Muslim and Arab Americans have been targets of intrusive monitoring programs even when they “have nothing to hide”,
Anna Lekas Miller argues.
Yearly Archives: 2013
Second man arrested after hate attack on Gloucester mosque
Police patrols are being stepped up around mosques in Gloucester after an arson “hate attack” on Masjid-E-Noor.
Police have arrested a 37-year-old Gloucester man after the doors of the mosque, in Ryecroft Street, were set on fire in the early hours of yesterday.
A second man was arrested last night on suspicion of arson, following the mosque attack. Police said the 20-year-old man, believed to be from Cheltenham, was arrested overnight.
Ban ‘fascist thuggery’ of EDL, says ex-police authority chief
A former police authority chairman has accused the English Defence League (EDL) of “fascist street thuggery” after a march in Hull that led to 10 arrests.
Trouble flared when about 75 people took part a march along Spring Bank on June 8, although those arrested were protesting against the event. Police said the men were held for public order-related offences when a “small disturbance” happened just after 1.15pm. Eight were released without charge, while a man aged 19 received a police caution for possession of a class B drug, and a 23-year-old was charged with possession of an offensive weapon in public.
Hull councillor Colin Inglis has now called on police to ban any further marches. In a motion going before a meeting of the authority tomorrow, Coun Inglis, a former chairman of Humberside Police Authority, wrote:
“Council notes the so-called ‘English Defence League’ march along Spring Bank. It further notes the deliberately provocative nature of this event with participants engaging in crude and racist behaviour clearly intended to elicit a response from local residents in a typical display of fascist street thuggery. Council believes that the residents of Myton ward, the City in general but of Spring Bank in particular, deserve to be protected against such blatant attempts to incite communal hatred and calls upon the Police to ban any further such planned marches.”
Australian Defence Force investigates sexist and Islamophobic Facebook posts
The Australian Defence Force is investigating whether serving military personnel are linked to offensive Facebook pages that included grossly sexist and anti-Muslim posts.
Facebook pages emerged in recent days that appear connected to serving and former soldiers based in Townsville and refer to local women as “sluts”. One of the Facebook groups is titled “Big Tits Don’t Count If Ya Fat”.
One page includes posters stating “Death to all illegal immo’s” and “We have seen enough of Islam. Nuke Mecca”, with a picture of a stealth bomber flying over the annual Muslim Haj pilgrimage. Another states, “Thanks for burning this evil Quran”, above a pile of ashes.
Virginia cabbie pursues charges after anti-Muslim rant
McLEAN, Va. — For the second time in as many months, a Muslim civil rights group is pursuing criminal charges on behalf of a taxicab driver who was subjected to an anti-Islamic rant caught on tape.
In the most recent case, an Ashburn, Va., woman unleashed a string of expletives and called 911 to report that she was afraid for her life because she said her cabbie, Abdikar Aden of Alexandria, was “very Muslim.”
Aden says the woman also poked him repeatedly in the back of his shoulder, though that part of the confrontation was not captured in a recording provided to The Associated Press.
Civil rights groups sue NYPD over Muslim spying
ACLU attorney Hina Shamsi announces the civil rights suit (Photo: Seth Freed Wessler)
The New York Police Department’s widespread spying programs directed at Muslims have undermined free worship by innocent people and should be declared unconstitutional, religious leaders and civil rights advocates said Tuesday after the filing of a federal lawsuit.
“Our mosque should be an open, religious and spiritual sanctuary, but NYPD spying has turned it into a place of suspicion and censorship,” Hamid Hassan Raza, an imam named as a plaintiff, told a rally outside police headquarters shortly after the suit was filed in federal court in Brooklyn.
The city’s legal department responded with a statement calling the intelligence-gathering an appropriate and legal tactic that helps keep the city safe from terrorism.
Aberdeen councillors reject Scottish Defence League march plans
Aberdeen City Council have rejected an application by the Scottish Defence League to stage a march in the city on Saturday, June 29.
The right-wing organisation had submitted an application to take part in Armed Forces Day, but the route they had chosen included passing a mosque on Aberdeen’s Crown Street. However, the local authority’s Licencing Committee unanimously kicked the idea into touch when they convened on Tuesday morning, on the grounds that the SDL had failed to engage with the council or the police.
Man arrested after Gloucester mosque arson attack
A 37-year-old man has been arrested in connection with an arson attack on a Gloucester mosque.
Gloucestershire Police said lit petrol was poured around the door of the Masjid-E-Noor mosque on Ryecroft Street about 01:00 BST. A spokesman said a man left the scene at speed at about 01:00 BST in a dark-coloured car being driven by an accomplice. The suspect is currently in police custody and being questioned.
The door of the mosque was left burnt and blackened in the attack, which was captured on CCTV. The attack comes after an open day was held at the mosque to welcome in the community.
Tower Hamlets: Labour accused over ‘inflammatory’ housing claims shared by EDL supporters
Labour has been accused of making “inflammatory” claims after supporters of far right group the English Defence League circulated allegations that mayor of Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman prioritised supporters when allocating funding for home improvements.
The accusation that Independent mayor Mr Rahman targeted areas represented by his supporters followed the release of figures highlighting discrepancies in where renovations under the Decent Homes Programme have been completed since elections in 2010. The information was circulated by EDL supporters on social networking site Twitter.
A spokesman from the mayor’s office described Labour’s accusations as “inflammatory”, while cabinet member for housing Cllr Rabina Khan added: “The irresponsible and dangerous claims made by Labour have found their audience and are now doing the rounds with the EDL to stoke up fear within the community that some residents and areas are more deserving than others.”
Argenteuil: Muslim woman loses baby after veil attack
A young pregnant Muslim woman, who was allegedly attacked in the street for wearing a veil has lost her baby, her lawyer announced on Monday.
According to reports in the French media, the woman, who was four months pregnant, was assaulted in the Paris suburb of Argenteuil on June 13th. On Monday, the 21-year-old’s lawyer Hosni Maati told AFP that the woman had since suffered a miscarriage. “Her husband called me this afternoon. She lost the baby,” the lawyer said, before adding that the family were devastated by the tragedy and would not be making any further comment.