Category Archives: USA

Herman Cain would require Muslim appointees to take a special loyalty oath

Posted on by Bob Pitt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnm0x3xeH_M

In March, former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain burst onto the presidential scene when he told ThinkProgress that he “will not” appoint Muslims in his administration.

Under intense pressure, Cain’s campaign walked back the candidate’s words, saying that he would appoint “any person for a position based on merit.” However, the next week, Cain hedged his retraction, telling the Orlando Sun Sentinel that he would only appoint a Muslim who disavowed Sharia law, but that “he’s unaware of any Muslim who’d be willing to make such a disavowal.”

On the Glenn Beck Show today, the host asked the Georgia Republican about his refusal to appoint Muslims. Cain told Beck that he would be willing to appoint a Muslim only “if they can prove to me that they’re putting the Constitution of the United States first.” Beck followed up by asking if he was calling for “some loyalty proof” for Muslims. Cain said, “Yes, to the Constitution of the United States of America.” When Beck then asked “Would you do that to a Catholic or would you do that to a Mormon?” Cain told the host, “Nope, I wouldn’t.”

BECK: You said you would not appoint a Muslim to anybody in your administration.

CAIN: The exact language was when I was asked, “would you be comfortable with a Muslim in your cabinet?” And I said, “no, I would not be comfortable.” I didn’t say I wouldn’t appoint one because if they can prove to me that they’re putting the Constitution of the United States first then they would be a candidate just like everybody else. My entire career, I’ve hired good people, great people, regardless of their religious orientation.

BECK: So wait a minute. Are you saying that Muslims have to prove their, that there has to be some loyalty proof?

CAIN: Yes, to the Constitution of the United States of America.

BECK: Would you do that to a Catholic or would you do that to a Mormon?

CAIN: Nope, I wouldn’t. Because there is a greater dangerous part of the Muslim faith than there is in these other religions. I know that there are some Muslims who talk about, “but we are a peaceful religion.” And I’m sure that there are some peace-loving Muslims.

Scott Keyes at Think Progress, 8 June 2011

Woman weightlifter fights to compete in hijab

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Kulsoom AbdullahA 35-year-old weightlifter is battling to be able to compete in the sport she loves while wearing a hijab instead of the body-hugging uniform that’s required.

Kulsoom Abdullah, who was born in the United States to Pakistani parents, discovered weightlifting at her gym, Crossfit, in Atlanta in 2008. She entered her first open competition last year, and was thrilled to find out that she was actually pretty good in the competitive sport. She can lift 70 kilos (about 154 pounds) to her shoulders, and 60 kilos (or about 132 pounds) over her head, in a move called the “clean-and-jerk.” Last December, she qualified for the American Open Weightlifting Championships, which would have been her first national competition.

But when her coaches asked whether she would be able to wear her modified uniform – which covers everything but her face, hands, and feet – the organizers told told them no.

Abdullah talked to some lawyer friends, who told her that other athletes had won their bids to wear different clothing for religious reasons. So she tried again, this time personally writing to USA Weightlifting with her request, and asking the group if it could compromise on a uniform.

Officials with the group wrote back and said they had to follow the rules of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), which mandates collarless uniforms and doesn’t allow exceptions.

“I was really disappointed because I was really looking forward to it,” she told The Lookout. “I had never thought I would qualify at the national level.”

“It is like saying, if you are different, you can not compete,” she wrote on her web site. “I am not asking people to change, I am just asking to participate and be able to dress the way I do.”

Now, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim advocacy group, is taking up Abdullah’s cause, and trying to lobby weightlifting organizations to revise their rules in time for her to compete in a July national competition. CAIR officials are arguing that USA Weightlifting is in violation of the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, which forbids sports bodies from discriminating based on “race, color, religion, sex, age, or national origin.” Not allowing Abdullah to wear her hijab is discrimination, CAIR maintains.

The Lookout, 9 June 2011

Joe Kaufman’s protest against Florida mosque attracts twenty supporters

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Margate mosque protest placardsA mosque whose imam has been charged with sending money to the Pakistani Taliban has become the target of a small group of protesters seeking to shut it down.

Twenty mostly senior citizens supporting the Tea Party of Fort Lauderdale as well as groups that call themselves Americans Against Hate, Church of All Nations and Citizens of Margate gathered Tuesday morning in front of Masjid Jamaat Al-Mumineen mosque.

During a press conference to preview a demonstration that evening, speakers demanded that the congregation once led by Imam Izhar Khan be investigated.

When Khan and five others were arrested in the alleged plot last month, John V. Gillies, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami office said, “I remind everyone that the Muslim and Arab-American members of our community should never be judged by the illegal activities of a few.”

Tuesday’s speakers were not swayed. “The feds are acting politically correct,” said Joe Kaufman, chairman of Coral Springs-based Americans Against Hate.

Six Margate police officers, some perched in an observation tower that had been raised about the trees, watched the demonstrators and made sure they didn’t get hit by passing traffic on Holiday Springs Boulevard.

City Commissioner Lesa Peerman, who also came to watch, confirmed what a police spokesman said: the mosque has enjoyed a peaceful co-existence with the city for many years. “I don’t believe in holding an organization responsible for the actions of one individual,” Peerman said.

As a battered black pickup drove by flying a massive American flag from its tailgate, Peerman pointed out that the imam has been charged but not yet tried. “Thank God we live in a country where people can protest peacefully, people are innocent until proven guilty and we have freedom of religion,” Peerman said.

Orlando Sentinel, 7 June 2011

81% of US mosques promote jihad

Posted on by Bob Pitt

That’s the headline figure from an article by Andrew Bostom which has been widely reproduced across the “counter-jihadist” blogosphere. It’s no doubt only a matter of time before this claim is taken up by the mainstream right-wing media in the US.

The statistic is taken from a study published in the latest issue of Daniel Pipes’ Middle East Quarterly. How reliable is this study?

Well, it’s not yet available online, so we can’t assess its conclusions at first hand. However, the study is part of the Mapping Shari’a project, and its stated aim is “to measure the correlation between Sharia adherence and dogma calling for violence against non-believers”. One of the authors is Mordechai Kedar, a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University who served for 25 years in the IDF’s military intelligence directorate. The other is David Yerushalmi.

So, probably not entirely reliable.

Update:  See Richard Bartholomew’s comments at Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion, 6 June 2011

Update 2:  Kedar and Yerushalmi’s article is now available onlinehere

Right-wing bigots to protest outside Florida mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Joe Kaufman and Pamela GellerA South Florida imam and his Margate mosque will be the target of a street protest Tuesday night.

Izhar Khan, who has been called “a bright young star” by the president of the Masjid Jamaat al-Mumineed mosque, was arrested and charged last month with conspiracy to finance the Taliban in Pakistan. His father, also a South Florida imam, was also charged, along with two other family members.

Calling for the mosque’s closure, a coalition of patriot groups and pro-Israel demonstrators said they will protest outside the building at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

“Given the nature of the arrests, and given the fact that the president of the mosque, as well as other mosque goers, continue to support the Khans, we believe it is necessary and warranted that the U.S. government moves to shut down the mosque,” said Joe Kaufman, chairman of Americans Against Hate.

Danita Kilcullen, director of Tea Party Fort Lauderdale, said, “Local citizens are outraged. How can this mosque be allowed to remain open?”

“Those of us who work and live in Margate stand behind our troops in our fight against terrorism, and we must eradicate any group, including the MJAM, that supports the Taliban and other terrorist organizations,” said Patrick Laffey of Citizens of Margate.

Sunshine State News, 5 June 2011

Izhar Khan pleaded not guilty at a court hearing on Friday. The possibility that Khan might actually be innocent of the charges against him obviously doesn’t cross the minds of Kaufman and his allies.

81% of US mosques promote violent jihad

Posted on by Bob Pitt

That’s the headline figure from an article by Andrew Bostom which has been widely reproduced across the “counter-jihadist” blogosphere. It’s no doubt only a matter of time before this claim is taken up by the mainstream right-wing media in the US.

The statistic is taken from a study published in the latest issue of Daniel Pipes’ Middle East Quarterly. How reliable is this study?

Well, it’s not yet available online, so we can’t assess its conclusions at first hand. However, the study is part of the Mapping Shari’a project, and its stated aim is “to measure the correlation between Sharia adherence and dogma calling for violence against non-believers”. One of the authors is Mordechai Kedar, a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University who served for 25 years in the IDF’s military intelligence directorate. The other is David Yerushalmi.

So, probably not entirely reliable.

Update:  See Richard Bartholomew’s comments at Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion, 6 June 2011

Update 2:  Kedar and Yerushalmi’s article is now available online here.

Sacramento man sentenced for beating Sikh cab driver he mistook for Muslim

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A Sacramento man was sentenced to 13 years in prison for beating up a cab driver because he thought that he was Muslim. Pedro Ramirez made a plea bargain with the prosecutor’s office to get 13 years instead of life in prison, which was possible if he was convicted at trial.

Ramirez, his wife and another couple got a ride home from a Sacramento club last November – and got into a dispute over payment with the cab driver. The prosecution said Herbehjan Singh was savagely beaten because he wore a turban, which led the attackers to believe he was Muslim.

News 10, 3 June 2011

Pat Robertson says fighting Muslims is just like fighting Nazis

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Right Wing Watch reports that US Christian bigot Pat Robertson has once again attacked Muslims, by comparing them to Nazis. “Why is it bigoted to resist Adolf Hitler and the Nazis and to say we don’t want to live under Nazi Germany?” Robertson asked. “But oh it’s bigoted if we speak out against a force that is slowly but surely trying to exercise domination over the world.”

Phyllis Chesler opposes Jewish-Muslim stand against European far right

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Phyllis Chesler and friendUnder the headline “Jewish and Muslim leaders urge European Union heads not to pander to extreme-right”, the World Jewish Congress reports on a meeting in Brussels of Jewish and Muslim representatives.

The joint declaration they adopted included the following passage:

“We are troubled by the growth of racist and xenophobic movements. We believe that individuals and organizations espousing such malign and hateful ideologies represent a grave threat to the fundamental European values of pluralism, democracy, mutual respect and cooperation….

“We wish to work together with all Europeans of conscience to put a stop to any group that espouses racist or xenophobic ideologies long before they are in a position to gain legislative or other power. We must never allow anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia or racism to become respectable in today’s Europe. In that regard, we call upon all political leaders not to pander to these groups by echoing their rhetoric.”

Nobody outside of the far-right organisations being condemned here could object to that, you might think. You’d be wrong. Over at FrontPage Magazine Phyllis Chesler, the self-proclaimed “founding voice of the modern feminist movement”, writes:

“Why is a group of Jews trying to help Muslims … by appealing to European governments not to ‘pander to right wing forces’ which are, belatedly, beginning to gather in response to a Muslim population which is hostile to Western and European values, does not wish to assimilate, and is both separatist and violent?

“Had Muslims come in total peace these ‘right wing forces’ may have, indeed, been a reflection of European racism towards Arabs and dark-skinned ‘Easterners’. But the alleged ‘Islamophobia’ is not based on bigoted considerations of color, faith, or ethnicity; it is, rather, based on the increasing danger that Muslims pose to the stability and character of Europe.”

Update:  Still, Chesler does have her fans (even if they can’t spell her name):

EDL and Phyllis Chesler