Category Archives: Resisting Islamophobia

Website aimed at fundraising for Joplin mosque destroyed by fire

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Joplin mosque fire

JOPLIN, Mo. — An online fundraiser for the Islamic Society of Joplin is well on its way to its goal of $250,000.

The fundraiser, on the crowdsourcing website indiegogo.com, has caught the attention of people worldwide. The site is indiegogo.com/joplinmosqueofficial.

Kimberly Kester, a member and spokeswoman for the local mosque, said the contributions have come from faraway places, including Indonesia, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Singapore, and from mosques all over the United States. “It’s really amazing,” Kester said. “I’m really surprised and really thankful.”

Just before 5 p.m. Thursday, the website had raised more than $205,000 from 1,758 contributors. Of those, 216 had contributed $250 or more.

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Romney holds meeting with supporters of Bachmann’s anti-Muslim witch hunt

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Romney BachmannMitt Romney held a meeting Thursday with a group of right-wing activists that included several leaders who have been vocal supporters of Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-MN)Islamophobic witch hunt, deepening his association with right-wing, anti-Muslim sentiment.

One of the guests at Thursday’s event was Vice President of the Family Research Council Jerry Boykin, who has a long history of Islamophobia, and once said that Islam “should not be protected under the First Amendment.” Most recently, Boykin piled on to Bachmann’s baseless indictment that top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin is part of a Muslim Brotherhood plot. “I believe in some aspects of this situation there is support for the infiltration of the Muslim Brotherhood into our government, that sounds extremist but it is just a fact, it’s a reality,” he said.

Two others in attendance at Thursday’s event – American Values president Gary Bauer and Focus on the Family founder James Dobson – penned a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) defending Bachmann’s witch hunt. In that letter, they argued there is legitimate concern about “senior federal officials or branches of the federal government could be animated or influenced by groups affiliated with, or a philosophy grounded in, radical Islam.”

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‘Sikhs Against the EDL’ statement on Wisconsin terrorist attack

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“Sikhs Against the EDL” have issued a press release in response the shootings at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin. It states:

“Media reports have linked the senseless killings in Wisconsin to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and have claimed that violent hate crimes against Sikhs have occurred due to mistaken identity with Muslims because of the distinct Sikh appearance of wearing Turbans and unshorn beards. This sort of reporting in the media can send an indirect message that attack on Muslims are legitimate. We are appalled at this careless reporting….”

Turban Campaign, 9 August 2012

DHS crushed this analyst for warning about far-right terror

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Daryl Johnson Right Wing ResurgenceSpencer Ackerman talks to Daryl Johnson, a former government counterterrorism analyst who spent 15 years studying domestic terrorist groups – particularly white supremacists and neo-Nazis – only to have an analysis he wrote (“Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment“) repudiated by the Department of Homeland Security.

Johnson used to work for DHS’s analysis section, the Office of Intelligence and Analysis. He supervised a team of six analysts studying what he calls “domestic non-Islamic extremism” (by contrast, the DHS employed as many as 40 analysts to look at al-Qaida and other jihadist groups). After complaints by conservatives Johnson’s team was closed down and there is now just a single analyst at DHS responsible for tracking all domestic non-Muslim extremism.

“DHS is scoffing at the mission of doing domestic counterterrorism, as is Congress,” Johnson says. “There’ve been no hearings about the rising white supremacist threat, but there’s been a long list of attacks over the last few years. But they still hold hearings about Muslim extremism. It’s out of balance.”

Johnson has written a book, Right-Wing Resurgence: How a Domestic Terrorist Threat is Being Ignored, which is scheduled for publication next month.

Danger Room, 7 August 2012

Chelmsford TUC says No to EDL

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Chelmsford TUC

Chelmsford TUC along with other local organisations and faith groups will register their opposition to the EDL’s proposed march in the City on 18th August. We will assemble at 11.30am at Tindal Square CM1 1LX and march through the town at 1pm, returning to Tindal Square for speeches. We urge you to join us in rejecting racism and islamophobia in our community.

When the English Defence League announced they were to march in Chelmsford on 18 August 2012 we responded by relaunching our Statement Against Racism and Fascism. 151 people signed it immediately. If you would like to add your name to the total, do let us know.

If you would like to add your Chelmsford organisation to the above, please contact us through the Secretary.

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Temecula: Islamic Center groundbreaking set for September

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Islamic Center of TemeculaGround will break for the Islamic Center of Temecula Valley in September, according to the construction committee chairman for the contested Muslim place of worship.

An exact date has not yet been set. Hadi Nael, spokesman for the center approved in December 2010, said the first phase of the $4.2 million project could be completed in 2013. The second and final phase could be done two years later, Nael said.

The 24,943-square-foot, two-story mosque on a 4.32-acre site on Nicolas Road will serve as the permanent place of worship for more than 100 local Muslim families who currently gather in a rented space in Murrieta.

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East End’s first Muslim mayor unfazed by racist press attacks

Posted on by Bob Pitt

When originally chosen as Labour’s mayoral candidate, he was the logical choice as a two-term leader of the Council. However, he was the subject of a “dog-whistle” campaign by opponents.

Just as conservatives in the U.S. use coded language to raise the hackles of racist voters against Barack Obama, similar language is used against Rahman, hinting at “links” to the Islamic Forum of Europe. That led to his decision to run, successfully, as an independent, and his victory has done little to increase the love.

Going to a mosque with “links” to other Muslim groups alleged to be “Islamist” provokes reflexes in a surprising range of people, from left-liberals alert to insinuations of anti-semitism to conservatives for whom it is a convenient cover for racism.

Anton Wahlberg profiles Lutfur Rahman, mayor of Tower Hamlets.

IPS, 7 August 2012

Publisher’s attack on Muslims provokes backlash from Australian Jewish community

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Robert MagidAn article on illegal boat people by the publisher of Australia’s main Jewish newspaper has ignited a storm of protest, with some critics savaging it for “vilifying Muslims” and promoting “xenophobic, Islamophobic and heartless sentiments.”

Titled “Curb your compassion,” Robert Magid’s article published in last Friday’s Sydney and Melbourne editions of the Australian Jewish News argued that illegal Muslim boat people are queue jumpers who deprive sanctuary to legitimate refugees.

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‘Trendy’ Oxford Street and Piccadilly retailer forced Muslim employee to resign over headscarf

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Global Luggage Piccadilly branchA London-based retailer forced a Muslim employee to resign after she wore a headscarf to work, because it wanted to retain its “trendy” image, an employment tribunal has ruled.

Ms Farrah brought a claim for unfair dismissal and direct religious discrimination against her former employer, Global Luggage Co, after the company moved her to a different store to maintain its “trendy” image and later forced her to resign.

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Murfreesboro Islamic Center granted temporary occupancy permit

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Murfreesboro occupation certificate grantedThe Islamic Center of Murfreesboro was granted a temporary 30-day certificate of occupancy Tuesday morning by officials with the Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Islamic Center leaders said they plan to apply for a local occupancy certificate Tuesday afternoon at the Rutherford County Building Codes Department. “We plan to submit the paperwork to (Rutherford) County this afternoon,” said Essam Fathy, chairman of the board for the Islamic Center.

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