America is largely a Christian nation with 77 percent of adults identifying themselves as Christian, according to a Gallup survey, while only 0.6 percent identified as Muslim.
“The United States remains a largely Christian nation; more than 9 in 10 Americans who have a religious identity are affiliated with a Christian religion,” reported Gallup on Dec. 24. “There has been little change in this portrait of religious identity in the U.S. from last year.”
Standing in Denver’s main mosque on Christmas Eve, Christian, Muslim and Jewish community leaders launched an ad campaign promoting understanding and tolerance between the religious groups. “Love Thy Neighbor” ads on Denver buses are intended to combat anti-Muslim ads produced by the American Freedom Defense Initiative. The controversial group attracted attention with hateful posters in New York subways and DC metro stations.
Loonwatch profiles Usama Dakdok.
Mahdi Hashi, the British-Somali man who disappeared from east Africa shortly after being stripped of his British citizenship, appeared yesterday in a New York federal court alongside two Swedish men. All three appear to have been rendered by the United States from Djibouti, and have now been charged with terrorism offences.
Hashi, 23, is accused of “providing material support” to Somali militant group al Shabaab. A statement released by the FBI revealed that Hashi has been in the US penal system since November 12. Neither his family nor his UK legal team were informed.
A Central Florida Muslim businessman detained by authorities at airports and border crossings more than 30 times since June has filed suit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
It’s the second such lawsuit Sadique M. Jaffer has filed in Orlando against the federal agency in almost four years, in response to what he says are baseless and harassing detentions.
Jaffer, who lives in Windermere and works in real estate and computer sales in multiple states, claims he has been detained more than 50 times since 2007 as he has traveled domestically and internationally.
Last week, Muslims nationwide were urged to take action against HB 4769, better known as the Anti-Islam Legislation.
State Legislator Dave Agema, a Republican from Michigan, was the state representative behind this bill, and actively pushing for it to pass during Michigan’s lame duck session.
CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, had their state-wide chapters calling on “all people of conscience” to urge their state governors “to veto the biased bill which is among those that seek to impose government-sanctioned discrimination on followers of a minority faith.”
One year on from his imprisonment, the quashing of Ahmed Faraz’s conviction for the dissemination of terrorism publications, is a great victory for freedom of expression in the UK.
In a damning judgement, the UK Court of Appeal ruled that no causal link could be presented that publications produced by the Maktabah bookshop would inspire acts of political violence or terrorism. They said that it was incorrect of the trial judge to permit evidence that those who had carried out acts of terrorism had owned copies of the books or DVDs and that it was a short cut to a conviction.
The Cleveland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Ohio chapter (CAIR-Cleveland) today released a video highlighting anti-Muslim hate preached at a recent Tea Party event at a school in that state, which included claims that American Muslims “will kill your children” and that “we are in war with Islam.”
A former Marine from Indiana admitted Wednesday that he broke into a mosque in Ohio and set fire to a prayer rug because he wanted revenge for the killings of American troops overseas.
Randy Linn pleaded guilty to hate crime charges, saying he’d become enraged after seeing images of wounded soldiers in the news. “Every day you turn on the TV, you see Muslims trying to kill Americans,” said Linn, a truck driver from St. Joe. When asked by a federal judge whether he thought all Muslims are terrorists, he answered: “I’d say most of them are.”
ORLANDO — A woman is under arrest after carrying a sword onto a school campus.
Just before 10 a.m. Wednesday, Orange County deputies responded to the Leaders Preparatory School on North Goldenrod Road, which includes a mosque, school and day care. They found 47-year-old Dominique Eloi walking out of the mosque carrying the weapon.
A school employee said Eloi exited her vehicle with the 2-foot sword and did not respond to the employee when asked what business she had on the property. Leaders Preparatory was immediately placed on lockdown as the employee called deputies.
Eloi was arrested and charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds, disrupting a school function and aggravated assault with a weapon.
Central Florida News, 19 December 2012
See also “CAIR-FL urges stepped-up security after woman with sword arrested at mosque, Muslim school”, CAIR press release, 19 December 2012