Category Archives: USA

CAIR calls for assault on Muslim cabbie to be investigated as hate crime

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today called on the Department of Justice to investigate as a hate crime an incident in which a Southern California Muslim taxi driver was assaulted after being asked about his religion.

CAIR-LA said the Muslim driver was allegedly assaulted when he arrived at a Newport Beach, Calif., cigar lounge on March 19in response to a call for a taxi. The alleged victim reports that he was confronted by the owner of the facility when he inquired if anyone had requested a taxi. The man who identified himself as the owner allegedly told the victim, “I am a Marine officer, f**k you.”

Shortly after the verbal confrontation, a woman came out of the cigar lounge and confirmed that she had requested the cab. The victim stepped out of the cab to talk to the woman. According to the victim, three men then came out of the facility and confronted him, pushing him repeatedly and asked questions such as “What’s your religion?” “Where are you from?” and said “We’re going to f**k you up like we f**ked up your country.”

The alleged assailants reportedly followed the victim to his taxi when he returned to push the vehicle’s emergency response button, which failed. Once inside his taxi, the victim had begun to call 911 when one the attackers allegedly sat in the seat behind him, placed him in a headlock and proceeded to punch him. The other two men and the owner also allegedly began punching the victim. After a few minutes, the lounge owner reportedly said, “Stop, we’ve f**ked him enough.”

The victim sought medical treatment for facial and head injuries. Since the incident, he has missed work and reports that he is afraid to go to work.

CAIR press release, 28 March 2011

Herman Cain says he would not appoint a Muslim to his administration

Posted on by Bob Pitt

As the Republican presidential nomination process begins, one GOP candidate is making a name for himself as the Islamophobia candidate: Herman Cain.

Earlier this week, Cain gave an interview to Christianity Today in which he declared that, “based upon the little knowledge that I have of the Muslim religion, you know, they have an objective to convert all infidels or kill them.”

ThinkProgress caught up with the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza today at the Conservative Principles Conference in Des Moines, Iowa, to discuss his comments further. We asked him, in light of his statements on Islam, would he be comfortable appointing any Muslims in his administration. Rather than skirting the question or hedging his answer, as most presidential aspirants are wont to do, Cain was definitive: “No, I would not”:

KEYES: You came under a bit of controversy this week for some of the comments made about Muslims in general. Would you be comfortable appointing a Muslim, either in your cabinet or as a federal judge?

CAIN: No, I would not. And here’s why. There is this creeping attempt, there is this attempt to gradually ease Sharia law and the Muslim faith into our government. It does not belong in our government. This is what happened in Europe. And little by little, to try and be politically correct, they made this little change, they made this little change. And now they’ve got a social problem that they don’t know what to do with hardly.

The question that was asked that “raised some questions” and, as my grandfather said, “I does not care, I feel the way I feel.” I was asked, “what is the role of Islam in America?” I thought it was an odd question. I said the role of Islam in America is for those that believe in Islam to practice it and leave us alone. Just like Christianity. We have a First Amendment. And I get upset when the Muslims in this country, some of them, try to force their Sharia law onto the rest of us.

Cain’s apparent rationale for refusing to even consider a Muslim nominee for any position in his administration is as simple as it is abhorrent: he believes all Muslims would try to “force their Sharia law onto the rest of us.” This type of bigotry has been promoted by conservative figures like Frank Gaffney and Brigitte Gabriel for years. Now, it appears to be seeping into the presidential race via Herman Cain.

Think Progress, 26 March 2011

Brigitte Gabriel warns Texans of Islamic takeover

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Brigitte Gabriel on Fox“The Obama adminstration is focused on how to run and manage our lives. They are refusing to protect us from Al-Qaeda and radical Islam.”

That was part of the message that counterterrorism speaker Brigitte Gabriel delivered Saturday at the Taylor County Expo Center on behalf of the Abilene 912 project. Gabriel is co-founder of Act! for America, a grass-roots organization whose goal is to “effectively inform, educate and mobilize Americans regarding the multiple threats of radical Islam,” according to its website.

“Al-Qaeda is run under American management,” Gabriel said. She noted cases such as American born-cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who allegedly inspired Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hassan and that Al-Qaeda’s current chief operations officer grew up in Florida. Citing these and other examples, she then touched on events imbedded with controversy.

“How can people complain about Peter King holding hearings?” Gabriel said, referring to the hearings being held by the congressman in Washington, D.C., on the radicalization of American Muslims that have drawn heavy criticism from Muslim groups and other politicians. “Throw political correctness in the garbage, where it belongs!” she said emphatically, drawing a standing ovation from the audience.

She went even further, telling the audience that radical Islam, in the form of the Middle East-born organization the Muslim Brotherhood, was infiltrating the United States.

“They have a 100-year plan for Islam to dominate the United States and take over the rest of the world,” Gabriel said, referring to an document from the Muslim Brotherhood that she said came to light in the trial of an Islamic charity after the 2001 attack.

She cited mainstream Muslim organizations such as CAIR (Council on Islamic Relations), the Muslim Students Association and ISNA (Islamic Society of North America) as being fronts for the Muslim Brotherhood.

“CAIR works with groups like the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union),” she said. “What could they possibly have in common? They are useful idiots in the hands of our enemies.”

“There are more chapters of the Muslim Students Association then there are of Democratic or Republican organizations on college campuses in the U.S.,” she said, drawing gasps from the crowd.

Gabriel then discussed how Saudi Arabia had spent more than $85 million funding universities across America, and also told the audience of an instance in a California middle school where students were, in her words, “forced to become Muslims for two weeks.”

After the speech, audience members reacted positively. “I really didn’t know how bad the infiltration was in America,” said Wes Hamilton, whose boss had given him free tickets to the event. “I don’t know how dangerous it will become if we don’t do something about it.”

Stan Keen came from Mertzon, near San Angelo, to see Gabriel. “I agree with pretty much everything she had to say,” Keen said. “She’s against everything the left stands for.”

Abiline Reporter-News, 26 March 2011

Detroit congressman calls for investigation into border harassment of US Muslims

Posted on by Bob Pitt

U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit, is asking for a federal investigation into allegations that border control agents are unfairly targeting Muslim Americans traveling between the United States and Canada. In a statement today, Conyers, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said he was “contacting the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to initiate an investigation of these allegations.”

Conyers called for an investigation after the Michigan chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations said Thursday it had received a rash of complaints from American Muslims about their treatment at border crossings. “We welcome Congressman Conyers’ concern regarding reported violations of American Muslims’ civil liberties and look forward to his leadership in addressing this issue in the Congress,” said a statement Friday evening from Dawud Walid, executive director, of the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Michigan

The travelers said they were detained for questioning for unreasonable amounts of time and asked if they knew terrorists. “I had an American passport, and I was put in a cell for four hours,” Ann Arbor teacher Kheireddine Bouzid, who is of Algerian descent, told reporters at a CAIR-Michigan press event on Thursday. “They asked me if I could give them the names of any terrorists.”

Detroit News, 25 March 2011

Update:  “CAIR applauds Rep. Conyers’ call for probe of border harassment”, CAIR press release, 26 March 2011

Ketron amends anti-sharia bill

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Bill_KetronTennessee lawmakers are rewriting a bill that described Islamic law as a threat to U.S. security and seemed to equate peaceful Muslim practices with terrorism.

State Sen. Bill Ketron and House Speaker Pro Tempore Judd Matheny, both Republicans, offered the revision after questions arose about the proposed bill’s constitutionality. “The revision reflects our original intention to prevent or deter violent or terrorist acts, but does so without any room for misinterpretation regarding the language’s affect on peaceful religious practices,” said Ketron.

Muslim and civil liberty organizations strongly criticized the original bill, saying its focus on Shariah law unfairly targeted Muslims and equated religious rituals such as dietary restrictions with terrorism. The bill now contains no references to Islam, but will allow Tennessee to prosecute those who offer financial or material support to known terrorist entities.

“I think it’s a victory for common sense and legislative restraint,” Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told The Tennessean. “This is a win for Tennessee’s Muslim community.”

Religion News Service, 25 March 2011

See also John Esposito and Sheila Lalwani, “Fear of sharia in Tennessee”, Comment is Free, 25 March 2011

Update:  See “Ketron Shariah bill not fixable”, Daily News Journal, 27 March 2011

Another anti-Muslim publicity stunt from Terry Jones

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Terry Jones, the Christian pastor from Florida who drew international attention last year for threatening to burn the Quran on Sept. 11, says he’s coming to Dearborn on April 22 to protest against Islamic law outside the Islamic Center of America, a mosque in Dearborn.

Jones backed down from burning the Quran on Sept. 11 after many urged him not to, including President Barack Obama and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who spoke with him over the phone. But on Sunday, Jones led a Quran burning after he set up a mock trial of the Quran, Islam’s holy book.

Jones said Wednesday that he’s not against Muslims, but wants them to “honor, obey, and submit to the Constitution of the United States.” He said he’s worried about sharia, or Islamic law, coming to the U.S.

Dearborn has the highest concentration of Arab-Americans in the U.S. and is known for its established Muslim community. Muslims and other critics have said Jones is promoting hatred and that his fears about Muslims are unwarranted.

Detroit Free Press, 24 March 2011

CNN poll: most Americans ‘okay’ with a mosque in their community

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Would you be “okay” with a mosque in your community? According to a new national poll, most Americans say yes, they would.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Thursday found that 69% of Americans would be “okay” with a mosque in their area while 28% would not.

But there are big differences depending on where you live. Half of rural Southerners say they disapprove of a mosque in their neighborhood, while 42% say they would be “okay” with it. That rises to roughly three-quarters among those who live in cities and suburbs.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, anti-mosque activity across the country, ranging from vandalism to lawsuits, has occurred in 21 states over the past five years.

CNN, 24 March 2011

Posted in USA

Islam is a ‘treasonous ideology’ and Muslims enjoy no First Amendment rights, says American Family Association spokesman

Posted on by Bob Pitt

While the American Family Association claims that one of its founding objectives is to “defends the rights of conscience and religious liberty from infringement by government,” its chief spokesman Bryan Fischer continues to show his contempt for religious freedom.

Fischer, the AFA’s Director of Issues Analysis, repeatedly demanded that the US deport all Muslims and prohibit and purge Muslims from the military, and also called for the banning and destruction of mosques. Fischer today attempted to reconcile his ardent opposition to Muslim religious liberty with the Constitution’s First Amendment by claiming that the Constitution actually doesn’t apply to or protect Muslims at all:

Islam has no fundamental First Amendment claims, for the simple reason that it was not written to protect the religion of Islam. Islam is entitled only to the religious liberty we extend to it out of courtesy. While there certainly ought to be a presumption of religious liberty for non-Christian religious traditions in America, the Founders were not writing a suicide pact when they wrote the First Amendment.

Our government has no obligation to allow a treasonous ideology to receive special protections in America, but this is exactly what the Democrats are trying to do right now with Islam.

From a constitutional point of view, Muslims have no First Amendment right to build mosques in America. They have that privilege at the moment, but it is a privilege that can be revoked if, as is in fact the case, Islam is a totalitarian ideology dedicated to the destruction of the United States. The Constitution, it bears repeating, is not a suicide pact. For Muslims, patriotism is not the last refuge of a scoundrel, but the First Amendment is.

Right Wing Watch, 23 March 2011

Senate Judiciary panel to hold hearing on protecting Muslims’ civil rights

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Dick DurbinDemocratic Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.) announced Tuesday that he will hold Congress’ first-ever hearing on the civil rights of American Muslims next week. The hearing comes a little more than two weeks after a Republican in Congress made headlines by holding a controversial hearing on the radicalization of Muslim Americans.

The release announcing the hearing said it is in response to the “spike in anti-Muslim bigotry in the last year including Quran burnings, restrictions on mosque construction, hate crimes, hate speech, and other forms of discrimination.”

“Our Constitution protects the free exercise of religion for all Americans,” Durbin said. “During the course of our history, many religions have faced intolerance. It is important for our generation to renew our founding charter’s commitment to religious diversity and to protect the liberties guaranteed by our Bill of Rights.”

The panel of witnesses scheduled to testify at the hearing include Muslim civil rights leader Farhana Khera; Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick; Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez, the Obama Administration’s top civil rights official; and former Assistant Attorney General Alex Acosta, the Bush Administration’s top civil rights official.

Durbin will lead the hearing next Tuesday in the subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights, which is part of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

CBS News, 23 March 2011

See also “Muslims welcome Senate hearings on civil liberties”, USA Today, 23 March 2011

Durbin does have his critics. Robert Spencer weighs in at FrontPage Magazine (“Durbin is preparing to hold hearings about an ‘anti-Muslim bigotry’ that is almost completely nonexistent”) and at Jihad Watch (“Watch for this to be an orgy of Muslim claims of victimhood and demonization of freedom fighters trying to defend Constitutional freedoms against Islamic supremacism”), while Pamela Geller has a piece at the The Daily Caller (“I might agree with a hearing on ‘Muslim rights’ if it addressed the increasing surrender of secular law to Islamic law, and the assertion of Islamic supremacy over the rights of all others”).