Category Archives: USA

Orlando, Florida: Billboards stress commonality of religions

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Islamic billboards appearing throughtout Orlando areaLocal Muslim organizations have started a media campaign stressing the commonality of Christians, Muslims and Jews.

The billboards proclaiming “Same family, Same message” sprouting throughout the Orlando and Daytona Beach areas are sponsored by the Longwood-based American Muslim Community Centers, the Islamic Center of Orlando and the United Muslim Foundation in Lake Mary.

“In the holiday season, people are more spiritual,” said AMCC Chairman Atif Fareed. “The idea is this would be an ideal time to spread the message that we are really from the same source: one family, one message.”

The billboards, which have several different slogans, refer motorists to the whyislam.org website of the New York-based Islamic Circle of North America. The organization’s “Why Islam” campaign is intended to raise awareness and correct misconceptions about a religion many Americans associate with terrorism.

“Our goal is to reach out and start a dialogue with our fellow Americans,” said ICNA President Zahid Bukhari.

Orlando Sentinel, 1 January 2013

Arsonist faces 20 years in prison for attack on Toledo Islamic centre – but this doesn’t address wider problem of anti-Muslim hatred

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Randy LinnRandolph Linn is behind bars after pleading guilty to federal arson and related crimes committed at the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo, but local Muslim leaders are concerned there may be more people like him out there.

Linn, a 52-year-old truck driver and ex-Marine from St. Joe, Ind., was initially charged with one count each of intentionally damaging religious property and using fire or explosives in commission of a felony for the Sept. 30 arson attack. A third charge, of using a firearm to commit a crime of violence, was added by a grand jury Dec. 18.

He pleaded guilty to all three counts in U.S. District Court in Toledo on Dec. 19 as part of a binding agreement and could be sentenced to 20 years in prison in April. He will also be required to pay a $250,000 fine and restitution that may exceed $1 million.

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‘We are not some slaves who can be passed around from one owner to another’ – Mahdi Hashi’s father speaks out

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Mahdi HashiThe family of a former Haverstock School pupil say they are shocked and relieved after the FBI revealed he had been captured in Somalia and charged with serious terrorism offences in New York.

The New Journal reported last month on serious concerns for the welfare of Mahdi Hashi who had not been seen or heard from since the summer. It was feared that the 23-year-old, who grew up in Camden and lived in Gilbeys Yard, Chalk Farm, was being held captive in an African prison camp.

It followed a controversial decision by Home Secretary Theresa May to revoke his citizenship over alleged links to “Islamic extremism”.

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New York: veiled Muslim woman sues over exclusion from buses

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A Muslim woman claims she’s being booted off city buses because of the way she dresses.

Maria Louis, of Hollis, Queens, says she has twice been kicked off buses by MTA and NYPD personnel – the agencies she’s suing in Brookyn federal court – after people berated her for her religious garb. Her clothing, which she calls a “bolka,” is a “long, flowing black garment that covers her completely – including a mesh section over her eyes that allows her to see,” the suit says.

The first incident happened April 3 in Jamaica, when a passenger yelled at her and the driver refused to move until she got off, the suit says. The next month, she claims, a passenger hit her in the face after another lectured her, and police forced her to get off the bus.

New York Post, 27 December 2012