo (CA)
yard has become the latest public display of politics to raise eyebrows in a town becoming known
for that type of thing. Pat La Tray, 57, built the gallows for the straw effigy - which has an
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American flag piercing its heart - after police asked him to take it out of a tree on town property in
front of his house at 330 Greenfield Ave. He built the effigy for Halloween, but said he has
decided to leave it up as a symbol of his support for troops fighting in the Iraq war and his stance
against terrorism. (Marin Independent Journal)
CAIR condemns Iranian holocaust denial conference
Dec. 13: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today condemned a conference in
Iran that seeks to deny the Holocaust, the systematic destruction of the Jewish community in
Europe by the Nazis during World War II. In a statement, CAIR said: "No legitimate cause or
agenda can ever be advanced by denying or belittling the immense human suffering caused by
the murder of millions of Jews and other minority groups by the Nazi regime and its allies during
World War II. Cynical attempts to use Holocaust denial as a political tool in the Middle East
conflict will only serve to deepen the level of mistrust and hostility already present in that troubled
region." (CAIR bulletin)
Hamas-case prosecution concludes
Dec. 13: After presenting evidence for the better part of two months, federal prosecutors rested
their case against two men accused of activities supporting the militant Islamic Palestinian group
Hamas. The prosecutors ended the first phase of the case with more testimony from FBI agents
who walked jurors through phone and bank records allegedly linking defendants Muhammad
Salah and Abdelhaleem Ashqar to Hamas leadership and to each other. Salah is a Bridgeview
businessman accused of funding terrorism through the group, and Ashqar, a former university
professor from Virginia, is accused as an organizer. The documents allegedly show money
moving between top Hamas leaders and Salah, including more than $1 million in deposits in the
early 1990s. Defense lawyers have countered with the argument that all of the alleged activities in
the case occurred before the U.S. officially designated Hamas a terrorist organization in 1995,
and that money was used for education and charitable work. (Chicago Tribune)
Losing Arab allies' hearts and minds
Dec 14: Attitudes towards the United States reached new lows through most of the Arab world
over the past year, according to the findings of a major new survey of five Arab countries
released by Zogby International and the Arab American Institute (AAI). Based on 3,500 face-toface interviews of randomly selected adult respondents in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia
and Lebanon, the survey found that the continuing deterioration in Washington's image was due
primarily to U.S. policies in the region, particularly with respect to Iraq, Palestine, and, to a
somewhat lesser extent, Lebanon. But it also found that attitudes towards U.S. cultural and
political values have also become increasingly negative, compared to previous years' surveys,
although not nearly as negative as Arab views of specific policies. (Inter Press Service)
Muslim asked to remove hijab on British Airways flight
Dec. 14: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on British Airways to
clarify its policy on passengers wearing religiously-mandated attire after a Muslim woman
traveling to the United States reported that she was asked to remove her Islamic headscarf, or
hijab, during the flight. CAIR said the Muslim passenger, who lives in the United Kingdom,
reported that a British Airways employee asked her to remove her scarf before boarding a flight
from Heathrow to Philadelphia on November 24. According to the passenger, the British Airways
employee said that permission to wear an Islamic headscarf on the plane was "at the discretion of
the pilot." (CAIR Bulletin)
Harassment of returning American Hajjis feared
Dec. 14: Fearing harassment of American Muslims returning after performing Hajj, the Council on
American Islamic Relations, met with the officials of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to
discuss hassle-free travel for the Hajj pilgrims. The CAIR has also reached out to the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI), to ensure safe traveling for the Hajj pilgrims. Following recent
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reports of "flying while Muslim" airport profiling incidents, the CAIR is offering a toll-free hotline for
the returning Hajjis who may experience any difficulty and extra probe by the U.S. Customs and
Border Protection officials. It may be recalled that six Imams were removed from a domestic flight
and detained for several hours because they offered prayers at the airport. The CAIR has also
advised the Hajj pilgrims to review their rights and responsibilities as airlines passengers, in order
to facilitate efficient traveling and to avoid unnecessary delays. (AMP Report)
'Kill all Muslim kids' hate site shut down
Dec. 15: The Tampa, Fla., office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Tampa)
announced today that an Internet web hosting company in that state has shut down a hate site
that supported killing "all Muslim kids." Hostgator.com removed the site in response to a request
by CAIR-Tampa. The Boca Raton-based company also informed the Islamic civil rights and
advocacy group that the website has been suspended permanently. Other entries on the site
contained obscene and hate-filled attacks on Islam and Muslims, as well as support for other
violent actions. One entry stated: "It's bad enough some [expletive deleted] in Minnesota elect a
Muslim to Congress but the people in Michigan might have done them one better. . .Start sticking
[sic] up on guns and ammo. The war will start soon." (CAIR Bulletin)
Tension high amid Boston mosque planMuslim, Jewish groups at odds
Dec. 17: The leader of the Muslim group that is attempting to build New England's largest
mosque at Roxbury Crossing has accused a Jewish advocacy organization that has criticized the
project of deliberately inflaming communal relations in the Boston area. Dr. Yousef Abou-Allaban
, chairman of the board of the Cambridge-based Islamic Society of Boston, said in a letter to
Charles Jacobs , president of the David Project, that the group was trying to thwart local Muslims'
dreams of a new place of worship. Abou-Allaban's letter was a response to a press release a
week earlier by the David Project , which had accused the society and the Boston
Redevelopment Authority of withholding public information about the mosque project. (Boston
Globe)
President Carter: Opening discussion on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
Dec. 18: Jimmy Carter, the USA's 39th President and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, recently
published his 23rd book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid." The contents of the book and the title
have been met with much controversy. In the book, Carter discusses topics which are widely
debated around the world but rarely receive much notice or widespread analytical attention within
the US. This is particularly relevant as many seek to foreclose the debate on the Middle East by
promoting the idea that criticism of Israel's policies is indistinguishable from hatred of Jewish
people and a person raising these issues is Anti-Semitic. President Carter has already been
maligned as an Anti-Semite and some allege his work diminishes public debate, as opposed to
opening dialogue. During an interview Carter said, "There is no discussion or debate in this
country about very sensitive issues in the Middle East...if that discussion implies a criticism of
Israel." (Anti-Discrimination Committee)
Go Daddy ordered to pay ex-employee $390,000
Dec. 18: Go Daddy Group Inc. wrongfully terminated a Muslim employee from Morocco for
complaining of discrimination and must pay the man $390,000 in damages, a federal jury
decided. The jury did side with the Scottsdale-based registrar of Internet domain names on five
other counts in the civil lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Jurors
concluded that Go Daddy decided not to promote Youssef Bouamama for other reasons, not
because of his religion or national origin or because of his discrimination complaints. The jury
also concluded that Go Daddy did not terminate him because of religion or national origin. The
jury said Go Daddy must pay Bouamama $250,000 in punitive damages, $135,000 in back pay
and $5,000 for emotional pain and suffering. (Arizona Republic)
Japanese, Muslims recall racism
Dec. 18: When the Imperial Japanese Navy swooped over Pearl Harbor 65 years ago and
destroyed more than 2,400 American lives, Mas Yamasaki was watching a church basketball
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game in Sacramento. He was 12, and he didn't know that he would soon live in a detention camp
at Tule Lake - sleeping on an Army-issued mattress, braving the elements without indoor
plumbing or heat. The child of Japanese immigrants, Yamasaki was born an American citizen.
But he spent 31/2 years of his American childhood in the camp - he was considered a threat to
national security. The internment of Japanese immigrants is familiar to most Americans - in large
part, because Yamasaki and legions of Japanese camp survivors have made their voices heard.
Now, Yamasaki and other survivors are speaking out against a new danger. "We were
stereotyped," said Yamasaki. "Now, with the Muslims, it's the same thing. Everyone's pointing
fingers saying they're an enemy." "Pearl Harbor gave the United States the excuse to
discriminate against Japanese Americans by saying these guys are potential saboteurs," said
Steve Okamoto, co-president of the San Mateo chapter of the Japanese American Citizens
League (JACL). "Now, they're lumping (Muslims) together like they did with the Japanese."
Okamoto, 65, was only 6 weeks old when he and his family were shipped from their home to the
Tanforan Racetrack in San Bruno and later to the Topaz internment camp in Utah. After 9/11,
Okamoto and other members of the JACL were the first non-Muslims to speak out against the
swirling dust storm of anti-Muslim hate speech. Okamoto since has helped coordinate JACL
forums with Muslim Americans to speak out on the dangerous excesses of stereotyping - both
past and present. (San Mateo County Times)
VA Congressman asked to apologize for anti-Muslim remarks
Dec. 19: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) tonight called on Rep. Virgil Goode
(R-VA) to apologize for anti-Muslim remarks he made in a recent letter to a constituent. Goode's
letter to the head of the local Sierra Club chapter slammed the planned use of a Quran for the
ceremonial swearing-in of Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress. (No religious texts
of any kind are used for the official swearing-in ceremony.) "Representative Goode's
Islamophobic remarks send a message of intolerance that is unworthy of anyone elected to public
office," said CAIR National Legislative Director Corey Saylor. "There can be no reasonable
defense for such bigotry." (CAIR Bulletin)
Muslim groups ask Wal-Mart to drop game glorifying religious violence
Dec. 19: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) urged Wal- to stop selling a video
game that glorifies religious violence and may harm interfaith relations. CAIR said it has received
complaints about the game “Left Behind: Eternal Forces” produced by Left Behind Games Inc.
The game reportedly rewards players for either converting or killing people of other faiths. The
Muslim American Public Affairs Council also joined a national campaign to ask Wal-Mart to stop selling
a video game that it says glorifies religious violence. In a letter to Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott Jr.,
CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad wrote in part: "We believe the message this game is
promoting is one of religious intolerance. The game's enemy team includes people with Muslimsounding names. When asked about the Arab and Muslim-sounding names, Left Behind Games'
President Jeffrey Frichner said, 'Muslims are not believers in Jesus Christ' -- and therefore cannot
be on the side of Jesus in the game. As you may know, Muslims do in fact revere Jesus as one of
God's prophets.In the post 9-11 climate, when improving interfaith relations should be a priority
for all, this type of product only serves to dehumanize others and increase interfaith hostility and
mistrust.” (CAIR/MPAC News Bulletins)
U.S. won't back off on Maher Arar
Dec. 19: The mystery about why the United States continues to blacklist Maher Arar deepened
with statements by senior administration officials suggesting there is "good reason" for keeping
the Canadian software engineer on a border watch list. Questioned by members of a business
audience here and again later by reporters, U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins refused to clarify why
his government refuses to accept the declaration of a judge-led Canadian inquiry that Arar is
innocent. However, Wilkins flatly rejected suggestions the U.S. decision to keep Arar on the
watch list is tied to efforts to avoid liability in a pending lawsuit filed by Arar against the U.S.
government. In Washington, State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said the Bush
administration made "a conscious decision" to keep Arar on a list. "People tell us that there is
good reason for his being on the watch list," he said. But Wilkins appeared to shrug off the twoChronology of Islam in America by Abdus Sattar Ghazali
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year, $13.4-million commission of inquiry that revealed for the first time that RCMP officers had
erroneously tagged Arar and his wife in a border lookout request as an "Islamic Extremist" with
ties to Al Qaeda. (Toronto Star)
Americans remain baffled and confused about the Middle East
Dec. 20: Despite the deluge of information on the Middle East in the US media Americans remain
baffled and confused about basics in politics and culture. It is my guess that most Americans do
not know that Kurds are generally Sunnites, that Iranian are not Arabs, that Arabs are not
necessarily Muslim and that the Shiite-Sunnites divide is largely political rather than religious.
Americans need blame-the-victim theory to justify the crime of occupying Iraq and destroying it.
Nowadays, a popular US blame-the-victim theory is “Islamofascism”. There is a growing media
movement portraying Arabs and Muslims as fascists. Muslims are being portrayed as the modern
day followers of Hitler and Mussolini. Jihad is being equated with terrorism. National resistance in
Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon is confounded with the organized crime of Alkaeda world.
Arabs and Jews are Semites, and yet hate crimes against Arabs are not considered a form of
anti-Semitism. US Christian scholars have anointed themselves as experts on Islam. Islam is
increasingly being connected with end-of-time American Christian theology. The difference
between Islamic and Christian chauvinism has disappeared. (Ghassan Rubeiz - Al Hewar)
Muslims mark solidarity with Jews
Dec. 21: Local Muslim leaders lit candles at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to
commemorate Jewish suffering under the Nazis, in a ceremony held just days after Iran had a
conference denying the genocide. American Muslims "believe we have to learn the lessons of
history and commit ourselves: Never again," said Imam Mohamed Magid of the All Dulles Area
Muslim Society, standing before the eternal flame flickering from a black marble base that holds
dirt from Nazi concentration camps. Around the hexagonal room, candles glimmered under the
engraved names of the death camps: Chelmno. Auschwitz-Birkenau. Majdanek. "We stand here
with three survivors of the Holocaust and my great Muslim friends to condemn this outrage in
Iran," said Sara J. Bloomfield, the museum's director, addressing a bank of TV cameras in the
room, known as the Hall of Remembrance. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad organized
last week's conference after Western countries protested his comment last year that the slaughter
of 6 million Jews was a myth. The two-day meeting drew historical revisionists and such people
as David Duke, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan. (Washington Post)
Muslims question GOP silence on VA Rep's Islamophobic remarks
Dec. 21: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on state and national
GOP leaders to repudiate anti-Muslim remarks made by a Republican congressman in Virginia.
In a recent letter to constituents, Rep. Virgil Goode slammed the planned use of a Quran for the
ceremonial swearing-in of Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress. (No religious texts
of any kind are used for the official swearing-in ceremony.) Goode also decried the growth of the
American Muslim community and expressed concern that "many more Muslims" may be elected
to public office. "We are deeply troubled by the failure of state and national GOP leaders to
clearly distance themselves from Representative Goode's intolerant remarks," said CAIR National
Legislative Director Corey Saylor. He said Republican leaders in Virginia should have learned a
lesson in tolerance from the controversy over Senator George Allen's "macaca" episode.
NC Congressman demands Iraqis be converted to Christianity
Dec. 22: North Carolina’s 8th District congressman has a winning plan for Iraq: Convert all the
Muslims to Christianity! In the past, only a few brave public intellectuals such as Ann Coulter have
offered this only obvious solution to our 3-1/2 year bloodbath occupation of Iraq, so it is a proud
moment for America that Rep. Robin Hayes is the first politician to deal seriously with our
disastrous war. The only way to make Iraq stable enough for the U.S. to withdraw is by
“spreading the message of Jesus Christ, the message of peace on earth, good will towards men.
Everything depends on everyone learning about the birth of the Savior.” (Wonkette.com)
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New studies put U.S. Jewry over 6 million mark
Dec. 22: Two major new demographic studies estimate the American Jewish population at well
above 6 million people, indicating a growing Jewish community that contrasts sharply with
popular images of Jewish decline. The new studies appear to refute a widely publicized survey
conducted in 2001, which counted 5.2 million American Jews and sparked widespread anxiety
over American Jewry's future. The most clear-cut refutation of the earlier figure comes in the
newly published American Jewish Year Book, which sets the American Jewish population at 6.4
million. A separate study, still being conducted by a new Jewish demographic institute at
Brandeis University, has a final estimate between 6 million and 8 million. (Forward)
Bush is urged to act on criticism of Muslim
Dec. 23: White House officials said they were aware that some Democrats and Muslims were
urging President Bush to admonish Representative Virgil H. Goode Jr., Republican of Virginia,
and Dennis Prager, the conservative commentator, for suggesting that the first Muslim elected to
the House had no place in Congress. “We’re aware of the situation,” said Dana Perino, a
spokeswoman for Mr. Bush, “but no judgments have been made.” Mr. Goode said the election of
Keith Ellison, a Minnesota lawyer who converted to Islam as a college student, posed a threat to
American values. Mr. Prager, a presidential appointee to the board that oversees the United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum, said Mr. Ellison should not serve if he could not swear on a
Bible, though he has apologized for those remarks. (New York Times)
Muslim gets apology for April strip search
Dec. 28: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has apologized to a Muslim traveler stripsearched at the Pinellas County Jail after being detained at Tampa International Airport in April.
Federal agents said they denied Spanish citizen Safana Jawad entry to the United States on April
11 because she was suspected of being associated with someone they view as suspicious.
Jawad, 45, was taken to the jail, strip-searched according to protocol and held in a maximum
security cell for two days. She was never told the identity of the suspicious person. Jawad, who
was born in Iraq, had flown to the United States to visit her son, Hany Kubba, 16, who then lived
in Clearwater with her ex-husband, Ahmad Maki Kubba. Jawad was deported to England on April
13 and has since filed a complaint with the Homeland Security Department about being
mistreated by customs officials as well as staff at the Pinellas County Jail. (St. Petersburg
Times)
German Muslim denied entry to U.S., detained in Las Vegas
Dec. 30: The Southern California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIRLA) today asked for an explanation as to why a German Muslim was barred from entering the
United States and is now being detained in Nevada. According to his family, 62-year-old Majed
Shehadeh is being held after arriving at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport on Thursday.
Family members say Shehadeh was interrogated for a total of more than 12 hours by officials
with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the FBI. He was also allegedly placed in a cold
cell with some 25 other people and a single toilet, and prevented from taking prescribed heart
medication for 20 hours. Shehadeh, whose wife and three children are U.S. citizens, had planned
to visit his daughter in Bakersfield, Calif., to celebrate her passing of the California Bar and her
wedding anniversary. (CAIR Bulletin)
Texas man races pigs to protest mosque plans
Dec. 31: In Kay, Texas, a man unhappy with an Islamic association's plans to build a mosque
next to his property has staged pig races as a protest during afternoon prayers. Craig Baker, 46,
sold merchandise and grilled sausages Friday for about 100 people who showed up in heavy
rain. He insisted he wasn't trying to offend anyone with the pigs, which are forbidden from the
Muslim diet. The dispute began when the association asked Baker to remove his cattle from its
newly bought land. The association plans to build a mosque, community center, athletic facilities
and a school. (Detroit Free Press)
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January 2007
Truth at last, while breaking a U.S. taboo of criticizing Israel
Jan. 2: Americans owe a debt to former President Jimmy Carter for speaking long hidden but vital
truths. His book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid breaks the taboo barring criticism in the United
States of Israel's discriminatory treatment of Palestinians. Our government's tacit acceptance of
Israel's unfair policies causes global hostility against us. . .Americans are awakening to the costs
of our unconditional support of Israel. We urgently need frank debate to chart policies that honor
our values, advance our interests, and promote a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. It is
telling that it took a former president, immune from electoral pressures, to show the way. The
debate should now be extended. Are Israel's founding ideals truly consistent with democracy?
Can a state established in a multiethnic milieu be simultaneously "Jewish" and "democratic"? Isn't
strife the predictable yield of preserving the dominance of Jews in Israel over a native Palestinian
population? Does our unconditional aid merely enable Israel to continue abusing Palestinian
rights with impunity, deepening regional hostilities and distancing peace? Isn't it time that Israel
lived by rules observed in any democracy - including equal rights for all? [George Bisharat Philadelphia Inquirer]
FBI Reports Duct-Taping, 'Baptizing' at Guantanamo
Jan. 2: FBI agents witnessed possible mistreatment of the Koran at the military prison at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, including at least one instance in which an interrogator squatted over
Islam's holy text in an apparent attempt to offend a captive, according to bureau documents
released today. In October 2002, a Marine captain allegedly squatted over a copy of the Koran
during intensive questioning of a Muslim prisoner, who was "incensed" by the tactic, according to
an FBI agent. A second agent described similar events, but it is unclear from the documents
whether it was a separate case. In another incident that month, interrogators wrapped a bearded
prisoner's head in duct tape "because he would not stop quoting the Koran," according to an FBI
agent, the documents show. The agent, whose account was corroborated by a colleague, said
that a civilian contractor laughed about the treatment and was eager to show it off. The reports
amount to new and separate allegations of religiously oriented tactics used against Muslim
prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. After a report of Koran abuse prompted deadly protests overseas
in 2005, the U.S. military conducted an investigation that confirmed five incidents of intentional
and unintentional mishandling the book at the detention facility. They acknowledged that soldiers
and interrogators had kicked the Koran, had stood on it and, in one case, had inadvertently
sprayed urine on a copy. (Washington Post)
German Muslim with American family detained, denied U.S. entry
Jan 2: A German businessman of Syrian descent who wanted to surprise his daughter with a
holiday visit was detained for four days in a Las Vegas holding cell before being sent back home
without explanation. The Council on American-Islamic Relations called authorities' treatment of
Majed Shehadeh a case of anti-Muslim discrimination. Shehadeh, 62, flew from Frankfurt to Las
Vegas on Dec, 28, 2006, hoping to meet with his wife and drive to Bakersfield, Calif., where his
American-born daughter had just gotten news she'd passed the California bar exam. Instead, he
wound up shivering in a holding cell without ever being told why he couldn't enter the country, he
said. The detention follows a series of similar incidents involving Muslim passengers, according to
the Council on American-Islamic Relations. In October, an Islamic scholar from South Africa was
denied entry at San Francisco International Airport. A month later, six imams were taken off a US
Airways flight from Minneapolis to Phoenix after a passenger reported overhearing them criticize
the U.S. war in Iraq. "Overall these cases send a message that Muslims are second-class
citizens who can be detained and kept from their families," said Affad Shaikh, a civil rights
coordinator for CAIR. (SignOn San Diego)
First Muslim Congressman Keith Ellison sworn in
Jan. 4: Keith Ellison, the first Muslim Congressman, was sworn today, holding his left hand on a
leather-bound volume of a Qur'an that was once owned by Thomas Jefferson, the third President
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of the United States. He was sworn in by Nancy Pelosi of California, the first woman House
speaker. Ellison, a Democrat from Minnesota, held his right hand in the air, placed his left hand
on two brown leather-bound volumes of the Qur'an, which were held aloft by his wife, Kim. The
historic moment was played out in wood-paneled chamber of the Capitol before hundreds of
journalists from around the world. Moments earlier, the 110th Congress was sworn in en masse
on the House floor, where Ellison shook hands with Rep. Virgil Goode, a Virginia Republican,
who had criticized Ellison for using the Qur'an. In a sharp letter last month that warned of Muslims
being elected to office. Ellison, the first black member of Congress from Minnesota, was born in
Detroit and converted to Islam in college. He said earlier this week that he chose to use this
Quran because it showed that a visionary like Jefferson believed that wisdom could be gleaned
from many sources. (AMP Report)
Dearborn Heights' first Arab-American judge
Jan. 4: Surrounded by family, friends and colleagues, attorney David Turfe was sworn today in at
Crestwood High School as the next 20th District Court judge - a position previously held for more
than 34 years by retiring Judge Leo Foran. Turfe was elected to the judicial seat in November,
defeating rival Don Rivard by 386 votes, and holds the distinction of being the first Arab American
elected to serve on the bench in the city's history. (Press & Guide)
FBI probes death threat against California Muslim activist
Threat came after Senator Boxer rescinded award to CAIR chapter director
Jan. 5: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said today that the FBI is investigating
a death threat against one of its chapter heads in California. The CAIR said the threat was
contained in an e-mail message sent to Basim Elkarra, executive director of the Washingtonbased group's Sacramento Valley chapter. That threat came a day after a media report indicated
that Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) had rescinded an award given to Elkarra because she read
attacks against CAIR on an anti-Muslim Internet hate site and after a pressure campaign by Joe
Kaufman, an anti-Muslim extremist in Florida. Kaufman has a long history of seeking to
marginalize and disenfranchise the American Muslim community and its institutions. He has in the
past promoted the terrorist organizations Kach and Kahane Chai and praised the Kahane
movement and its founder Mier Kahane on a forum of the radical Jewish Defense League in
Florida. In another article, Kaufman wrote that "we should nuke Damascus" and "we should have
nuked the Afghanistan capital of Kabul." Last year, Kaufman joined forces with an anti-Islam
preacher in Florida to block the expansion of a mosque in Boca Raton. "This mosque should not
exist on American shores," said Kaufman. (St. Petersburg Times, July 14, 2006) The website
Boxer consulted to form her opinions about CAIR, www.frontpagemag.com, regularly publishes
Kaufman's writings and articles promoting conspiracy theories about Islam and Muslims in
America. An editor with the Sacramento Bee in California today defended CAIR, while describing
Kaufman as "a right-wing blogger." (CAIR Bulletin)
Arab pilot's suit alleges Muslim bias
Jan. 6: An Arab-American pilot based in Madison claims he was subjected to racial, religious and
ethnic discrimination while training at a company's Memphis, Tenn., headquarters and fired after
he complained about it, according to a lawsuit filed recently in federal court. According to the
complaint: Nazeeh Younis, a Muslim, was hired in September 2002 as a pilot and promoted to
captain in July 2004 by Pinnacle Airlines, which operates as Northwest Airlink at Dane County
Regional Airport and several other locations. Beginning at a June 23, 2005, training session in
Memphis, Pinnacle employee Terry Harvel humiliated Younis in front of other pilots, while other
non-Arabs weren't subjected to similar verbal harassment. (Capital Times)
Three Arabs cleared in port scare 'treated like animals'
Jan. 9: Three Middle Eastern men who were arrested and later had charges against them
dropped over a brief terrorism scare at the Port of Miami said they were unfairly targeted because
of their ethnicity and creed. Amar Al-Hadad said he was "humiliated, disrespected (and) treated
real badly just because my name is an Arabic name and I'm a Muslim." The Iraqi-born Al-Hadad
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cried during the news conference in which he described the way he, his brother, Hussain Al
Hadad, and friend, Hassan El Sayed, were treated. "We were treated like animals," El Sayed
said. Officials initially said the men, all permanent U.S. residents, had been caught trying to slip
past a checkpoint at the port's entrance. Amar and Hussain Al Hadad were both charged with
resisting arrest; Hussain Al Hadad was also charged with trespassing, as was El Sayed, a
Lebanese national. A judge dismissed the charges, citing a lack of evidence. (Local10.com)
Muslim groups express concerns to Gonzales over post-9/11 policies and practices
Jan. 8: leaders of prominent Muslim and Arab American groups met with Attorney General
Alberto Gonzales in which they shared community’s concerns over post-9/11 federal law
enforcement policies and practices. The meeting - which came amid reports of mounting
Islamophobia in the nation as symbolized by incidents such as controversy over oath taking on
the Quran by the first Muslim Congressman, Keith Ellison - was attended by the representatives
from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the Arab American Institute (AAI),
the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), the National Association of Muslim Lawyers (NAML),
and the Islamic Society of North American (ISNA). The meeting with Attorney General followed a
similar meeting last December between prominent American Muslim leaders with key senior US
government officials to discuss the state of Islamophobia in America and US-Muslim relations.
Other issues raised at the meeting included termination of the National Security Entry-Exit
Registration System (NSEERS) program, comprehensive immigration reform and a review of the
immigration court system, community outreach efforts by the Department of Justice, ethnic and
racial profiling, and the negative impact some regulations have had on Arab and MuslimAmerican charities. (AMP Report)
“New York Police entrapped Pakistani immigrant in bomb plot case”
Jan. 10: Martin Stolar, defense attorney for Shahawar Matin Siraj a twenty-four year-old Pakistani
immigrant, who was sentenced on January 8, 2007 to 30 years in prison for plotting to bomb the
Herald Square subway station says that Siraj was entrapped by a paid police informant who
cajoled and inflamed him to lure him into the conspiracy and that it was the informant who pushed
the bombing. Shahawar Matin Siraj was arrested days before the Republican National
Convention in 2004 and held without bail. Last May, he was convicted on four counts of
conspiracy, including the most serious, plotting to bomb a public transportation system. Attorney
for Siraj said his client had no explosives, no timetable for an attack and little understanding about
explosives. He also criticized the New York Police Department's tactics of sending informers and
the undercover detectives into mosques to cast a wide net in search of radical Islamists. In an
interview with the Democracy Now Radio, Martin Stolar said the story of Siraj is a simple which is
the story that has been replicated across the country. “We have a paid police confidential
informant who was put into the mosque.” (AMP Report)
Damra's handover to Israel puzzles Muslims
Jan. 10: Cleveland Muslims have reacted with angry incredulity to news that the U.S. government
sent their one-time spiritual leader into the hands of Israeli security and that he was arrested
before ever reaching home. While some called for help pinpointing Fawaz Damra's whereabouts
and condition, others accused the U.S. government of deception and possible crimes in his
disappearance. Fawaz Damra, a Palestinian originally from the West Bank city of Nablus, was
ordered deported in June 2004 for hiding ties to Palestinian extremist groups when he applied for
U.S. citizenship in 1994. During his trial, jurors were shown evidence of Damra raising money for
Islamic Jihad in 1991. Damra later apologized for anti-Semitic remarks and said he was a
changed man. He fought to stay in the United States but finally accepted deportation rather than
remain in jail, and the government went searching for a country to agree to take him.
Damra holds Jordanian citizenship, but Jordan refused to accept him, said Damra's lawyer, Mo
Abdrabboh. Israel arrested the former imam of Ohio's largest mosque after he was deported from
the United States last week, the Shin Bet internal security service confirmed on January 9, 2007.
(AMP Report)
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Nine Muslim workers sue bus company on Minneapolis
Jan. 10: Nine current and former Muslim employees of MV Transportation Inc., a nationwide
public transportation company, filed suit in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, alleging they were
harassed because they are immigrants from East Africa or because of their Muslim faith.
The plaintiffs sued MV Transportation Inc. -- whose trademarked motto is "We Provide Freedom"
-- saying that they were called derogatory names, told they had no rights as immigrants,
forbidden to speak their native languages even on breaks, and denied promotions, training and
other benefits. The lawsuit also alleges that a company manager read Bible passages to the
employees, seven of whom are Muslim, confiscated their prayer rugs and forced them to listen to
loud Christian music. They were called names such as "stupid" and "freak show," denied time off
on their religious holidays, told they made too much money for the work they performed, and told
they should return to their homelands, the suit says. (Star Tribune/ Pioneer Press)
Jewish membership in Congress at all-time high
Jan. 12: While Democrats celebrated the election of the House's first female speaker, another
milestone passed more quietly: The 110th Congress includes more Jewish lawmakers than any
other in history, and all but four are Democrats. About 2 percent of Americans identify themselves
as Jewish. But in Congress, the proportion of Jewish members is now four times that. Six new
Jewish House members were sworn in last week, bringing the total to 30. In the Senate, the 13
Jewish members, according to the National Jewish Democratic Council. Other faith-related facts:
This Congress includes its first Muslim member and, in Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid
(Nev.), its highest-ranking Mormon ever. Catholics remain the largest single faith group in
Congress, at about 30 percent -- slightly larger than their proportion of the U.S. population.
Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians outnumber Jewish members, who outnumber
Episcopalians. (Washington Post)
Pentagon viewing Americans' bank records
Jan. 14: The Pentagon and to a lesser extent the CIA have been using a little-known power to
look at the banking and credit records of hundreds of Americans and others suspected of
terrorism or espionage within the United States, officials said. Pentagon spokesman Bryan
Whitman said the Defense Department "makes requests for information under authorities of the
National Security Letter statutes ... but does not use the specific term National Security Letter in
its investigatory practice." The national security letters permit the executive branch to seek
records about people in terror and spy investigations without a judge's approval or grand jury
subpoena. Vice President Dick Cheney said the Pentagon and CIA are not violating people's
rights by examining the banking and credit records of hundreds of Americans and others
suspected of terrorism or espionage in the United States. (Associated press)
Katy, Florida, pig races near mosque site sparked meetings to prevent bigotry
Jan. 15: A Katy (Florida) man's decision to stage weekly pig races to protest a mosque
construction has prompted an alliance of local clergy to conduct a series of forums aimed at what
they characterize as preventing bigotry and promoting religious acceptance. Local Christian and
Jewish leaders say they chose, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, to launch the discussions. Leaders
from Christian, Jewish and Islamic denominations delivered speeches to about 200 people at
Katy's Living Word Lutheran Church, touting the significance of being able to live, worship and be
respected in a community of choice. A dispute between the Katy Islamic Association and some
Katy area residents has been brewing in this affluent West Houston suburb since the group
bought an 11-acre property to build a mosque next door to Craig Baker's marble shop on Baker
Road. In late September, the lifelong Katy resident said a member of the association advised him
to relocate his marble shop because it would not go well with the mosque. Baker protested by
staging weekly pig races during Friday prayers. Baker said in asking him to move, the Muslim
group showed no respect for his family, which has 200-year-old ties to the land. Some residents
from neighboring subdivisions have formed a group called PLANK, Preserve the Lifestyles and
Neighborhoods of Katy. They are also critical of the mosque project. (Houston Chronicle)
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Shia, Sunni rift in US a spillover of Iraq war
Jan. 16: The Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan met last week at the Islamic House of
Wisdom to discuss recent acts of vandalism against Iraqi Shiite properties in Metro Detroit.
There is no basis for Shiite and Sunni animosity anywhere, certainly not in the United States.
While each school of thought in Islam has its special qualities and reflects cultural diversity,
Shiites and Sunnis have a common belief system. Unfortunately, the U.S. invasion of Iraq, not
minor religious differences, has raised tensions whose flames have already hit some other homes
worldwide. The Shiite and Sunnis of Iraq were united in state-building and ending British colonial
rule, although the Shiites led the independence movement of 1920 and suffered the most from
the brutalities and repression of Saddam Hussein and his evil Baath Party in more than 30 years
of rule. The suicide bombings and anti-civilian atrocities in Iraq are an external disease. (Imam
Mohammad Ali Elahi Detroit News)
Lawsuit over Quran oaths to continue in North Carolina
Jan. 16: A lawsuit filed by the ACLU and a Muslim woman over the use of the Quran and other
non-Christian texts for courtroom oaths in North Carolina should be allowed to go forward, the
state Court of Appeals in Raleigh, North Carolina ruled today. A three-judge panel voted
unanimously to reverse a trial court decision that had dismissed the challenge to state law and
policy. Currently, only the Bible can be used by witnesses when swearing or affirming truthful
testimony. The lawsuit was filed in July 2005 and the trial judge determined it was moot because
there was no actual controversy at the time warranting litigation. But the appeals court said that
wasn't so, pointing to the individual plaintiff, Syidah Matteen, who said her request to place her
hand on the Quran as a witness was denied in 2003. And several Jewish members of the North
Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union have filed affidavits indicating they would
prefer to swear upon the Old Testament, one of the religious texts of their faith, Chief Judge John
Martin wrote. "We conclude the complaint is sufficient to entitle both plaintiffs to litigate their
claims ... though we are careful to express no opinion on the merits of those claims," Martin
wrote. Judges Ron Elmore and Barbara Jackson concurred. The issue surfaced after Muslims
from the Al-Ummil Ummat Islamic Center in Greensboro tried to donate copies of the Quran to
Guilford County's two courthouses. Two Guilford judges declined to accept the texts, saying an
oath on the Quran is not a legal oath under state law. (News Observer)
Man wins suit in airline race-profiling case
Jan. 16: A Florida man removed from an American Airlines flight because he was considered a
security threat has won a $400,000 jury award in a case that accused the airline of racial profiling.
John Cerqueira, a U.S. citizen of Portuguese descent, charged that he was removed from a 2003
flight at Boston's Logan International Airport because he appeared Middle Eastern, and was
denied service even after police determined he did not pose a threat. Cerqueira's attorneys said
that the suit, which accused the airline of violating his civil rights, was the first of its kind to go to
trial. The federal jury in Massachusetts made its decision on Jan. 12. Civil-liberties groups such
as the American Civil Liberties Union say racial profiling, or ethnic-based targeting, against
Middle Easterners has risen in the United States since the September 11 attacks. (Reuters)
Pakistani family intimidated: Community Outraged at
$35,000 bond set by immigration judge or mother & daughter
Jan 16: Muslim community was outraged at the $35,000 bond set by a Immigration Judge in New
Jersey for mother and sister of Matin Siraj, a 24-year-old Pakistani immigrant, who was
sentenced on January 7, 2007 to 30 years in prison for terrorism charges based on a paid
informer of the New York Police Department. Less than twelve hours after sentencing, the Siraj
family's Queens home was raided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials at dawn
and father, mother and daughter were arrested and jailed in New Jersey. After today’s hearing,
the family's immigration lawyer, Mona Shah, said that the bond amount was peculiarly high for a
routine immigration matter. Desis Rising Up & Moving (DRUM) a civil rights group held a
demonstration in support of the Pakistani family. A press release of DRUM said that given the
high-profile media attention on their son's case, in which there were many underhanded legal
irregularities and rights violations, these arrests and the unreachable bond are being seen by the
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community as an attempt to silence and make an example of the family through harassment.
(AMP Report)
Northwest apologizes to Muslims barred from flight
Jan. 17: Reacting swiftly to allegations of discrimination, Northwest Airlines apologized to a group
of 40 Muslims today for barring them from a plane in Germany on their return trip from the Hajj.
The airline said it will reimburse the pilgrims for the other flights they were forced to take on their
return from the Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Northwest Airlines
apology came one day after the group of 40 Muslims held a press conference at a mosque in
Dearborn to relate their plights. The group said that they were not allowed to board a flight from
Frankfurt to Detroit because of their religion and background. On Jan. 7, the group of American
Muslims who were largely Lebanese-American Shias had landed in Germany and were going to
take a connecting flight to Detroit. Northwest allowed some of them on the flight, but barred about
40 of them, the pilgrims said. They said that Northwest discriminated against the Muslims and left
them on their own to find accommodations while trying to book other flights. (AMP Report)
Bush won't reauthorize eavesdropping
Jan. 17: President Bush has decided not to renew a program of domestic spying on terrorism
suspects, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said today, ending an law-enforcement tactic
criticized for infringing on civil liberties. "The president has determined not to reauthorize the
Terrorist Surveillance Program when the current authorization expires," Gonzales wrote in a letter
to congressional leaders. Bush has reauthorized the program every 45 days, and the current
authorization is mid-cycle, a senior Justice Department official said. Gonzales said a recent
secret-court approval allowed the government to act effectively without the program. (Reuters)
Resolution affirming rights of Utah Muslims introduced
Jan. 17: State Senator Peter Knudson is asking the state Senate to send a message of support to
Utah's Muslim community. That's why he's sponsoring SR2, a "Resolution Affirming Fundamental
Rights of the Muslim Community of Utah," to recognize the rights of Muslims to freely practice
their religion and to enjoy the same freedoms as other ethnic and religious groups. The resolution
references "confusion and in many cases unfounded fear" of Islam. "People may look at people
of the Muslim faith and categorize them in the same pot," Knudson said. "We have a lot of people
of the Muslim religion in our state. To the best of my knowledge they are wonderful citizens."
(Deseret Morning News)
IBM worker says he was fired for being a Muslim
Jan. 18: A Muslim electronics engineer who developed five patents for IBM claims the computer
maker fired him because of his religion and that managers at the company mocked him for
refusing to eat during the Ramadan fast and once told him to ignore Islamic law and clean a knife
that had been used to cut pork. Mahmoud Mousa, who calls himself a "Jordanian Muslim
American," was employed at IBM's microelectronics plant in Burlington, Vt., from June 2003 to
December 2005, when he was fired because of his religious beliefs, according to a lawsuit Mousa
filed last month in U.S. District Court in New York. Mousa claims that he was subject to
discrimination and anti-Islamic comments and behavior from two different managers while
working at IBM's Burlington operations. On one occasion, a manager of non-Muslim, Indian origin
criticized Mousa for taking time out for Friday prayers, asking him "Why are you doing this?",
according to court records. (Information Week)
Muslims fear '24' nuke-plot fallout
Jan. 19: Muslim groups are concerned the fictional dark hero of Fox television's "24" will
jeopardize their civil liberties by branding them as sleeper-cell agents waiting for orders to strike.
The pulse-pounding drama starring Kiefer Sutherland as counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer
featured a group of Muslim terrorists this week successfully detonating the first of five nuclear
suitcase bombs near Los Angeles. "When people don't have access at work or have neighbors
who are Muslim, they rely on the images they see on television to shape their perceptions," said
Rabiah Ahmed, a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "The worst
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outcome would be that they would act on their fears. They won't be able to distinguish peaceful,
law-abiding American Muslims and the minority who act against our faith and commit acts of
terror." Muslims fear the show will foster hate against them and foster a climate of Islamophobia
in the country. Just yesterday, the American-Islamic council said, cops in Michigan arrested a
white man in Warren County for threatening an imam and attempting to vandalize a mosque. (NY
Daily News)
Arar affair a 'black mark' on America, senator says
Jan. 19: U.S. Senate Democrats threatened congressional hearings into the Maher Arar affair,
calling the deportation of the Canadian engineer to Syria a "black mark" on America. Senator
Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate judiciary committee, demanded the Bush administration
provide intelligence information to back its claim Arar was ever a security threat to Americans.
The Vermont Democrat also asked for a detailed explanation about why Arar still remains on a
U.S. terror watch list despite being cleared last year by a Canadian inquiry. During a heated
exchange at the committee with U.S. Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales, Leahy said he was
perplexed "this country has not said anything at all that we made a mistake or had any apology"
to Arar. "The Canadian government has apologized for its part in this debacle," Leahy said.
"Why is he on a [U.S.] government watch list if he's been found completely innocent by this
Canadian commission?" Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian, was detained by U.S. authorities at New
York's JFK airport in 2002 and deported to Syria, where he was imprisoned and tortured for
nearly a year. (Vancouver Sun)
ABC hires noted Islamophobe as commentator on “Good Morning America”
Jan. 20: In a move sure to win the coveted "xenophobe demographic," ABC News has hired
CNN's noted Islamophobe Glenn Beck as a regular commentator on "Good Morning America."
According to the media reports, "Beck will make specials for CNN in 2007 on people who believe
in the apocalypse, Islam in America and the 'myths of global warming.” Calling his CNN Headline
News show the "Fusion of Entertainment and Enlightenment," Beck has distinguished himself, not
for cutting edge or insightful news, but by his almost obsessive hateful rhetoric attacking and
vilifying the Arab and Muslim communities in the US. Beck has suggested that Arab and Muslim
Americans are apathetic to terrorism and that if they do not take action they will be “looking
through a razor wire fence at the West.” You can read just a few of the blatantly prejudice
statements he’s made on the show at the bottom of this alert. The American-Arab AntiDiscrimination Committee (ADC), the Arab American Institute (AAI), and the Muslim Public Affairs
Council (MPAC) sent a letter to ABC News and Good Morning America requesting that they
reconsider Beck’s hiring. (AMP Report)
New Jersey Muslims seek equality in school holidays
Jan. 21: Kulsum Soonasra is one of perhaps 50 Muslims at Parkland High School but 1.5 billion
in the world. And, while her argument for public school recognition of Islam's holiest day isn't a
statistical one, those numbers mean something. ''We're a huge religion,'' the 17-year-old junior
from Upper Macungie said, offering an earnest distillation of her message: that Eid al-Fitr, the
prayerful family celebration that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, is as important to
Muslims as Christmas is to Christians. And if schools are closed for Christmas, they ought to be
closed for Eid. It's an argument being posed around the country as the Muslim population grows,
and it's become a challenge to school districts as they try to balance cherished principles of
inclusiveness and diversity against the strict demands of the school calendar. The law requires a
fixed number of class days a year, so any time off must made up somewhere along the line. (The
Morning Call)
Critics interrupt speaker's talk on Islam
Jan. 21: A talk on the basic tenets of Islam was repeatedly interrupted by a few anti-Muslim
members of a crowd at the Cesar Chavez Central Library in Stockton, CA. One woman was
forced to leave early in the two-hour program after she accused guest speaker Tarek Mourad of
lying, yelling that Islam's holy book teaches Muslims to kill Jews and Christians and that Muslims
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are trying to take over the Western world. Mourad, an engineer from Santa Clara, was invited to
the Chavez Library after making a similar presentation in Tracy. (Stockton Record)
Muslims see no conflict between Islamic law and democracy: poll
Jan. 23: Muslims worldwide believe Islamic law is compatible with democracy and most admire
values championed by the US but doubt Washington is serious about implementing them
overseas, according to a poll. The Gallup poll, conducted in the Palestinian territories as well as
nine predominantly Muslim countries representing more than 80 percent of the global Muslim
population, showed that majorities believe Sharia law and democracy can co-exist in a
government and that Islamic law should be at least a source of legislation. In Egypt, for example,
66 percent of those polled said Sharia must be the only source of legislation while in Pakistan 60
percent felt that way, in Iran 17 percent and in Turkey nine percent. Interestingly, Gallup posed
the same question to Americans, 55 percent of whom felt that the Bible must play a role in
legislation. Dalia Mogahed, a senior analyst at Gallup and executive director of the Gallup Center
for Muslim Studies, said she was surprised at the findings which send a message to the US
administration that it should rethink its policies when dealing with the Muslim world. (Agence
France Press)
”Human Services Department and a local church are
conspiring to prohibit his daughter from practicing Islam”
Jan. 24: A Muslim man says the state Department of Human Services and a local church are
conspiring as part of a custody battle to prohibit his daughter from practicing Islam and visiting
him. Abraham Ben-Abbad, 38, of Dearborn alleges in a suit filed Monday in U.S. District Court
that the Department of Human Services and a caseworker, William McDonald, advised BenAbbad's former wife that she need not allow their daughter, Hend Almanasir, 13, to visit her
father, including during Ramadan and on other religious holidays, despite court orders mandating
the visitation. McDonald and the state also allowed a local church, the Dearborn Assembly of
God, on Tireman, to participate in meetings to plan his daughter's future, according to BenAbbad, his lawyer, Shereef Akeel of Birmingham, the American Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.The purpose of involving the church in
planning for his daughter's future is to steer her away from Islam, the faith in which she was
raised, Ben-Abbad said and the suit alleges. (The Detroit News)
Religious leaders condemn divisive politics in presidential campaign
Jan. 25: Prominent religious leaders in expressing outrage at recent political smear tactics in the
2008 U.S. presidential campaign. Recent emails, blogs and one cable news program about
Senator Barack Obama's (D-IL) religious upbringing prompted several religious leaders to speak
out against such divisive politics. The stories suggested Obama had attended a "radical Muslim
madrasa" as a child. Signed by ten national religious leaders, the open letter to the religious
community states: “Many of you have seen hateful emails, blog postings and reports circulating
on the Internet and in the media about Senator Barack Obama and his religious upbringing….
Senator Obama never attended a radical Madrassa nor was he ever educated in a wahabi
school. In the years he lived in Indonesia as a child, from ages 6 to 10, he attended a
neighboring Catholic school for two years and then a public school. Senator Obama was not
raised in a religious household. Senator Obama became a Christian long before he entered
politics.”According to a CNN report from Jakarta, allegations that Sen. Barack Obama was
educated in a radical Muslim school known as a "madrassa" are not accurate. Insight Magazine,
which is owned by the same company as The Washington Times, reported on its Web site last
week that associates of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York, had unearthed information the
Illinois Democrat and likely presidential candidate attended a Muslim religious school known for
teaching the most fundamentalist form of Islam.
(AMP Report)
CAIR-CAN applauds government settlement with Maher Arar
January 26: The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) applauds the
settlement reached today with Maher Arar over his illegal detention and torture in Syria after the
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RCMP wrongly labeled him an Islamic extremist. The settlement comes after two reports were
handed down by Justice Dennis O'Connor. The first detailed how the RCMP passed false
information to American officials; the second outlined the urgent need for an RCMP review body.
"The government must fulfill its promise and continue to pursue all diplomatic efforts to have
Maher Arar's name removed from American security lists. In addition, all Canadian officials
involved in Mr. Arar's deportation and torture must be held accountable," said CAIR-CAN
Executive Director Karl Nickner. Since Justice O'Connor's second report, an inquiry has been
struck into the overseas detention and torture of three men: Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad AbouElmaati and Muayyed Nureddin. All claim to have gone through circumstances similar to that of
Mr. Arar's. (CAIR Bulletin)
CA: Islamic Center attacks take more violent turn
Jan. 28: Repeated vandalism at the Islamic Center of the East Bay (CA) over the past two years
has some local Muslims concerned. The most recent and violent came last week, when clergy
workers arrived at the Antioch center Monday morning to discover that someone had shot up the
center on West 18th Street. Investigators counted seven bullets that had pierced the windows
and walls of the mosque. This was the fifth such malicious incident directed at the center in the
past two years. A year ago, someone hurled a brick through the same front window. In
September, derogatory voice messages were left on the center's answering machine. (Mercury
News)
Preliminary State Department report finds Israeli weapons
violations when it dropped cluster bombs on civilians in Lebanon
Jan. 29: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) has welcomed the congress
statements concerning the possible Israeli violations of bilateral weapons treaties with the United
States. The possible violations were included in a preliminary report delivered to Congress today
by the US Department of State. The report indicates that the Department of State may have
found evidence that Israel violated bilateral weapons agreements when it dropped US-made
cluster bombs on civilian populations in Lebanon last summer. During its conflict with Hezbollah
last summer, Israel dropped the majority of unexploded ordinances during the last 72 hours of the
conflict before an impending cease fire deadline. Reports from international human rights groups
have determined that Israeli Forces dropped more than 130,000 cluster bombs containing 1.2
million cluster bomblets in 498 locations in villages throughout southern Lebanon. These cluster
bombs added to those already in southern Lebanon from previous Israeli operations. Long after
hostilities have ended, the Lebanese civilian population continues to be killed and maimed by
these American-made weapons. (ADC Press Release)
Stereotypes resented: Critics say all Islamic characters are painted as terrorists
January 29: For several years television shied away from story lines connected to Sept. 11, 2001.
Now, five years later, things have changed. Scripted television programs no longer avoid
terrorism-related story lines. Muslim characters are increasingly commonplace, mostly in a
negative way. From episodes of "The Unit" and "Without a Trace" to the upcoming BBC America
miniseries "The State Within," it appears any Muslim who isn't a terrorist is suspected of being
one. Or a sympathizer. "There really are no other images of Muslims in the media now," says
Rabiah Ahmed, spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which worked with
Fox two years ago on a public service announcement that aired during "24." But Ahmed says her
group was somewhat surprised by the intensity of this story line, featuring a string of attacks on
U.S. cities by Islamic militants. "People frame it as a freedom of speech issue, and we support
that. But these portrayals have real consequences on how people view Muslims." (Atlanta
Journal-Constitution)
AMT seeks end to 'harassment' of Dr. Al Arian
Jan. 30: The American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT), a national coalition
of major American Muslim organizations, says that the new prison sentence given to former
Florida Professor Dr. Sami Al-Arian amounted to unconstitutional "double jeopardy." Al-Arian on
Jan. 22 began a hunger strike after being given a sentence of up to 18 months for refusing to
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testify before a grand jury in Virginia. He and his attorney say an early plea agreement freed him
from further cooperation with the government. In 2005, a Florida jury rejected federal charges that
Al-Arian operated a cell for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Al-Arian later pleaded guilty to a lesser
charge and was scheduled for release and deportation in April. In a statement, the AMT said: "It
is becoming increasingly clear that the government is seeking to impose legal and physical
penalties on Dr. Al-Arian that it could not obtain through the judicial process. The government's
actions amount to an unconstitutional 'double jeopardy' situation in which a person who was
cleared of all charges by a jury of his peers is nonetheless being imprisoned in harsh conditions
through administrative means.” (AMP Report)
Self-proclaimed ex-terrorists address University of Michigan students
January 31: Amid hecklers, an apparent death threat and a staged walkout, a panel discussion by
three self proclaimed "ex-terrorists" managed to carry on at University of Michigan's Rackham
Auditorium. "Yes, we confess we were terrorists, but by confession we can begin to heal," said
Walid Shoebat. The men, who say they committed acts of terror against Jews, were invited to
speak by the conservative student group Young Americans for Freedom. However, the AmericanArab Anti-Discrimination Committee and at least one expert on jihad have called the men fakes.
Young Americans for Freedom sparked controversy in October when it sponsored "Catch an
Illegal Immigrant." "Without doubt, the threat from political extremism is serious, and the threat of
homegrown jihadism is growing, but this type of extremist language is as much a threat to stability
as a bomb attack itself," said Tom Quiggin, an expert on global jihadism who has researched one
of the ex-terrorist's stories. Shoebat, who is American, was joined by Kamal Saleem, another
U.S. citizen, and Zachariah Anani, a Windsor resident. (Detroit News)
February 2007
Two acquitted of conspiracy in Hamas trial
February 1 2007 - Two men accused of furnishing money and fresh recruits to the militant
Palestinian group Hamas were acquitted by a federal jury today of racketeering but convicted on
lesser charges. The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC), a federation
of over fifty Muslim organizations, has greeted the jury's verdict in the case of Mohammed Salah
with relief. Salah, 53, and Abdelhaleem Ashqar, 48, a one-time assistant business professor at
Howard University in Washington, had been accused of laundering money for Hamas, declared
by US as a terrorist group. In a statement CIOGC said: The government's persecution of Mr.
Salah began by declaring this U.S citizen a terrorist through an executive order without any court
of law finding him as such. This was soundly rejected by the jury today. Despite the use of Israeli
torture, secret evidence and former Attorney General, John Ashcroft’s incitement in the press that
Mr. Salah was running a “U.S.-based terrorist-recruiting and financing cell” Mr. Salah has been
proven innocent of any connection to terrorism in the United States or abroad. (CIOGC bulletin)
MPAC expresses concern over foreign intelligence in American trials
February 1: In a statement on the jury acquittal of Muhammad Salah and Abdelhallen Ashqar, the
Muslim Public Affairs Council expressed concern over foreign intelligence in American trials. The
MPAC statement, said: In a blow to the government's latest high profile terrorism case, a Chicago
jury today acquitted two Muslim American men of racketeering charges related to money they
sent to Palestinians. They were found guilty of lesser charges of obstructing justice. While the
verdict represents yet another blow to the government's high-profile "war on terrorism" cases, it is
also indicative of a troubling trend of foreign intelligence being admissable in domestic cases. The
trial of Muhammad Salah, a Chicago businessman, and Abdelhallen Ashqar, a Virginia professor,
marked the first time an American court allowed the testimony of two Israeli security agents in a
U.S. courtroom. Despite petitions filed by the Chicago Tribune and civil rights groups, Judge Amy
St. Eve allowed the agents to testify in a closed hearing that amounted to secret evidence. (In the
case of Salah, the prosecution sought to prove he provided aid to Hamas terror activities based
on an admission obtained under torture in a foreign country and in a language the defendant
does not understand.) (MPAC Bulletin)
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GA: Macon Mayor says he's converted to Islam and wants name change
February 1: Macon (Georgia) Mayor Jack Ellis has converted to Islam and is working to legally
change his name to Hakim Mansour Ellis. The mayor, raised as a Christian, said today that he
has been studying the Koran for years and made the religious switch at a December ceremony in
the country of Senegal on the western African coast. Ellis is now a Muslim, having chosen a
religion he said was originally practiced by his west African ancestors before they were brought to
America by slave traders. (Macon Telegraph)
Arkansas woman questioned about decision to become a Muslim
February 1: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced today that one
Oklahoma police officer has been relieved of his duties and another has been demoted after an
incident involving a Muslim woman. The woman, who lives in Arkansas and wears a religiouslymandated headscarf, reported that she was inappropriately interrogated about her faith after
being stopped for a minor traffic violation in Webbers Falls, Okla., in November 2006. She was
allegedly asked if she had any connection to the "guy who flew the plane into the building" and
was questioned extensively about her decision to become a Muslim. (The woman is of European
heritage and is a convert to Islam.) According to the Muslim woman, she was asked twice
whether she had a Quran in her car. When one of the officers searched the trunk of the woman's
car, he allegedly shouted, "Look what I found," when he discovered a book with Arabic script.
(CAIR Bulletin)
Unfair detentions rise at US-Canada border
February 1: Americans of Middle Eastern background are being stopped and questioned more
frequently by Homeland Security agents at the U.S./Canada border. Community advocates are
noting that a familiar pattern has emerged at the crossing. American males of Middle Eastern
background in their late 30s are removed from their vehicles, handcuffed and interrogated for
hours. Some report being dragged out of their cars and handcuffed throughout the interrogation
period. No reason or apology is given afterwards. Instead, a complaint form is given out, to be
filled and sent to the Department of Homeland Security. (New America Media)
Muslim students call for FBI to investigate Self-confessed terrorist
February 1: The UC Davis Muslim Students' Association (MSA) called today on the FBI and
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to investigate and deport Walid Shoebat, a selfconfessed "ex-terrorist". Mr. Shoebat delivered a speech at UC Davis' Freeborn Hall at the
invitation of UCD's newly formed Foundation For Defense of Democracies in cooperation with the
Davis College Republicans. In a statement, the UC Davis MSA said: "We repudiate and
unequivocally condemn terrorism, as a grave and serious crime that should be punished in the
strictest means possible. We are concerned that a self-confessed "ex-terrorist" is walking freely in
the country, simply because he has converted to Christianity.” (MSA UC Davis)
Five Jewish teenagers charged in beating of Pakistani immigrant
February 1: In New York, five Orthodox Jewish teens have been indicted for an October hate
crime attack in Brooklyn against Shahid Amber, an immigrant from Pakistan. District Attorney
Charles J. Hynes said in a statement that Shulomi Bitton, 16, Yossi Friedman, 17, Benjamin
Wasserman, 16 and two juveniles - Yitzi Horowitz, 15, David Brach, 15, - are charged with
second-degree gang assault and third-degree menacing. American Muslim groups had
characterized the attack against Shahid Amber on Oct. 29 as an example of growing anti-Muslim
sentiment in America. Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Washington-based Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a leading Muslim advocacy group, demanded an
investigation, saying It's an indication of "the kind of thing that we're seeing as a growing
phenomenon, tied to a sharp rise in the anti-Muslim sentiment in our society". (Newsday)
Hamid Hayat trial: Prosecutors downplay comments by juror
February 4: Federal prosecutors have filed a 187-page brief opposing a new trial of Hamid Hayat,
23, a Pakistani American. Defense attorneys, in their October 2006 motion, cited a statement by
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juror Alicia Lopez that jury foreman Joseph Cote made a "hangman gesture" and once said "hang
him" in discussions with other jurors during the trial. In opposition brief, prosecutors S. Robert
Tice-Raskin and Laura Ferris, wrote that these bare bone allegations, on their face, are vague
and ambiguous and do not constitute substantial evidence that Cote was actually biased against
the defendant. Defense attorneys also cited statements by jurors Lopez and Theresa BerkeleySimmons that Cote used racial slurs during the trial, including his opinion that Pakistanis or
Muslims all "look alike" if dressed the same. (Sacramento Bee)
First Muslim in U.S. Congress speaks on faith and democracy
February 5: Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison is surprised that his Muslim faith became an
issue during his successful campaign for a congressional seat. “I never bring it up,” he told
USINFO, although he discusses it when asked. His first impulse was to downplay religion in favor
of discussing the issues, which are his priority. Now he freely discusses Islam, “because it may
have the effect of building understanding. I hope it does.” Ellison, a Democrat and the first Muslim
elected to the U.S. Congress, says he was elected for his values. “I have to continue to elevate
the common good, the public interest, education, health, peace. These are the things that they
want me to work on,” he said. By electing him, he said, his constituents meant, “We don’t really
care what your religion is. This is what we are into, if you can promote and execute and advocate
these things, you can represent us.” (USINFO)
Glenn Beck: A cause for concern
February 5: Glenn Beck represents a truly troubling trend in television journalism. Since May
2006, the radio talk show host has had his own one hour nightly program on CNN’s Headline
News channel. It is important to note, from the outset, that Beck doesn’t stand alone. The
insertion of the personalities and style of radio talkshow hosts into mainstream television news
programming has been taking place for a number of years now. Their crude, cynical and cutting
edge commentary, their feigning the role of the common man, and their inflammatory “us versus
them” rhetoric is now standard fair on many of the major networks. The result of this trend is
evident on a number of levels. There has been a coarsening and dumbing down of our political
discourse on several issues of national importance. When Beck refers to President Carter as a
“fathead” or speaks of Saudi leaders as “nut-jobs,” serious discussion is displaced by crude and
demeaning jabs. (James Zogby - Washington Watch)
Fear of bias keeps U.S. Muslims out of military
February 6: Desperately short of soldiers who speak Arabic and understand Islam, the U.S.
military is quietly courting American Muslims. But they show little enthusiasm for an institution
many say is prejudiced against them. "The military have the same problem as civilian government
agencies, such as the FBI," said Ibrahim Hooper of the Council of American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR), an advocacy group. "There is a general reluctance to join because Muslims think there is
bias against them and career prospects are limited." Pentagon statistics show there are more
Jews and Buddhists than Muslims serving in the 1.4 million strong, overwhelmingly Christian
armed forces. (Reuters)
With so much terrorist carnage on the tube, Muslims fear their religion is the target
February 6: You can't be a devoted watcher of Fox TV's "24" and not have questions about the
suitcase nuke attack on Los Angeles, or the fatal neck bite Jack Bauer puts on a terrorist, among
other outrageous plot twists. For several years television shied away from story lines connected
to Sept. 11, 2001. Now, more than five years later, things have changed. Scripted television
programs no longer avoid terrorism-related story lines. Muslim characters are increasingly
commonplace, mostly in a negative way. From episodes of "The Unit" and "Without a Trace" to
the upcoming BBC America miniseries "The State Within," it appears any Muslim who isn't a
terrorist is suspected of being one. Or a sympathizer. (Cox News Service)
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NC: New bill to allow courtroom oaths on Koran
February 6: Courtroom oaths could be taken on the Koran and other sacred texts besides the
Bible in a bill filed in the South Carolina state Senate today. The issue drew national attention last
month when the first Muslim elected to US Congress took a ceremonial oath with a Koran once
owned by Thomas Jefferson. In North Carolina, the issue appeared in 2003 when a Muslim
woman sued the state because she was not allowed to swear an oath on the Koran when she
was called as a witness in a court case. State law allows witnesses to use only the Bible for
oaths. Three weeks ago, a state appeals court agreed to let her lawsuit continue. The new bill
would allow an oath-taker to place a hand "upon the Bible or any text sacred to the party's
religious faith." (Associated Press)
FL: Only Good Friday makes the cut
February 7: Good Friday is the only religious holiday recognized in the latest version of (Florida)
Hillsborough's controversial school calendar. But the idea of treating Christians differently from
Jews and Muslims divided the committee of teachers, parents and school administrators who are
making calendar recommendations. It marked a reversal of the group's stance last fall, when
members proposed a calendar recognizing no religious holidays. Last year, the School Board
passed a similarly secular calendar - and came under a firestorm of criticism for being
antireligious. Under a national spotlight, the board backpedaled and restored existing Christian
and Jewish holidays. Once again, the School Board has final approval of the calendar for the
coming school year - and whether religion belongs in it. After a narrow committee vote to make
Good Friday a school holiday, a Jewish parent made a final request that all major religions be
treated equally. His plea failed in a 9-7 vote. (St. Petersburg Times)
NY: CW Post fires dorm advisors over 'Hostage' movie
February 7: A two-minute video that administrators consider insensitive to Muslims has cost five
resident assistants and a residence hall advisor their jobs at the C.W. Post campus of Long
Island University. The short film depicts a scene similar to one where Americans being held
hostage by Al-Qaeda terrorists are forced to shoot videos pleading for their life. In the video the
five resident assistants were disguised in ski masks and speaking broken English and using
stereotypical "Middle Eastern" accents. The video was posted on YouTube and Google Video
and later taken down. (Newsday)
Muslim chosen to lead interfaith alliance
February 7: Larry Collins was installed recently as president of The Interfaith Alliance of Marion
County (Florida). He is the first Muslim to hold the office. Collins grew up an Army brat. He served
in the Air Force and did a year in Vietnam. Collins is a devout Muslim and has been since 1966.
The Rev. Dale Stewart is a founding member and former president of the Marion County chapter
of the alliance. He believes Collins' dedication will be an asset to the organization. (Ocala StarBanner)
Civil rights groups file class-action suit against delay in citizenship processing
February, 8: In San Francisco, CA, civil rights groups filed a class-action lawsuit today against the
federal government for its practice of indefinitely delaying citizenship applications in violation of
the Constitution and federal statutes and regulations. The first of its kind in Northern California,
the lawsuit seeks to enforce federal laws that expect the government to decide a citizenship
application within 120 days of the naturalization test. Many of the named plaintiffs have been
waiting for several years, a clear violation of the law. The plaintiffs, long-time legal permanent
residents of Northern California, have met all the legal requirements for citizenship, including
passing their immigration interview and clearing criminal record checks, but have not been
granted citizenship due to a so-called “FBI name check,” a process that has taken years to
complete. The eight plaintiffs include one Afghan, two Pakistanis, four Chinese and one Canadian
national. (AMP Report)
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Shias and Sunnis are closer together than Catholics and Protestants
February 9: In the wake of vandalism at predominantly Shiite mosques in Dearborn, Michigan,
Muslim Public Affairs Council, executive director, Dr. Salam Al-Marayati, told the Newsweek:
Sunni and Shiites were closer together than Catholics and Protestants. We read from the same
Qur’an, practiced the same five pillars. The divisions are political and historical and for all intents
and purposes not relevant to society today. Schools of thought are considered a personal choice,
a family decision and don’t play a significant role in the everyday life of the American Muslim. You
can be Shiite, you can be Sunni or you can be non-denominational—which I think is really the
Qur’anic way—to say really there should not be that division and you’re just a Muslim.
(Newsweek)
Critic of Islam finds new home in U.S.
February 10: The Associated Press reported - under the title Critic of Islam finds new home in
U.S. - Ayaan Hirsi Ali has joined the American Enterprise Institute, after a sometimes stormy 14
years in the Netherlands, where she was a member of parliament and became a central figure in
two events that jolted the nation. "I'm an apostate. That's why the book is called 'Infidel,'" she said
in a telephone interview from New York. She joined the AEI in last September. "We believe that
she will bring an increase to the level of anti-Muslim bias in this country that we saw her bring to
the situation in Europe," the council's communications director, Ibrahim Hooper, said in an
interview. "She is just one more Muslim-basher on the lecture circuit," he said. Many institute
scholars have had a close relationship with the Bush administration. Among its senior fellows are
former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; John R. Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United
Nations; and Lynne Cheney , wife of Vice President Dick Cheney . (Associated Press)
MPAC calls on DOJ to move past Al-Arian case
February 12:, The Muslim Public Affairs Council today sent a letter to the U.S. Department of
Justice urging Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty to meet with the American Muslim
community regarding the case of Dr. Sami Al-Arian. In the letter, MPAC highlighted the
importance of this case in terms of its perception within the community. Al-Arian was arrested in
2003 on charges of funding terrorists. In 2005, he was acquitted on eight of the 17 charges
against him, including conspiracy to commit racketeering, conspiracy to murder and maim people
abroad, conspiracy to support a terrorist organization, mail fraud and obstruction of justice. On
April 14, 2006 Al-Arian plead guilty to a single count of conspiracy to provide services to the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad and agreed to be deported. In return, federal prosecutors agreed to drop
the remaining eight counts against him. U.S. District Judge James Moody sentenced Al-Arian to a
maximum of 57 months in prison and gave him credit for time served, leaving him with a balance
of 19 months. The government has been unwilling to carry out Al-Arian's previous plea
agreement and a grand jury has subpoenaed Al-Arian to testify in a case involving an American
Muslim think-tank. Testifying was not part of the original plea agreement. Despite having been
found guilty of nothing by a U.S. court, Al-Arian continues to be held under a belief of culpability.
Al-Arian has been imprisoned under conditions condemned by Amnesty International. (MPAC
bulletin)
Kansas City Muslims battle prejudice for their beliefs
February 12: Tensions between Christianity and Islam have never been higher in the United
State. Still, in this primarily Judeo-Christian nation, some statistics suggest Islam is the fastest
growing religion in the country and the world. Hard and fast numbers are hard to come by but
some statistics suggest 34,000 Americans are converting to Islam every year. No one really
tracks these numbers in an official way, because there is no "evangelism" per se in Islam. They
say they're not actively trying to make people Muslims, they can only tell you the message,
whether or not you embrace it is between you and God. Here in Kansas City, Muslim leaders said
9/11 exposed a lot of people to Islam and its message, and as some learn about the faith, they're
called to follow it. The Islamic Center in Kansas City said before 9/11 one person would embrace
Islam maybe every three or four months, but now it's more like once a week. (FOX 4 News)
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US military tells TV series 24 producers to cut out the torture scenes
February 13: The US military has appealed to the producers of popular television series 24 to
tone down the torture scenes because of the impact they are having both on troops in the field
and America's reputation abroad. Forget about Abu Ghraib, forget about Guantanamo Bay, forget
even that the White House has authorized interrogation techniques that some classify as torture,
that damned Jack Bauer is giving us a bad name. The United States Military Academy at West
Point confirmed that Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan recently traveled to California to meet
producers of the show, broadcast on the Fox channel. He told them that promoting illegal
behavior in the series - apparently hugely popular among the US military - was having a
damaging effect on young troops. (Independent UK)
Florida county rejects Muslim cemetery plan
February 13: Amid opposition from many residents, Florida’s Hernando County Planning and
Zoning Commission has voted unanimously against a Muslim cemetery, though the county
Planning Department had recommended approval. The Bosnian Member Association was asking
for a Muslim cemetery. Clearwater-based organization has only about 200 families, many of
whom fled the former Yugoslavia during the civil war of the 1990s. The organization includes
members of the Catholic and Orthodox churches, as well as Muslims, and so would the cemetery,
Vedad Sakovic, president of the Bosnian Member Association said. (St. Petersburg Times)
Al-Arian collapses at jail: He was on the 23rd day of a hunger strike
February 16: Sami Al-Arian, a former computer science professor at the University of South
Florida, who has been on a hunger strike since mid January, collapsed this week in a Virginia jail.
At daybreak, guards discovered him lying unconscious on the concrete floor of a shower room in
the Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw, Va., and called for medical help, according to Nahla
Al-Arian, his wife. It was the 23rd day of a hunger strike during which he had consumed water
only. Al-Arian is on a hunger strike to protest being held in jail beyond his sentence for refusing to
testify before a grand jury in Virginia. In May (2006), as part of a plea agreement, he was
convicted of aiding associates of a terrorist group in nonviolent ways. (St. Petersburg Times)
Arab-American soldiers stress loyalty, patriotism
February 16: As American troops battle Islamic extremists in Iraq and Afghanistan and try to
bring stability to the region, here at home the Pentagon is reaching out to Arab and Muslim
Americans, trying to interest them in joining the U.S. military. At least 15,000 Muslims, including
about 3,500 Arab-Americans, are already in uniform. In fact, Arab-Americans have been fighting,
and dying, for this country since 1776. The Pentagon regards Arab-Americans as especially
valued members of the U.S. military because of their important language skills and their
understanding of the cultures of the Middle East. The armed services make efforts to
accommodate their religious needs on base, such as building Islamic prayer rooms and hiring
Muslim chaplains. But many Arab American soldiers say, 5 years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks,
they still feel they need to prove both their worth as soldiers, and their loyalty to the United States.
(Voice of America)
Goode speaks out again about Muslims
February 16: Virginia Congressman Virgil Goode is speaking out again about Muslims. Goode
told his colleagues that Islamic jihadists would want U.S. currency to say "in Muhammad we
trust," with an Islamic flag flying over the White House and U.S. Capitol. Goode angered Muslims
in December when he questioned Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison's decision to be sworn
in on the Quran instead of the Bible and warned that more Muslims would be elected to office
unless immigration was limited. Ellison was born in Detroit and converted to Islam in college.
(Associated Press)
Religion and culture are not to blame for tensions between Islam and the west: Global poll
February 19: The global public believes that tensions between Islam and the West arise from
conflicts over political power and interests and not from differences of religion and culture,
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according to a BBC World Service poll across 27 countries. While three in ten (29%) believe
religious or cultural differences are the cause of tensions, a slight majority (52%) say tensions are
due to conflicting interests. The idea that violent conflict is inevitable between Islam and the West
is mainly rejected by Muslims, non-Muslims and Westerners alike. While more than a quarter of
all respondents (28%) think that violent conflict is inevitable, twice as many (56%) believe that
“common ground can be found.” The survey of over 28,000 respondents across 27 countries was
conducted for the BBC World Service by the international polling firm GlobeScan together with
the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland. GlobeScan
coordinated the fieldwork between November 2006 and January 2007. (BBC)
Norwegian documentary: USA vs Al-Arian
February 19: Though unquestionably biased, eye-opening docu "USA vs Al-Arian" throws the
spotlight on a justice system shanghaied by the Patriot Act, leaving a deeply sympathetic family
frayed but not quite broken. Branded the most dangerous man in the U.S., Tampa-based
computer science professor Sami Al-Arian came through a six-month trial with no charges
sticking, but the judge ignored the jury and Al-Arian is still in jail. Norwegian helmer Line
Halvorsen constructs a damning portrait of the case by focusing on the trial's emotional toll.
Halvorsen interviews law professors and reporters, but it's the family that gets the most screen
time. Thoroughly American, the Al-Arian kids are an incredibly articulate group, held together by
their mutual support and the determination of mom Nahla to keep them strong. Phone calls from
dad in prison become a daily routine. (Director) Halvorsen, backed up by legal experts, presents
the verdict as a blow not only to the family but also to American justice. (Variety)
In US, fear and ignorance feed Christian-Muslim divide
February 20: Fear and ignorance about each other are the two factors that prevent the Muslim
and Christian communities in the US from getting closer, says Joel C Hunter, an American
Christian leader representing the Evangelical Church. Hunter, who represents the National
Association of Evangelicals, was in Doha attending the US-Islamic World Forum. Talking to The
Peninsula on the sidelines of the conference, Hunter said despite the widespread
misunderstandings about Islam and Muslims, an atmosphere of dialogue is steadily emerging
between the Muslims and the majority Christian community in the US. "The 9/11 was a catalytic
event that further strengthened the feeling of fear among the Americans about Muslims. On the
other hand, it has triggered a lot of curiosity about Islam and Muslims," noted Hunter. (Peninsula,
Doha, Qatar)
Ellison endorses Obama, lauds 'unifying spirit'
February 20: Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., said today that he is backing Illinois Senator Barack
Obama in his campaign for president. "Not because he's black," said Ellison, who is black.
Speaking to a Black History Month lunch-hour event for about 100 employees at Star Tribune
headquarters in Minneapolis, Ellison said he supports Obama's message of an open and fair
economy, a balanced prosperity and clear opposition to the war in Iraq. Ellison, from Minneapolis,
is the first black elected to Congress from Minnesota and the first Muslim elected from any state.
(Minneapolis Star Tribune)
Anti-terror case data flawed
February 20: Federal prosecutors counted immigration violations, marriage fraud and drug
trafficking among anti-terror cases in the four years after 9/11 despite no evidence linking them to
terror activity, a Justice Department audit said today. Overall, nearly all of the terrorism-related
statistics on investigations, referrals and cases examined by department Inspector General Glenn
A. Fine were either diminished or inflated. Only two of 26 sets of department data reported
between 2001 and 2005 were accurate, the audit found. (Associated Press)
First Muslim cemetery opens in Alaska
February 20: A 1998 newspaper story about two Muslim children mistakenly buried on top of
each other in Palmer left Ake Dobrova weak with outrage. That year, he decided to make a
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cemetery himself. This year, what he started has become the first official Muslim resting place in
Alaska. Anchorage now has close to 2,000 Muslims, said Imran Khan, ICCAA's (the Islamic
Community Center of Anchorage, Alaska) acting imam, or spiritual leader. A few are converts,
and many more are immigrants from the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa. (Anchorage Daily
News)
IL: Muslims' request for space rejected
February 20: Athletic officials will not establish a designated prayer space for Muslim students at
sporting events held at Ryan Field and Welsh-Ryan Arena, said John Mack, Northwestern's
associate athletic director of external affairs. Instead, officials will grant certain concessions, such
as allowing prayer rugs into the stadiums and letting students pray in places that do not block
traffic flow. The decision came after Muslim students expressed a need for clean prayer areas in
January. Associated Student Government (Illinois) passed a resolution asking the athletic
department to meet with the Muslim-cultural Students Association to explore possible
accommodations. (Daily Northwestern)
Teen's dad says 'anti-Muslim' literature handed out in class isn't freedom of speech
February 22: The father of a North Carolina ninth grader who was given 'anti-Muslim' literature in
class says the material handed out is not an issue of free speech, but of slander and defamation.
"First of all, it slanders, things like, Mohammed is a 'criminal,' is 'demon possessed' ... that just
made my blood boil," said Tariq Butte, whose daughter Saira, was one student who participated
in the ninth grade orientation seminar at Enloe High School in Wake County, N.C., where the
material was distributed. Butte is not a practicing Muslim; his wife is Christian and his kids are
taught to accept and respect all religions. "So for a person like me to feel like that - I've never
been to a mosque - to feel like that … for me to feel such hideous attacks, they were not just
pointing out failures or weaknesses in Islam or Muslims, they were just attacking." A
representative from the Kamil International Ministries Organization, a Christian group based in
Raleigh, was invited by a teacher to come and speak to the class. He handed out literature class
that compared the teachings of Jesus with accusations against Islam's Prophet Muhammad;
Muslims Jesus as a prophet of God equal to the prophet Muhammad. (Fox News)
Muslim call to prayer gets complaints
February 22: The Masjid Nur al-Islam mosque, on Church Avenue in Kensington, Brooklyn, is a
humble two-story brick structure with a green and white sign in Arabic and English. Amid the auto
body shops and the Mexican and Middle Eastern restaurants that populate its low-slung corner of
the neighborhood, the building barely stands out -- except for the sounds that emanate, four times
a day, from a small gray bullhorn mounted on the edge of its roof. A little before 12:30 p.m. and
again at 3, 5:30 and 7:15, the speaker broadcasts Muslim calls to prayer that the faithful consider
essential, but that some neighbors, who have complained for years, say are just too loud. These
residents renewed their complaints at a recent meeting of the Dahill Neighborhood Association
attended by the police captain in charge of the 66th Precinct. Ivan Selzer, co-president of the
neighborhood group, said in an interview that in response to previous entreaties, the mosque had
lowered the volume, but that the noise had recently gotten worse. (New York Times)
Domestic radicalization' amendment passed by senate homeland security committee
February 23: The Muslim Public Affairs Council today welcomed the recognition of Senate
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs that engagement is a far more
powerful tool in countering radicalization than mere enforcement. Last week, the Senate
Committee approved legislation to implement unfulfilled recommendations of the 9/11
Commission. Included in the bill was an amendment expressing the "Sense of the Senate"
regarding combating "domestic radicalization". Entitled "the Improving America's Security by
Implementing Unfinished Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007", the
amendment to the legislation underscores the need for enhanced engagement with the American
Muslims by public officials and federal and local agencies. Written by Congressman George
Voinovich (R-OH), the amendment advocates for "advocates for consulting with experts to ensure
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that the lexicon used within public statements is precise and appropriate and does not aid
encourage extremists by unintentionally offending the American Muslim community" and
"pursuing broader avenues of dialogue with the Muslim community to foster mutual respect,
understanding and trust". (MPAC Bulletin)
Students told to shun Muslims Anti-Muslim literature handed out in class
February 23: The Council on American-Islamic Relations has rebuked the Wake County (North
Carolina) Public School system for allowing a Christian evangelist to speak at Enloe High School
and distribute pamphlets denouncing Islam. A representative from the Kamil International
Ministries Organization, a Christian group based in Raleigh (NC), was invited by a teacher to
come and speak to the class. He handed out literature in the class that compared the teachings
of Jesus with accusations against Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad, the pamphlets
distributed at the high school said, was "a criminal," a "demon possessed," and "inspired by
Satan." The group also had a special message for the young women at the high school: "Do Not
Marry a Muslim Man." Solomon, an Egyptian-born Christian, runs Kamil International Ministries
Organization based in Raleigh, NC. (AMP Report)
Evidence against Muslim charity appears fabricated
February 25: When the Bush administration shut down the nation's largest Muslim charity five
years ago, officials of the Dallas-based foundation denied allegations it was linked to terrorists
and insisted that a number of accusations were fabricated by the government. Now, attorneys for
the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development say the government's own documents
provide evidence of that claim. In recent court filings, defense lawyers disclosed striking
discrepancies between an official summary and the verbatim transcripts of an FBI-wiretapped
conversation in 1996 involving Holy Land officials. The summary attributes inflammatory, antiSemitic comments to Holy Land officials that are not found in a 13-page transcript of the recorded
conversation. It recently was turned over to the defense by the government in an exchange of
evidence. Citing the unexplained discrepancies, defense lawyers have asked U.S. District Judge
A. Joe Fish in Dallas to declassify thousands of hours of FBI surveillance recordings, so that full
transcripts would replace government summaries as evidence. (Los Angeles Times)
Interfaith group takes on 'Islamophobia'
February 25: When U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison was sworn in as the first Muslim member of Congress
in January, the Minnesota Democrat took his oath of office on a copy of the Quran that had
belonged to the author of the Declaration of Independence and third president of the United
States, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson, considered one of the nation's more profound thinkers of his
time, recognized there was strength in religious diversity and tolerance. The Southwest Riverside
County Interfaith Council (California) hopes to embrace Jefferson's idea of religious
understanding. The Interfaith Council, which represents 17 Temecula Valley area churches,
temples and mosques, is promoting a movement to quell misconceptions people have of Muslims
and about the Islamic faith. The council aims to highlight the similarities between creeds and how
all groups can live and work together. (North County Times)
Lawsuit over Boston mosque site is dismissed
February 25: A Suffolk Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit that contended the Boston
Redevelopment Authority's sale of a parcel of land in Roxbury for a price significantly below its
appraised value to the Islamic Society of Boston violated the constitutional separation between
religious groups and the state. Judge Sandra L. Hamlin ruled that James C. Policastro of Mission
Hill did not have legal standing to challenge the sale because he did not file his lawsuit within 30
days of the sale, which the Legislature set as the BRA's deadline for appealing the agency's
decisions. Policastro filed his suit on Sept. 28, 2004, more than 16 months after the BRA sold the
parcel. The sale price for the parcel was $175,000, and the society spent another $43,820 to
improve the land. It had been appraised at more than $400,000. The Islamic Society planned to
build the largest mosque in New England on the site, along with a school and a cultural center,
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but completion of the project has been delayed by funding problems and controversy over
extremist remarks by two former officials of the society. (Boston Globe)
Muslim girl ejected from tournament for wearing hijab
February 25: Five young teams from across Canada walked out of a Quebec soccer tournament
Sunday because a young Muslim girl was ejected for wearing a hijab. Calling the rule banning the
headscarf worn by Muslim women racist, four other teams followed Asmahan Mansour's team,
the Nepean Selects from Ottawa, after she was thrown out for running afoul of a Quebec Soccer
Association rule. (CBC News)
March 2006
The persecution of Sami Al-Arian
March 1: One of the first big show trials here in the post-9/11 homeland was of a Muslim
professor from Florida, now 49, Sami Al-Arian. Pro-Israel hawks had resented this computer
professor at the University of South Florida long before Atta and the hijackers flew their planes
into the Trade Towers because they saw Al-Arian, a Palestinian born in Kuwait of parents kicked
out of their homeland in 1948, as an effective agitator here for the Palestinian cause. As John
Sugg, a fine journalist based in Tampa who's followed Al-Arian's tribulations for years, wrote in
the spring of 2006: "When was Al-Arian important? More than a decade ago, when Israel's
Likudniks in the United States, such as [Steven] Emerson, were working feverishly to undermine
the Oslo peace process. No Arab voice could be tolerated, and Al-Arian was vigorously trying to
communicate with our government and its leaders. He was being successful, making speeches to
intelligence and military commanders at MacDill AFB's Central Command, inviting the FBI and
other officials to attend meetings of his groups. People were beginning to listen." At the direct
instigation of Attorney General Ashcroft, the Feds threw the book at Al-Arian in February 2003.
He was arrested with much fanfare and charged in a bloated terrorism and conspiracy case. He
spent two and a half years in prison, in solitary confinement under atrocious conditions. To confer
with his lawyers, he had to hobble half a mile, hands and feet shackled, his law files balanced on
his back. (The Nation)
FIFA forbids head scarves: Ottawa girl's ejection sparked debate
March 3: Soccer's legislators in Manchester, UK, have ruled that no player can wear a head scarf
on the field. The International Football Association Board was asked at its annual meeting to
adjudicate on a decision to ban an 11-year-old Muslim girl from playing in a tournament near
Montreal last weekend because she was wearing a head scarf. "If you play football there's a set
of laws and rules, and law four outlines the basic equipment," said Brian Barwick, chief executive
of the English Football Association, which is one of the IFAB members. Asmahan Mansour was
told to either remove her hijab or leave the field in an under-12 tournament near Montreal. (The
Globe & Mail)
Goldsboro City Council, NC, rejects mosque proposal
March 5: Goldsboro City Council unanimously voted tonight to not allow the construction of a
mosque in the northern part of the city.All six councilmen and Mayor Al King agreed with the
planning commission's recommendation that the building plan was too large for the proposed site
off Wayne Memorial Drive and the facility would not provide the required number of parking
spaces. Dr. Waheed Akhtar asked City Council last month to rezone his property on the
southeast corner of Best Avenue and Wayne Memorial Drive to allow for the construction of a
mosque. During a public hearing on Feb. 19, some of those opposed to the mosque did cite traffic
concerns, but others simply did not want a mosque in their neighborhood. (Goldsboro News
Argus)
Anti-Islam talk at North Carolina high school prompts ACLU action
March 6: As part of an ongoing investigation, a Christian evangelist's appearance at a Duke
University-area high school has now sparked reaction from the American Civil Liberties Union.
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During his Feb. 15 appearance at Enloe High School, Kamil Solomon denounced Islam and
distributed pamphlets titled "Do Not Marry A Muslim Man, Part I" and "Jesus Not Muhammad,
Part I" to teacher Robert Escamilla's social studies classes. The case attracted the attention of
the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation when the father of an Enloe student filed a
complaint against the high school. The ACLU said it believes the incident is a violation of the
Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution, which forbids any government
action that advances any one set of religious beliefs over another. (Duke Chronicle)
American Muslim groups condemns attacks on Shi'a pilgrims in Iraq
March 6: American Muslim organizations today condemned a pair of suicide attacks in the holy
city of Karbala, Iraq, which killed at least 149 Shi'a pilgrims and left another 200 wounded.
According to agency reports, the attacks took place near a rest tent set up in the town of Hilla to
provide food for pilgrims, who were walking by foot to Karbala to commemorate the end of a 40day mourning period following the anniversary of the death of Prophet Muhammad's grandson,
Hussain. The attacks were just the latest in a long string of deliberate violence against Shi'a
pilgrims and their holy sites, including the destruction of the "Golden Dome" in Samarra in
February 2006. The American Muslim Voice (AMV) the Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR and Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) in their statements pointed out that there can
be no justification or excuse for these obvious attempts to divide the Iraqi people along sectarian
Last week, MPAC held a meeting in Los Angeles with prominent Muslim American leaders of
various backgrounds to formulate a unified stand against sectarian divisions in their mosques.
During that meeting, the leaders committed to the creation of a "Code of Honor" among all
American Muslims which would disallow the practice of "takfir" (judging other Muslims as
"nonbelievers"), and call on leaders to refrain from insulting historical figures held dear by other
Muslims (namely the family and companions of the Prophet). Later this month, a group of
prominent American Muslim leaders will gather to formally launch the "Code of Honor". (AMP
Report)
Gonzales, Mueller admit FBI broke law: FBI underreported use of Patriot Act
March 9: The nation's top two law enforcement officials acknowledged today the FBI broke the
law to secretly pry out personal information about Americans. They apologized and vowed to
prevent further illegal intrusions. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales left open the possibility of
pursuing criminal charges against FBI agents or lawyers who improperly used the USA Patriot
Act in pursuit of suspected terrorists and spies.The FBI's transgressions were spelled out in a
damning 126-page audit by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine. He found that
agents sometimes demanded personal data on people without official authorization, and in other
cases improperly obtained telephone records in non-emergency circumstances.The audit also
concluded that the FBI for three years underreported to Congress how often it used national
security letters to ask businesses to turn over customer data. The letters are administrative
subpoenas that do not require a judge's approval. (Washington Post)
Muslims advocate defeat amendment on charities
March 9: Muslim Public Affairs Council has commended the Muslim Advocates for working to
defeat a troubling amendment that would have further criminalized well-intentioned humanitarian
assistance to the needy around the world, including the Muslim world. In a 49-46 vote today, the
U.S. Senate rejected the amendment offered by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX). This amendment
was written so broadly that it could have made it a crime for individuals, including Americans and
U.S. aid and relief organizations, to give charitable assistance to a family member or anyone who
might live next door to a suspected terrorist. It also contained other problematic provisions,
including a proposal to remove the role of the courts in reviewing visa revocation decisions.
(MPAC Bulletin)
House GOP Try to Halt Muslim Seminar
March 12: House Republicans said today that Democrats should retract an offer to let the
nation's largest Islamic civil liberties organization use a Capitol conference room for a seminar.
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The House Republican Conference referred to the Council on American-Islamic Relations as
"terrorist apologists" and called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to cancel the forum scheduled
for tomorrow. "Democrats arrange official meeting with pro-Hamas, pro-Hezbollah group in U.S.
Capitol," headlined a Conference press release carrying a Washington Times article on the
planned meeting. "It's really disappointing," said CAIR national communications director Ibrahim
Hooper, that whenever there's an attack from elective officials "we don't even ask any more which
party it is. It should be a concern to ordinary Republicans that the party is being viewed as a
reservoir of anti-Muslim hate." The seminar takes up global attitudes on Islam-West relations. It's
common practice for lawmakers to authorize use of rooms in the Capitol for advocacy group
meetings. The CAIR meeting was arranged by Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., in a room used by the
Ways and Means Committee. (Washington Post)
Imams file civil rights suit against US Airways
March 13: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today announced that six imams,
or Islamic religious leaders, removed from a US Airways flight in Minneapolis last November have
filed a lawsuit against the airline and Minnesota's Metropolitan Airports Commission alleging that
their civil rights were violated. The lawsuit, filed in United States District Court for the District of
Minnesota, claims US Airways' alleged discriminatory actions were based on the imams'
"perceived race, religion, color, ethnicity, alienage, ancestry, and/or national origin." It goes on to
state: "Because of Defendants' discriminatory acts, Plaintiffs were denied the right to make and
enforce a contract, subjected to unlawful discrimination by a recipient of federal financial
assistance, denied equal treatment in a place of public accommodation, and falsely arrested and
detained by law enforcement officers." (CAIR Bulletin)
Arab Americans, once pro-Bush, are now looking to the Democrats
March 13: The top Republican Party official got polite applause at a gathering of Arab American
leaders, while his Democratic counterpart got a standing ovation. What a difference four years and a transforming national crisis - has made. Bush, whose substantial Arab American support in
2000 helped him win swing states, has plummeted in Arab American polls. "The community has
changed. It was almost the other way around in 2000," said pollster John Zogby, himself an Arab
American. Democrats have taken note of the change, and eight of the nine Democratic
candidates for president gave speeches last weekend at an Arab American Institute conference
in Dearborn, Mich., which boasts a heavy concentration of Arab Americans. It helped that some
of the states with the heaviest Arab concentrations - including Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida and
Pennsylvania - are considered up for grabs for Democrats or Republicans in 2004. Candidates
pitched their appeals to issues dear to the hearts of Arab Americans - including opposition to how
Bush is conducting the post-war operation in Iraq and the perceived dangers to civil liberties of
the USA Patriot Act - but artfully avoided one issue. (JTA)
Defense for AIPAC duo says groups refuse to testify
March 13: Several Jewish organizations are refusing to cooperate with the defense in the case
against two men accused of passing classified information while working for the main pro-Israel
lobby. According to sources close to the defense team, three major Jewish organizations are
telling their employees not to testify on behalf of Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, former
officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The defense sources expressed
disappointment over the alleged refusal to cooperate, describing it as yet another example of the
organized Jewish community turning its back on Rosen, Aipac's former policy director, and
Weissman, its top Iran specialist. The Forward has learned that the appeal to the Jewish groups
relates to a dinner meeting that took place three years ago. During the meeting, which was
arranged by Rosen, he and officials at the three other Jewish organizations were briefed by a
senior administration official on issues relating to the Middle East. (Forward)
Muslim tenants win bias suit
March 14: The Southern California office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA)
today applauded an arbitration decision in favor of six Muslim tenants whose civil rights were
violated by the owner of an Anaheim, Calif., apartment complex. A lawsuit, filed in September
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2005, alleged that Muslim families were harassed because of their faith, deprived of needed
repairs to their apartments and prevented from renting or moving to larger spaces. All parties to
the lawsuit later agreed to binding arbitration. In his decision last Friday, Orange County Arbiter
Jay Cordell Horton said: "[T]here were violations of [the apartment owner's] own policies that did
demonstrate discriminatory conduct which caused some amount of emotional distress for
plaintiffs and, in some cases, actual damages...In summary, I have found that there is sufficient
evidence to support a cause of action for violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act and FEHA on
behalf of each plaintiff." Horton ordered the apartment owner to compensate the tenants for the
damages they incurred. (CAIR Bulletin)
Washington Times refuses to publish responses to biased coverage
March 15: Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called the right-wing Washington
Times newspaper "beyond hypocritical" for claiming to support a "robust media" while refusing to
publish responses to alleged anti-Muslim bias in its reporting and commentary. The newspaper
made that claim in an editorial today attacking the Washington-based group. In its editorial, the
paper also falsely portrayed American Muslims as recent immigrants, despite the fact that the
Islamic community has deep historical roots in this nation, beginning with the Muslim slaves who
were brought to America from West Africa. The Times editorial stated: "This is a lesson [about a
robust media] our Muslim brothers will learn sooner or later as they become accustomed to life in
America." As evidence of the Washington Times' refusal to publish editorial responses from
Muslims, CAIR cited a letter to the editor it sent to the paper earlier this week. That letter,
headlined "Washington Times Seeks to Silence American Muslims," has not appeared in that
newspaper. (CAIR Bulletin)
Chertoff & Senate committee discuss positive role of and challenges to Muslim Americans
March 16: The Muslim Public Affairs Council today commended the Department of Homeland
Security for offering testimony before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, in which
officials discussed the positive role of Muslim American communities. DHS Secretary Michael
Chertoff and Daniel Sutherland, Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, stressed the need for
enhanced engagement between the government and American Arab, Muslim, Sikh and South
Asian communities as a key toward improved security. Homeland Security Committee Chairman,
Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and Ranking Member Susan Collins (R-ME) presided over the hearing
Wednesday, which was entitled "The Threat of Islamic Radicalism to the Homeland."
Secretary Chertoff began his testimony by making the point that while extremism and
radicalization is a large concern among European Muslim communities, this is not a phenomenon
that we are observing in the United States. He explained that the American Muslim community is
a strength for the United States. (MPAC Bulletin)
Cheap shot at Pascrell
March 16: Rep. Bill Pascrell is a New Jersey Democrat whose 8th District includes Passaic and
Paterson, cities with significant Islamic communities. The other day, Pascrell arranged for a
national Islamic civil liberties group to use a room in the Capitol basement for a panel discussion
on relations between Muslims and the West. The House Republican Conference went ballistic.
The conference provides policy research and other support services to GOP House members,
and it said no way the new Democratic majority should be hosting meetings of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, a group it called "apologists for suicide bombers." Those are tough
words, and they did fit a few individuals who have been associated with CAIR over the years, one
of whom was convicted of conspiring to train terrorists in Virginia. But the federal government
doesn't think that troubling description of a few bad apples accurately portrays the group in
general. The FBI and other agencies have repeatedly used CAIR to build bridges with the Muslim
community, and the "apologist" tag certainly wasn't shared by the high-ranking Republican who
met with the group at an Islamic center after 9/11: President Bush. (New Jersey Star-Ledger)
“The Secular Muslims” summit
March 17: a small group of self-proclaimed secular Muslims from North America and elsewhere
gathered in St. Petersburg, Florida, recently for what they billed as a new global movement to
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correct the assumed wrongs of Islam and call for an Islamic Reformation. Across the state in Fort
Lauderdale, Muslim leaders from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the
Washington-based advocacy group whose members the "secular" Muslims claim are radicals,
denounced any notion of a Reformation as another attempt by the West to impose its history and
philosophy on the Islamic world. The self-proclaimed secularists represent only a small minority of
Muslims. The views among religious Muslims from CAIR more closely reflect the views of the
majority, not only in the United States but worldwide. Yet Western media, governments and
neoconservative pundits pay more attention to the secular minority. The St. Petersburg
convention is but one example: It was carried live on (Islamophboe) Glenn Beck's conservative
CNN show. Some of the organizers and speakers at the convention are well known thanks to the
media spotlight: Irshad Manji, author of "The Trouble With Islam," and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the former
Dutch parliamentarian and author of "Infidel," were but a few there claiming to have suffered
personally at the hands of "radical" Islam. One participant, Wafa Sultan, declared on Glenn
Beck's show that she doesn't "see any difference between radical Islam and regular Islam."
(Washington Post)
Invitation to Islamophobe upsets Muslim
March 18: The decision by the FBI's Indianapolis office to bring in author Robert Spencer to talk
to its anti-terrorism task force has a Plainfield-based Muslim organization concerned that the
bureau is listening to an "Islamophobe" who distorts its faith.The FBI had planned to bring in
Spencer this week to speak to Indiana's Joint Terrorism Task Force. His appearance was
postponed because he had a scheduling conflict. Both Spencer and the FBI hope to reschedule.
Louay Safi, director of leadership development with the Plainfield-based Islamic Society of North
America, said bringing Spencer in to talk of Islam is akin to bringing an anti-Semite to talk about
Jews or a Ku Klux Klan member to talk about race. (Indianapolis Star)
Court declines to hear case involving Maine Muslim
March 19: The Supreme Court refused today to consider the case of a Muslim immigrant from
Maine found by a jury to have suffered workplace harassment. Abdul Azimi asked the justices to
take his case after a federal jury declined to award compensation despite concluding that he was
subjected to an oppressive and hostile work environment at Jordan’s Meats Inc. in Portland,
Maine. After a six-day trial last year, jurors found that harassment from co-workers created a work
environment that "was hostile to his race, religion or ethnic origin." But those same jurors declined
to award damages because they said he was not harmed by the conduct. (Associated Press)
ADC Supports Bill to Combat Hate Crimes
March 21: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) welcomes today's
introduction of H.R. 1592, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007
(LLEHCPA) in the House of Representatives. This bill, commonly referred to as, “the hate crimes
bill,” was introduced by Judiciary Chairman John Conyers and already has 137 cosponsors. The
Senate will soon introduce an identical bill. LLEHCPA would provide increased protection for all
Americans, including Arab-Americans, from being the victims of hate crimes. Arab-Americans
have experienced a surge in hate crimes directed against them over the past several years.
Immediately following the September 11 terrorist attacks, the FBI documented a 1,600 percent
increase in hate crimes against those perceived to be Muslim or Arab and a 130 percent increase
in incidents directed at individuals on the basis of ethnicity or national origin. (ADC Press
Release)
Anti-Muslim bias on Capitol Hill
March 21: Bigotry shows its ugly face, not only on Main Street, but now in the halls of Congress.
A recent target is Eighth District Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr., D-Paterson, who represents a
district where an increasingly large number of assertive Muslims and Arabs live. Indeed, this is
the place often described by the congressman as "the most ethnically and religiously diverse area
in the United States." Pascrell is now being criticized for facilitating a conference room for CAIR,
the Council on American Islamic Relations. The room is located in the Capitol basement. The aim
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of the panel discussion was to discuss relations between Muslims and the West ? a most timely
topic. This courtesy is routinely extended to groups of various political affiliations and issues.
CAIR reports that it held similar meetings in Congress in the past. Pascrell said of the incident
that the building is "open to all Americans and should be available to encourage dialogue on the
most relevant domestic and international issues of the day." (Herald News)
Six hate crimes reported in Hawaii during 2006
March 22: Six hate crimes were reported throughout Hawaii state in 2006, according a report by
the state attorney general. The tally is the highest in the five years the state has been preparing
the report. In 2002, two hate crimes were reported and just one crime followed each year
thereafter. Those incidents included a group of young men who shouted anti-white epithets at
another group in Waikiki. One member of the first group, a 21-year-old Hawaiian, tried to kick and
punch one of the victims. In the other case, two servicemen assaulted three men leaving a
downtown bar after shouting anti-Arab and anti-Muslim epithets. The victims suffered facial cuts,
cracked teeth and bruises. (Associated Press)
Non-Muslims wear scarves in solidarity
March 23: Scarves for Solidarity, an event organized by the women of the Muslim Student
Organization at MU, took place on Missouri University campus. The event encourages nonMuslim women to cover their hair for a day to show solidarity with Muslim women and to learn a
little about life as an American Muslim. Similar events have been organized across the country,
including one called “Wear a Hijab/Turban Day” in Fremont, Calif., organized in response to the
2006 killing of an Afghan woman in the community. The first Scarves for Solidarity event was
organized in 2001 in Washington, following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. (Missourian)
ADC Calls for Congressional Inquiry into Bolton Remarks
March 23: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) today calls on the United
States Congress to conduct an investigation into remarks made by former US Ambassador to the
United Nations John Bolton stating that the US deliberately resisted calls for an immediate
ceasefire during the summer 2006 war in Lebanon. Bolton was quoted in an interview with BBC
saying he was, "damned proud of what we did" to prevent an early ceasefire. In January, the US
Department of State issued a preliminary report to Congress indicating that the State Department
might have found evidence that Israel violated bilateral weapons agreements when it dropped
US-made cluster bombs on civilian populations in Lebanon last summer. According to reports
from international human rights organizations, it was determined that Israeli Defense Forces
dropped more than 130,000 cluster bombs containing 1.2 million cluster bomblets in 498
locations in villages throughout southern Lebanon. These cluster bombs are in addition to those
already present in southern Lebanon from previous Israeli operations. (ADC Press Release)
Al-Arian contempt order upheld
March 23: A federal appeals court has upheld a contempt-of-court finding against a former Florida
college professor who admitted to aiding Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Sami Al-Arian. A three-judge
panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this afternoon that Al-Arian had no grounds to defy
a subpoena from a federal grand jury investigating Muslim charities in Northern Virginia. Judges
William Traxler Jr., Diana Motz, and Dennis Shedd wrote that they were "unpersuaded" by AlArian's argument that a plea bargain he entered into after a six-month trial in Florida on terrorism
support charges excused him from having to testify before a grand jury. (New York Sun)
Boston mosque project chills dialogue between Jews & Muslims
March 26: What began more than three years ago as a momentous groundbreaking on a $22
million mosque and Islamic cultural center has turned into a bitter public controversy that has
chilled relations between leaders of Boston’s Jewish and Muslim communities. What’s causing
the most friction between Jewish and Islamic leaders is a lawsuit filed by the Islamic Society of
Boston, or ISB against the David Project, a pro-Israel educational group that has been among
the most visible groups raising public questions about the project. Filed in November 2005, the
suit charges the David Project, one of its employees, 13 other groups and individuals and two
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media outlets with defamation and conspiracy to keep the project from completion. The charges
allege that the David Project and Steven Emerson of the anti-terrorist Investigative Project, who
also is named in the ISB lawsuit, colluded behind the scenes to provide false, highly provocative
and defamatory information to media outlets. “I have said, in every forum, this is not a battle
between Muslims and Jews but between specific people, and we are dealing with it in court,” ISB
assistant director Salma Kazmi says. For the past three years, Kazmi has co-chaired the Center
for Jewish-Muslim Relations, a group she co-founded with David Dolev, program director for
Temple Beth Shalom in Cambridge, Mass. The center has led discussions among Jewish and
Muslim leaders on issues such as the importance of Israel to the Jewish community. But the suit
has chilled dialogue with the ISB at the highest levels of Boston’s Jewish leadership, says Nancy
Kaufman, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, which
publicly backed the David Project after it was sued. (JTA)
ADC launches "End the Shame of NSEERS" ad campaign
March 28: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) today launched the “End the
Shame of NSEERS” Ad Campaign to shed light on the continuing problems faced by thousands
of individuals as a result of the discriminatory and poorly constructed and implemented "Special
Registration Program." In a specially-designed ad which will appear in periodicals across the
United States, ADC calls on President Bush, DHS Secretary Chertoff, and Attorney General
Gonzales to completely terminate this program and address its negative residual effects.
In late 2002, the Department of Justice's Immigration and Naturalization Service (who has since
been merged into the Department of Homeland Security-DHS and its component agency
Immigration and Customs Enforcement-ICE) launched a campaign known as the National
Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) with Special Call-In Registration phases.
(ADC Press Release)
Civil rights groups alarmed that census violated privacy in
World War II, urge Congress to ensure similar actions are not happening now
March 30: Following reports in USA Today that the Census Bureau gave American surveillance
agencies information on persons of Japanese Ancestry during World War II, the American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the
Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) urged Congress to investigate and ensure that such
practices do not occur today. The USA Today article was based on the research of William
Seltzer of Fordham University and Dr. Margo Anderson of the University of Wisconsin,
Milwaukee. Their paper concludes that in 1943 the Census Bureau provided the Treasury
Department with a list of all persons of Japanese ancestry in the Washington DC area. That
information, gathered under a promise of confidentiality, was also shared with the FBI and other
government agencies. The report also concludes that this action was not illegal, as it was
authorized under the Second War Powers Act. (ADC Press Release)
April 2007
Tucson mosque vandalized twice in two months
April 3: The Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-AZ) today called
on the FBI to investigate the latest act of vandalism targeting a Tucson mosque as a possible
hate crime. Officials of the Islamic Center of Tucson told CAIR-AZ that the mosque has been
vandalized twice in the past two months. In the latest incident, the mosque's office was ransacked
and a hand-written message saying "Bush was here" was left on a computer monitor. Two
months ago, about $1,000 was stolen when someone broke into the same mosque. (CAIR
bulletin)
Relatives of interned Japanese-Americans side with Muslims
April 3: Holly Yasui was far away when a federal judge in Brooklyn ruled last June that the
government had wide latitude to detain non-citizens indefinitely on the basis of race, religion or
national origin. The ruling came in a class-action lawsuit by Muslim immigrants held after 9/11.
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But Ms. Yasui, an American citizen of Japanese ancestry, had reason to take it personally.
Her grandparents were among thousands of Japanese immigrants in the United States who were
wrongfully detained as enemy aliens during World War II. And her father was one of three
Japanese-Americans who challenged the government's racial detention and curfew programs in
litigation that reached the Supreme Court in the 1940s. Now, Ms. Yasui, along with Jay
Hirabayashi and Karen Korematsu-Haigh, a son and a daughter of the two other JapaneseAmerican litigants, is urging an appeals court in Manhattan to overturn the sweeping language of
the judge's ruling last year. The ruling "painfully resurrects the long-discredited legal theory" that
was used to put their grandparents behind barbed wire, along with the rest of the West Coast's
Japanese alien population, the three contend in an unusual friends-of-the-court brief to be filed
today in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In recent years, many
scholars have drawn parallels and contrasts between the internment of Japanese-Americans
after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the treatment of hundreds of Muslim noncitizens who were
swept up in the weeks after the 2001 terror attacks, then held for months before they were
cleared of links to terrorism and deported. (New York Times)
NYPD names its second Islamic chaplain
April 3: The New York Police Department has hired a 24-year-old Muslim leader to become the
Islamic chaplain for the thousands of Muslims in the department, officials announced yesterday.
Khalid Latif is the second Islamic chaplain ever hired by the police. "Because of the life-and-death
nature of police work, the role of the chaplain in the police department takes on specific
importance," the Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. The NYPD chaplain position is part time.
The department's first chaplain, Imam Pasha, left more than a year ago. (New York Sun)
Texas Senator Patrick walks out on religious tolerance
April 4: The Texas Senate came into session today with an Islamic prayer. Imam Yusuf Kavacki
offered blessings from the Koran on the Senate floor. Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, became so
irate that he walked out. Sen. Kay Shapiro, R-Plano, the state's senior Jewish Senator, had
granted the prayer request from the Freedom and Justice Foundation. In a press release, Sen.
Shapiro stated that "Our country prides itself on freedoms, the most relevant today is freedom of
religion. In our blessed country, everyone is free to pray according to their religion, and allowing a
Muslim to express his freedom demonstrates what we all have in common in the United States."
(Daily Texan)
Self-proclaimed experts exploit ignorance of Islam
April 4: The local (Indiana) Muslim community is very concerned about Robert Spencer's
invitation from the local FBI office to talk about Islam and terrorism. Spencer, a self-proclaimed
expert on Islam and jihad, has published at least one book and numerous articles about what he
refers to as "radical" Islam. He also has a Web site, Jihad Watch, where he chronicles
embarrassing events involving Muslims. The problem is that Spencer is no expert, but an
ideologue who exploits the average American's ignorance of Islam by rendering a Christian
fundamentalist reading of translated Islamic texts. Since the despicable terrorist act on 9/11, a
new industry has emerged in which anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of Islam can
proclaim himself an expert, proclaim Muslims as the new world threat, and receive widespread
attention to propagate the misinformation. An example of this scenario is promotion of the Somaliborn author of "Infidel" (Ayaan Hirsi Ali), who recently moved to the United States after it was
learned that she had illegally entered the Netherlands. (Indianapolis Star)
Media quoted criticism of Pelosi for wearing headscarf in
Middle East without noting that Rice, Laura Bush have also done so
April 5: News reports in the Associated Press and the New York Post, and an editorial in
Investor's Business Daily, quoted Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney criticizing
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) by saying that "being seen in a head scarf and so forth is
sending the wrong signal to the people of Syria and to the people of the Middle East," without
noting that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and first lady Laura Bush have both done the
same when visiting the Middle East. (Media Matters)
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Hearing of House Homeland Security Sub-committee
on intelligence, info sharing & terrorism risk assessment
April 5: Muslim Public Affairs Council Southern California Government Relations Director, Sireen
Sawaf, testified today at the Torrance City Council Chambers about the phenomena of
radicalization and the critical role of the Muslim American community in protecting the country in a
House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing entitled, "Radicalization,
Information Sharing and Community Outreach: Protecting the Homeland from Homegrown
Terror". Sawaf urged for the discourse on radicalization to consider key factors, such as identity,
social and political alienation, the definition of a moderate vs. an extremist, and Islamophobia as
a root cause of alienation and possible radicalization. Sawaf highlighted the challenges, such as
federal bureaucracy inhibiting partnership, and opportunities in current partnership models
between the Muslim American community and local and federal law enforcement, while
emphasizing the need for a more systematic and organized approach for cooperation supported
by Congressional funding. The significant role government officials and other decision-makers
and opinion-shapers play in preventing radicalization was also acknowledged. (MPAC Bulletin)
'Anti-Muslim rhetoric' cited after vandalism at mosque in University of Arizona area
April 5: Officials with the Islamic Center of Tucson say a recent rise in "anti-Muslim rhetoric" may
have spurred vandalism at the University of Arizona-area mosque. Tucson Police Department
detectives are investigating a break-in at the mosque during which someone smashed the lock on
a side door, broke an office window, ransacked the office and wrote "Bush was here" in magic
marker across a computer screen. Nothing was stolen, mosque officials said. Mosque
spokesman Muhammad As'ad said there's an increasing obsession with Islam that's been stirred
up by a small cadre of people. "The obsession is growing because of events overseas. We
deplore the hate speech going on. After all, Muslims, like Christians, are encouraged to love their
neighbors." As'ad said an example of the "anti-Muslim rhetoric" was former CNN reporter Steven
Emerson's December lecture at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. (Arizona Daily Star)
Philadelphia governor speaks at CAIR dinner
April 8: The Pennsylvania chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-PA) today
thanked that state's governor for taking part in its first annual banquet Saturday night in
Philadelphia. Gov. Edward G. Rendell joined Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) in addressing a sold-out
crowd of some 500 people who attended the event. Sestak told dinner attendees: "CAIR does
such important and necessary work in a difficult environment to change such perceptions and
wrongs -- from racial profiling and civil rights to promoting justice and mutual understanding -- at a
time when it is challenging to be an American-Muslim." (CAIR bulletin)
The end of religious school holidays
April 9: On Friday, students in Florida's Hillsborough County School District had the day off from
school for Good Friday, no matter what religious faith they practiced. It's the last time they will
have Good Friday off as a district-wide day off from school. As part of the ongoing struggle in
schools across the country on how to respect holy days of all religions, the Hillsborough school
district, which encompasses the city of Tampa, came up with its own solution. It has eliminated all
religious holidays starting with the 2007-2008 school year. (ABC News)
Sami Al-Arian is a victim of the U.S. "war on terror."
April 9: The U.S. government has gone out of its way to make an example of this outspoken
advocate for Palestinian rights. Racist prosecutors, inhumane treatment and abuse in custody,
the prospect of indefinite detention--Al-Arian has been subjected to this and more in the four
years he's been behind bars. Al-Arian was arrested in February 2003 on charges that he and
others used an academic think tank, a Muslim school and a charity as a cover for raising money
for "terrorism." Though a Florida jury acquitted him or deadlocked on all counts in 2005, the Feds
kept him in prison. Faced with a retrial, Al-Arian agreed last year to plead guilty to the least
serious charge in exchange for what was supposed to be a small addition sentence and his
deportation. But Al-Arian's nightmare continues. First, federal Judge James Moody ignored
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prosecutors' recommendations and sentenced Al-Arian to the maximum possible. Under the
longer sentence, Al-Arian's release was set for April 13, 2007. But he is now facing an indefinite
extension of his prison sentence. (Counter Punch)
American Muslim leaders sign 'code of honor' to promote Intrafaith harmony
April 9: As tragic sectarian divisions in Iraq turn into ruthless power struggles and result in a
massive number of casualties, Muslim leaders from all schools of thought have come together to
ensure intrafaith harmony. Before an audience of more than 700 people, Muslim American
leaders in Southern California last week signed onto an "Intra-Faith Code of Honor" at the Muslim
Unity Celebration of Prophet Muhammad's birthday hosted by Islamic Educational Center of
Orange County (CA). The Code of Honor originated as a result of a meeting of Muslim American
religious leaders called by the Muslim Public Affairs Council in March. During the meeting, the
leaders identified strategies for addressing increasing sectarian violence abroad and, most
importantly, ensure that Muslim American communities are not detrimentally affected by this
conflict. The codes reads in part: "...We have to prevent this tragedy from spilling over to our
Muslim society in the United States. As a first step in that endeavor, we suggest a Community
Code of Honor for all Muslims to live by in order to respect one another, not only in matters in
which we are in agreement, but more importantly on issues and times of disagreement." (MPAC
Bulletin)
Dr. Sami Al-Arian makes new bid to end imprisonment
April 9: A Florida college professor who (in a plea bargain) pleaded guilty to aiding Palestinian
Islamic Jihad, Sami Al-Arian, is making a fresh attempt to persuade a federal appeals court to
order an end to his imprisonment for failing to testify before a grand jury. Al-Arian's latest bid for
freedom came in a legal filing last week, in which he asked the full, 12-judge bench of the
Richmond-based 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a three-judge panel's decision last
month upholding his jailing for refusing to answer questions before a grand jury investigating
Northern Virginia Islamic charities. This week, the Supreme Court is scheduled to take up a
separate legal petition in which the Kuwaitiborn professor is challenging the basis for the 57month prison sentence he received after entering a guilty plea last year on charges of providing
assistance to a designated terrorist group. With credit for time served since his arrest in 2002, AlArian could have been released and deported as soon as Friday. (April 13). However, a judge put
Al-Arian's criminal sentence on hold while he serves up to 18 months for civil contempt. (New
York Sun)
Islamophobe to Steve Emerson strikes again
April 10: The Muslim Public Affairs Council today called on self-proclaimed terrorism expert Steve
Emerson to retract false and baseless accusations he made recently about the Muslim Public
Affairs Council on the Fox News Channel's "Hannity and Colmes" program, and repeated in an
article on the right-wing blog Frontpagemag.com. In its response to Emerson's latest baseless
attacks, MPAC said: "In his most recent blogosphere attack, Emerson persists in his campaign of
defamation against the MPAC, admits that there is a personal agenda behind this campaign,
resorts to the most blatant mischaracterization of MPAC statements, and suggests that American
Muslims should have no recourse to courts of law to defend their rights. Indeed, in his ongoing
campaign against MPAC, Emerson has done more to reveal the true nature of his extremist
agenda then in any of his other activities since his misguided rehabilitation by parts of the
American media after the terrorist attacks on our country on September 11, 2001." In January
2006, Emerson appeared on the Fox News Channel program "Hannity and Colmes" and
denounced the Attorney General of the United States for meeting with a number of major
American Muslim organizations, including MPAC. (MPAC bulletin)
World publics reject US role as the world leader
April 17: A multinational poll finds that publics around the world reject the idea that the United
States should play the role of preeminent world leader. Most publics say the United States plays
the role of world policeman more than it should, fails to take their country's interests into account
and cannot be trusted to act responsibly. But the survey also finds that majorities in most
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countries want the United States to participate in international efforts to address world problems.
Views are divided about whether the United States should reduce the number of military bases it
has overseas. Moreover, many publics think their country's relations with the United States are
improving. Americans largely agree with the rest of the world: most do not think the United States
should remain the world's preeminent leader and prefer that it play a more cooperative role. They
also believe United States plays the role of world policeman more than it should. This is the fourth
in a series of reports based on a worldwide poll about key international issues conducted by The
Chicago Council on Global Affairs and WorldPublicOpinion.org, in cooperation with polling
organizations around the world. The larger study includes polls in China , India, the United States,
Indonesia, Russia, France, Thailand, Ukraine, Poland, Iran, Mexico, South Korea, the Philippines,
Australia, Argentina, Peru, Israel and Armenia—plus the Palestinian territories. The publics polled
represent about 56 percent of the world's population. (World Public Opinion Org.)
Losing Muslim hearts and minds
April 25: It has been a long and bloody spring in Iraq and Afghanistan, but on the battlefield of
ideas, the news is even less encouraging. A survey released yesterday by WorldPublicOpinion.org suggests that the struggle for Muslim hearts and minds may already be lost.
Overwhelming majorities of those surveyed in Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan and Indonesia say they
believe that the U.S. seeks to "weaken and divide the Islamic world" and to "achieve political and
military domination to control Middle East resources." Most say they think that Al Qaeda defends
the dignity of Muslims by standing up to the U.S., and most share the terrorist organization's goal
of evicting the U.S. military from the Mideast. (Los Angeles Times)
Tenet says Cheney had eye on Iraq long before 9/11
April 28: White House and Pentagon officials, and particularly Vice President Dick Cheney, were
determined to attack Iraq from the first days of the Bush administration, long before the Sept. 11
attacks, and repeatedly stretched available intelligence to build support for the war, according to a
new book by former CIA director George Tenet. Although Tenet does not question the threat
Saddam Hussein posed or the sincerity of administration beliefs, he recounts numerous efforts by
aides to Cheney and then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to insert "crap" into public
justifications for the war. Tenet also describes an ongoing fear within the intelligence community
of the administration's willingness to "mischaracterize complex intelligence information." "There
was never a serious debate that I know of within the administration about the imminence of the
Iraq threat," Tenet writes in At the Center of the Storm. The debate "was not about imminence but
about acting before Saddam did." (Washington Post)
Muslims, Arabs report repeated border crossing incidents
April 30: Scores of U.S. citizens who are of Arab descent or Muslim are being detained and
harassed at the border when trying to re-enter the country, a civil rights lawyer said at a
community forum in Cleveland. "We've been to Boston, Buffalo, Detroit and Seattle and we hear
this story over and over again," said Harvey Grossman, legal director of the American Civil
Liberties Union of Illinois. His office filed a civil rights lawsuit last year in Chicago on behalf of 10
Muslim and Arab-Americans repeatedly detained at the border, including one man who was
handcuffed and shackled to a chair for nearly three hours. Many of the 150 people in the
audience gasped when Abe Dabdoub told them he and/or his wife have been detained 17 times.
The Toledo-area engineer and his wife, both U.S. citizens, travel to Canada frequently to visit
relatives. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
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May 2007
Man files lawsuit to try and halt mosque construction in Florida
May 1: A man fighting the opening of a mosque in his suburban neighborhood filed a lawsuit
today to try and halt construction, a move derided by Arab leaders as anti-Muslim. Rodney Wright
claims the relocation of the Islamic Center of South Florida to a new, larger building in his
Pompano Beach neighborhood "presents a substantial harm to the well-being, safety and health"
of the community. Wright identifies himself as a Christian. The lawsuit claims the leader of the
mosque, Imam Hassan Sabri, has repeatedly been associated with others who are tied to terrorist
groups including Hamas, al-Qaida and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, though the connections
outlined in the filing appear loose and there is no accusation of direct wrongdoing. Sabri has not
been charged with any criminal wrongdoing and neither he nor his mosque have been the target
of any publicized investigation. (Associated Press)
Muslims are big players in US economy
May 2: Arab Americans account for nearly 6% of the workforce and earn between $5.4 billion and
$7.7 billion a year in southeast Michigan, according to a Wayne State University report released
today. Still, businesses often fail to recognize their economic power. "In the U.S., the Arab and
Muslim communities are small but generally very affluent and highly entrepreneurial," Nasser
Beydoun, chairman of the Arab American Chamber of Commerce said. Only a few Detroit-area
companies actively cultivate Muslims as consumers. Staff members from Comerica Bank, Ikea
and AT&T have participated in awareness programs to address needs of Muslim consumers.
Nationwide, with an estimated population of 6 million to 8 million, Muslim Americans' purchasing
power is estimated to be $170 billion annually. (Detroit Free Press)
'Islamaphobia' is on the rise, group says
May 2: The leader of a major Arab-American advocacy group said today that there was a "rising
tide of Islamaphobia" in America and that more Muslim-Americans are being targeted and
threatened now than immediately after 9/11. Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim
Public Affairs Council, and FBI officials here spoke with reporters after a federal civil-rights charge
was lodged against a Philadelphia woman for sending a threatening note to her Arab-American
boss. Al-Marayati and FBI agent Brian Lynch said the case was unusual because of the
cooperation among the Arab-American community, the FBI and the victim. Al-Marayati said most
Muslim-American victims of hate crimes are reluctant to alert authorities because they don't trust
the government. (Philadelphia Daily News)
Imams receive death threat for suing US Airways and passengers
May 8: A group of imams and their attorney have received a death threat for suing passengers
who reported suspicious behavior that led to the imams being removed from a U.S. Airways flight
last year. The threatening letter sent to New York lawyer Omar Mohammedi said: "We have
located the residences and identified the families of all parties" in the lawsuit filed in March.
"We plan, at random, to start systematically killing the people on our list if this suit proceeds. You,
personally, have been identified as the prize kill. It is our belief that terrorists like you should
understand the true meaning of terror," the letter says. Omar Mohammedi, who filed a
discrimination lawsuit in the Minneapolis Federal Court on behalf of the Imams in March, said the
threat was specific. A party calling itself "American Jihad" signed the latter. The sender scolds the
lawyer and the Imams for filing the lawsuit. (AMP Report)
Muslims fear backlash from Fort Dix attack plot
May 8: Authorities' description of six suspects charged with plotting an attack on Fort Dix as
"Islamic militants" is causing renewed worry among New Jersey's Muslim community. Hundreds
of Muslim men from New Jersey were rounded up and detained by authorities in the months
following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, but none were connected to that plot. Now, Muslims fear a
resurgence of anti-Islamic sentiment and incidents of bias. "If these people did something, then
they deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law," said Sohail Mohammed, a lawyer
who represented scores of detainees after the 2001 attacks. "But when the government says
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'Islamic militants,' it sends a message to the public that Islam and militancy are synonymous.
Don't equate actions with religion." (Associated Press)
Baltimore Muslims voice protests over school calendar
May 9: Muslim advocates, some of whom have pressed for years to persuade Baltimore County
school officials to close schools for Islamic observances, were quick to criticize the proposed
calendar for 2008-2009 as it was presented to the school board last night. As usual, the calendar
includes days off for Rosh Hashanah and Christmas, but makes no mention of Eid al-Fitr or Eid
al-Adha. Bash Pharoan, president of the Baltimore chapter of the American-Arab AntiDiscrimination Committee, said the proposed calendar was discriminatory. "The superintendent
chose to reject the 18- to 20-member calendar committee's unanimous support for adding one
school closing day on Eid al-Fitr and simply throw it away." "What is so hard about being equal
and fair; you closed schools on Jewish holidays but did not close them on the Islamic holidays,"
said Hadear Abdou, a student at Towson University. (Baltimore Sun)
Detroit council OKs racial profiling ban
May 9: The Detroit City Council voted 9-0 today to pass a new ordinance that bans profiling
people based on race, immigration status, ethnicity, dress and appearance, among other factors.
It was developed after talks with local Latino, Arab and Muslim groups, who say that immigrants
are sometimes asked for their residency papers after being pulled over by police. In recent years,
Los Angeles and Chicago have passed similar ordinances, making them what are sometimes
referred to as sanctuary cities. (Detroit Free Press)
Professor's comments on Islam spark controversy
May 9: A North Carolina religion professor’s statement that Christianity and Islam talk about “the
same God” is causing a furor among Baptists in Texas. At a February conference in Austin,
Texas, Charles Kimball of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., said Islamic teaching
about Allah involves “the same God that Jews and Christians are talking about.” His comments
sparked resolutions by two associations of churches, which asked the BGCT to clarify its doctrinal
position. Leaders in Basin Baptist Network in the Midland/Odessa area approved an April 5
resolution refuting the “false and precarious” teaching that God as revealed in the Bible and Allah
as presented in the Quran are the same. The resolution, signed by 14 representatives from eight
churches in the Midland/Odessa area, asked BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade, CLC
director Suzii Paynter and the BGCT Executive Board to “formally distance themselves and our
convention from and publicly denounce such false teaching, and [to] reaffirm the commitment to
the doctrine of the triune God as clearly and correctly articulated in the 'Baptist Faith and
Message.'” (Church Executive)
Church's sign against Islam sparks controversy
May 11: Words like "bomb" and "die" draw attention to the small sign in front of Good News
Independent Baptist Church. Rev. Gary Murrell put up the sign, which on one side claims the
message of Islam is "submit, convert or die." The other side reads: "When is the last time you
heard of a Jew or Christian with a bomb strapped to their body?" Despite some in the Islamic
community who claim the sign is offensive, Murrell says it is not a hate sign. Murrell says it is a
violent religion compared to Christianity. (WRAL)
First imam named to US commission on international Religious Freedom
May 15: Imam Talal Eid of Quincy today became the first Muslim cleric to be appointed to the
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The 54-year-old Lebanon native has been
picked by the Bush administration for a two-year term on the independent, bipartisan agency,
which monitors overseas conditions and makes policy recommendations to the president, State
Department and Congress.Imam Eid replaces UCLA law professor Khalid Abou El Fadl as the
Muslim representative on the 11-person commission. The commission has included a Muslim
since Congress created the agency in 1998, but Imam Eid is the first religious leader to be
chosen. The former spiritual director of the Islamic Center of New England in Quincy has long
been active on interfaith issues. He has gained a higher profile in the past year, as a guest at
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White House Ramadan dinners and a speaker at State Department events in the Middle East.
(Patriot Ledger)
Florida mosque gets approval to grow despite protests
May 15: Hernando County's (Florida) lone mosque received approval Monday for a significant
expansion. The Barclay Avenue mosque plans to expand to more than seven times its current
size, creating a single-story building with space for offices, community events and 3, 790 square
feet of assembly space for prayer. The five-member Hernando County Planning and Zoning
Commission unanimously recommended approval to revise a special use permit that will allow
the expansion of the mosque. (St. Petersburg Times)
New study examines impact of religion on Muslim youth
May 15: To gain insights into the impact of religion on Muslim youth, the first phase of a long-term
study has found that social success is strongly linked to religious involvement within the Islamic
majority nation of Indonesia, according to the study's co-author Doran French, professor and
chair of psychology at Illinois Wesleyan University. This study of Muslim 13-year-olds found a
correlation between religious involvement across many indices of social competence or success.
French suggested that a key to interpreting these findings is understanding the context of a
homogenously religious culture, where religion permeates society and is a public, community
identity rather than a compartmentalized, private experience as in the U.S. (Illinois Wesleyan
University News)
U.S.A. vs. Al-Arian documentary
May 16: The drama of Dr. Sami Al-Arian's federal trial was played out today on the big screen in
a packed theater in Tampa, Florida, just one block from the federal courthouse where the
controversial case unfolded. If the crowd at the premiere of "U.S.A. vs. Al-Arian" was any
indication, the Sami Al-Arian story still intrigues a lot of people in the Bay Area. The documentary
is the first dramatization of the trial that dragged on for six months. Al-Arian’s trial ended with the
jury acquitting him on eight of the 17 charges against him, deadlocking on the remaining nine
charges. Ultimately, the USF Professor, in a plea bargain to avoid re-trial, did plead guilty to a
one count of conspiracy to provide services to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. He also agreed to
be deported. According to Tampa Tribune, for Norwegian filmmaker Line Halvorsen, the case of
Sami Al-Arian is about freedom of speech and about the U.S. government's efforts to silence a
tireless voice for human rights. It is about post-Sept. 11 hysteria and the persecution of a Muslim,
as well as the emotionally grinding devastation the prosecution brought to the Al-Arian family. It is
not about the evidence presented in a complex, five-month trial in U.S. District Court two years
ago. Halvorsen's documentary, "USA vs Al-Arian," has won accolades and awards. The
producers say it was picked best film at the Norwegian Documentary Film Festival and the New
Orleans International Human Rights Festival. (AMP Report)
3 firms pull ads on KOA program
May 17: At least three Denver metro-area businesses have asked radio station KOA-850 AM to
pull their advertisements from the "Gunny Bob" Newman show following remarks about Muslims
made last week by the conservative talk-show host. ProgressNowAction has taken issue with
comments Newman made regarding Muslims. During a broadcast last week, he said: "I want
every Muslim immigrant to America who holds a green card, a visa, or who is a naturalized citizen
to be required by law to wear a GPS tracking bracelet at all times." He also proposed that the
government "bug their places of work and their residences." (Denver Post)
Islamic Charity KinderUSA sues ex-Bush official
May 19: A former Bush administration official has been sued for libel by a U.S.-based Islamic
charity for alleging in a book that the organization has helped fund Middle East terrorists.
The lawsuit — filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court by Kids in Need of Development,
Education and Relief and its chairwoman, Dr. Laila Al-Marayati of Los Angeles — accuses
Matthew Levitt of falsely linking the charity to extremists. It also names Yale University Press and
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the Washington Institute for Near East Policy as defendants for their role in publishing the book
last year. Levitt, deputy assistant secretary for intelligence and analysis at the U.S. Treasury
Department until earlier this year, has been a government witness in several federal terrorism
cases and is a senior fellow at the institute. The Dallas-based charity, known as KinderUSA, was
founded five years ago by a group of physicians and humanitarian relief workers with the goal of
bringing educational, health and rehabilitation programs into war zones and areas of disaster,
according to its lawsuit and website. To date, it has received and distributed about $4 million to
$5 million overseas. (Los Angeles Times)
Muslim history in U.S. full of surprises
May 19: Where was one of the first mosques in the United States located? You might think
somewhere in Michigan, with its large Arab-American population. Or maybe cosmopolitan places
like New York City or Chicago. You'd be wrong in all three cases. But in searching for the answer,
you'd get steaming hot, if you thought of a place that gets very cold. Some sources say the
answer is the town of Ross, in the unlikely state of North Dakota. The mosque there opened in
1929. But others say two mosques opened in Maine and Connecticut as early as 1915. One of
the oldest mosques still in existence -- it opened in 1934 -- is in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The "Islam
in America" exhibit currently on display at the Muslim Community Cultural Center of Baltimore, in
the 3400 block of W. North Ave., gives a surprising history lesson about Muslims in our country.
Islam's roots in America go back much farther than 1929, a fact that no doubt causes some
discomfort to the professional Islam-bashers who have crept out of the woodwork since Sept. 11,
2001. These are the characters who, pulling selected lines from the Quran, have called Islam a
violent, evil religion. Muslims can just as easily read the Bible, especially those Old Testament
passages that seem like a handbook for -- and give divine approval of -- pillaging, atrocities, mass
murder and ethnic cleansing, and make similar conclusions about Christianity. (Baltimore Sun)
NY bookstore pressured to drop reading by Palestinian author
May 21: The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today
expressed concern about an apparent attempt to block a reading by a Palestinian author at a
bookstore in that state. A news release issued by the author’s agent stated: “The previously
announced book reading and signing of THE SCAR OF DAVID by Susan Abulhawa has been
reduced to a "book signing" with no reading to occur. “In explaining its reasoning, Barnes & Noble
expressed several concerns including ‘sensitivity’ to the Jewish Community, space limitations of
the store and the author's safety. The Scar of David is a work of historic fiction which reveals the
untold brutal history of Israel's Occupation of a nation as also depicted by the recently released
Palestine, Peace Not Apartheid by former USA President Jimmy Carter. (CAIR Bulletin)
Rep Jim McDermott: Invading Iraq was all about oil;
the new secret plot against Iran is all about oil
May 23: Looking Iraq in its larger historical context instead of pretending it just sprung up
overnight like mushrooms after a rainfall, Rep. Jim McDermott tells the house: “This president
and vice president have vowed to repeat the mistakes of history, and they have put into motion a
plan to do just that in Iran, even as the House is about to send the president a box of blank
checks for Iraq, against the will of the American people….Oil is the only benchmark this president
and vice president want, and they will keep American soldiers fighting and dying until an oil law is
passed in Iraq that gives Western oil companies control of the spigot. It is time to unmask the
latest doomed plot to overthrow Iran and past time to get out soldiers out of Iraq. Nothing less
than protecting our troops is acceptable.” (Independent Media Institute)
'War on terror' dividing world, warns Amnesty
May 23: Fears stoked by the post-9/11 "war on terror" are increasingly dividing the world,
Amnesty International said today, while rapping rights abuses from China to Darfur and Russia to
the Middle East. The report showed the "terrible price that ordinary people are paying for the
failure of their leaders to uphold human rights," said Amnesty chief Irene Khan.The politics of fear
is fuelling a downward spiral of human rights abuse in which no right is sacrosanct and no person
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safe, she said. "The 'war on terror' and the war in Iraq, with their catalogue of human rights
abuses, have created deep divisions that cast a shadow on international relations." (AFP)
Imam leads prayer in Alabama House
May 24: A Muslim minister gave the opening prayer today in the Alabama House. Kareem
Abdullah, imam of the Birmingham Islamic Center, prayed for Alabama to prosper as the House
was coming into session. Ministers from across the state, mostly from Christian churches, come
to the microphone to pray at the start of each day's session, just before House members say the
Pledge of Allegiance. Abdullah was invited by Rep. Yusuf Salaam, D-Selma, the only Muslim
member of the Legislature. Salaam said he invited Abdullah because he feels it's important to
show legislators and other Alabama residents that most Muslims are "sane, sober-minded
people," and not terrorists or against America. (The Associated Press)
North Carolina schools forbid selling religion
May 24: From now on, guest speakers in the Wake County School System (NC) must sign a
document agreeing not to denigrate any culture, race, gender, national origin or religion. That
new rule was made in response to an incident earlier this year in which a guest speaker at Enloe
High School denigrated Islam and urged students to shun Muslims.The new rule grows out of a
three-month investigation into an incident last February in which an Enloe High School social
studies teacher, Robert Escamilla, invited a Christian evangelist to his classrooms. The
evangelist, Kamil Solomon of Raleigh, asked students to embrace Christianity and distributed
pamphlets calling the Prophet Muhammad a "criminal," "demon possessed" and "inspired by
Satan." Solomon's visit led to outrage in the Muslim community and to a 90-day paid suspension
for Escamilla. (News & Observer)
Cornyn Amendment Would Allow Use of Secret Evidence
May 24: Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) has introduced an amendment (#1148) to the on-going
immigration debate that would deny lawful permanent residents the opportunity to become U.S.
citizens based on secret evidence. This amendment gives the Attorney General unreviewable
discretion to use secret evidence to determine if an alien is ‘described in’ the national security
exclusions within immigration law. A person applying for naturalization could have her application
denied and she would never know the reason for the denial. For example, if a lawful permanent
resident was giving money for Tsunami relief and accidentally gave money to a charity controlled
by the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, then that person could be denied citizenship on the basis of
secret evidence and there would be no review in the courts. In sum, it allows deportations based
on the unreviewable determination by executive branch that a person lacks "good moral
character"; determinations can be made based on secret evidence that the person cannot even
see let alone challenge. (ADC Bulletin)
Rejected by PBS, film on Islam revived by CPB
May 25: In an unprecedented move, the agency that oversees public broadcasting has stepped in
to arrange distribution for a TV documentary on Islam that PBS had rejected as unworthy. The
federally funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting helped find a new distributor for "Islam vs.
Islamists: Voices From the Muslim Center" after seven Republican members of Congress and
one Democrat demanded that CPB ask PBS to air it or release it elsewhere. The 52-minute film
contends that moderate Muslims are being intimidated by radical Islamists in several Western
democracies, including the United States. The dispute over the film thrust CPB into the middle of
a politically charged affair. The film's producers claim that PBS and its producing station, WETA,
both of Arlington, are kowtowing to conservative Muslims in "suppressing" the film. (Washington
Post)
Both sides drop legal challenges in Boston mosque suit
May 30: Two sides in a legal dispute about the construction of a Boston mosque agreed to drop
legal actions against each other, a move that supporters of the mosque say will allow construction
to move forward. The decision comes three months after a Suffolk Superior Court judge
dismissed a lawsuit by Boston resident James Policastro claiming it was unconstitutional for the
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city of Boston to sell land at a discount price to developers of an Islamic center. The judge ruled
Policastro had no standing to bring the suit. Policastro agreed to drop future appeals after the
Islamic Society of Boston agreed to drop a defamation lawsuit against opponents and journalists
including the Boston Herald and FOX-TV, which reported on the sale. (South Coast Today)
Boyles continued trend of anti-Muslim rhetoric by Denver Clear Channel hosts
May 30: Summary: Peter Boyles of 630 KHOW-AM is the most recent Denver-based Clear
Channel Communications host to engage in anti-Muslim rhetoric, telling a caller on his May 30
show that "the enemy" is "radical, crazy, religious Islam." Boyles also agreed with the caller's
suggestions that the United States should bar "Islamic immigration" and that Islam should be
declared "a political ideology." During a discussion about "radical, crazy, religious Islam" on his
May 30 broadcast, 630 KHOW-AM host Peter Boyles agreed with a caller's suggestion that the
United States "need[s] to say, 'No more Islamic immigration.' " Boyles also agreed with the
caller's assertion that "for our purposes" Islam should be declared "a political ideology."
(Colorado Media Matters)
Mosque attendance falls after terrorism arrests
May 30: Midday prayers at the South Jersey Islamic Center in Palmyra often have thin
attendance, but since the arrest of a handful of its members, attendance has plummeted. The
hundreds of congregants who used to show up for Friday evening prayers now number just
dozens. People who had prayed there for years are now staying away. Ejlvir, Shain and Dritan
Duka are among six New Jersey men accused of plotting to attack soldiers at Fort Dix. The FBI
has said they were part of a homegrown terrorist cell intent on launching a jihad in New Jersey.
Agents had been tracking the Duka brothers for more than 15 months before the arrests in early
May; since then, Muslims around the mosque have been treading carefully. (National Public
Radio)
NY: Rochester mosque vandalized for third time this year
May 30: A mosque in Rochester (New York) has been vandalized for the third time this year, and
the FBI is now investigating the incidents. Leaders of the mosque (Masjid Sabiqun) say someone
scrawled racial slurs across the entrance to the building over the weekend. Imam Yusuf Sharif
says it's the third time in three months that his mosque has been targeted by vandals.
(Associated Press)
June 2007
Dr. Anwar opens Connecticut Senate session with a prayer
June1: At the urging of state Sen. Gary D. LeBeau (D-East Hartford), an American Muslim made
history today as the first Muslim to lead the opening prayer in the Connecticut State Senate. The
event comes three days after a Hindu priest last week became the first non-Christian or non-Jew
to open the state Senate session with a prayer. Dr. Saud Anwar of South Windsor, who is cochairman of the American Muslim Peace Initiative, delivered the invocation around. (Website
Senator LeBeau)
Arabic school in New York City creates stir
June 1: In September, New York City will open the nation's first public school dedicated to
teaching Arabic and Arab culture. Named after the Christian Arab poet Khalil Gibran, it's one of
65 specialty dual-language schools in New York. But it's the only one that has sparked a public
controversy. Some conservative critics have warned it could breed home-grown extremists: "A
Madrassa Grows in Brooklyn," read one provocative headline in The New York Sun. Others have
attacked it for balkanizing public education, which has historically played a primary role in helping
the nation's many immigrants assimilate. Supporters deny both claims and say the academy is
designed to educate world citizens and bridge Eastern and Western cultures, something sorely
needed in today's increasingly global world. Underlying the controversy, experts say, is a larger
question of how the nation and its schools cope with the influx of Arab and Muslim immigrants
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during a time when the threat of Islamic terrorism sows distrust. It's also a period in which
ignorance about Arab culture and Islamic teaching runs high. (Christian Science Monitor)
Jury Award for Muslim woman welcomed
June 4: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) today welcomed a Phoenix,
AZ, jury award of $287,640 to a Muslim woman after the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) brought an employment discrimination case against Alamo Car Rental on
her behalf. Alamo had terminated Ms. Bilan Nur in December of 2001 for refusing to remove her
hijab, or head covering, during the Holy Month of Ramadan. This was the first post-9-11 backlash
discrimination case brought by the EEOC’s Phoenix District Office. (ADC Press Release)
Security agency enlisting Muslims to rebut
radicals Idea is to engage young minds in ideological battle
June 5: After nearly six years of intense law enforcement scrutiny of Muslims in the United States,
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is reshaping his agency's approach to Muslims
and invited four prominent Muslims to help the agency prevent homegrown radicalism. The four
leaders Chertoff called on -- a former ambassador from Pakistan, a Santa Monica author who
grew up in San Jose, a Houston city councilman and an Austin, Texas, blogger -- suggest
increasing youth services, working with bloggers to fight extremist ideology on the Web and even
changing the terminology the government uses to describe terrorists. The May 8 meeting -- the
first of its kind the Homeland Security secretary has called with Muslims -- was part of a series of
gatherings that Chertoff told Congress in March would be "an unprecedented level of
cooperation" with various ethnic and religious communities to "prevent radicalization." (San
Francisco Chronicle)
MPAC releases special report on Muslim American youth with interfaith alliance
June 7: Muslim American youth must be engaged directly rather than being discussed in a
vacuum, Muslim Public Affairs Council Executive Director Salam Al-Marayati said today during a
forum in Washington, DC to announce the findings of a special report on Muslim American youth
and identity formation post-9/11. Entitled "The Impact of 9/11 on Muslim American Young People:
Forming National and Religious Identity in the Age of Terrorism and Islamophobia", the special
report provides analysis of key issues of identity, social and political alienation, the definition of
moderate, and Islamophobia as root causes of radicalization. It also provides specific
recommendations to government officials, media professionals and universities to bolster
integration and prevent radicalization of Muslim American youth. (MPAC bulletin)
Palestinian Immigrant released after nearly four years in jail
June 8: A Palestinian man, Majed Talat Hajbeh, jailed for nearly four years on an immigration
violation was released from a Virginia jail today after a federal judge ruled that his constitutional
rights had been violated. Last month a federal judge in Norfolk ruled that Hajbeh had to be
released because the government, which wants to deport him, had taken too long to find a
country that would take him. U.S. District Court Judge Jerome B. Friedman said in his order
issued May 25 that the government violated Hajbeh's constitutional rights and that he must be
released by June 8. Hajbeh, a Palestinian by birth who was raised in Jordan, was arrested and
detained in 2003 in a sweep of suspected immigration violators. An immigration judge ordered
him deported, reasoning that Hajbeh entered incorrect information on papers when he entered
the United States in 1993. Hajbeh said he made a mistake when he checked "single" instead of
"married." (Daily Press)
New York is hell for young Osama
June 8: After years of being taunted as "bin Laden" and "terrorist" at school, Osama Al-Najjar
attempted suicide last July at the age of 15. Now 16, he is an extreme example of the difficulties
facing some Arabs in New York, the city hit hardest by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "They
destroyed everything nice in our life with what they did to him," said Suad Abuhasna, Osama's
mother, referring to racist abuse she said was heaped on her son while he was a student at
Tottenville High School in Staten Island. Osama is now officially known as Sammy. He changed
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his name in December to escape the stigma attached to the name he shares with al Qaeda
leader Osama bin Laden. "I just wanted to make his life easier," said Suad, who immigrated from
Jordan with her husband and four children in December 1999. Her eldest son has served in the
U.S. Navy in the Iraq war. (Reuters)
Government's handling of Muslims protested
June 11: A handful of protesters stood outside the federal building this afternoon to highlight the
no-contest resolution for U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales before the Senate and the
Justice Department's actions against Muslims in general. Eight people held signs accusing local
U.S. Attorney Glenn Suddaby of politicizing the Justice Department. Madis Senner, a protester,
said the arrest and conviction of Dr. Rafil Dhafir, who founded a charity to aid Iraqi children, was
unreasonable. Senner said he hopes the attention on Gonzales will make lawmakers take a
closer look at the types of cases being prosecuted. (Syracuse Post-Standard)
Arab-American says he was booted from bus
June 12: An Arab-American man from Dearborn claims he was kicked off a Greyhound bus by a
driver who allegedly told him, "Get away Arab." According to a lawsuit filed in Detroit against
Greyhound, Iraqi native Faroq Alfatlawi boarded a bus in Detroit for Washington, D.C., on Jan.
24, 2006. During a rest stop in Toledo, Alfatlawi got off the bus to have a cigarette, according to
the lawsuit. When he tried to board the bus, the driver told him he couldn't get on "because you
smoked in the bus," the suit said. Alfatlawi said he never smoked on the bus. The driver then
allegedly said, "Get away Arab," and denied him entry.Alfatlawi said he asked if he could get his
luggage, but the bus drove off, and he never got his belongings back, according to the suit.
(Detroit Free Press)
Three-year-old child of Muslim citizen barred from US
June 12: The Maryland and Virginia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIRMD/VA) today called on immigration officials to explain why a three-year-old child of a father who
is a U.S. citizen and a mother who is a permanent resident is being denied entry to this country.
CAIR-MD/VA representatives say the child has been denied entry to the United States for the
past two years. They suspect the denial may be related to the child's name, "Ahmed Yasinne,"
which is similar to that of a Palestinian leader assassinated by Israel. The child's father, who lives
in Falls Church, Va., came to the United States from Morocco in 1997 after winning the U.S.
immigration lottery. He became a citizen in 2005. His wife was granted permanent residence
status in 2006. For the past two years, the child has been living with an aunt in Morocco while the
immigration approval process has been stalled. (CAIR Bulletin)
Robertson: "Islam is not a religion.
It is a worldwide political movement meant on domination"
June 12: On today’s edition of the Christian Broadcasting Network's The 700 Club, following a
report on Muslims in Minneapolis seeking religious accommodations at school and work, host Pat
Robertson stated, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have to recognize that Islam is not a religion. It is a
worldwide political movement meant on domination of the world. And it is meant to subjugate all
people under Islamic law." He characterized the American Muslim community as "Islam light" and
went on to say Muslims "want to take over and we want to impose Sharia on you. And before
long, ladies are going to be dressed in burqas and whatever garments they would put on them,
and next thing you know, men are going to be allowed to have wife-beating and you'll be
beheading adulterers and so on and so forth." (Media Matters)
SANE: An Islamophobic group seeks to banish Islam from the U.S.
June 13: An anti-Islam group known with the acronym SANE: the Society of Americans for
National Existence unveiled its so-called "Mapping Shari'a in America Project" devoted to spying
on 2,300 Islamic institutions in the United States. “The project will collect information about
America's 2,300-plus mosques and associated day schools, provide information to both law
enforcement officials and the public, and test the proposition that Shari'a (read Islam) amounts to
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a criminal conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. government,” the SANE project said. The main
objective of the group is banishing Islam from the US by making "adherence to Islam" punishable
by 20 years in prison. In February of this year, it released a policy paper that in part stated:
"Whereas, adherence to Islam as a Muslim is prima facie evidence of an act in support of the
overthrow of the US. Government through the abrogation, destruction, or violation of the US
Constitution and the imposition of Shari'a on the American People. . .It shall be a felony
punishable by 20 years in prison to knowingly act in furtherance of, or to support the, adherence
to Islam." (AMP Report)
Islam on US Virgin Islands
June 14: It was only about 30 years ago that a Muslim community began to grow on the Virgin
Islands with the building on St. Thomas of Masjid Muhammad in 1978. Later it became Masjid AlNur located in Charlotte Amalie, the capital of the US Virgin Islands. With a population of about
300 Muslims the Islamic Community in St. Thomas is unique in that it is made of up of indigenous
Virgin Islanders, Palestinians, and residents that moved there from the United States mainland.
Much like their US stateside Muslim community counterparts, there is a struggle to maintain a
sense of community amongst the indigenous African-Caribbean Muslims along with the other
ethnic groups. Despite some of their struggles in trying to understand one another, they still work
to try to come together so that they and their children can have a sense of hope in practicing
Islam on such a small predominately Christian island. (Black Star News)
Canadian Muslim leader Dr. Munir El-Kassem was treated like a terror threat
June 14: The case of a respected London-Canada Muslim leader, detained for hours at the
Detroit airport last month, has been brought to the attention of U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleeza Rice. Dr. Munir El-Kassem, who was detained, interrogated and fingerprinted for
hours in Detroit, met in Ottawa with Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay. MacKay told ElKassem -- a local imam, university chaplain and UWO professor -- that he brought the issue to
Rice's attention over the weekend. The Foreign Affairs Minister also instructed his own staff to
follow up with a complete investigation into the series of events, El-Kassem a director at UWO's
Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry. He was interrogated for hours at the airport after
telling an official he was Muslim. During the questioning, officials probed El-Kassem on whether
he knew Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein and asked if he loved God or Allah. (The
London Free Press, Canada)
MPAC executive director testifies before US house committee on Homeland Security
June 14: Muslim Public Affairs Council Executive Director Salam Al-Marayati testified today
before the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and
Terrorism Risk Assessment about "Assessing and Addressing the Threat: Defining the Role of a
National Commission on the Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism".
"Islam is the antidote to violent radicalization and the empowerment of the mainstream Muslim
American community is the most effective but underutilized resource in creating effective
counterterrorism strategies," Al-Marayati said. "The role of community-based organizations like
MPAC is critical to bridging the governmental and non-governmental agencies in any policy
initiative. "To do so, there must be an environment of mutual trust and respect. Muslim Americans
want to be treated as partners in making America safe and secure, not suspects," Al-Marayati
added. "Treating them as suspects by advocating for policies that single out and hence isolate
the entire community undermines and impedes efforts for homeland security." (MAC bulletin)
Over 2400 people participate in ADC’s 2007 convention
June 14: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) announced today that 2,400
people participated during the June 2007 Annual National Convention. This year's Convention
had distinguished attendees such as HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, wife of UAE Vice
President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum,
Charge d'Affaires of the Embassy of Qatar, Sheikh Ali Bin Jassim Al-Thani, , and Ambassador of
the Sultanate of Oman to the US, HE Hunaina Sultan Ahmed Al Mughairy. The keynote speaker
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of the Gala Banquet Dinner was Wade Henderson, President and CEO of the Leadership
Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), an organization of more than 192 national organizations,
representing persons of color, women, children, labor unions, individuals with disabilities, older
Americans, major religious groups, gays and lesbians and civil liberties and human rights groups.
Public officials and figures who participated included Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Chairman of
the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Gov. Howard Dean, Congressman Keith Ellison (DMN), Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), Congressman Nick Rahall (D-WV), Congressman
Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), former Senator Mike Gravel (D-AK), and former Congressman Paul
Findley (R-IL). (ADC Press Release)
Chicago Muslim granted citizenship after five year delay
June 14: The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) today
announced the resolution of a citizenship delay case that has been pending for the past five
years. Despite successfully passing his citizenship exam in 2002 and taking part in repeated
interviews, CAIR-Chicago's client had his naturalization delayed pending a background check.
The client was recently sworn in by the presiding Northern Illinois District Federal Court judge
instead of in the usual group oath ceremony. His case was resolved before a June 15th court
hearing. "Law-abiding Muslims throughout the nation are facing unreasonable delays in being
granted citizenship," said CAIR-Chicago attorney Bitta Mostofi. (CAIR Bulletin)
'I am both Muslim and Christian'
June 17: Shortly after noon on Fridays, the Rev. Ann Holmes Redding ties on a black headscarf,
preparing to pray with her Muslim group on First Hill. On Sunday mornings, Redding puts on the
white collar of an Episcopal priest. She does both, she says, because she's Christian and Muslim.
Redding, who until recently was director of faith formation at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, has
been a priest for more than 20 years. Now she's ready to tell people that, for the last 15 months,
she's also been a Muslim drawn to the faith after an introduction to Islamic prayers left her
profoundly moved.Her announcement has provoked surprise and bewilderment in many, raising
an obvious question: How can someone be both a Christian and a Muslim? Redding, who will
begin teaching the New Testament as a visiting assistant professor at Seattle University this fall,
has a different analogy: "I am both Muslim and Christian, just like I'm both an American of African
descent and a woman. I'm 100 percent both." Redding doesn't feel she has to resolve all the
contradictions. People within one religion can't even agree on all the details, she said. "So why
would I spend time to try to reconcile all of Christian belief with all of Islam? "At the most basic
level, I understand the two religions to be compatible. That's all I need." (Seattle Times)
Muslim student told to remove Islamic headscarf
June 21: The San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic (CAIR-SFBA)
today called for a public apology and diversity training following an incident on June 19, in which
a high school official demanded that a Muslim student remove her hijab, or Islamic head scarf.
According to the 13-year-old Muslim student, a supervisor in the lunchroom of Seaside High
School in Seaside, Calif., demanded that she remove her scarf, despite being told that it was
worn for religious reasons. The student, who was visiting the school to take part in a summer
algebra program, says she broke down in tears after the supervisor allegedly shouted, "You have
to take it off now," in front of more than 100 other students in the lunchroom. Despite the shouted
demands of the school official, the girl refused to remove her scarf. CAIR-SFBA contacted the
school principal who confirmed that the incident occurred as described. He offered to arrange a
face-to-face apology with the supervisor and student but did not agree to a public apology. (CAIR
Bulletin)
Minnesota school harassment complaints resolved
June 21: The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) today
announced the resolution of a case of alleged anti-Muslim harassment at a middle school in that
state. In May of this year, CAIR-MN called for investigation of a series of reported anti-Muslim
incidents at Westwood Middle School in Blaine, Minn. The Islamic civil rights group said it had
received complaints about Islamophobic remarks and actions by students and staff at the school.
Comment [ASG1]: Added June 17
item I am both Muslim and Christian
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The reported incidents included a Muslim student who wears an Islamic head scarf being called a
"terrorist" and told "go back to your country" and two Muslim students who alleged that they were
verbally taunted about their religion and had food thrown at them. After completion of an
investigation, the school says it will take steps that include improving internal communications so
that every alleged bias incident will be reported to the principal for appropriate action, adding
information about major world religions to the geography curriculum, and creating a "school
climate task force" composed of staff and students to help assess changes that may be needed
to make the school a better place for all students and staff. The district is also in the process of
hiring a "diversity coordinator." (CAIR Bulletin)
North Carolina official will not appeal Quran ruling affecting courtroom oaths
June 22: North Carolina officials said today they will not challenge a judge's ruling that allows the
Quran or any other religious text to be used to swear in witnesses or jurors in the state's
courtrooms. The ruling by Wake County Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway last month came
after judges in another North Carolina county declined to accept donated copies of the Quran,
saying that swearing an oath on anything other than the Bible violated state law. The American
Civil Liberties Union sued, claiming that allowing oaths only on the Bible was unconstitutional
because it favored Christianity over other religions. (International Herald Tribune)
Dr. Sami Al-Arian’s contempt citation prolonged
June 22: A federal judge has extended the contempt citation against Dr. Sami al-Arian, a former
Florida professor who has refused to testify in the investigation into whether Islamic charities in
Northern Virginia were financing terrorist organizations. Sami al-Arian will remain jailed until at
least October under June 22 ruling by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee in Alexandria, Arian's
wife and sources familiar with the decision said. Nahla al-Arian said Lee issued the decision at a
closed hearing and indicated that he thought Arian -- who has served six months on the contempt
charge -- still could be persuaded to testify to be reunited with his five children. Nahla al-Arian
said her husband, who was acquitted in one of the nation's highest-profile terrorism cases and
then pleaded guilty to a single charge, will never break his silence. "My husband is a man of
principle, and he will never turn into an informant. We admire him and are proud of him," she
said. "In our culture, as Palestinians, if a person becomes an informant for the government, this is
very shameful." (Washington Post)
School apologizes for demanding Muslim girl remove headscarf
June 22: A Muslim teenager who was ordered by a school monitor to take off a headscarf she
wore for religious reasons returned to classes after school officials apologized to the family.
Issra Omer, 13, told her parents she was too embarrassed to show up for summer school classes
at Seaside High School in Monterey County, the day after a monitor demanded she remove her
hijab, the Muslim scarf covering the head and neck, to conform to the district's no-hat policy.
The school's principal, Syd Renwick sent a letter of apology to the family and offered to
apologize in person. But the family and a national Muslim civil liberties organization would like the
school to issue a public apology. (Associate Press)
'Reel Bad Arabs' takes on Hollywood stereotyping
June 23: A full house has turned out at the Directors Guild of America for the L.A. premiere of the
new documentary "Reel Bad Arabs," which makes the case that Hollywood is obsessed with "the
three Bs" -- belly dancers, billionaire sheiks and bombers -- in a largely unchallenged vilification
of Middle Easterners here and abroad."In every movie they make, every time an Arab utters the
word Allah? Something blows up," says Eyad Zahra, a young filmmaker who organized the
screening this week with the support of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. The
documentary highlights the admittedly obsessive lifework of Jack Shaheen, a retired professor
from Southern Illinois University, the son of Lebanese Christian immigrants and the author of "TV
Arabs," "Reel Bad Arabs" and the upcoming "Guilty? Hollywood's Verdict on Arabs after 9/11."
(Washington Post)
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Arab American voters to decide on 2008 presidential candidates by stance on Iraq War
June 25: Dr. James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, today presented the first-ina-series of surveys on Arab American political opinion leading up to the 2008 presidential
election. The nationwide AAI poll, conducted by Zogby International, randomly surveyed 501 Arab
American registered voters by phone. "While Arab American voters trend very closely to other
Americans on domestic issues such as the economy, health care and education, the community's
personal connection to the Iraq war makes it the most important issue in determining their pick for
president in 2008," said Zogby. "When coupled with results that indicate nearly half of Arab
American voters' decisions will depend upon the individual candidates rather than party, and with
numbers that point to an erosion of ‘certain Republicans,' it is clear that presidential candidates
on both sides of the aisle must speak to issues and not party line in order to court Arab American
voters," he said. (BBSNEWS)
Secret Evidence creeps back into Senate immigration debate
June 26: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) has expressed concerned
about new developments in the Senate's debate on immigration, including the possibility of
inserting language supporting secret evidence in the bill. The US Senate today voted to resume
debate on the bill and a series of amendments will be offered to S. 1639 beginning July 1. ADC
was very concerned that several senators will offer language that will further erode individual due
process rights. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was offering an amendment that would turn local
and state law enforcement officials into immigration officers; further, it would give the Attorney
General unchecked power to use secret evidence to deny lawful permanent residents the chance
to become citizens. This issue is of vital importance to the Arab-American community, the ADC
said. Last month, Senator Cornyn offered a similar amendment to the immigration debate which
included the use of secret evidence. (ADC Press Release)
Chicago Council Task Force Report: Muslim American integration vital to national interest
June 26: Greater Muslim American civic and political engagement is urgently needed to prevent
alienation in a community that is vital to U.S. security and relations with the Muslim World, says a
report of an independent Task Force sponsored by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The
Task Force report titled “Strengthening America: The Civic and Political Integration of Muslim
Americans,” found that Muslim Americans are a well-educated, diverse group and concluded that
their talents are needed to help address critical domestic and foreign policy challenges related to
homeland security and U.S. relations with Muslim countries and peoples. There are opportunities
for Muslim Americans to expand their contributions to national security and continue to take the
lead in encouraging greater civic participation, leadership development, and institution building
within their community. Non-Muslim groups and government leaders can work to better recognize
Muslim American contributions to national security, improve collaborations with Muslim American
institutions, and provide greater opportunities for young Muslim Americans. (MPAC Bulletin)
Racist group, SANE, linked to PBS 'moderate Muslims' documentary
June 28: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on the producers of a
PBS-sponsored documentary on "moderate Muslims" to repudiate their alleged ties to a racist
group that seeks to impose prison terms for "adherence to Islam" and that questions whether
women and African-Americans should be allowed to vote. David Yerushalmi, the president and
founder of the Society of Americans for National Existence (SANE), recently published an online
article in which he claims to be the attorney for Frank Gaffney, Alex Alexiev and Martyn Burke,
the producers of the controversial PBS documentary "Islam vs. Islamists: Voices from the Muslim
Center." The taxpayer-supported documentary linked to the founder of SANE has been criticized
as agenda-driven and biased. An article in the Arizona Republic newspaper quoted the executive
producer for the PBS series that funded the documentary as saying the film had "serious
structural problems (and). . .was irresponsible because the writing was alarmist, and it wasn't
fair." (CAIR Bulletin)
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GA Muslim barred from court over Islamic scarf
June 28: a Georgia Muslim woman seeking to contest a speeding ticket was barred from a
courtroom in that state because she wears an Islamic headscarf, or hijab. The woman was
prevented from entering the Valdosta, Ga., courtroom of Municipal Court Judge Vernita Lee
Bender by uniformed officers who reportedly demanded that she remove her scarf. According to
the woman, the officers barred her entry despite being told that she wears the scarf for religious
reasons and after she offered to let a female officer perform a body search. One of the officers
stated that the denial of entry to the courtroom was due to "homeland security" and that allowing
her to enter would show "disrespect" to the judge. The officers reportedly summoned the clerk of
court who told the Muslim woman that she could schedule a future court date. After being told
that she would be unable to enter the court at any future date while wearing her scarf, the Muslim
woman felt compelled to agree to a plea of nolo contendere and was fined $168. (CAIR Bulletin)
US border guards deport Canadian Muslims
June 28: Milgo Noor had an appointment at 3:30 p.m. this past Sunday (June 22, 2007) to look at
bridesmaid dresses in a Buffalo bridal shop. She never arrived. When the young bride-to-be tried
crossing the border with her three bridesmaids – two sisters and a cousin – the women were
detained for more than eight hours and two of them were escorted back into Canada in
handcuffs. Shortly after Noor, 26, showed her citizenship to a U.S. border guard at the Peace
Bridge, more than a dozen customs officers "charged" at her vehicle, starting an ordeal that she
said stripped her of her dignity. All four women are Canadian citizens. The family arrived in
Alberta from Somalia 17 years ago and Noor has lived in Toronto for the past five years. The
women have all crossed the border before without incident. U.S. Customs and Border Protection
spokesperson Kevin Corsaro confirmed that Noor was stopped and turned back at the border.
But he said he couldn't discuss details of specific cases. Mohamed Elmasry, national president of
the Canadian Islamic Congress, said the incident does not surprise him. He says his organization
receives about five complaints per week from Canadian Muslims who feel they have been treated
unfairly at a U.S. entry point. (The Star)
Sharing faiths: Program brings sacred Jewish texts to mosques
June 29: A national pilot program to link Jews and Muslims with sacred books kicked off in Detroit
on Thursday with the delivery of 17 Jewish books to one of the city's leading mosques. "I hope
this idea extends from Detroit across the U.S. and even throughout the world," Dawud Walid,
Michigan director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said as a Jewish delegation from
Oakland County delivered the first collection of Jewish books to a local mosque. The books
included translations and commentaries on the Torah, which Christians regard as the first five
books of their Bible. Many of the early figures in the Jewish Bible, including Abraham, are
considered sacred figures in Islam. The idea of combating bigotry by sharing sacred texts isn't
new. In 2002, Walid's Washington, D.C.-based group kicked off a three-year campaign to place
Muslim books in nearly 8,000 public libraries across the country. The effort is designed to bring
Jewish books directly into Muslim centers across Michigan and eventually other parts of the
United States. (Detroit Free Press)
Judge orders man to leave Irvine mosque alone
June 29: At the beginning, worshipers at the Islamic Center of Irvine said, they thought Craig
Monteilh was just an overzealous convert when he criticized U.S. foreign policy in the Middle
East. But when he started talking about jihad and dropped oblique references to violence,
congregants contacted authorities. Today, an Orange County judge issued a restraining order
barring Monteilh from going near the mosque and its employees. Members of the mosque
testified in court that the FBI opened an investigation earlier this month. Former Islamic Center
president Asim Khan testified that several worshipers felt threatened by Monteilh and that he
talked about getting involved "in a 9/11-type operation." Some stopped attending mosque
because of him, Khan said. (Los Angeles Times)
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July 2007
DHS incident management team discusses UK terror incidents
July 1: the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) joined Muslim, Sikh and South
Asian American organizations in a conference call with US Departments of Homeland Security
(DHS), State, Justice, Treasury, and Health and Human Services officials to discuss unclassified
information and respond to concerns following the terrorist incidents in London and Glasgow in
the previous 48 hours. During the conference call, government officials pledged to continue their
work to protect all communities and uphold civil rights and civil liberties. Federal officials pledged
to continue to be active in prosecuting hate crimes, acts of employment discrimination, and
upholding the free exercise of religion by all communities. Community and government leaders
discussed in-depth actions the communities and the Federal government can take together. ADC
and the other organizations representing these communities have been actively tackling these
issues since 9/11 and are active members of the DHS Incident Management Team. The
community organizations re-stated that they are serious about developing best practices that will
combat extremism and radicalization while protecting civil rights and civil liberties. (ADC Press
Release)
British Muslim denied entry to U.S.
July 1: The Greater Los Angeles area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIRLA) today asked for an explanation as to why a British Muslim citizen was barred from entering
the United States and sent back to the UK less than 24 hours after his arrival. According to his
family, 57-year-old Rashid Ahmed Esakjee was detained after arriving at Los Angeles
International Airport on June 28. Family members reported to CAIR-LA that initially all five
members of the family were escorted off the plane but later released, except for Esakjee.
The family was planning to visit their daughter Rashida Esakjee and her family on the occasion of
the birth of a new baby boy. Esakjee has previously traveled several times to the U.S. without any
problems, family members said. He has lived in the U.K. for 40 years and owns a business there.
(CAIR Bulletin)
Flight bring Afghan delegation to Vermont delayed
July 2: A flight bound from Chicago to Burlington today was delayed for extra security screening,
and some on board say it was because of a group of Afghan passengers in traditional dress. The
group was part of a delegation in the US studying its democratic institutions. A Transportation
Security Agency spokeswoman says the United flight crew asked for the extra screening.
A spokesman for the Council of American-Islamic Relations says he's not surprised by the
incident. Ibrahim Hooper says such stepped-up scrutiny of Muslims is all too familiar, and usually
increases following international threats of terrorism or violence. (Associated Press)
Community urges FBI to Investigate Muslim convert
July 3: An Orange County Islamic group called on the FBI today to speed up a probe of a Muslim
convert banned from an Irvine mosque, where members allege he preferred to discuss jihad
rather than Islam. Craig Monteilh, who started calling himself Farouk Monteilh in September when
he began studying at the Islamic Center of Irvine, was served with a restraining order Friday
based on allegations made by members of the mosque. While the Council on American-Islamic
Relations in Anaheim commended local Muslims for reporting Monteilh, it urged FBI agents to
finish their probe to protect those who "courageously" stepped forward to make their reports.
Since the reports surfaced about a month ago, CAIR-LA said it has gotten complaints that
Monteilh had tried to intimidate and threaten those who reported him. The Muslim community was
alarmed following reports that David Gaubatz, who works for an anti-Muslim rightist group
known with the acronym SANE: the Society of Americans for National Existence, went on May
18, 2007 to the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia. He pretended that he is
interested in becoming a convert to Islam. The main objective of the group is to penetrate the
mosques and Islamic centers pose as people interested in converting to Islam or who are current
Muslims. Gaubatz told a press conference on Jun 13, 2007 that sporting a beard and Muslim
dress he went to the center. (AMP Report)
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Anti-hate blogger slams Robert Spencer's 'spin'
July 4: Robert H. Spencer, also known as Robert Bruce Spencer, is a very busy man. He is a
prolific writer on the Web, the owner and primary author of Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch,
along with hundreds of articles in online journals and e-zines. He has written six books (his
seventh is due out soon). He has appeared on FOX News, CNN, and many other media outlets.
He travels the country giving speeches. All of this - on one subject, a subject on which he is
definitely an expert - hatred of all Islam and all Muslims. Aside from already being banned by
some search engines, some college campuses city and county libraries libraries around the USA,
and in most Muslim countries, Spencer's Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch sites have now been
banned by the Chicago Police Dept. as hate speech. (Hatewatch Hall of Shame)
Alabama Muslim center opposition questioned
July 5: Some Hoover (Alabama) residents say opposition to a proposed Muslim worship center is
mostly about religion, even though most of the public talk has been about traffic. Some are
speaking out in support of a developer's request to build the worship center on a wooded, 4.7acre lot. "I think it would be a disgrace or shameful if we prevent this religious group from coming
in here," said Jerry Akers, who has lived in The Preserve subdivision near the proposed site for
three years. Jennifer Campbell said it's easier to complain about traffic than speak out publicly
against Muslims. "I truly believe if it were something like a Methodist chapel or something like
that, there would not have been such a community-wide response to come together," said
Campbell, who also lives in The Preserve. About 150 people attended a June 25 meeting at Gwin
Elementary School that was organized by opponents to the center. Traffic was the main concern
raised. No one spoke in favor of the center. (The Birmingham News)
West Coast Catholics, Muslims discuss shared values
July 6: Catholic and Muslim leaders from several West Coast states met to discuss common
values reflected in the biblical tale of Joseph --- called the prophet Yusuf in the Quran, the sacred
book of Islam. The May 21-23, 2007 meeting, designed along the lines of a spiritual retreat, was
held at the Mary and Joseph Retreat Center in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. A press release
giving the highlights of the gathering was released June 19 in Washington by the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops. The story of Joseph is told in the Bible in Chapters 37-50 of
Genesis and in the Quran in Surah 12. Participants found that sharing a reading of the Hebrew
Scriptures and the Quran helped them approach those ancient texts in a new light. They identified
common ground in understanding virtues exemplified in the story of Joseph: fidelity, forgiveness,
family relationships, integrity, loyalty, perseverance, patience rooted in trust in God, astuteness,
compassion and wisdom. Co-chairing the dialogue on the Muslim side were Imam al-Qazwini and
Muzammil H. Siddiqi, director of the Islamic Society of Orange County. The Catholic co-chairman
was Bishop Carlos A. Sevilla of Yakima, Wash. (Tidings)
Federal appeals court overturns wiretap ruling made last August
July 6: An appeals court panel today vacated a ruling by a federal judge in Detroit that a Bush
administration wiretapping program was unconstitutional. In a 2-1 vote, the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati said that the plaintiffs, which included local Muslim and ArabAmerican groups, could not prove they have been harmed by a National Security Agency spying
program created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The Bush administration argued
that such a program was legal and necessary to defend the nation from terrorism. But the
American Civil Liberties Union, along with groups and attorneys based in Michigan, filed a lawsuit
in Detroit in January 2006 saying that the government's surveillance program was
unconstitutional and interfered with their jobs. (Detroit Free Press)
Christians join Muslims to help rebuild Tampa mosque that was burned by an arsonist
July 6: Before someone set fire to the Islamic Education Center of Tampa, Dr. Akram J. Al-Asdi
felt isolated, certain that many Americans viewed Muslims negatively. But as word of the April fire
spread, so too did the generosity of strangers. Mosque officials estimate that it will cost at least
$50, 000 to restore the center, which an arsonist set ablaze in April after breaking a window in the
main prayer hall and pouring gasoline inside. So far, the center has $20,000 to rebuild, with most
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donations coming from individual Muslim donors and other Islamic centers around the state.
Christian churches also are among the center's largest contributors. The Rev. Robert Gibbons,
pastor of St. Paul's Catholic Church in St. Petersburg, asked his parishioners to contribute shortly
after learning about the fire. In the fall, bay area Muslims donated $5,000 to help restore churches
in the West Bank and Gaza that were burned by Muslims in the wake of a controversial speech
by Pope Benedict XVI. Worshippers at Bayshore Presbyterian Church also felt compelled to pitch
in with a $530 donation and an offer to help clean up fire damage. (St. Petersburg Times)
Muslims waiting up to 7 years for citizenship oath
July 6: The Maryland and Virginia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIRMD/VA) today called on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) to expedite the cases of local Muslims who have been waiting for up
to seven years to take their citizenship oaths. CAIR-MD/VA says the individuals experiencing the
delays are legal residents who have fulfilled all requirements necessary to become American
citizens. In some cases, the delays are causing personal hardships for those separated from
family members or who are in careers that require citizenship for advancement. Although the
Immigration and Naturalization Act requires that the oath of citizenship be given no later than 120
days after completion of the naturalization process, the USCIS has delayed the oaths for many
Muslims based on an unlegislated rule that requires rechecking applicant's files. (CAIR Bulletin)
Florida Muslim home torched by arsonists
July 9: The hate crime not only destroyed a house, but also devastated a north Sarasota
neighborhood and now deputies want to know who's behind it all. Neighbors say it sounded like a
bomb exploded inside the house the windows blew out and the front door came off its hinges.
One might think it was just a house fire, but firefighters say spray-paint on the outside of the
house raised suspicions the fire was set intentionally. On the garage door were obscenities
toward the Islam religion and Allah. Firefighters called in the State Fire Marshall who confirmed
the fire was arson. The owner, Hasib Sejfovic, a Muslim of Bosnian heritage, was out of town for
the weekend and was not home when the fire broke out. (ABC News)
Milwaukee Islamic leader decries U.K. terror attacks
July 9: Disturbed by terrorist bombing attempts in England and Scotland, the head of Milwaukee's
Islamic Society has decried supporters of such violence and endorsed a task force report by The
Chicago Council on Global Affairs that cautions against marginalizing Muslims in the United
States. Othman Atta, a Milwaukee attorney and president of the society, had strong words for
radical Muslim clerics in England who have justified bombings of civilians. "To be frank, if I was in
England and I was in control of the laws, I would deport someone who came out with those kind
of statements," Atta said. "I don't believe there is any place for that kind of rhetoric in any society.
I really don't." The Chicago report, "Strengthening America: The Civic and Political Integration of
Muslim Americans," was released last month. It cites independent studies that say that, unlike in
Europe, there is little, if any, publicly available evidence here of widespread or entrenched
extremist activity with links to global terrorist organizations. Yet it notes that the voices of MuslimAmerican leaders and organizations are not being heard by the American public, some of whom
continue to view Muslim-Americans with suspicion and question the compatibility of Islam with
American values. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
21 months for Salah once accused of funding hamas
July 11: In a case that riveted Chicago's Muslim community, Muhammad Salah, 54, a Bridgeview
businessman accused of aiding terrorists was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for lying in
a civil lawsuit. Salah, a U.S. citizen, had won a key victory in February when a federal jury
acquitted him of conspiring to support Hamas extremists and found him guilty on a less serious
charge of obstruction of justice. But federal prosecutors argued that Salah's lies -- about his role
in Hamas and, later, they said, about alleged torture by Israeli agents -- deserved a 10-year
prison term. U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve refused to accept the prosecutors' arguments, but
neither would she spare Salah from prison. "Lying to a court is always serious," St. Eve said.
St. Eve also sentenced Salah to 100 hours of community service and ordered him to pay a
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$25,000 fine. The jurors acquitted Salah of the terrorism charge because they believed he had
withdrawn from Hamas activities long ago and was no longer part of any conspiracy, St. Eve said.
(Chicago Tribune)
Fears about passenger taken off plane unfounded
July 12: The Transportation Security Administration said that a passenger taken off an
international flight in an emergency stop today, because of a crew member's suspicions, had
done nothing wrong and had posed no security threat. The American Airlines flight from Los
Angeles to London was diverted to New York early today after a crew member became
suspicious of the passenger, an airline spokeswoman said. The crew member questioned the
man, whom she believed she had seen bypassing security by riding on an employee-only shuttle
bus from the parking lot to the LAX airport employee entrance. The plane, carrying 218
passengers and 14 crew members, landed at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport where the
passenger was detained and was interviewed by FBI agents. The TSA later found the passenger
had gone through proper security procedures. FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles said the man is
a U.S. citizen, born in the United States. (CNN)
College student pleads guilty to hoax alleging bomb threat on Chicago's Sears Tower
July 12: A man who misled federal authorities into thinking that a Muslim student he met on a
social networking Web site planned a terrorist attack on the Sears Tower in Chicago pleaded
guilty to the hoax. Adam Hart, 22, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Boston to one count of
maliciously conveying false information. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 16, and could
be ordered to serve up to 10 years in prison.Hart was a student at the University of
Massachusetts-Dartmouth in April 2006 when he sent an e-mail to the National Security Agency
claiming that a University of Chicago student he met on Facebook Inc.'s popular online site was
planning to detonate a bomb at the landmark skyscraper. The hoax prompted increased security
at the building and an investigation of the person Hart identified.The investigation revealed that
Hart had sent e-mails containing racial slurs to the man in the days before he contacted the NSA.
(The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Jews help Muslims fight St. Louis County council
July 16: When Rick Isserman found out last month that St. Louis County wouldn't allow a group of
Muslims to build a new mosque in south St. Louis County, the story sounded too familiar. Fortyeight years earlier, Isserman's grandfather, Rabbi Ferdinand Isserman, fought to move his
congregation, Temple Israel, from the city to the county, where the Jewish population had been
relocating for some years. The city of Creve Coeur cited zoning problems and tried to block the
move, but the rabbi and his flock took the case to the Missouri Supreme Court and prevailed.
The case, Congregation Temple Israel v. City of Creve Coeur, produced what is considered a
landmark religious-freedom decision that says Missouri municipalities can invoke only health or
safety issues in denying a religious group the zoning required to build houses of worship. In the
spring, the St. Louis County Council refused the Islamic Community Center's request to rezone a
4.7-acre parcel it bought a year before for $1.25 million. The Muslims - mostly Bosnian
immigrants - planned to build a second mosque and community center in addition to the current
mosque and center off South Kingshighway in St. Louis. When Khalid Shah, a member of the
mosque and a friend of Isserman's, told him about the council's decision, the 53-year-old
Department of Agriculture employee began making the connection to his family's legal legacy.
County Councilman John Campisi, who represents the area where the mosque and community
center would be built, opposes the rezoning. He said the council's vote did not reflect religious
discrimination. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
National Muslim American youth summit brings leaders to Capitol Hill policy arena
July 16: The Muslim Public Affairs Council held its 1st Annual National Muslim American Youth
Summit, a historic gathering of young leaders from across the nation selected to discuss pressing
policy issues with high-level officials from government agencies and Congress. During the twoday summit, 27 young leaders engaged in face-to-face dialogue with government officials and
policy makers from the Departments of Justice, State, and Homeland Security as well as staff
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members from the Senate and House Committees on Homeland Security to discuss widespread
concerns about the threat of domestic radicalization and violent extremism from Muslim American
youth. They also had the rare opportunity to meet with Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) and
with Muslim American Congressional staffers from half a dozen offices, who all stressed the need
and possibility of greater Muslim American involvement and contribution to policymaking and
opinion shaping. The Washington Post ran a story about the gathering, in which described the
frustration they feel as Muslim American youth six years after 9/11 in interacting with a
"government many Muslims feel speaks about them but not to them." (MPAC Bulletin)
Judge clears Muslim store owner, cites potential FBI wrongdoing
July 17: A Butte County (CA) judge has dismissed the case against a Chico market owner who
was accused of purchasing stolen cigarettes, saying it appeared the charges were a way for the
FBI to question the owner about terrorism. Bilal Abdul Yasin, his brother Muwaiia Abdulra Yasin,
35, and a co-worker, Alberto Cabrera, 39, were arrested in March 2005 for allegedly purchasing
dozens of cartons of cigarettes from an undercover agent with the California Department of
Alcoholic Beverage Control who said the cigarettes were stolen, prosecutors said. However, once
they were arrested, FBI agents questioned Bilal Yasin about connections to his Palestinian
homeland, his Muslim religion, his relationship with other Middle Eastern shopkeepers in Butte
County and whether he sent money to terrorist groups, according to testimony he gave during the
trial. The FBI not only provided the initial tip that led to the ABC sting, it installed a surveillance
camera across the street from the Chico neighborhood market months earlier. In his three-page
ruling, Howell said the FBI refused to turn over court-ordered documents which could have
provided Bilal Yasin a fair trial. In dismissing multiple counts of attempted receiving stolen
property, the judge said testimony in the case suggested the real focus of the investigation was
not about cigarettes, but the store owner's "connection to his Palestinian homeland, his practice
of the Muslim religion, and relationship with other Middle Eastern shopkeepers in Butte County.
(Mercury News & Chico Enterprise-Record)
As Muslim group goes on trial, other charities watch warily
July 17: The strained argument between the United States government and nonprofit groups over
how to deal with charities suspected of supporting terrorism is expected to play out in federal
court here with the trial of the largest Muslim charity in this country, the Holy Land Foundation for
Relief and Development. The government, in the lengthy indictment and other court documents,
accuses the foundation of being an integral part of Hamas, which much of the West condemns as
a terrorist organization. The prosecution maintains that the main officers of the Holy Land
foundation started the organization to generate charitable donations from the United States that
ultimately helped Hamas thrive. The defense argues that the government, lacking proof, has
simply conjured up a vast conspiracy by claiming that the foundation channeled money through
public charity committees in the occupied territories that it knew Hamas controlled. The federal
government, the defense says, has never designated these committees as terrorist organizations.
The defense is expected to liken a donation to the Holy Land foundation to one to a Roman
Catholic charity in Northern Ireland that ends up helping poor Irish Republican Army
sympathizers. The case is being closely watched by a large number of charitable organizations,
as well as Muslim-Americans, because its outcome might well help determine the line separating
legitimate giving from the financing of banned organizations. (New York Times)
4 Arab-Americans claim discrimination in suit against Fedex
July 17: Four Arab-American men claim in a lawsuit filed against FedEx Corp. that their
supervisors subjected them to religious and ethnic slurs, called them terrorists and gave them
less lucrative delivery routes. FedEx has argued that the plaintiffs, who worked for the company's
ground package division in Wilmington, were independent contractors and ineligible for protection
under state antidiscrimination laws. The suit seeks damages similar to a discrimination case filed
last year by drivers of Lebanese descent in California. The jury in that case awarded $61 million
to two FedEx employees who contended that a manager harassed them with racial slurs. A judge
reduced the judgment to $12.5 million. The lawsuit filed in Middlesex Superior Court claims Loay
el-Dagany, originally from Kuwait; Montaser Foad Harara, who is of Palestinian descent; Oukhayi
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Ibrahim of Morocco; and Yasir Sati from Sudan, experienced a "pervasive hostile work
environment and have been treated differently and less favorably than non-Arab, non-Muslim
drivers in the terms and conditions of their employment." The Massachusetts Commission
Against Discrimination ruled in March that the employees' complaints were valid, clearing the way
for the drivers to pursue their case. (Boston Herald & Boston Globe)
Study on how American Muslim communities counter radicalism
July 19: Finding out how American Muslims address messages of extremism in their communities
will be the goal of a two-year study funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. Researchers at
Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will then use the information to
recommend policies for reducing the likelihood that the United States experiences the type of
homegrown terrorism seen recently in Europe. “In light of the recent events in London and
Glasgow, it is critically important to understand why widespread radicalization has not occurred in
the United States and take steps to reinforce this trend,” said David Schanzer, a visiting professor
at Duke and adjunct professor at UNC and principal investigator for the study. (Duke University
News)
Newsweek Poll: Americans are mixed on U.S. Muslims
July 20: Americans are largely accepting of their fellow citizens who are Muslims, but remain
worried about radicals inside the United States, according to a new NEWSWEEK Poll, the first
the magazine has conducted on attitudes toward Islamic Americans. Forty percent of those
surveyed believe Muslims in the United States are as loyal to the U.S. as they are to Islam.
(Thirty-two percent believe American Muslims are less loyal to the U.S.) But close to half (46
percent) of Americans say this country allows too many immigrants to come here from Muslim
countries. A solid majority of Americans (63 percent) believe most Muslims in this country do not
condone violence, and 40 percent tend to believe the Qur'an itself does not condone violence (28
percent feel it does). (Newsweek)
Former security guard says he was harassed for being Muslim, then fired
July 20: A former security guard, Palm Beach Gardens Florida, claimed he was harassed by a coworker because of his religion, and then fired for complaining about it. Refat Amar, 31, a Muslim,
said he was hassled because of his faith and origin. He came to America from Egypt in 1998.
"This is a case of religious discrimination because [the co-worker] used words like 'terrorist' and
'Guantanamo,'" said Altaf Ali, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a
national group that defends the civil rights of Muslims in America. Cases such as Amar's are
common, he said. There were 168 anti-Muslim discrimination cases in Florida last year, he said.
The council held a news conference to present Amar's case against his former employer,
Wackenhut Corp., a private security and investigation business. Amar asked the company for a
formal apology and a full investigation of his harassment complaints but got neither, he said.
(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
U.S. Islamic charities feel post 9/11 heat
July 20: Islamic charities in the United States complain they are being unfairly scrutinized and
persecuted as part of a broader backlash against Muslims since the Sept. 11 attacks. The issue
has come under renewed focus as a major trial gets under way in Dallas in which the U.S.
Department of Justice is trying to prove the Holy Land Foundation charity illegally sent money to
the militant Palestinian group Hamas. U.S. law enforcement officials maintain some Islamic
charities have been used as fronts to channel cash to groups Washington has deemed terrorist.
Islamic activists say charities that donate to Palestinian causes have been singled out. "Any
charity that decides to provide aid to Palestine is either shut down or intensely scrutinized," said
Khalil Meek, who is president of the Muslim Legal Fund of America. Other Islamic charities also
find it tough. "It is very difficult right now for American Muslim charities to operate and at the same
time American Muslims themselves are finding it difficult to donate to these charities," said Nidal
Ibrahim, executive director of the Arab American Institute. (Reuters)
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No place to call home for Kuwait-born immigrant
July 21: An immigration agent called Maha Dakar to his office a few weeks ago and told her the
time had come to make a choice. Dakar began to weep. The choice was simple, yet impossible:
leave behind her Green Township home, her four young daughters and her husband and move to
Jordan alone, or take the girls with her and subject them to a new and frightening life in a country
they'd never seen. Her husband was not permitted to go with her. She was not permitted to stay.
How could she decide, Dakar asked, when neither choice would keep her family together? How
could any mother do such a thing? The sympathetic immigration agent gave Dakar a reprieve that
day, but it will be short. She must report to him again in August with a plan to leave the country by
October. As Palestinians born in Kuwait, both Dakar and her husband, Bassam Garadah, are
considered "stateless." In other words, they have no country to go home to. Dakar carries a
Jordanian passport and can be deported to that country. Garadah, who carries only Egyptian
travel documents, cannot go with her or move anywhere else. The couple came to America
legally in 1997, they have permission to work and pay taxes, they report monthly to immigration
officials and they have filed the paperwork necessary to obtain U.S. citizenship. Unlike many of
the 200,000 people facing deportation from the United States each year, Dakar and her family did
not break any law. They were deemed deportable after the courts rejected their application for
political asylum, a decision that does not bar them from seeking citizenship but limits their time to
do so. (Cincinnati Enquirer)
Report card on prejudice in America
July 23: Most Americans believe their fellow citizens hold strong biases against minorities,
according to a landmark poll by Zogby International commissioned by GSN. The survey of 10,387
American adults, one of the most comprehensive ever conducted on prejudice, according to
Zogby, explores attitudes about race, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender, physical
appearance, and politics. The "Report Card on American Prejudice" is part of a wide-ranging
effort by GSN to spur a national dialogue on intolerance and bigotry. The survey's release
provides a powerful follow-up to the July 17th premiere of the groundbreaking new television
series, "Without Prejudice?" which airs Tuesdays at 9 pm (EST) on GSN -- the network for
games. On Race: While 67% of respondents claimed to have no preference themselves between
a white, black or Arab clerk in a convenience store, 71% said, "most Americans" would seek out
the white clerk. Just 1% said Americans' first choice would be to approach a black clerk, while
less than 0.5% said the same for an Arab clerk. And yet, ironically, 55% of respondents said race
relations have improved over the past 10 years. (Newswire)
Many oppose new mosque in Ann Arbor, Michigan
July 24: A hearing on a proposed mosque along Ellsworth Road in Ypsilanti Township drew more
than 150 people today, with most of them opposing the project. The Hidaya Muslim Community
Association is proposing an 85,770-square-foot-community center on seven acres. The project
includes a mosque, a recreation facility, an educational center and 264 parking spaces.The
project would cost about $6 million and would be built in phases. The township Planning
Commission held the hearing today but postponed voting on the project until the association
addresses issues regarding access and utility easements. Neighbors at the hearing also
expressed concerns about increased traffic, loudspeakers sounding the call to prayer five times a
day, the holding of late functions for a large number of people, having dormitories in the facility,
and holding functions during the last 10 days of Ramadan, the month of fasting for Muslims. (Ann
Arbor News)
Muslim support for suicide attacks down sharply
July 24: Popular support for suicide bombings has dropped sharply across the Muslim world in
what could suggest a rejection of Islamist militant tactics among Muslims, a global survey
released today said. The 2007 Pew Global Attitudes survey, based on polling data from 47
countries, also showed waning confidence in al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden among Muslims
but said the United States is viewed as the biggest threat by a majority of people in Muslim
countries. "The marked decline in the acceptance of suicide bombing is one of several findings
that suggest a possible broader rejection of extremist tactics among many in the Muslim world,"
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the Washington-based Pew Research Center said in a report that accompanied the data.Nearly
six years after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, Pew found dwindling
support for suicide bombings in seven of eight Muslim countries since 2002. (Reuters)
Trial begins for leaders of Holy Land Foundation
July 24: A group that was once the nation's largest Muslim charity went on trial on terrorismsupport charges today. The trial of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development is
expected to last several months and caps an FBI investigation that lasted more than a decade.
The organization and five of its top officials are charged with aiding terrorists, conspiracy and
money laundering. Prosecutor James T. Jacks said in his opening statement that the foundation
was created to raise money for the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The charity's leaders lied
about their purpose "because to tell the truth is to reveal what they were all about — the
destruction of the state of Israel and replacing it with a Palestinian Islamic state," he said.
Defense attorneys say Holy Land supported humanitarian efforts in Palestinian neighborhoods
and did not knowingly aid Hamas. "Holy Land had nothing to do with politics. Its focus was on
children in need," Nancy Hollander, lawyer for Holy Land chief executive Shukri Abu Baker, said
in her opening statement. Defense lawyers said Holy Land approached U.S. officials, including
prosecutor Jacks, asking how to stay on the right side of the law while working in the Middle East.
The five men on trial aren't accused of being terrorists. Rather, they are charged with funneling
$36 million to individuals and groups tied to Hamas, including $12.4 million sent after Clinton's
designation.Prosecutors today dropped six of the 42 counts in the 2004 indictment against the
men related to specific financial transactions. (Houston Chronicle)
Agents raid two Muslim charities in Michigan
July 24: Federal agents raided two Shi'ite Muslim charities today in Dearborn, one of which the
government said funneled money raised in the United States to Iran-backed terrorist groups in the
Middle East. In a news release, the U.S. Treasury Department said that the Goodwill Charitable
Organization is a Hizballah front group that solicits money from Hizballah members who live in
the United States. "We will not allow organizations that support terrorism to raise money in the
United States," said Stuart Levey, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and
financial intelligence. The other charity that was raided, Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization,
often holds fund-raisers in metro Detroit and enjoys support from many in the area. Federal
officials maintain its founder, Hussein Fadlallah, is the spiritual leader of Hizballah and a terrorist.
But the Treasury Department did not designate Al-Mabarrat as a terrorist group, which means it
technically can still operate. According to tax records, Goodwill Charitable received $167,628 in
contributions in 2005 and $202,500 in 2004. Al-Mabarrat raised $954,027 in 2004, according to
its tax records. (Detroit Free Press)
Muslims upset by FBI raid of charity
July 25: For $500 a year, you could sponsor a needy orphan in Lebanon through the Dearborn
office of the Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization. And many metro Detroiters did -- through fundraisers in mosques and boxes at Dearborn restaurants that read "Orphan's happiness depends
on your donation." Even some politicians gave money, including U.S. Rep. John Dingell, a
Dearborn Democrat. His chief of staff said Wednesday that the congressman cut a check of
about $100 to the group during a Ramadan dinner in October 2004. And so the raid of AlMabarrat has unnerved many in metro Detroit's Muslim communities, some of whom met today to
discuss how to deal with it. Al-Mabarrat and another Muslim group, Goodwill Charitable
Organization, were raided by the FBI and other federal agencies, the same day the U.S. Treasury
Department declared Goodwill Charitable to be a front for Hizballah and froze its assets.But the
Treasury Department did not name Al-Mabarrat as a terrorist group, leaving many Muslims
confused about the government's actions. Al-Mabarrat is still allowed to operate, though agents
hauled away its documents and computers, making it difficult to function, Muslim leaders said.
(Detroit Free Press )
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9/11 bill prompts civil liberties groups, some Democrats to warn of racial profiling
July 25: As Democratic leaders crowed today about nearing completion of a bill to implement the
9/11 Commission recommendations, some civil liberty advocates and lawmakers were furious
that conferees slipped in language that they said could substantially increase racial profiling
across the country. The measure would grant liability protection for people who divulge
information to authorities about possible terrorist actions. It was included in the conference report
at the insistence of Republicans, with support from a key independent and some Democrats.
The final provision is not as far-reaching as previous versions. It would only apply to people giving
information in good faith and would not protect those making false statements with “reckless
disregard” for the truth, aides said. (The Hill)
Hate-mongering Hannity and FOX News target
NYC Arab school, falsely paint it as Muslim madrassa
July 26: Just one day after Sean Hannity held himself up as a standard bearer for journalistic
integrity, he and FOX News embarked on a smear campaign against a new NYC public school
that will focus on Middle Eastern studies. An article in the New York Sun makes clear that the
school will be neither politically nor religiously oriented. Yet Hannity and FOX repeatedly called it
a Muslim school and deliberately tried to depict it as a training ground for terrorists. As the New
York Sun reported, the Khalil Gibran International Academy, a public secondary school, will focus
on culture, not the region's political conflicts. "The school will not be a vehicle for political
ideology," a Department of Education spokesman, David Cantor, said of the Khalil Gibran
International Academy, due to open this September in Brooklyn. But Hannity and FOX News
repeatedly referred to it as a Muslim school and implied that it will cater to extremists-in-training.
In one teaser, Hannity called it an “all Muslim school” being funded by tax dollars. While he
spoke, B roll footage showed scenes from 9/11 in a not-so-subtle effort to tie the school to
terrorists. In another teaser, a chyron read, “Islam 101?” as Hannity claimed New York was
“blurring the line between separation of church and state.” In yet another, Hannity asked, “Will this
be the breeding ground for radicals?” The chyron said, “Funding fatwa?” (New Hounds)
ADC reiterates call for an end to NSEERS
July 26: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) reiterates it call for the end of
the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) and "Special Registration"
program. The ADC called on President Bush, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary
Chertoff, and Attorney General Gonzales to completely terminate this program and address its
negative residual effects. ADC President Hon. Mary Rose Oakar said, “NSEERS targets only
people from Arab and Muslim countries, along with North Korea, that is discrimination based on
national origin. It is time to end the Shame of NSEERS." ADC has noted that approximately
84,000 Arabs and Muslims registered voluntarily and subsequently about 14,000 were subjected
to deportation hearings for voluntarily complying with the program. Yet, no registrants were
charged with terrorism. It seems clear that NSEERS has become just another tool used in
immigration enforcement and law enforcement in general, which raises serious constitutional
issues as the program clearly discriminates on the basis of national origin. (ADC Press Release)
Albanian Muslims seek OK for site in a New Jersey township
July 26: A federal judge is weighing whether (New Jersey township) Wayne's attempt to take
property owned by an Albanian Muslim group fits the legal description of religious discrimination.
But first U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan must determine whether the law -- which protects
religious institutions from discrimination through land use regulations -- applies in a lawsuit the
Albanian Associated Fund has brought against the township. The Fund's complaint is being
supported by U.S. Justice Department officials who contend that the township conducted an
irregular review of a Fund application to build a mosque and community center on the property.
Reflecting the township's legal position, Wayne Mayor Scott Rumana has said the Colfax Road
property is unsuitable for development because of steep slopes and rock outcroppings, prompting
its targeting for open space preservation. (The Record)
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Prayer OK at lunch at San Diego school
July 27: A San Diego school that drew international attention for setting aside time for Muslim
students to pray in the classroom will no longer do so. Instead, Carver Elementary's schedule will
be reconfigured so students can say their required midday prayers during lunch. Courts have long
upheld students' rights to pray on their own during lunch or recess. Another controversial element
of Carver's educational program geared toward Muslim students – single-gender classes – will be
eliminated. Superintendent Carl Cohn stressed in memo that single-gender education is legal
under federal law, but at Carver it “has become a serious distraction from learning rather than a
vehicle to promote learning.” (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Ex-student in Quran flush freed on no bail
July 28: A former Pace University student, Stanislav Shmulevich, 23, accused of flushing two
Qurans down a campus toilet was freed without bail after being arraigned on criminal mischief
charges in Manhattan Criminal Court. Shmulevich was a student at Pace when he threw the
Muslim holy books in the toilet on Oct. 13 and Nov. 21, police said. He was busted after cops
discovered a surveillance camera that filmed him leaving the meditation room where the Korans
had been kept before the vandalism. Prosecutors asked for $1,500 bail for Shmulevich, who now
works at a European banking firm. But a judge denied the request, citing his otherwise clean
record. (New York Daily News)
Controversy stirs at Christians United for Israel summit
July 28: Christians United for Israel met with Congress members last week as part of the second
annual Christians United for Israel (CUFI) Summit. Led by Pastor John Hagee, the group called
on Congress to support pre-emptive military action on Iran and to oppose a two-state solution for
the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Journalist Max Blumenthal brought a video camera into
the summit and interviewed attendees about the motivation behind CUFI. According to CUFI
members, the return of Jesus depends on the protection of Israel, and a peaceful coexistence
between Israel and its neighbors is contrary to the Biblical prophecy of the Rapture. Blumenthal
asked some hard questions and was escorted out of the summit. Hagee told reporters that "our
support of Israel has absolutely nothing to do with end-times prophecy. It has absolutely nothing
to do with eschatology." Alternet's Sarah Posner asked one of Hagee's public relations people
about CUFI and eschatology. She said that Hagee wears two hats: one as preacher, the other as
political activist. (Minnesota Monitor)
Arab boy bound & beaten in class, suit says
Jly 31: Two Brooklyn schoolgirls allegedly bound a boy of Arab descent with tape, locked him in a
classroom closet and bombarded him for eight minutes with ethnic slurs before their substitute
fourth-grade teacher did anything. The shocking charges are laid out in a lawsuit filed in Federal
Court seeking unspecified damages for 10-year-old Abdulla Mohammed, who was 9 at the time.
The boy suffered "severe personal injuries - humiliation, ridicule and gross embarrassment" from
the incident in his fourth-grade classroom at Public School 114 in Canarsie on Oct. 26, (2006)
said his lawyer, Michael Lazarowitz. The suit blames the city and Education Department for failing
to supervise the school. (New York Daily News)
August 2007
Chertoff discusses security and civil liberties with
young Arab, Muslim, Sikh, S. Asian American leaders
August 1: In Dearborn, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff met with more than 40
young American Arab, Muslim, Sikh, South Asian and Middle Eastern leaders on July 25 to cap a
unique two-day roundtable designed to gauge the views and aspirations of young people from
these communities. The participants, ages 18-25, took part in a "Roundtable on Security and
Liberty: Perspectives of Young Leaders Post-9/11. The roundtable was organized by the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in collaboration with
George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute and occurred at George
Washington University Law School. The roundtable afforded an opportunity for Federal officials to
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directly hear the perspectives of young community leaders on topics including: The State of Arab,
Muslim, Sikh, South Asian, and Middle Eastern American Youth; Civil Rights in America:
Challenges and Opportunities; Toronto, London and Madrid: Can it Happen in America? And
Careers in the U.S. Government. (Press & Guide)
Plight of Muslim Immigrants in Post-9/11 America
August 1: In their no-frills documentary, “Out of Status,” Pia Sawhney and Sanjna N. Singh
examine the actions of the Immigration and Naturalization Service after 9/11 and the devastating
repercussions for America’s Muslims. Focusing on the experiences of four Muslim families
between January 2003 and July 2005, the film portrays the immigration services (the I.N.S. was
dissolved in 2003 and absorbed into the Department of Homeland Security) as a “uniquely
dysfunctional” bureaucracy whose actions were motivated less by effectiveness than by the
desire to appear proactive. Many Muslims of unresolved status were forcibly removed from their
homes and deported, like the Egyptian citizen Akram Said, whose application for political asylum
had been denied but who had received no notification to leave the country, according to his wife,
Carma, and an immigration lawyer, Robert Kuhnreich. Others fled to an overcrowded refugee
shelter in Buffalo, hoping to enter Canada. (New York Times)
President meets with Muslim-bashing radio hosts
August 1: In a blog entry on Townhall.com, syndicated radio host Hugh Hewitt wrote that
"President Bush invited ten talk show hosts into the Oval Office for an hour of conversation today
-- Glenn Beck, Bill Bennett, Neal Boortz, Scott Hennon, Laura Ingraham, Lars Larson, Mark
Levin, Michael Medved, Janet Parshall and me. This was an off-the-record conversation, and so I
won't be quoting the president." Blogger (and Media Matters for America Web producer) Oliver
Willis noted Hewitt's post, and Talkers Magazine's website published a photo of the group.
(Media Matters)
Report criticizes use of Taser on UCLA student Tabatabainejad
August 1: Even with use of force policies that are "unduly permissive," a UCLA police officer
violated department rules when he repeatedly shocked a student with an electric Taser gun last
fall during a confrontation captured on video and posted on the Internet, according to a report
released today. Los Angeles police accountability expert Merrick Bobb found that the decision to
use the Taser on student Mostafa Tabatabainejad was "unnecessary, avoidable and excessive."
Tabatabainejad, then a 23-year-old senior at UCLA, was in the campus library one night last
November when a security guard asked him to provide identification during a routine check to
make sure everyone in the library after 11 p.m. was a student or otherwise authorized to be there.
Tabatabainejad, a U.S. citizen of Iranian descent, refused repeated requests to provide his
identification, explaining later that he thought he was being singled out because of his Middle
Eastern appearance. In an ensuing confrontation with university police, Tabatabainejad was
shocked at least three times with a Taser when he failed to get on his feet and walk out of the
library as officers demanded. Much of the encounter was captured by students with cellphones or
digital cameras. (Los Angeles Times)
NY Transit worker allowed to attend Islamic prayers
August 2: The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) said
today that a transit worker in that city will now be allowed to attend Islamic Friday congregational
prayers, or "Jummah," after initially being told he would have to wait months to receive religious
accommodation. CAIR-NY contacted the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) after
receiving a complaint from the Muslim employee who said he was scheduled to work during the
Friday services despite being told by MTA's Policy and Compliance Board that he qualified for
religious accommodation. (CAIR Bulletin)
Tancredo defends threat to bomb Muslim holy sites
August 5: Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo continued to defend his comments that threatening to
bomb Muslim holy sites would be the right way to “deter any kind of aggression” from terrorists
and said that anyone who wouldn’t do the same “isn’t fit to be president” on Sunday morning. “I’m
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telling you right now that anybody that would suggest that we should take anything like this off the
table in order to deter that kind of event in the United States isn’t fit to be president of the United
States,” the GOP presidential candidate said. During a campaign stop in Iowa on July 31
Tancredo said that “an attack on this homeland of that nature would be followed by an attack on
the holy sites in Mecca and Medina.” Tom Casey, a deputy spokesman for the State Department,
told CNN that Tancredo’s comments were “reprehensible” and “absolutely crazy.” But Tancredo
said that when the State Department complains about things he says, he feels more confident.
(CNN)
Muslims welcome GOP rejection of threat to attack Mecca
August 6: The Council on American-Islamic Relations today welcomed remarks by several
Republican presidential candidates repudiating threats made by fellow White House hopeful Rep.
Tom Tancredo (R-CO) to attack Islamic holy sites. The CAIR also called on Tancredo to retract
and apologize for remarks he made last week advocating threats to bomb the holy cities of Mecca
and Medina as part of his proposed anti-terror policy. In a statement issued today, CAIR said:
"The Republican candidates and the Department of State are correct in rejecting threatened
attacks on Islamic holy sites as a deterrent to terrorists. Representative Tancredo's extreme and
counterproductive proposal to threaten Mecca and Medina fails any reasonable test for strategic
viability. It only serves to further damage our nation's interests and image in the Muslim world and
will inevitably be used as rhetorical fodder by extremists.” (CAIR Bulletin)
Arizona mosque targeted in acid bomb attack
August 6: A pop bottle bomb hurled outside a Glendale mosque landed close to an Islamic
religious leader involved in a high-profile lawsuit against Tempe-based US Airways. Glendale
police spokesman Sgt. Jim Toomey said the incident occurred 1 a.m. today outside the Albanian
American Islamic Center at 67th Avenue and Greenway Road when Imam Didmar Faja, head of
the center, and another mosque official were standing outside the mosque. The bottle, which
contained chemicals, exploded 20 to 25 feet away. No one was hurt. Toomey said investigators
are treating the incident as a possible hate crime, although it could be a case of mischief. (East
Valley Tribune)
Serbian immigrant admits link to genocide group
August 6: A 56-year-old resident alien from Bosnia, Milenko Stjepanovic, who has been living in
the Salt Lake City area admitted in federal court today to failing to mention in immigration
documents his involvement with a military group accused of genocide in the massacre of Bosnian
Muslims. Federal immigration laws forbid the entry of someone who is considered an "oppressor"
in a conflict. Stjepanovic admitted in court that on his application for a green card, he noted that
he served in the Yugoslavian People's Army from 1969 to 1970 but failed to disclose that he also
served with the Army of the Republica Srpska, or the Vojska Republica Srpska (VRS). A warcrimes inquiry found that members of the VRS participated in human-rights violations, including
the massacre of thousands of Bosnian Muslim boys and men at Srebrenica in 1995. The
Srebrenica incident has been classified as genocide by the International Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia. Stjepanovic is one of five Bosnian immigrants living in the Salt Lake area who were
indicted in June 2006 for Visa fraud. All of them had applied for refugee status but failed to
disclose their service with the VRS. (Deseret Morning News)
Woman admits 2004 bomb hoax
August 6: A former Daemen College student admitted today to sending hoax letters threatening
the bombing of the 2004 Daemen College graduation ceremony by an Arab-American man, U.S
Attorney Terrance P. Flynn reported. Carmalla Arrington, 51, of Buffalo NY, faces up to 10 years
in prison and a $250,000 fine after admitting before U.S. District Chief Judge Richard J. Arcara to
a federal felony of sending hoax threat letters through the mail in March and May 2004. Arrington
sent multiple letters through the mail implicating an Arab-American man in a plot to detonate an
explosive at the Daemen College graduation ceremony in Kleinhans Music Hall on May 22, 2004,
according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy C. Lynch. (Buffalo News)
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Muslim cemetery gains early approval in South Carolina
August 7: The Spartanburg County Planning Commission gave preliminary approval today for a
new Muslim cemetery, to be built by the Islamic Society of Greenville, South Carolina. The new
cemetery is believed to be the first cemetery of any kind to be built in Spartanburg County in at
least 15 years. The land was donated to the society by one of its members, Riaz Khan, who owns
a total of 40 acres. Chaudhry Sadiq, the president of the South Carolina chapter of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, said that the only cemetery he knows of in South Carolina that is
devoted solely to Muslims is a 10-acre site near the town of Cope, about 12 miles southwest of
Orangeburg. It is owned by the Islamic Center of Columbia. (Spartanburg Herald-Journal)
Muslims garner 2 of top 3 spots on Hamtramck council (Michigan) primary ballot
August 7: In a display of their emerging political power, Muslims were two of the top three votegetters in today’s primary election in Hamtramck for City Council (Michigan). Shahab Ahmed, an
incumbent, received 574 votes, the most out of 12 candidates on the ballot. Delawar Mohamed
Hussain came in third, with 428 votes. The Top 6 out of the 12 will advance to the general
election in November. Another Muslim candidate, Abu Sayed Mahfuz, narrowly missed
advancing. Mahfuz came in seventh place, garnering 376 votes, just nine votes behind incumbent
Robert Zwolak, who got 385 votes. Muslims make up half of Hamtramck’s six-member City
Council. (Detroil Free Press)
Boy reunited with family, but questions unanswered
August 7: A groggy little boy from Morocco was reunited with his parents today at Reagan
National Airport after a two-year separation caused by bureaucratic problems with his immigration
papers. Abdeloihab Boujrad, 38, a U.S. citizen originally from Morocco, and his wife, Leila, had
been trying since June 2005 to obtain the paperwork necessary for their now 3-year-old son,
Ahmedyassine, to join them in the United States. It's unclear why his paperwork was held up, but
an Islamic civil rights group that took up the family's cause suspected that it was because
Ahmedyassine is similar to the name of the Palestinian founder of the Islamic militant group
Hamas, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, who was assassinated by Israel in 2004. In June, after media
reports highlighted the Boujrads' plight, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved the
paperwork allowing Ahmedyassine to immigrate. (Washington Post)
Federal agents look for Hizballah activity in charity raids
August 7: Federal agents were looking for information on terrorist operations and Hizballah
activity when they raided two Muslim charities last month, court records show. The agents hauled
away computers, files, money and other items from the Dearborn offices of Al-Mabarrat
Charitable Organization and Goodwill Charitable Organization, two Muslim groups that raised
money in metro Detroit. According to an affidavit filed with the search warrant for the raids, agents
were looking for financial ties to "foreign Lebanese or Iranian affiliated charitable organizations"
as well as "anti-United States or anti-Israel propaganda." Agents also raided the homes of two
men on the same day as the raids. As with the charities, agents were looking for material "dealing
with Hizballah, martyrdom, suicide operations, bombings or other terrorist attacks," the affidavit
says. The men were listed as Mike or Majed Safiedine of Dearborn Heights, who is president of
Goodwill, according to 2005 tax records the group filed, and Ahmed Ali Ghosn of Dearborn.
(Detroit Free Press)
Religious accommodation are becoming more common at schools
August 7: As the nation's Muslim population grows, issues of religious accommodation are
becoming more common, and more complicated. Many public school districts are grappling with
questions about prayer rooms for Muslim students, halal food in cafeterias and scheduling around
important Muslim holidays. As Muslim students point out, the school calendar already
accommodates Christians, with Sundays off and vacations around Christmas and Easter.
Nationwide, more than a dozen universities have footbaths, many installed in new buildings. On
some campuses, like George Mason University in Virginia, and Eastern Michigan University in
Ypsilanti, Mich., there was no outcry. At Eastern Michigan, even some Muslim students were
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surprised by the appearance of the footbath — a single spigot delivering 45 seconds of water —
in a partitioned corner of the restroom in the new student union. (New York Times)
Charity probes worry South Asians
August 8: There is concern in the large South Asian community in Metro Detroit that efforts to
provide relief for flood-ravaged Bangladesh and India will be discouraged by recent federal
investigations of Muslim charities. In the past year, at least three local charities have been raided,
including Life for Relief & Development in Southfield and Al-Mabarrat in Dearborn. No charges
have resulted, and contributions to both organizations remain lawful because neither is banned
by the federal government. But Muslims in Metro Detroit raising money for relief or other efforts
remain wary. And the recent raids are of particular concern to Metro Detroiters of Bangladeshi
and Indian descent, who are mobilizing to send relief to both countries, where 1,500 people are
dead and 19 million displaced in floods from monsoon rains this summer. According to the U.S.
Census Bureau, there are about 208,000 people of South Asian descent in Michigan. (Detroit
News)
Two Lebanese Americans falsely called terrorists win slander damages
August 8: A state appeals court has ruled against a former Tioga County (NY) police chief who
admitted spreading lies that two Lebanese-American men were involved in terrorism. According
to court documents, James DeVita, then police chief in the village of Owego, made the
allegations after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. The
chief admitted going around town in uniform, claiming that pizza shop owners Michael Yammine
and Hassid Kazan, both naturalized Americans and fathers with long-standing ties to the
community, were drug and gun runners in league with Osama bin Laden. He also admitted
knowing that the claims were false, the court said. Neither of the men is Muslim. Last June, the
state Supreme Court ruled for the shop owners in a slander lawsuit against DeVita and awarded
$200,000 each for damage to their reputations and their business. The police chief, who retired
about the same time, appealed the decision. But last week the appellate court upheld the
damages, which will likely come out of the village's insurance policy. (Rochester Democrat &
Chronicle)
Israeli agent testifies against Holy Land Foundation
August 9: In Dallas, Texas, Prosecutors and lawyers for a Muslim charity accused of funding
terrorists clashed today over whether jurors should see documents that Israeli soldiers seized
during raids of Palestinian organizations. An Israeli agent testified about the documents during
the trial of five leaders of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. The agent was
not identified, and before he testified the courtroom was cleared of spectators except the families
of the defendants. Spectators were allowed in another room to listen to the proceedings.
Prosecutors believe the documents seized by Israeli soldiers will show that the Holy Land leaders
knew they were sending millions of dollars to groups controlled by Hamas, which is illegal
because the U.S. government calls Hamas a terrorist organization. Defense attorneys tried to
cast doubt on the authenticity and significance of the documents, which included pamphlets,
brochures and posters that are presumably pro-Hamas. Jurors hadn't seen the documents
because at midday Thursday, the judge had not ruled on whether to allow them into the case.
Defense lawyers suggested that the evidence did not meet the standards for trial in a U.S. court.
(International Herald Tribune)
Three Arabs appointed to official positions
August 14: Three Arabs have been appointed this month to official positions in Michigan and New
Jersey. Ismael Ahmed was named to lead Michigan's Department of Human Services by
Governor Jennifer Granholm. The Department of Human Services is one of the state's largest
departments and handles numerous state programs including welfare, foster care, and childcare.
In New Jersey, Samer Khalaf and Tawfiq Barqawi were appointed respectively to the Executive
Committee of the State of New Jersey Human Relations Committee and the New Jersey
Governor's Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel on Immigration Policy. (ADC Press Release)
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Radio show host Boortz says Muslims are "sort of like cockroaches"
August 14: In today’s broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, while discussing the
alleged "Islamization of Western Europe," Neal Boortz claimed that because "Muslims don't eat
during the day during Ramadan" and "fast during the day and eat at night," they are "sort of like
cockroaches." Boortz was discussing reports that a group of government-run hospitals in
Scotland had instructed employees to eat away from their desks during Ramadan so as not to
offend their fasting Muslim colleagues. (Media Matters)
Council approves plan for mosque in south St. Louis County
August 14: The St. Louis County Council today unanimously reversed a previous vote and
decided to let a group of Bosnian Muslims build a new mosque in south St. Louis County.
In the spring, the council voted 4-3 against the Islamic Community Center's request to rezone a
4.7-acre parcel that the center had bought in south St. Louis County for $1.25 million. The
Muslims planned to build a second mosque and community center on the land, to accommodate
the movement of many in the Bosnian community from the city to the county. (St. Louis PostDispatch)
$10,000 Reward Offered In Antioch Mosque Arson
August 15: SF Bay Area Muslims today announced an reward worth up to $10,000 for information
leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons that set fire to an Antioch mosque.
The fire that broke out on June 12 morning caused $200,000 in damage to the Islamic Center of
the East Bay, located at 311 W. 18th Street. Investigators believe the blaze was intentionally set,
but have not found evidence it was motivated by religion. Most of the reward money was raised
from the Bay Area Muslim community, and the amount could increase as more funds are raised,
said Safaa Ibrahim, who heads the Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations. The Antioch Police Department, which contributed $2,000 of the reward money, has
agreed to increase patrols around the mosque as the arson investigation continues, she said.
(CBS News)
NYPD terror report casts suspicion on all U.S. Muslims
August 15: American Arab and Muslim groups say that the New York Police Department (NYPD)
report on "radicalization" may result in all U.S. Muslims being viewed with suspicion. The report entitled, "Radicalization in the West and the Homegrown Threat" - warns of "radicalization"
among otherwise unremarkable young Muslim men in the United States who grow disillusioned
with life and sign on with jihad terrorists. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
(ADC) National Executive Director Kareem Shora called the findings faulty and inflammatory. He
said the report is at odds with federal law enforcement findings, including those of the recently
released National Intelligence Estimate, and uses unfortunate stereotyping of entire communities.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said the 90-page report purports to outline a
four-step process of radicalization, but in fact describes ordinary activities, associations and
behaviors as indicators of a potential terror threat. In a statement, CAIR Board Chairman Parvez
Ahmed said: "Whatever one thinks of the analysis contained in the report, its sweeping
generalizations and mixing of unrelated elements may serve to cast a pall of suspicion over the
entire American Muslim community. The report lists sites that are likely to be visited by any
American Muslim as radicalization 'incubators.' The sites listed include mosques, cafes, cab
driver hangouts, student associations, nongovernmental organizations, butcher shops, and book
stores. Long Island Muslim leaders said that the findings may help perpetuate stereotypes about
Muslims. Habeeb Ahmed, President of the Islamic Center of Long Island said: "I don't have any
problem if somebody does something wrong, definitely arrest that person to the fullest extent of
the law. But if everybody is a suspect that does become a problem. You cannot have six to seven
million people as possible terrorists, possible suspects." (AMP Report)
Federal worker faces charges in threats against Arab group
August 15: A State Department employee was indicted today on charges that he threatened and
intimidated employees of the Arab American Institute, including James Zogby, the president of
the organization. In e-mail and voice-mail messages, the employee, Patrick Syring, is said to
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have lashed out at Zogby and others in profane, provocative language described in the
indictment, which was returned by a grand jury at the federal courthouse in Washington. "The
only good Lebanese is a dead Lebanese. The only good Arab is a dead Arab," Syring said in a
voice-mail message left late July 17, 2006, after he read comments made by Zogby that he
regarded as offensive, the indictment says. The messages were left last summer during the war
between Israel and Hezbollah. More than once, Syring praises Israel and its armed forces and
accuses Zogby and his organization of being part of Hezbollah. "You and your Arab American
Institute. should burn in the fires of hell for eternity," he wrote in an e-mail, according to the
indictment. (Washington Post)
CAIR files amicus brief in Holy Land Foundation trial
Listing of 300 Muslim individuals, institutions called ‘unconstitutional’
August 16: – The Council on American-Islamic Relations CAIR) today announced the filing of an
amicus brief relating to the ongoing trial of the Holy Land Foundation Muslim charity in Texas.
The CAIR brief asks the court to remove the Washington-based group’s name, and that of
several hundred other Muslim individuals and institutions, from a list of so-called “unindicted coconspirators.” CAIR’s brief, filed by attorney William B. Moffitt, alleges that the listing of the
organizations and individuals violates Justice Department guidelines and violates the uncharged
parties’ First and Fifth Amendment rights. Meanwhile, the National Association of Muslim Lawyers
and the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys sent a letter to Attorney General
Alberto R. Gonzales objecting to the list and saying it could lead to increased discrimination
against American Muslims. The letter said the “overreaching list” of more than 300 organizations
and individuals would further cripple charitable donations to Muslim organizations and could
ratchet up the discrimination faced by American Muslims since the Sept. 11 attacks. (CAIR
Bulletin)
Israeli witness in Holy Land charity trial falters
August 16: An Israeli intelligence agent whose earlier testimony linked a U.S.-based Islamic
charity to Hamas acknowledged today that none of the overseas charities it supported has
appeared among hundreds of names on U.S. government terrorist lists. The testimony seemed to
cast doubt on a central element of the government's criminal case against former officials of the
now-defunct Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. Prosecutors say the officials
dispensed funds to terrorists under the guise of charity donations to community groups called
zakat committees on the West Bank and Gaza, knowing that Hamas militants controlled the local
groups and benefited from the funding. The Israel Security Agency officer, identified only as "Avi,"
said the Islamic Charitable Society of Hebron, for example, was Hamas' largest and most
important fund-raising arm in the West Bank and was controlled by Hamas activists. "It is no
secret in the territories who controls these committees," he said. But on cross-examination, the
agent said he could not recall where or when anyone other than an Israeli intelligence official
might have read or otherwise known that specific zakat committees or board members had ties to
Hamas. In prior court papers, Holy Land officials have maintained that they never supported
Hamas and did not have any reason to believe the charity committees were run by Hamas.
Defense lawyers also elicited testimony that other large charities such as Holy Land Foundation
in England and Holland--also identified by "Avi" as part of Hamas' global network--have been
cleared after investigations in those countries. Acknowledging that a British charity called Interpal
was allowed to reopen after a commission ruled that there was no evidence against it, the agent
added: "Clearly, they didn't have my evidence." (Los Angeles Times)
Roman catholic bishop wants everyone to Call God 'Allah'
August 16: A proposal by a Roman Catholic bishop in the Netherlands that people of all faiths
refer to God as "Allah" is not sitting well with the Catholic community. Tiny Muskens, an outgoing
bishop who is retiring in a few weeks from the southern diocese of Breda, said God doesn't care
what he is called. "Allah is a very beautiful word for God. Shouldn't we all say that from now on
we will name God Allah? ... What does God care what we call him? It is our problem," Muskens
told Dutch television. "I'm sure his intentions are good but his theology needs a little fine-tuning,"
said Father Jonathan Morris, a Roman Catholic priest based in Rome. Morris, a news analyst for
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FOX News Channel, also called the idea impractical. The nation’s largest Catholic civil rights
group says Catholics won't get behind the proposal. “Bishop Martinus “Tiny” Muskens can pray to
“Allah” all he wants, but only addlepated Catholics will follow his lead,” Bill Donohue, president of
the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, said in a statement. “It is not a good sign when
members of the Catholic hierarchy indulge in a fawning exchange with Muslims, or those of any
other religion.” (Fox News)
Ellison gets an apology from critical colleague
August 16: U.S. Rep. Bill Sali has apologized to the nation's first Muslim congressman, whose
election Sali deemed in an interview as "not what was envisioned by the Founding Fathers." The
Idaho Republican has exchanged conciliatory e-mails with U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, a Minnesota
Democrat who became the first Muslim in Congress last year. Both Sali and Ellison were elected
in 2006. Sali's comments were first reported on the Christian-themed Web site, American Family
News Network. His interview was then picked up by liberal bloggers who disagreed with what Sali
said about Ellison - as well as what he said about a Hindu prayer opening the U.S. Senate. Sali's
spokesman said: "What he was trying to say, is that he's a Christian and that he believes this
nation was founded on Christian principles and that it's important to embrace those principles,"
Hoffman said. "The congressman is a very strong believer in freedom of religion. The Founding
Fathers used Scripture as a reference in devising the type of government we have today." State
Democratic Party Chairman Richard Stallings called on Sali to either apologize or resign, and
Grant wrote Ellison a letter calling his opponent's comments "thoughtless, uninformed and
inappropriate." (TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press)
Daniel Pipes compares Muslims to rapists
August 17: Commenting on the Khalil Gibran International Academy, Islamophobist, Daniel Pipes
says: ….."I believe such a school requires scrutiny beyond that of any other groups school, he
said. It fits into a larger pattern in which Muslim officials require greater scrutiny, whether they be
chaplains [or] law enforcement officers. There is a tendency to sympathize with Islamism that we
ignore at our peril. . .When law enforcement is looking for a rapist, it looks at men, not men and
women. If you're looking for terrorism you must give special scrutiny to this community." (The
Jewish Week)
Third attack on Mississauga mosque alarms Muslims
August 19: Minutes before prayers were set to begin today, a foot-wide slab of concrete came
crashing through a window of ISNA Mosque in Mississauga, Canada. It was the second time in
less than a month that the mosque has been targeted by vandals and Muslim groups were asking
police to treat the incident as a hate crime. Earlier this month, a rock was tossed through the
windshield of a van belonging to the mosque. The mosque was also firebombed after Sept. 11,
2001. (Toronto Star)
Six-year-old Muslim boy denied entry to U.S.
August 20: A 6-year-old Muslim boy is at the center of an international immigration fight.
Moroccan-born Mustapha Zindinne came to the United States in 2001 and became a U.S. citizen
last year. His wife joined him in Woodbridge, Virginia, six months ago as a permanent resident.
The couple expected their son would soon follow. The couple told News4's Michael Flynn that
bureaucratic red tape is keeping their 6-year-old son from joining them. The couple's attorney,
Morris Days with the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Herndon, suspects the delay might
be that the boy's name, Youssaf Zindinne, is similar to one on a U.S. security watch list. About
two weeks ago, another local couple from Morocco was reunited with their 3-year-old son at
Reagan National Airport after two years. The same Islamic civil rights group worked to bring him
here. They say that boy's name is similar to the name of the deceased founder of Hamas.
(MSNBC)
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Group cancels forum on book against Israel lobby
August 21: The Chicago Council on Global Affairs' decision to cancel a forum about a
controversial upcoming book on the influence of the pro-Israel lobby on U.S. foreign policy has
sparked a heated debate about free speech. "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy," a book
due out in September by University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer and Harvard
University professor Stephen Walt, argues that the pro-Israel lobby has had a negative effect on
U.S. foreign policy. Expanding on a previous academic article that caused uproar and protest,
Mearsheimer and Walt argue that the Israel lobby -- including Jewish organizations, Christian
fundamentalists and neo-conservatives -- helped, among other actions, to stop diplomatic talks
between the U.S. and Syria and hampered efforts to solve the Israel-Palestinian conflict. The
council had planned to hold a public discussion of the book in September with the two authors.
But in late July, the council decided to scrap the program. In a letter sent to the council's 94 board
members shortly after the decision, Mearsheimer and Walt said they felt political pressure was
behind the move. In a telephone interview with the Tribune, Mearsheimer said a council
scheduler told him that the council was "feeling heat" over the authors' anticipated appearance
before Council President Marshall Bouton called to cancel. Bouton confirmed to him that the
council was facing criticism, Mearsheimer said. (Chicago Tribune)
People with Arab ancestry play vital role in area economy
August 22: Arab American economic activity supports between 99,494 and 141,541 jobs in
southeastern Michigan (or 4 to 5.7 percent), according to a study by Wayne State University and
the League for Economic Empowerment on Arab American Economic Impact in Southeast
Michigan. Findings of the study revealed that $7.7 billion in wages and salary earnings in
Southeast Michigan economy are directly associated with Arab American salaries and business
initiatives. As of the 2005 U.S. census statistics, there are 162,000 Arab Americans living in
Southeast Michigan. Of that, about 68,515 were employed. According to the study, Arab
Americans represent 1.8 and 2.6 percent of all state tax revenues collected in 2005. (Press &
Guide)
The Pentagon has a disturbing relationship with private evangelical groups
August 22: The Pentagon has abruptly announced that it would not be delivering "freedom
packages" to US soldiers in Iraq, as it had originally intended. The packages contained Bibles,
proselytizing material in English and Arabic and the apocalyptic computer game "Left Behind:
Eternal Forces" (derived from the series of post-Rapture novels), in which "soldiers for Christ"
hunt down enemies who look suspiciously like U.N. peacekeepers. The packages were put
together by a fundamentalist Christian ministry called Operation Straight Up, or OSU which has
planned an entertainment tour to Iraq called the "Military Crusade." The Defense Department
realized the folly of participating in any Operation Straight Up crusade. But the episode is just
another example of increasingly disturbing, and indeed unconstitutional, relationships being
forged between the U.S. military and private evangelical groups. (Los Angeles Times)
TV station pulls plug on anti-Muslim televangelist
August 23: For the first time in nearly five years, controversial Christian televangelist Bill Keller is
going off the air. Keller - known for his vitriolic criticism of religious, political and pop culture
figures - said today his program was yanked in response to pressure from local Muslims. Earlier
this month, officials from the Council on American Islamic Relations wrote to executives at CBS
asking them to investigate Live Prayer with Bill Keller, an hour long nightly program. In a May 2
broadcast, the televangelist said Islam was a "1,400-year-old lie from the pits of hell" and called
the Prophet Mohammed a "murdering pedophile." He also called the Koran a "book of fables and
a book of lies." CAIR officials asked for equal air time for Florida Muslims to counter Keller's
assertions. (St. Petersburg Times)
U.S. attorney is charging up to $115K for return of charity records
August 23: Nearly one year later, the Muslim charity Life for Relief and Development today asked
U.S. District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds in Detroit to order the return of nearly 200 boxes of
paperwork it says are critical to its operations, including tasks such as filing its federal tax return.
[Page 233]
The U.S. Attorney's Office is willing to provide the records, but only if Life for Relief pays copying
charges of between $21,000 and $115,000, the charity said in a recent federal court filing. Those
charges are higher than normal because the government insists copies be made inside FBI
offices by a company with a U.S. security clearance. "It strikes me that after this period of time,
they ought to be in a position of either moving forward or being able to return the records," Life for
Relief attorney Thomas Cranmer said. Today's hearing was three weeks before the start of
Ramadan, a month of fasting and charitable giving for Muslims. Islamic leaders have complained
that raids on Life for Relief and other Muslim charities in the United States have chilled donors.
(The Detroit News)
Australia: Muslim immigration likened to bird flu
August 23: Australian Christian Democratic Party (CDP) Senate candidate Paul Green called
today for a moratorium on Muslim immigration while a study on its social impacts was carried
out. He said it would be easier to carry out such a study with the country's Muslim population at
300,000, rather than three million at a later date. "If there was bird flu coming from a people's
group across the nation would we not halt, assess the risk management of what it means to
Australia and then assess the factors and then say, is it not safe to continue that or withhold it
until it is dealt with," he said. Mr Green said Australia would suffer the same fate as "Britain,
France and Holland" unless the study was carried out. Christian Democrats leader Fred Nile said
his party's immigration policy also called on a priority for Christians who have been persecuted,
particularly in Muslim countries, to be allowed into Australia. (Herald Sun)
Feds apologize for Iraqi refugee's detention
August 24: An Iraqi refugee from Kent, Seattle, has received a written apology and $250,000
from the U.S. government after federal border and customs agents illegally jailed him in 2003. Yet
Abdul Habeeb and his attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) remain fiercely
at odds with the government over whether Habeeb was a victim of racial profiling when he was
improperly arrested in Havre, Mont., in April 2003. Jesse Wing, board president of the ACLU of
Washington, said in a news release: "The settlement is a strong reminder that the government
must not engage in ethnic profiling." At the time of his arrest, Habeeb was taking a train from
Seattle to Washington, D.C., where he planned to take a new job as a journalist. When the train
made an extended stop in Havre, Habeeb, who is an artist, took a walk to stretch his legs and to
see if any local art was on display in the station. Once inside he noticed a man in a uniform and a
cowboy hat watching him. Eager to avoid trouble, Habeeb said he turned to walk away from the
agent, but the agent followed him and questioned him. The questioning became more severe,
Habeeb said, after he disclosed that he was an Iraqi refugee, even though Habeeb provided
documentation proving his legal status. Habeeb was held for three days in Montana and then
transferred to a federal detention center in Tacoma, where he spent four more nights. Then, with
no explanation, he was released. "[The guard] tried to cover something wrong," Habeeb said. "He
told me just go home, away, hurry up." With the assistance of the ACLU, Habeeb filed a lawsuit in
U.S. District Court in Montana against border and customs agents Thomas Castloo and Dary
Essing, claiming unreasonable search and a violation of his due-process rights. He also filed a
suit in U.S. District Court in Western Washington against the federal government for unlawful
detention. He sought more than $600,000 in damages. The Montana lawsuit was dismissed by a
federal judge, but the ACLU appealed the decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
During the appeal, Jeffrey Sullivan, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington said,
the government concluded "that the detention of Mr. Habeeb was incorrect." The Border Patrol
agents detained Habeeb because they thought he had failed to register with immigration officials
as required by a regulation known as the National Security Entry/Exit Registration System
(NSEERS), according to the settlement and the apology letter. The detention was improper
because as a refugee, the documents say, he was exempt from the NSEERS requirements. "The
United States of America acknowledges that, by not registering ... you did nothing wrong,"
Sullivan wrote in the apology. "The United States of America regrets the mistake." (Seattle
Times)
[Page 234]
Virginia candidates seek support from Muslim community
August 25: Political candidates at the state and local levels are courting voters in northern
Virginia's Muslim community. More than 70 candidates for the Virginia General Assembly and
county offices showed up today in Reston to tout their records and issue campaign promises to
the fast-growing community. The seventh annual "civic picnic" was organized by area mosques to
encourage area Muslims to get more involved in local politics. More than 56,000 Muslims are
registered to vote in Northern Virginia, and last year, more than eight in 10 turned out to vote.
(ABC 7 News)
Islamophobist Pipes joins Giuliani campaign
Aug 28: Add another neoconservative adviser on the Middle East to an already impressive rosterIslamophobist Daniel Pipes signed on today with Republican Presidential hopeful, Rudy Giuliani's
campaign. Giuliani Advisors’ AIPAC’ dream team includes: Martin Kramer, who spent 25 years at
Tel Aviv University and whose Middle East policy can basically be summarized as “What’s Good
for Israel,” and Norman Podhoretz who portrays a military attack on Iran as not only the best
option but the only option. (Harper's Magazine)
Hats, turbans part of new extra screening at airports
August 29: A directive advising the nation's 43,000 airport screeners to scrutinize anyone
wearing a head covering that might hide explosives -- be it a turban, baseball cap or beret -- is
prompting bitter denunciations by Sikhs and Muslims, whose head coverings are part of their
religious observance. "We have complaints from our community that the way it's being conveyed
on the ground is a mandatory pat-down [of turbans]," said Neha Singh of the Sikh Coalition, the
nation's largest Sikh civil rights organization. "People who travel all the time tell us that they're
stopped every time." A Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman denied that turban
pat-downs are mandatory, or that the agency is engaging in religious or ethnic profiling. "This is
not a profiling issue, and in fact we have multiple measures in place to make sure profiling does
not occur," said the spokeswoman, Amy Kudwa. (Newsday)
Muslims in Europe/Australia
Fury over talks with anti-Islam thinker in Australia
August 21: Moderate Islamic leaders have attacked Howard Government ministers for meeting
anti-Muslim thinker Wafa Sultan, accusing Attorney-General Philip Ruddock and Foreign Minister
Alexander Downer of endorsing her view that Islam is evil. The nation's most senior spiritual
Muslim woman, Aziza Abdel-Halim, also accused the Government of double standards for barring
radical Islamic clerics while allowing an equally "dangerous" thinker such as Dr Sultan to stage a
secret visit. Dr Sultan, a US-based Muslim Syrian psychiatrist, who shot to recognition last year
after attacking Islam and Mohammed on al-Jazeera television. (The Australian)
Attitudes toward Muslims mixed in Europe and the U.S.: Financial Times/Harris Poll
August 23: A new Financial Times/Harris Poll of cross sections of adults in the five largest
European countries and the United States looks at attitudes toward Muslims and finds differing
opinions on Muslims as a threat to national security, prejudice towards Muslims and whether
parents would object to a child marrying a Muslim. When it comes to Muslims as a threat to
national security, the British are the most wary as 38 percent say the presence of Muslims in their
country is a threat, followed by 30 percent of Italians and 28 percent of Germans who believe the
same. Approximately one in five French (20%), American (21%) and Spanish (23%) adults also
say the presence of Muslims in their respective countries is a threat to national security. With the
exception of Spain and Great Britain, where large pluralities say the presence of Muslims does
not present a threat to national security, majorities of adults in the other four countries say they do
not present a threat. (Business Wire)
NATO sacks two women for Muslim marriage
August 27: Two Dutch women who recently married young Muslims from Tunisia have lost their
jobs at the NATO base at Gellenkirchen in Germany, close to the Dutch border. The Defence
[Page 235]
Ministry confirmed to the Volkskrant that its AIVD security service has banned the women from
the base.One of the women is taking legal action to get her job back. The other is the secretary to
acting commander Jelle Zijlstra who told Telegraaf newspaper that the women had given years of
loyal service. (Dutch News)
Austria's Haider says to ban mosque-building
August 27: Austrian right-wing firebrand Joerg Haider said today he plans to change building laws
to prevent mosques and minarets being erected in his home province of Carinthia. Haider,
Carinthia's governor, said he would ask its parliament to amend the building code to would
require towns and villages to consider "religious and cultural tradition" when dealing with
construction requests. "Muslims have of course the right to practice their religion, but I oppose
erecting mosques and minarets as centers to advertise the power of Islam," Haider said in a
statement. Muslims in Europe are meeting increasing resistance to plans for mosques that befit
Islam's status as the continent's second religion after Christianity, with petitions in London,
protests in Cologne, a court case in Marseille and violence in Berlin. (Reuters)
Dutch govt plan to combat ‘radicalization’
August 27: The Dutch government today announced a four-year plan to combat radicalization
especially among Muslim youths, amid concern over domestic Islamic extremism. Most of the
plan’s 28 million-euro (38 million-dollar) budget will go to local governments to support projects
designed to keep youths from turning against Dutch society and its values, officials said.
‘It is the first time that the Netherlands has launched an integral plan involving all eight relevant
ministries to combat radicalization and polarization in our society,’ Interior Minister Guusje ter
Horst said. The Netherlands has been shaken by radical Muslim violence since the assassination
of filmmaker and columnist Theo van Gogh in 2004 by a Muslim who was angry at a film he had
made criticising the treatment of women in Islam. The killer, Mohammed Bouyeri, came from the
Slotervaart district of Amsterdam where Ter Horst presented her plan. (The News)
Chronology of Islam in America (Sept - Dec 2007) [Page 236]
September 2007
Dean tells Muslims: Run for political office
Sept 2: Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean told American Muslims gathered
in Chicago to think beyond voter registration drives. "You need to run for political office," Dean
said. "The only way you can achieve your goals is to stand up and say who you are and be proud
of it." Dean was one of several prominent Democrats to address annual Labor Day weekend
gathering of the Islamic Society of North America, the nation's largest gathering of American
Muslims. Republicans declined invitations, organizers said. (Chicago Sun-Times)
Abandon Stereotypes, Muslims in America Say
Sept 3: It is time for the United States to stop treating every American Muslim as somehow
suspect, leaders of the faith said at their largest annual convention, which ended in Chicago
today. Six years after the Sept. 11 attacks, Americans should distinguish between mainstream
Muslims and the radical fringe, the leaders said. The image problems were among the topics
most discussed by many of the 30,000 attendees. A fresh example cited was an open letter from
two Republican House members, Peter Hoekstra of Michigan and Sue Myrick of North Carolina,
that attacked the Justice Department for sending envoys to the convention because, the
lawmakers said, the Islamic Society of North America was a group of "radical jihadists." The lone
Muslim in Congress, Representative Keith Ellison, Democrat of Minnesota, the keynote speaker,
dismissed the letter as ill informed and typical of bigoted attacks that other minorities have
suffered. Leaders of American Muslim organizations attribute the growing intolerance to three
main factors: global terrorist attacks in the name of Islam, disappointing reports from the Iraq war
and the agenda of some supporters of Israel who try taint Islam to undermine the Palestinians.
(New York Times)
The Khalil Gibran Academy opens in New York
Sept 4: Khalil Gibran International Academy (KGIA) opened in New York today as 55-students
arrived for class amid increased security after heated controversy over the school. Since the
school was first announced in February this year, the right wing New York media have been
running a smear campaign with ignorant, bigoted, and hateful commentaries against it. The antiArabic campaign was spearheaded by Islamophobists Daniel Pipes and Alicia Colon in the New
York Sun and the New York Post. The Gibran Khalid Academy takes it name from the Lebaneseborn poet and philosopher who is best known for his classic work, The Prophet, written over 80
years ago and translated into over 20 languages. One of 40 new schools was the dual-language
(Arabic and English) the KGIA is established not only in recognition of the growing number of
Arab American children in New York City's schools, but also the need to understand the Arabic
language and culture. It is open to students of all ethnic backgrounds. It will have a standard
college preparatory curriculum that includes the history and contributions of the Arabs as a
people, as well as Arabic language instruction. Interestingly, while the KGIA has been attacked
for indirectly teaching Islam in a public institution, it is hardly mentioned that Khalil Gibran himself
was not even a Muslim. He was a Christian Arab. (AMP Report)
Imam delivers invocation for LA county supervisors
Sept 4: The Islamic Center of Hawthorne's Assistant Imam Ammar Kahf was invited today to
deliver the opening invocation at the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meeting.
In his invocation, Kahf said: "I pray for peace and comfort in our families, societies, leaders and
law enforcement, our neighborhoods and our world." (CAIR Bulletin)
NIAC protests dispatch cartoon depicting Iranians as cockroaches
Sept 4: The Columbus Dispatch published a cartoon today depicting Iran as a sewer on a map of
the Middle East with cockroaches crawling out of it. By publishing this racist cartoon, the editors
of the Dispatch have insulted and propagated hate against the Iranian American community.
National Iranian American Council (NIAC) Board member Dokhi Fassihian sent a letter to the
Editors of the Dispatch protesting their action. She wrote: "The bigotry demonstrated by the
publication of this cartoon not only betrays the mission to inform your readers, it endangers our
country at an extremely sensitive time in our nation's history by serving to further divide us at
home and thrust us toward further conflict abroad." (National Iranian American Council)
Prosecutors rely on FBI and Israeli testimony to make their case against Holy Land
Sept 5: The defense in the Holy Land Foundation charity trial began today presenting of its
evidence as the Justice Department decided not to call additional witnesses in its prosecution of
the charity for alleged ties to terrorism suggests it is resting its case on the strength of contested
documents and the testimony of FBI agents and Israeli security officials. Countering government
witnesses who say the charity committees are filled with Hamas operatives, Edward Abington,
former US consul general in Jerusalem, described them as being staffed by "pious Muslims." He
said that they gather religious contributions, known as zakat, and help the needy in various ways,
including "buying a cow, setting up a small business or giving money so that people can buy
food." More than a quarter of the 3.5 million Palestinian refugees under Israeli military occupation
are in need of food assistance, he testified. (LA Times/The Dallas Morning News)
Federal judge strikes down part of Patriot Act
Sept 6: The Bush administration suffered another legal setback today when a federal judge struck
down parts of the revised USA Patriot Act. U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero ruled that
investigators eventually must obtain a court's approval when ordering Internet providers and
phone companies to turn over records without telling customers. The ruling suggests that despite
Congress' attempts to put the Patriot Act on firmer constitutional ground, it still faces significant
legal challenges. If upheld on appeal, Marrero's decision could mean major new oversight of the
FBI's use of a controversial investigative technique. Since Sept. 11, 2001, the bureau has issued
thousands of so-called national security letters to help build counterterrorism and
counterintelligence cases. The letters have become a popular tool at the bureau because they do
not require court approval, and recipients have been prohibited from telling their customers that
the data have been requested by authorities. (Baltimore Sun)
Terrorism watch list is faulted for errors
Sept 6: The government's master watch list of known or suspected terrorists continues to be
marred by errors and inconsistencies that can obstruct the capture of terrorists or cause innocent
people to be detained by U.S. authorities, the Justice Department's inspector general said today.
As one of the most powerful intelligence tools created by the Bush administration after the 2001
attacks, the watch list is used to screen about 270 million people a month and its content can
determine whether people are allowed to fly on airplanes or detained after routine traffic stops. Its
size has more than quadrupled since its creation in 2004, to the point that it contained more than
720,000 records as of April, according to the new report. It is growing at the rate of more than
20,000 records a month. But Inspector General Glenn A. Fine said its management by the
Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) "continues to have significant weaknesses," producing a high
error rate and a slow response to complaints from citizens. In an examination of 105 records, for
example, the auditors found that 38 percent of the records contained errors or inconsistencies
that the TSC's own quality-assurance efforts had not found. (Washington Post)
ADC joins coalition letter opposing warrantless spying
Sept 7: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), along with other leaders in the
civil liberties community, today sent a letter to Congress relaying concerns about a new law that
could potentially allow the warrantless surveillance of any international communication by
persons in the US or international communications coming through the US. The coalition's letter
was sent to Democratic leaders House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senator Harry Reid (DNV). Under heavy pressure from the Administration to close what it termed as a "surveillance
gap," and in the last days before the August recess, Congress passed S. 1927, the Protect
America Act. Signed into law by President Bush, the law amends the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act of 1978 by removing legal impediments to the interception of foreign
communications that pass through the United States. It also redefined the terms of FISA to permit
increased surveillance of communications involving persons in the US while curtailing judicial
supervision. (ADC Bulletin)
Bush restricting travel rights of over 100,000 US citizens
Sept 7: The freedom to travel of more than 100,000 Americans placed on “watch” and “no fly” lists
is being restricted by the Bush-Cheney regime. Citizens who have done no more than criticize the
president are being banned from airline flights, harassed at airports’, strip searched, roughed up
and even imprisoned, feminist author and political activist Naomi Wolf reports in her new book,
“The End of America.”(Chelsea Green Publishing). Some of this hassling has made headlines,
such as when Senator Edward Kennedy was detained five times in East Coast airports in March,
2004, suggesting no person, however prominent, is safe from Bush nastiness. Rep. John Lewis
of Georgia has also been mistreated. Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s foreign minister, said he was
detained at Kennedy airport by officers who “threatened and shoved” him. Maher Arar, a
Canadian software consultant was detained at Kennedy and “rendered” to Syria where he was
imprisoned for more than a year by goons that beat him with a heavy metal cable. (Political
Affairs magazine)
Muslims parade in New York, condemn 9/11 terror attacks
Sept. 9: Hundreds of Muslims chanted and waved flags from around the globe as they marched
in New York today in the 22nd annual American Muslim Day Parade. About 20 protesters
shouted anti-Muslim slogans from behind police barricades along Manhattan's Madison Avenue
and sought to link the marchers to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Police kept the marchers
separate from the protesters, who shouted "God bless America" and "No more 9/11s!" Mayor
Michael Bloomberg did not attend the parade, but a statement of support from him was read from
a podium. (Newsday)
US Muslims wary of giving charity
Sept 9: As Ramadan approaches, many US Muslims are worried about how they will manage to
fulfill their charitable obligations without raising the ire or attention of federal authorities. The start
th
of Ramadan next week (9/13/2007) almost coincides with the 6 anniversary of the September 11,
2001 attacks which prompted anti-terrorism crackdowns that many say unfairly target Muslims.
Six major Muslim charities operating in the United States have been shut down after being
designated as fund raisers for terrorist organizations and several others have been raided or
closed. “These are indirect ways of having Islamic charities close down without due process,”
said Dawud Walid, director of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
“It scares away the donors and even some employees.” (AFP)
Lodi Muslim community shocked at Hayat’s sentence
Sept 10: Muslim community in the town of Lodi received with shock the news of 24 years prison
sentence for Hamid Hayat, 25, for providing material support to terrorists and lying to the FBI. In
Sacramento, U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. on September 10, 2007 sentenced Hamid
Hayat, a US born American of Pakistani origin and resident of Lodi (CA), for 24 years although he
had faced a maximum of 39 years in federal prison. Burrell Jr. noted his lack of criminal record at
the reduced sentence. His father, Umer Hayat, said his son is innocent. "It's a sad day for us but
we are confident he's going to get out on appeal," he said. The case now goes to the 9th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals, where the myriad issues raised by the defense in an unsuccessful
motion for a new trial will be hotly contested. Hayat’s case was built mainly on the witness of a
FBI mole, Naseem Khan, who befriended the Hayat family after he went to Lodi specifically to
infiltrate its Muslim community. The informer was paid $ 250,000 for his nearly three years’ job.
Naseem Khan befriended Hayat and began secretly taping their conversations. In hours of FBI
interviews, which were videotaped and later played for the jury, Hayat denied his involvement in
terrorism but ultimately gave a number of various camp descriptions. Aside from those
statements and satellite photos of what could be a military-style camp in Pakistan, the lead FBI
agent on the case testified that there was no other proof that Hayat actually attended a camp.
Instead, prosecutors focused on Hayat's own words, a potentially radical scrapbook he made as
a teenager and conversations with the paid informant who encouraged Hayat to attend a training
camp. The Muslim community has expressed strong skepticism of the government's methods. If
nothing else, the government "sent a clear message to the Muslim community that you do not
speak to the FBI without a lawyer present," said Basim Elkarra, executive director for the Central
Valley branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Lodi Mosque President Mohammed
Shoaib, said 24 years seemed harsh. "I don't think he was doing something," he said. "He was
caught in the talking and not in the acting." Taj Khan, a prominent figure in Lodi's Muslim
community, maintained Hayat's innocence. He described the sentence a great injustice. Khan
said Hayat was arrested and tried without doing anything illegal. (AMP Report)
Six years after Sept. 11, Muslims see more inclusive workplaces
Sept 11: After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, many American Muslims encountered
increased hostility in the workplace, both overt and subtle. But that has changed in the last few
years, as more corporations have become increasingly aware of the need for religious inclusion.
While reported discrimination cases against Muslims overall continue to increase, the incidents in
the workplace are decreasing. As we work with corporations, we're seeing an increasing
recognition that religion is the next big issue to deal with in terms of the diversity field and an
increasing recognition that they need to be given tools for handling it," says Georgette Bennett,
president and founder of the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding. This increasing
connection to religion in the workplace is clear in Top 50 companies, who set the trends as
national diversity leaders. Seventy percent of the Top 50 have floating religious holidays and 16
percent make special religious accommodations, such as prayer rooms. Almost no one else in
corporate America does this yet. (Diversity Inc)
Ohio: Residents of Arab descent feel right at home even after terrorist attacks
Sept 11: Six years after the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, Americans
continue to be shaped by that horrific day.But Massillon (Ohio) area residents of Middle Eastern
descent say they haven’t experienced blatant anti-Arab discrimination or prejudice, the way some
have, in the years since 9/11. “I think of 9/11 every day of my life,” said Massillon Municipal Judge
Edward Elum, “but I don’t think it’s impacted Arab-Americans in Massillon.” Elum, of Lebanese
descent, said he hasn’t even had to downplay his ethnicity in the years since 9/11. “I’m very
proud of my ethnicity,” he said. “I’ve never felt like a second-class citizen.” He said anti-Arab bias
may be more prevalent toward newer immigrants. The Elums are second-generation Americans.
Their grandparents came to the United States from Lebanon in late 1800s, and their father and
uncles all served in World War II. Most Lebanese in the Massillon area are Maronite Catholic or
Roman Catholic. (Independent)
Michigan lawmaker's measure encourages racial profiling
Sept 12: Representative Kim Meltzer's (R-Clinton Township) "Sanctuary Policy Prohibition Act"
would prohibit a recent anti-profiling ordinance that the Detroit City Council passed and any future
ordinances in other municipalities. In May of this year, Detroit was the first municipality in
Michigan to pass an ordinance prohibiting city employees from inquiring into a person's
citizenship status based upon their race or ethnic/religious attire. The Michigan chapter of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) said that the measure would encourage
profiling of anyone in Michigan who looks like an immigrant by local government employees,
including local law enforcement officers. (CAIR Bulletin)
Islamaphobia on rise, especially in Europe - U.N. envoy
Sept 14: The United Nations investigator on racism today condemned a rising trend of
Islamaphobia, especially in Europe, where he said it was being exploited by some right-wing
political parties. Doudou Diene, U.N. special rapporteur on racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, also accused Switzerland's most popular party, the
right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), of inciting hatred. More and more political leaders
and influential media and intellectuals were "equating Islam with violence and terrorism," and
some were seeking to "silence religious practices by banning the construction of mosques",
Diene said. Diene, a Senegalese lawyer, said in his 21-page report to the Council that
Islamaphobia had grown since the Sept 11 2001 attacks on the United States. In Europe,
Muslims faced growing difficulties to establish places of worship and carry out their religious
practices such as dietary regimens and burials, according to the U.N. envoy. "Political parties with
open anti-Islamic platforms have joined governmental coalitions in several countries and started
to put in place their political agendas. In sum, Islamophobia is in the process of permeating all
facets of social life." The Swiss SVP/UDC has launched a referendum to ban construction of
minarets in the Alpine country, home to 350,000 Muslims. A similar move is underway in Cologne,
Germany. (Reuters)
The oil connection in Iraq War: Greenspan straightens the record
Sept 17: Alan Greenspan, the former Federal Reserve Bank Chairman has blithely declared that
the Iraq war was 'largely' about oil. Critics of the administration have often argued that President
George Bush was motivated by a desire to gain access to Iraq's vast oil reserves while Bush
cited President Saddam Hussein's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction - which were never
found - and his support for terrorism as reasons for the invasion. Now in his book, released on
September 17, 2007, The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World Greenspan writes: “I
am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war
is largely about oil.” What Greenspan was acknowledging casually has always been denied by
the Bush administration and the news media faithfully ignored? "Blood for oil." To straightens the
record, now 81-year-old Greenspan decided to state the obvious in the book for which he already
received $8 million cash advance. However, it is not difficult to explain the obvious and the
mechanics of the oil war in Iraq. Before the war, Iraq's oil production and reserves lay outside the
direct control of the US/UK oil industry. The major international oil companies, headquartered in
the United States and the United Kingdom, are keen to regain control over Iraq’s oil, lost with the
nationalization in 1972. (AMP Report)
Greetings on the beginning of Ramadan
Sept 18: Elected officials have issued greetings in honor of major religious holidays since the
founding of the Republic, but it is only recently that Islam has become part of that tradition.
Virginia Governor Tim Kaine sent “greetings and best wishes to Muslim citizens throughout the
Commonwealth…The economic and cultural outreach of Muslim Virginians have enriched us
all….” New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez observed, “During this holy month, Muslims commit
to strengthening family and community ties through acts of selflessness.” And in an
uncoordinated bipartisan action, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said
“my family and I wish to express to Muslims in America and around the world our very best
wishes;” while from President George W. Bush came the message “Laura and I send our best
wishes;” and both statements conclude “Ramadan Mubarak.” The month of Ramadan began on
th
13 September in North America. (The Arab American Institute)
Pentagon sued over mandatory Christianity
Sept 18: A military watchdog organization filed a lawsuit in federal court today against the
Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and a US Army major, on behalf of an Army
soldier stationed in Iraq. The suit charges the Pentagon with widespread constitutional violations
by allegedly trying to force the soldier to embrace evangelical Christianity and then retaliating
against him when he refused. The complaint, filed in US District Court in Kansas City, by the
nonprofit Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), on behalf of Jeremy Hall, an Army
specialist currently on active duty in Speicher, Iraq, alleges that Hall’s First Amendment rights
were violated beginning last Thanksgiving when, because of his atheist beliefs, he declined to
participate in a Christian prayer ceremony commemorating the holiday. “Immediately after plaintiff
made it known he would decline to join hands and pray, he was confronted, in the presence of
other military personnel, by the senior ranking … staff sergeant who asked plaintiff why he did not
want to pray, whereupon plaintiff explained because he is an atheist,” says the lawsuit, a copy of
which was provided to Truthout. “The staff sergeant asked plaintiff what an atheist is and plaintiff
responded it meant that he (plaintiff) did not believe in God. This response caused the staff
sergeant to tell plaintiff that he would have to sit elsewhere for the Thanksgiving dinner.
Nonetheless, plaintiff sat at the table in silence and finished his meal.” (The Truth.Org)
Muslim groups sue FBI over surveillance
Sept 18: Several Islamic groups in Southern California sued the FBI today to force the agency to
release more documents about the alleged surveillance of individuals and local mosques
following the Sept. 11 attacks. In May 2006, 11 Muslim leaders and community groups sent the
FBI a Freedom of Information Act request for documents about suspected surveillance of them
and sued after the bureau released just four pages, one of them largely blank. The lawsuit was
filed in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana and alleges that the FBI's document search was
inadequate. The suit says there is concern that FBI investigations "threaten to erode the
constitutionally protected freedom of religion that Muslim Americans enjoy." Last year, local
Islamic leaders said they turned to the ACLU for help after the FBI provided little information in
response to their concern about government monitoring. They said mosque-goers reported being
questioned by the FBI about their religious practices and the sermons given during prayer
services. (Los Angeles Times)
Republican Congressman Peter King says there are too many mosques in US
Sept 19: Republican Congressman Peter King from New York told The Politico today that
"unfortunately, there are too many mosques in this country". King, the ranking Republican
member on the House Homeland Security Committee stated that "there are too many people
sympathetic to radical Islam" and that "we should be looking at them more carefully and finding
out how we can infiltrate them." He also stated "I think there has been a lack of full cooperation
from too many people in the Muslim community." (The Politico)
US companies aim advertising at Muslim Americans
Sept 19: A recent study by the nation's largest advertising firm shows that the Muslim American
community has an estimated purchasing power of about $170 billion. JWT Advertising conducted
the study, and it is now working with a wide variety of companies to develop strategies to attract
Muslim American customers. The six to eight million Muslims in the U.S. are beginning to be
sought after by marketers and consumer goods manufacturers. The study shows that the six to
eight million Muslims in the United States are looking for recognition and respect, and that
companies should make sure they are not neglecting or offending their community. JWT
Advertising says companies in the Detroit area are leading the way in using the cultural aspects
of the Muslim faith to expand their share of the Muslim American market. (Voice of America)
Antioch 'March Against Hate' unites wide range of faiths, cultures
Sept 23: With religious strife rampant all over the world, one Contra Costa city made a vow today
that whatever pits community against community elsewhere, it must not and

Chronology of Islam in America - EE-Corp

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