NYPD surveillance of Muslims has created a climate of fear

Mapping MuslimsA new report released last week by a coalition of Muslim civil liberties groups paints a grim picture of the targeting of Muslims in the NYPD’s post-9/11 anti-terrorism surveillance operations.

The report, Mapping Muslims: NYPD Spying and its Impact on American Muslims, tells how the NYPD’s extensive surveillance – always in the name of national security – has created a climate of fear and distrust among Muslims, has had a chilling effect on their ability to worship freely at mosques, and has deterred organization around Muslim civil rights issues.

Report co-author Diala Shamas, an attorney with Creating Law Enforcement Accountability and Responsibility (CLEAR), said the research, which included 57 interviews with Muslims living in the New York City area, is a response to long held concerns that the NYPD is infringing on the constitutional freedoms of Muslims. “We wanted to show the community’s response to the NYPD’s claim that this surveillance is harmless,” said Shamas. (CLEAR is a project run out of the City University of New York’s School of Law.)

Among the report’s key findings: individuals reported heavy surveillance of the city’s mosques as places of suspected radicalization, which has made individuals wary when attending services; and the fear of being targeted by law enforcement has led to self-censorship and decreased involvement in community groups like Muslim Student Associations. A particular concern cited in the report is the department’s deployment of an unknown number of undercover informants throughout the city,. “You look at your closest friends and ask: are they informants?” said one respondent.

The Nation, 18 March 2013

Two arrests as BNP demonstrate against Rotherham mosque plans

BNP Rotherham anti-mosque protestDemonstrations by the British National Party and Unite Against Fascism in Rotherham passed peacefully, police said.

Seven BNP supporters were given section 27 dispersal orders. Two were arrested for breaching these orders.

About 40 turned out for the far-right party near the B&Q roundabout to protest plans for a replacement Chapel Walk mosque.

Rotherham Advertiser, 18 March 2013

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Upcoming Ailes biography reveals Fox’s Islamophobia goes straight to the top

Roger AilesIn an upcoming biography of Fox News president Roger Ailes, author Zev Chafets reports that Ailes hasn’t donated to any Muslim charities, and connects that decision to comments tying all Muslim charities to terrorism. Ailes’ brand of Islamophobia is mirrored in Fox News’ coverage, which has repeatedly tried to connect all Muslims and Muslim institutions with terrorism.

In his new book Roger Ailes: Off Camera, an early copy of which was obtained by Media Matters, Chafets describes Ailes’ charitable giving as being spread among a variety of religious charities. Despite giving to charities of various faiths, Chafets reported that Ailes has not given to any Muslim charities, quoting Ailes as saying he would only support those organizations “if they disarm” (emphasis added).

The implication that all Muslim charities are connected to terrorism is in line with the Islamophobic rhetoric that regularly appears on Fox News. Fox hosts and guests have a long history of invoking terrorism to attack Muslims and Islam.

Media Matters, 18 March 2013

Newcastle: community unites against EDL

Peace campaigners are to unite against the English Defence League when they hold their biggest march of the year through Tyneside.

Hundreds of members of the right-wing organisation will walk from  Newcastle’s Central Station to the Bigg Market in protest over plans for an Islamic School at the former Byker Grove building in the city’s West End.

Now faith leaders and councillors are gathering to organise a peaceful city centre festival on the same day to celebrate Newcastle’s ethnic diversity.

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Islamophobia conference tomorrow

Islamophobia Awareness Conference: Edinburgh 2013

Muslim Bashing … so wrong … so stop it now!

Saturday 16th March 2pm to 5pm

Augustine United Church, 41 George 4th Bridge, EH1 1EL

Speakers:
Inayat Bunglawala: Muslim writer (inayatscorner.wordpress.com)
Yvonne Ridley: Journalist and war correspondent
Eddie Truman: Co-founder of Islamophobia Watch
Craig Murray: Former UK Ambassador to Uzbekistan
Margaret Woods from Unite Against Fascism

Organised by Edinburgh Stop the War, Radio Ramadan, Muslim Women’s Association of Edinburgh, SACC, Unite Against Fascism

Stalls and food at the event

No charge for entry but donations to cover costs welcome

Christians express outrage over threats to mosque

Christians in west Oxfordshire have signed a letter expressing “shock and outrage” at discrimination against Muslims in Chipping Norton.

A planned mosque in the town fell through last month after landlord Georg Wissinter received a threat that it would be burnt to the ground. Applicant Tahirul Hasan, a town councillor, had received planning permission to convert the former shop in Hitchmans Mews into a mosque. The town’s 34-strong Muslim community had planned to open from sunrise until one hour after sunset for 10-minute prayers five times a day.

The letter says: “As Christians we know that Jesus called us to love God and our neighbour as we love ourselves. It is for us to welcome the stranger and to be hospitable to all. We affirm that all people have the right to be treated as human beings with the freedom to practice their faith without fear of persecution.”

The letter is signed by 38 Christians, including Witney Congregational Church minister the Rev Jason Boyd, High Street Methodist Church minister the Rev Richard Donoghue, and Chipping Norton team vicar David Salter.

Witney Gazette, 12 March 2013

A new insight into the EDL’s support base?

Roots of ExtremismLast week Chatham House (the Royal Institute of International Affairs) launched a new study by Matthew Goodwin, a Nottingham University academic specialising in the far right, entitled The Roots of Extremism: The English Defence League and the Counter-Jihad Challenge.

Claiming to debunk the assumptions usually made about the EDL attracting disproportionate support from the economically disadvantaged and the unemployed, Goodwin’s paper produced headlines such as “Managers and skilled workers make up bulk of far right supporters” (Daily Telegraph) and “English Defence League supporters are mostly full-time workers, survey finds” (Huffington Post).

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San Francisco leaders denounce anti-Islam bus ads

AFDI anti-Islam adsSan Francisco leaders have denounced a series of what they call anti-Islamic advertisements that began appearing on 10 city buses on Monday, calling them racist and offensive.

At least one of the ads contains a quote attributed to the militant Islamic group Hamas that reads: “Killing Jews is worship that brings us closer to Allah.”

Mayor Ed Lee, District Attorney George Gascon and other elected officials joined Arab and Muslim community leaders to publicly condemn the ads on Monday. “These offensive ads serve no purpose than to denigrate our city’s Arab and Muslim communities,” Gascon said.

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