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Chronology of Islam in America (2006)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
August 2006
It is a "hard time" to be a Muslim in America
August 1: An Islamic charity fundraiser who was detained two years on suspicion of ties to terrorism said today he had no connections to terrorists and accused the U.S. government of sidestepping justice in its efforts to prevent another Sept. 11 attack. Abdel-Jabbar Hamdan, who has never been charged with terrorism, was released yesterday on a federal court order.He said he was a victim of paranoia that swept the United States after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The fear that followed them, he said, has made it a "hard time" to be a Muslim in America."The government is trying to win at any cost," said Hamdan, 46, who spoke with reporters alongside his wife outside their home in this Los Angeles suburb. "They seem not to care about what is just or unjust." (Mercury News)
ACLU, Muslim group demand end to citizenship delays
August 1: The American Civil Liberties Union and a Muslim civil rights group filed today on behalf of 10 Southern California immigrants who have been waiting two years or more for their citizenship. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, accuses government officials of illegally delaying their background checks and allowing applications to linger indefinitely. The lawsuit says federal law requires government officials to approve or deny a citizenship application 120 days after an immigrant passes the naturalization exam. The suit asks that a federal judge review the files and administer the oath of citizenship. It also asks the court to certify it as a class action and include all immigrants who have been waiting six months or more for naturalization after filing applications at the Los Angeles office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. (Los Angeles Times)
$ 100,000 spent on false ‘terror’ alert: Man is accused of reporting terrorist hoax to hot line
August 1: In a call to New York City’s terrorism hot line in May (2006), the informant described the plot in chilling detail: Syrians working in the jewelry business had hatched a plan to carry out a suicide bombing in the subway system on one of the most symbolic days of the year, Independence Day. They had hidden explosives in hollowed-out jewelry, the informant said, and then used their professional know-how to import the jewelry and bring it to a store that one of them owned in New York. To clinch the story, the informant, who identified himself as Jose Rodriguez and said he was from Israel, told the police officer answering the hot line that he had overheard the plotters use the Arab expression “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is great.” The post-Sept. 11 antiterrorist law enforcement apparatus sprang into action, with city, federal and even Israeli officers following leads, conducting 24-hour surveillance and searching homes and businesses with bomb-sniffing dogs. A New York detective stationed in Jerusalem tried to track down the man called Jose Rodriguez. In the end, the investigators concluded that the call was a hoax, they said yesterday, perpetrated by a Syrian Jewish refugee named Rimon Alkatri, 34, the owner of a jewelry store in Brooklyn. The five conspirators identified by Mr. Alkatri were not Muslims but Christians and Jews, the police and prosecutors said. He had done business with four of the men, officials said, and had named them as terrorists because he had a grudge against them stemming from a business deal that had ended in a bitter disagreement. The arrest offered what investigators said was a disturbing account of how law enforcement officers could be manipulated by a malicious prankster, especially in these times, when the specter of a terrorist attack seems possible and almost no threat seems too outlandish to ignore. This caller seemed credible because of the specific names and details that he offered, officials said. (New York Times)
Connecticut: Islamic Community Center will have new home
August 2: A community center that helps Muslim immigrants learn English and adapt to American culture will open in a building in Brigeport, Connecticut. Plans for the Bridgeport Islamic Community Center, approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission, will convert a building at 525 Clinton Ave. into a facility that will help immigrants become acculturated in their new homeland, as well as host programs for all Muslims in the region. The Bridgeport Islamic Community Center was established in 2002, but has had to rent space and never had a home of its own. P&Z Commission member Barbara Freddino said the center would help add "stability to the neighborhood" and provide a "helping hand" to immigrants. (Connecticut Post)
Judge refuses to move Sept. 11 perjury case out of New York
August 3: A federal judge has ruled that a man charged with lying to a grand jury investigating the Sept. 11 attacks can get a fair trial in New York even though the city bears emotional scars from the tragedy. U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin today turned down a request to move the perjury retrial of one-time material witness Osama Awadallah out of the city, saying a jury elsewhere wouldn't necessarily be more impartial. "The effects of the September 11 attacks were felt nationwide," she wrote, "and there is no reason to believe that jurors in a different jurisdiction would lack an emotional response with prejudicial effects." Awadallah, a Jordanian citizen who has lived in the U.S. since 1999, had asked that the case be moved after his first trial in April ended with an emotionally charged jury deliberation that failed to produce a verdict. Afterward, members of the panel revealed that as many as four jurors had tearfully recalled personal stories of the Sept. 11 attacks, despite instructions from the judge to avoid the topic. A mistrial was declared with one juror holding out for acquittal. The judge called those deliberations "a miner's canary, alerting all parties to the possibility of dangerous prejudice flowing from jurors' personal experiences." But she concluded that careful selection could still produce a fair jury. Awadallah, a student who met two of the Sept. 11 hijackers when they were living in San Diego, is charged with lying to a grand jury about how well he knew one of the men. He was jailed as a material witness for weeks after investigators found a phone number he had used in a hijacker's car.
Authorities ultimately concluded he knew nothing about the 2001 terror plot but said he broke the law by telling a grand jury he couldn't remember the name of one of the terrorists, Khalid al-Mihdhar. Awadallah later returned and revised his testimony, but prosecutors said the damage had already been done. Defense lawyers said the young man, now 25, was simply confused and exhausted after 20 days of harsh treatment in jail. (Newsday)
Muslims share tales of being detained at airports, other points of entry
August 7: Houston Islamic religious and community leaders criticized the Homeland Security office, saying the department routinely discriminates against Muslims, especially at airports and other points of entry. Ten Houston-area imams and community leaders voiced their displeasure to Daniel W. Sutherland of the Homeland Security's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in an inaugural meeting today between the federal office and the city's Islamic leaders at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. "The main problem the Muslim community has ... is the presumption of guilt," said Yasir Qadhi, a Houston imam and a doctoral candidate at Yale University. "It is the singling out of people just because of their looks or their identity." Muslims are routinely detained and questioned at airports and other ports of entry, he said. Qadhi also protested the denial of visas to imams and other religious leaders who are invited to this country to speak. Sutherland said his office was empowered to investigate any complaints over discrimination and urged Muslims to report any incidents and problems. (Houston Chronicle)
Judge refuses to release al-Marri held as 'enemy combatant'
August 9: A federal judge in South Carolina has thrown out a former Bradley University student's demand to be released from military custody. U.S. District Judge Henry Floyd wrote in a 16-page order filed today in U.S. District Court in Charleston that the government had proved that Ali Saleh Kahleh al-Marri was an "enemy combatant," and therefore could be held indefinitely by the military. Al-Marri, a Qatari national, who has been held in custody since his arrest in mid-December 2001, remains the only named person still held as an enemy combatant. Only two others have been identified; Yaser Esam Hamdi, who was released after it was deemed he was no longer a threat, and the other, Jose Padilla, was charged criminally. Authorities have alleged al-Marri was an al-Qaida "sleeper agent" who was in the United States to disrupt the nation's banking system. Al-Marri has denied those allegations. (Peoria Journal Star)
Judge rules out anonymous jury at terrorism trial
August 9: A federal judge in Chicago today rejected a government request for an anonymous jury at the upcoming trial of two men charged with helping to finance terrorism by the Palestinian militant group Hamas. "The government has not presented evidence that either defendant has a history or likelihood of obstruction of justice or has previously attempted to interfere with the judicial process to the extent necessary to warrant empaneling an anonymous jury," Judge Amy J. St. Eve said. Her ruling came in the case of Muhammad Salah, 53, of suburban Bridgeview, and Abdelhaleem Ashqar, 48, of Alexandria, Va. They are charged in a racketeering indictment with financing Hamas terrorism. Prosecutors had asked for an anonymous jury, saying the two men were associated with Hamas, whose members might be able to intimidate or take reprisals against jurors. The government claims the two raised money for Hamas and smuggled it into Israel to use in attacks by the group on the Israeli army and civilians. Salah was arrested in Israel in January 1993 and served five years in prison there for Hamas activity before his release and return to Chicago. Salah says he was tortured by the Israelis into making a number of admissions he now recants. The case has been marked by extraordinary secrecy. When Salah objected to the use of the now-recanted statements as evidence at his upcoming trial, the government brought in two Israeli security agents to testify that he was not tortured but made the statements freely. The Israeli agents were allowed to testify under bogus names to hide their true identities from Hamas. They took the witness stand in a courtroom from which the public was barred, and some of their testimony was given in the judge's chambers without even defense attorneys present. (Chicago Tribune)
Two Dearborn men linked to terrorism
August 9: Two Dearborn men were charged today in Ohio with money laundering in support of terrorism by allegedly buying hundreds of cell phones that they planned to send overseas, authorities said. Osama Sobhi Abulhassan, 20, and Ali Houssaiky, 20, a former star running back at Fordson High School in Dearborn, were charged in Marietta, Ohio, after they were arrested on a traffic violation, said Susan Vessels, assistant prosecutor in Washington County. In recent months, federal law enforcement officials have been concerned about suspicious customers buying large numbers of cell phones, Vessels said. In this case, police found about a dozen cell phones and more than $10,000 in the vehicle, she said. Vessels would not comment on how the two men were tied to terrorism. But she said an Ohio law that went into effect this year allows prosecutors to charge people suspected of using money to purchase items that would support terrorists or that terrorists would use. Prosecutors asked for $1-million bonds, but the judge set bond at $200,000 each, Vessels said. (Detroit Free Press)
McKinney challenger says 'Arab surnames' of donors mean 'I could say she's under the control of terrorists'
August 10: In a televised debate in August 2006 with Rep. Cynthia McKinney, Georgia primary challenger Hank Johnson said: "...But since we're talking about Middle East policy I will say that the abundant number of contributors to Mrs. McKinney's campaign are, have Palestinian and Arab surnames, now I could accuse her of being under the control of terrorists." Johnson won runoff for Georgia's Fourth Congressional District. In a letter to Johnson, CAIR Government Affairs Director Corey Saylor wrote: "This comment seems to suggest that Arab-American and Muslim participation in the political process has sinister connotations and that having an Arabic name somehow indicates a propensity for violence." (The Raw Story)
Four in ten Americans admit feeling prejudice against Muslims
August 10: Substantial minorities of Americans admit to having negative feelings or prejudices against people of the Muslim faith, and favor using heightened security measures with Muslims as a way to help prevent terrorism. Personally knowing someone who is Muslim -- which 41% of Americans say they do -- corresponds with more favorable attitudes on these questions. These are they key findings of a July 28-30, 2006 USA Today/Gallup Poll focusing on U.S. attitudes toward Muslims living in the United States. Americans' personal discomfort with Muslims is reflected in survey questions dealing with their reaction to being near Muslims in different situations. Nearly one quarter of Americans, 22%, say they would not like to have a Muslim as a neighbor. Slightly fewer, 18%, say they would feel nervous if they noticed a Muslim woman flying on the same airplane as themselves, while significantly more -- 31% -- say they would feel nervous if they noticed a Muslim man on their flight. (Gallup News Service)
Protesters from all over US call for Israeli withdrawal
August 12: Thousands of people circled the White House today in a passionate demonstration supporting Lebanon, the country at the center of the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Hundreds of red, white, and green Lebanese flags bearing the country's emblematic cedar tree waved beneath Lafayette Square's canopy of elms as demonstrators demanded a cease-fire, many of them mourning their war-ravaged homeland. In San Francisco, about 2,000 people marched at a rally in support of Lebanese and Palestinians and against the Israel military action. ``The occupiers are being seen as the victims, and I'm really ashamed of what is going on in the Middle East," said Alicia Jrapko, a member of the ANSWER coalition, the primary organizer of the Washington rally. The ANSWER coalition is a left-wing group that has sponsored numerous antiwar rallies that often attract socialists and anarchists. The National Council of Arab Americans and the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation also were sponsors. (Washington Post)
Arabic T-shirt sparks airport row
August 12: Mr. Raed Jarrar, an architect of Iraqi descent, was forced to remove a T-shirt that bore the salogan, in both Arabic and English, "We will not be silent" before boarding a flight at New York today. He said he had cleared security at John F Kennedy airport for a flight back to his home in California when he was approached by two men who wanted to check his ID and boarding pass. Jarrar said he was told a number of passengers had complained about his T-shirt - apparently concerned at what the Arabic phrase meant - and asked him to remove it. (Pacific News/Democracy Now)
IL Muslims condemn candidate's remarks on profiling
Aug. 13: The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) today condemned comments made by Andrea Zinga, a congressional candidate for the 17th district of Illinois. GOP house candidate said profiling on planes doesn't bother her. (CAIR Bulletin)
Arab Americans take part in National Lobby Day
August 16: Reinvigorated by the crisis in the Middle East, Arab Americans across the U.S. met with their members of Congress in their home districts today as part of National Arab American Lobby Day. Among other things, Arab Americans pressed their representatives to expand U.S. assistance efforts to Lebanon and Palestine. AAI member Angele Ellis detailed along with six other community members met with Congressman Mike Doyle (D-PA) at his Pittsburgh office. AAI member John Fiscella joined six other activists from Christian and Jewish organizations as well as representatives from secular peace movements recently in lobbying Rep. John Olver (D-MA) in his district office. (Arab American Institute)
Arab-Americans say profiling, paranoia led case
August 17: Two Arab-American men formerly charged in Ohio as terrorists said today they hope their case will serve as a warning about the perils of profiling. "I hope this unfortunate turn of events will open some eyes and shed some light on the paranoia and xenophobia that is gripping the country," Osama Abulhassan told reporters two days after his release from a Marietta, Ohio, jail. "I would hope that police, prosecutors and other law enforcement agencies exhibit a higher sense of responsibility in carrying out the crucial functions that they serve." Abulhassan and Ali Houssaiky, both 20 and born in this country, were charged by authorities in southeastern Ohio after a sheriff's deputy found them with a dozen disposable cell phones, $10,837 in cash and airport documents in their car. Earlier this summer, federal authorities sent a nationwide warning to police about men buying large quantities of such phones. A store clerk in Marietta reported the Dearborn pair was acting suspiciously when buying phones. (Detroit News)
CAIR welcomes ruling on NSA wiretaps
August 17: The Council on American-Islamic Relations today welcomed a ruling by a federal judge in Michigan that the government's warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor struck down the National Security Agency's (NSA) program, saying it violates freedom of speech and privacy rights. She also ruled that the wiretapping violates the separation of powers doctrine mandated by the Constitution and ordered an immediate halt to the program. The bipartisan lawsuit, filed in Detroit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), alleged that the NSA surveillance program violates the First and Fourth Amendments to the Constitution and the constitutional separation of powers because it was authorized by President Bush in excess of his executive authority. It also sought a court order to bring the program to an end. Plaintiffs in the ACLU lawsuit included CAIR, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the environmental advocacy group Greenpeace, award-winning author James Bamford, Larry Diamond of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, author Christopher Hitchens, American Prospect Senior Editor Tara McKelvey, and Barnett Rubin, a senior fellow at the New York University Center on International Cooperation."This ruling is a victory for the Constitution and for all Americans who value freedom of speech and the right to privacy," said CAIR National Legal Director Arsalan Iftikhar. (CAIR Bulletin)
Happy landing for former Syrian pilot
August 17: Let it be known that good news occurred in a government building south of downtown Seattle today. Safouh Hamoui, a Syrian national, learned that America would allow him to stay. He received his lawful permanent residency status, or "green card." He had applied for political asylum in 1997. The wrong thing would have been to deport to his native Syria, where he had been a top military pilot for the country's late president, Hafez al-Assad. Hamoui came to the United States with his family in 1992. He overstayed a visitor's visa. In Syria, he had been privy to state secrets. He later spoke out against that country's government. In 1997, Hamoui applied for asylum. He was denied. He was not allowed by the Board of Immigration Appeals to appeal because his lawyer at the time submitted a brief almost two months late. Another lawyer appealed the case to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals but failed to invoke the international Convention Against Torture. The appeals court didn't take the case. In February 2002, federal agents raided their Lynnwood home, arrested family members and imprisoned them as part of a sweep targeting hundreds of thousands of people looking at deportation orders…..After 10 months of imprisonment, Hamoui, his wife and daughter were free, though not in the clear. In November 2004, when a federal appeals court reversed deportation orders against Hamoui. Judge William Canby wrote that the Board of Immigration Appeals "abused its discretion" acting "arbitrarily, irrationally, or contrary to the law." (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
Federal judge orders end to warrantless wiretapping
August 17: A federal judge in Detroit ruled today that the Bush administration’s eavesdropping program is illegal and unconstitutional, and she ordered that it cease at once. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor found that President Bush exceeded his proper authority and that the eavesdropping without warrants violated the First and Fourth Amendment protections of free speech and privacy. “It was never the intent of the Framers to give the president such unfettered control, particularly where his actions blatantly disregard the parameters clearly enumerated in the Bill of Rights,” she wrote, in a decision that the White House and Justice Department said they would fight to overturn. In becoming the first federal judge to declare the eavesdropping program unconstitutional, Judge Taylor rejected the administration’s assertion that to defend itself against a lawsuit would force it to divulge information that should be kept secret in the name of national security. “Predictably, the war on terror of this administration has produced a vast number of cases, in which the states secrets privilege has been invoked,” Judge Taylor wrote. She noted that the Supreme Court has held that because the president’s power to withhold secrets is so powerful, “it is not to be lightly invoked.” She also cited a finding in an earlier case by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that “whenever possible, sensitive information must be disentangled from nonsensitive information to allow for the release of the latter.” In any event, she said, she is convinced that the administration could defend itself in this case without disclosing state secrets. Judge Taylor’s ruling came in a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of journalists, scholars, lawyers and various nonprofit organizations who argued that the possibility of eavesdropping by the National Security Agency interfered with their work. (New York Times)
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