Category Archives: USA

FBI to keep visiting mosques despite Muslim complaints

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Hassan Shibly CAIRTAMPA — With the Islamic State making vague threats of an attack on the American homeland, FBI agents are visiting and questioning leaders in the U.S. Muslim community to gather information they say might help head off any danger to the American public.

And those visits will continue despite complaints from an organization that works to protect Muslims’ civil rights. The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, is advising Muslims not to talk to FBI agents without a lawyer present.

Agents have called on the imams of several major Florida mosques, including some in the Tampa area, CAIR leaders said in an advisory to Muslims issued in the past week. Similar complaints have come from Muslims across the nation, the statement said.

“CAIR has documented how these interviews have been used to coerce law-abiding American Muslims to become agent provocateurs,” the advisory said. “Therefore it is highly advisable never to meet with the FBI without a lawyer present.

“If the FBI truly has a legitimate reason to speak to you,” the advisory said, “they will have no problem doing so through your lawyer as the American legal system establishes.”

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UC Berkeley student group votes to disinvite Bill Maher; college overturns it

Posted on by Bob Pitt

University of California BerkeleyThe controversy over having TV host Bill Maher speak at the University of California Berkeley has taken another turn. Well, make that two.

If you remember, the outspoken comedian was selected as the school’s 2014 fall commencement speaker, until students incensed by his anti-religious comments – particularly his views on Islam – started a petition to have him removed.

On Tuesday night, the student group that’s tasked with selecting commencement speakers met and voted to withdraw Maher’s invitation.

That would have been the end of the matter except the very next day, the college said it won’t honor the vote. “This university has not in the past and will not in the future shy away from hosting speakers who some deem provocative,” the school said.

The student group is called The Californians. It’s a committee of undergrads whose role is to come up with graduation speakers. In August, the Californians selected Maher. On Tuesday, it decided to unselect him.

But the college says the Tuesday night meeting was held without administration participation. “The UC Berkeley administration cannot and will not accept this decision, which appears to have been based solely on Mr. Maher’s opinions and beliefs, which he conveyed through constitutionally protected speech,” the school said in a statement.

It added that the school’s decision shouldn’t be taken as an endorsement of Maher’s views. “Indeed, the administration’s position on Mr. Maher’s opinions and perspectives is irrelevant in this context.” As so, it said, the invitation stands; Maher will speak at the December event.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations expressed disappointment at the college’s ruling, saying it disrespected students “by casting aside the long-standing process for selecting commencement speakers and instead imposing its own will.

“While Mr. Maher has the right to speak whenever and wherever he likes, he does not have the right to have his hate-filled views honored and tacitly endorsed by a prestigious university,” said Zahra Billoo, of the group’s San Francisco chapter.

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Albuquerque ‘peace walk’ to support Islamic Center

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Islamic Center of New Mexico attackedSeveral local organizations are sponsoring a “peace walk” in support of the Islamic Center of New Mexico following an attack last week in which someone threw a Molotov cocktail at the center’s building.

The walk will start at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice, at the intersection of Harvard and Silver SE. It will proceed along Silver to Yale and head south on Yale to the Islamic Center at 1100 Yale SE, said Sue Schuurman of the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice.

This will be a family friendly walk open to anyone who wishes to participate, including children. Those who participate are asked to bring a candle and, if they wish, flowers.

At the Islamic Center a statement of support will be given to Imam Shafi Abdul Aziz, signed by groups and individuals within the community. The Islamic Center has invited the walkers to a reception at the center after the walk.

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Wheatfield, New York: plan for Islamic cultural center provokes hate calls

Posted on by Bob Pitt

WHEATFIELD — Town Supervisor Robert B. Cliffe released a letter to his constituents Wednesday, saying the town has no role in approving or blocking an Islamic cultural center at a former restaurant. The letter was issued in reaction to a few strongly negative comments from residents. “I’ve received two of what I would consider hate calls, and one email,” Cliffe said.

Town Attorney Robert J. O’Toole said he got some calls, too. “What we got are calls that were opposed to the center because of who the people are and because of their religion,” O’Toole said. “There was one call from a person who said he didn’t consider Islam a religion.”

Cliffe told The Buffalo News, “One crazy or two crazies in this world, that’s not too surprising.” He wrote in his letter that one of the comments he received was, “Don’t you know we are at war with these people?” O’Toole, who said he is a lay preacher at local Presbyterian churches, commented, “We’re not at war with all Islam. We’re at war with some people who happen to be Muslim who may not have the proper understanding of their own faith.”

Suzanne Guenther, who was co-owner of the former Suzanne’s Fine Dining, said she has gotten quite a few calls, too. “I just think people are getting out of control,” she said. “How can you hate someone you don’t even know? Every nationality deserves a chance.”

The head of the Islamic Center of Western New York, Mohammad Salem Agwa, said he intends to hold a public meeting at a time and place to be determined. “This would be a center for interfaith gatherings, for Muslims and non-Muslims,” Agwa said.

Cliffe wrote in his letter, “Simply put, neither I nor the Town Board have any function in the sale of this property. We did not invite Mr. Agwa to make this purchase, nor do we envision a problem with this purchase.” Cliffe said the sale to the Islamic Center of Western New York was a private transaction and required no town approval.

Agwa made an application to the town Planning Board, which determined Oct. 1 that there was no need for a vote under the terms of the town’s planning and zoning code. “It’s a conforming use,” Cliffe said. The Islamic Center’s plan calls for banquets and gatherings, similar to Suzanne’s.

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Ahead of midterms, Islamophobes ramp up anti-immigrant rhetoric

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Recently, Imagine2050 has reported on anti-immigrant activists seeking to make immigration a top priority for voters in the upcoming midterm elections. Similar to this, members of the organized Islamophobia movement have recently sought to inject more anti-immigrant arguments into their overall agenda.

This recent uptick in rhetoric surrounding immigration and border enforcement has come from key figures and organizations in the anti-Muslim movement. Within this framework, these voices have called for curbing relief for undocumented immigrants and for a militarizing of our southern border: All supposedly in the name of national security.

The crossover between anti-Muslim figureheads and anti-immigrant sentiment is increasingly prevalent. Although the anti-Muslim contingent frames border security as a way deter terrorists, their messaging mirrors old-school nativist rhetoric as they aim to uphold policies that harm a broader spectrum of communities.

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FBI questioning mosque leaders

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Worried about the increasing reports of FBI pressures on mosque imams nationwide to inform on members of their congregations, a leading US Muslim advocacy group has urged imams to seek legal assistance from an attorney, whenever they are approached by officers.

“American Muslim leaders and institutions should maintain positive relations with local and federal law enforcement authorities, but those relations must be built on respect for constitutionally-protected civil rights,” Jenifer Wicks, Civil rights Litigation Director at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), was quoted by Defending Dissent earlier this week.

“Consulting with an attorney is the best way to protect your rights.”

CAIR, the USA’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, said it has received reports from around the nation of mosque officials being asked to meet with FBI agents and then being pressed to inform on members of their congregations.

In an advisory to Muslim community leaders, CAIR recommended that before any meeting with the FBI or any law enforcement agency, US Muslim leaders should seek the advice of an attorney and have that attorney present at any meeting.

Wicks urged community leaders to ask for business cards from those individuals from the FBI and immediately consult with an attorney before any questioning takes place.

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Berkeley students rally to remove Islamophobe Bill Maher as commencement speaker

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Real Time With Bill MaherTV host Bill Maher’s controversial comments about Islam have sparked a petition to remove him as the December commencement speaker at the University of California, Berkeley.

The Change.org petition, which had gathered nearly 2,000 signatures by Monday afternoon, was authored by Marium Navid, a senator with the student government group Associated Students of the University of California, with the support of Khwaja Ahmed, a member of the the campus advocacy group Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian Coalition, the campus’ Daily Californian reported Sunday.

“Bill Maher is a blatant bigot and racist who has no respect for the values UC Berkeley students and administration stand for,” the petition reads. “In a time where climate is a priority for all on campus, we cannot invite an individual who himself perpetuates a dangerous learning environment. Bill Maher’s public statements on various religions and cultures are offensive and his dangerous rhetoric has found its way into our campus communities.”

Navid said allowing Maher to speak at Berkeley, a campus made famous by 1964’s free speech movement, would give legitimacy to provocative comments he made earlier this month on his HBO show, “Real Time With Bill Maher,” describing Islam as “the only religion that acts like the Mafia, that will fucking kill you if you say the wrong thing, draw the wrong picture or write the wrong book.”

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Parent banned from Maryland high school after Islam homework dispute

Posted on by Bob Pitt

La Plata HS Muslim World homeworkThe father of a La Plata High School student has been barred from the school grounds after officials said he threatened to disrupt the school environment.

Kevin Wood was issued a no-trespass order last week after a telephone call with La Plata High Vice Principal Shannon Morris on Thursday. Wood called to air complaints regarding his daughter’s world history assignment that asked students to examine elements of the Islamic religion.

Morris and La Plata High Principal Evelyn Arnold reported to the Charles County Public Schools central office that Wood in his phone call had threatened to upset the school environment in some way Monday, according to school spokeswoman Katie O’Malley-Simpson. O’Malley-Simpson declined to elaborate on what threats Wood had made.

If the trespass order is ignored, police could be called and have the violator removed. “We don’t take that lightly,” said O’Malley-Simpson. “We have a lot of students, and safety comes first. We don’t allow disruptions at the schools, especially if we’re forewarned of them.”

Wood, a former corporal with the U.S. Marine Corps, where he was enlisted for eight years, said in an interview Monday afternoon outside of the school system’s central office that he did not wish for his daughter, a junior at La Plata, to learn the Islamic religion, a faith he does “not believe in,” he said.

Wood and his wife, Melissa Wood, said they reached out to the school last week and asked that their daughter be removed from her world history course for the duration that the class covered Islam. The Woods said they spoke by a telephone to a woman, who they identified as “Ms. Pearl,” who listened to their request and said she would investigate the possibility of an alternative assignment. A directory on the La Plata High School website lists Shanif Pearl as an administrative assistant.

It was Morris who returned their phone call, the Woods said. Morris informed them that the teacher could not offer an alternative assignment, and any assignment the Woods’ daughter missed would receive a failing grade. “I told her straight up ‘you could take that Muslim-loving piece of paper and shove it up your white [expletive],” Kevin Wood said in an interview. “If [students] can’t practice Christianity in school, they should not be allowed to practice Islam in school.”

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Students and faculty from Oklahoma University show support for the Muslim community

Posted on by Bob Pitt

OCU support for Muslim communityOKLAHOMA CITY – Hundreds of local Muslims were in for a surprise when they left their congregational prayer service Friday afternoon at their mosque in Oklahoma City.

A large group of Christians and those of the Jewish faith from as far away as Guthrie and Shawnee gathered and greeted those Muslims as they walked out of the mosque. Students and faculty at Oklahoma City University (OCU) organized the event.

Janet Boone works in the OCU Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office. “We were getting so tired of all the negative and all the hateful things that were being said to and about our Muslim friends,” she said.

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Molotov cocktail thrown at Albuquerque mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Albuquerque mosque firebomb attackFBI agents and Albuquerque police investigated a Molotov cocktail thrown at a mosque in southeast Albuquerque Friday morning.

The device hit the exterior wall of the Islamic Center of New Mexico around 3:55 a.m. Friday, scorching a wall and leaving broken glass on the ground.

Several agencies responded to the Islamic Center to conduct an investigation, including the FBI and APD bomb squad personnel.

“I’m very disappointed something like this would happen here in Albuquerque,” said Jameela Abdul Halim, the assistant administrator at the Islamic Center.

The center’s janitor, Shakir Farid Abdullah, said he found the burnt bottle about five hours later, around 9 a.m. Abdullah said he feared the perpetrator assumes the mosque is affiliated with terrorist groups overseas.

“We believe in peace, nonviolence…we don’t support terrorism,” said Abdullah. “We don’t support any acts of violence against any religious group…so someone, obviously, is ignorant to that.”

The Molotov cocktail was apparently thrown at the section of the building dedicated to women and children. Friday is also the day hundreds of Muslims from across the area come to the mosque to pray. No one was injured, but the incident is still disturbing to those who attend the mosque.

“[We’re] very grateful it didn’t go through the window. There was nobody around at the time; we didn’t have a lot of people,” said mosque member Abdul Halim.

This is not the first incident at the Islamic Center. According to mosque member Andy Brooks, people threw flaming Qurans into the mosque’s yard a couple years ago, and last year, someone walked into the Iman’s office and threatened him with a gun.

Also, this past February, a man approached two children on the mosque’s playground and allegedly threatened to stab them because he hated Muslims.

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