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Chronology of Islam in America (2014)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
August 2014
U.S. Has Illegal Muslim 'Blacklist,' ACLU Says
August 4: The United States violates its own immigration laws through an under-the-radar "blacklist" that denies citizenship, green cards and political asylum to thousands of people, including innocent people placed a terrorist watch list, longtime legal-resident Muslims claim in Federal Court. Lead plaintiff Reem Muhanna, et al. claim that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service has consistently denied their applications for citizenship and lawful permanent residence after secretly blacklisting them as "'national security concerns,'" though they pose no threat to the United States. The ACLU filed the lawsuit on July 31 against the USCIS, the Department of Homeland Security, and a slew of their national and regional officers. The plaintiffs claim that the Citizenship and Immigration Service uses obscure rules, under a program known as the Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program (CARRP), to delay or deny applications. "Under this unfair and unconstitutional program, the government has blacklisted their applications without telling them why and barred them from upgrading their immigration status in violation of the immigration laws," ACLU attorney Jennie Pasquarella said in a statement. The plaintiffs ask the court to order Uncle Sam to judicially settle their applications for citizenship and permanent residence, as required under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The executive branch of the government does not have the authority to set rules on citizenship and permanent residence, the plaintiffs say. "Since 2008, however, USCIS has used CARRP - an internal policy that has neither been approved by Congress nor subjected to public notice and comment - to investigate and adjudicate applications deemed to present potential 'national security concerns.' CARRP prohibits USCIS field officers from approving an application with a potential 'national security concern,' instead directing officers to deny the application or delay adjudication - often indefinitely - in violation of the INA [Immigration and Nationality Act]", the lawsuit states. [Alternet]
Civil rights groups to feds: Purge your anti-Muslim training materials
August 14: Civil rights and religious groups say efforts to rid federal agencies of anti-Muslim bias have faltered and prejudice against Muslims persists, particularly in the training of anti-terrorism officers. Today 75 groups — including the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Auburn Seminary and the NAACP — sent a letter to the White House urging an audit of federal law enforcement training material. “The use of anti-Muslim trainers and materials is not only highly offensive, disparaging the faith of millions of Americans, but leads to biased policing that targets individuals and communities based on religion, not evidence of wrongdoing,” the letter reads. A National Security Council representative said the letter will be reviewed and a response issued. “As we said when these news reports first came to light, the use of racial or ethnic stereotypes, slurs or other similar language by employees is both unacceptable and inconsistent with the country’s core values,” said Caitlin Hayden, National Security Council spokeswoman. The groups point to a reference to “Mohammed Raghead” in a memo and the claim by a former FBI official that the CIA’s director is a “closet Muslim.” Anti-Muslim sentiment, flagged several years ago, prompted the White House to order an assessment of the intelligence community’s training materials and policies — but that never happened, the letter charges. Instead, the groups wrote, administration officials settled on expanded sensitivity training and other measures that don’t directly address the continued use of anti-Muslim materials. [Religion News Service]
OKC Bombing conspiracy film pulled from Jenks schools:
The documentary suggests Islamic terrorist involvement
August 14: The discussion to stop showing the film "Conspiracy: Oklahoma City Bombing" began at the end of the last school year. A Muslim student attending the Freshman Academy in Jenks saw the film in school and told their parents about some concerns. The parent went to the school asking to have the film removed from the curriculum, but the request was denied. The parent was concerned that the district was teaching students of Islamic involvement in the bombing, which is not in the official reports. When Adam Soltani and the Oklahoma chapter of the Council for American-Islamic Relations got involved, the discussion was taken to the district level. CAIR members had other concerns that showing the film could lead to anti-Muslim bullying in the school. “It was never about making things difficult for the school or putting them in a tough situation.” Soltani said. I think it’s just a part of what happens when our society becomes more diverse. He added. A materials review committee saw the film and the district eventually agreed to pull the documentary from the library. [krmg.com]
California Muslims Send 16,000+ Letters to Senators on Gaza
August 15: The California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA) today announced figures of the letter-writing campaign that calls on California State senators to advocate for an end to the killing in Gaza. Staff and volunteers of the Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization began the circulation of the letters on Tuesday July 22 during the Islamic month of Ramadan when Muslims held special prayers and other activities at mosques nationwide. More than 16,700 letters across the state of California have been signed to date. The letters, which were hand-delivered to both Senators Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein's offices, read in part: "The U.S. government must not remain silent about Israel's unjust and disproportionate use of force against Palestinians in Gaza. The 'right of a nation to defend itself' does not extend to unrestrained aerial bombardments of civilian populations and must be condemned immediately. The response to our Gaza letter-writing campaign has been very enthusiastic," said CAIR-CA Chair, Safaa Ibrahim. "California residents are deeply concerned about the toll Israel's latest military campaign has taken on innocent civilians. They want to be sure elected officials hear their constituents' voices." [CAIR]
Racial Inequality Angers US Muslims
August 16: A week after the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown, US Muslims have shared mass condemnations for the incident as a continuation of police profiling, brutality and violence against African Americans. “Despite progress in race relations over the past decades, our nation still has a long way to go to live up to the true American values of equality and justice for all,” the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement obtained by OnIslam.net. “We need a serious and deep national conversation about how to heal these wounds, starting with all of us as individuals, family members and community leaders.”
Anger across the American society raged after the fatal shooting of Brown on August 9 in Missouri by police. According to media reports, St. Louis County police claimed the unarmed Brown had struggled for an officer’s gun in a patrol car before he was killed. Witnesses said Brown, who is African-American, had his hands up when he was shot. Brown’s death triggered angry demonstrations and calls by several civil rights organizations for the US Justice Department to investigate the shooting. A recent study by the American Psychological Association has shown that African American boys are typically perceived by police as guilty and face police violence if accused of a crime.
The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) has also expressed concerns over the fatal shooting, welcoming the US Justice Department’s decision to investigate the incident. “Our condolences go out to the Brown family on this terrible tragedy. We are deeply alarmed by the continuation of police brutality and violence against minorities, in particular African Americans,” ISNA president Imam Mohamed Magid said in a statement obtained by OnIslam.net. “We hope that the federal investigation will independently determine the facts and take appropriate action. ISNA and the American Muslim community joins with others who seek justice in this troubling incident. “Until this problem is addressed on the national level, these incidents will continue to erode the public’s confidence in law enforcement and the justice system,” he added.
Since 9/11, Muslims, estimated between six to seven million, have become sensitized to an erosion of their civil rights, with a prevailing belief that America was stigmatizing their faith. Muslims’ anger has grown against the New York police following revelations in 2011 by the Associated Press that the NYPD used undercover agents to spy on Muslim communities. A report by the AP said that the NYPD sent out undercover officers into ethnic communities to track daily life and monitor mosques as well as Muslim student organizations. Police intimidation was not limited to Muslims. More than four million New Yorkers, mainly black and Latino, were stopped and interrogated under NYPD's "stop-and-frisk" policy from 2002 to 2010, according to police data. [OnIslam.net]
Increase in FBI Visits Prompts Reminder of Legal Rights
August 18: The Council on American-Islamic Relations - San Diego (CAIR-San Diego) today issued an advisory reminding community members of their legal responsibilities and rights when contacted or visited by law enforcement authorities. CAIR-San Diego's advisory comes following what the civil rights group says is a higher number of reports of FBI visits to local Muslims. “American Muslims strongly support law enforcement and the protection of our national security. As Americans, we also value the civil rights of every individual,” said CAIR-San Diego Executive Director, Hanif Mohebi. “All Americans have the constitutional right to due process and to be represented by an attorney.” The CAIR advisory said: "Understand that providing information to the FBI or any law enforcement officer, absent a subpoena, is strictly voluntary. You are not obligated under law to answer any questions from law enforcement officers other than providing them with an official identification card. You may choose to have an attorney accompany or represent you for any interview or questioning. We strongly recommend you consult with an attorney regarding the risks and benefits of being interviewed by law enforcement agents in your specific case. CAIR-San Diego may provide legal assistance, or can refer you to an attorney." [CAIR]
The U.S. government's creeping war on journalists
August 22: As states move to hide details of government deals with Wall Street, and as politicians come up with new arguments to defend secrecy, a study released earlier this month revealed that many government information officers block specific journalists they don't like from accessing information. The news comes as 47 federal inspectors general sent a letter to lawmakers criticizing "serious limitations on access to records" that they say have "impeded" their oversight work. The data about public information officers was compiled over the past few years by Kennesaw State University professor Dr. Carolyn Carlson. Her surveys found that 4 in 10 public information officers say "there are specific reporters they will not allow their staff to talk to due to problems with their stories in the past.""That horrified us that so many would do that," Carlson told the Columbia Journalism Review, which reported on her presentation at the July conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. In recent years, there have been signs that the federal government is reducing the flow of public information. Reason Magazine has reported a 114 percent increase in Freedom of Information Act rejections by the Drug Enforcement Agency since President Obama took office. The National Security Agency has also issued blanket rejections of FOIA requests about its metadata program. And the Associated Press reported earlier this year that in 2013, "the government cited national security to withhold information a record 8,496 times -- a 57 percent increase over a year earlier and more than double Obama's first year." Those revelations foreshadowed a recent letter from more than half of the government's inspectors general saying that federal agencies' move to hide information from them represents a "potentially serious challenge to the authority of every Inspector General and our ability to conduct our work thoroughly, independently, and in a timely manner." [By David Sirota - OpEdNews]
Racial-profiling Same for US African-Americans, Muslims
August 23: Muslim Americans endure similar racial profiling to African-Americans in Ferguson, the suburb that was struck by protests over the police killing of an unarmed African-American teen, a director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Dawud Walid, told RIA Novosti. “Profiling in post-9/11 America of Arab-Americans and South-Asian Americans cannot be dealt with in a silo separate from the profiling and misconduct that is done towards African-Americans by law enforcement officers,” said Walid. The St. Louis branch of CAIR has called for a full investigation into the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown, 18, and stated the Muslim Americans face similar police harassment as blacks in trouble-struck Ferguson and across the United States. “It’s important for Arab Americans and South Asian Americans to show solidarity with black Americans about the racial profiling that we all experience at the hands of law enforcement officers – irrespective of them being Christian or Muslim,” Walid told RIA Novosti. Ferguson, a predominantly African-American suburb of St. Louis of some 21,000 residents, has been shaken by often violent protests since the police killing of Brown, an unarmed teen, as he walked with a friend on a residential street on the afternoon of August 9. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon withdrew National Guard troops on Thursday as protests calmed in recent nights. Police have been criticized for using military tactics, toting assault rifles and using tear gas, rubber bullets and other heavy-handed measures. [RIA Novosti]
St. Anthony city sued over rejection of Islamic center
August 27: The federal government today sued the small north-metro city of St. Anthony, contending that its City Council violated federal law in 2012 by rejecting a proposed Islamic center. The lawsuit sprang from a controversy that echoes those that have flared in many U.S. cities when Muslims have sought to establish worship centers. The lawsuit alleges that the council’s decision to deny the Abu Huraira Islamic Center the right to establish a worship center in the basement of the St. Anthony Business Center violates the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act passed by Congress in 2000. It marks the first time federal prosecutors have sued a Minnesota city citing the law, although the Justice Department has filed similar suits elsewhere in the country on behalf of Islamic centers, according to a U.S. attorney’s office spokesman. [Star Tribune]
CAIR CA releases civil rights report for 2014
August 28: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) California chapters today released the Muslim Civil Rights Report for 2014. The report summarizes and analyzes all civil rights complaints received in 2013 by CAIR-California's offices in the Greater Los Angeles area, the Sacramento Valley, San Diego, and the San Francisco Bay Area. The four offices received 933 complaints from members of the American Muslim community regarding employment discrimination, federal law enforcement questioning, excessive and intrusive travel delays, hate crimes, and school bullying. CAIR-LA received 444 complaints. CAIR-SV received 115 complaints. CAIRSD received 92 complaints. CAIR-SFBA received 282 complaints. Complaints received in 2013 show an increase from the prior year during which CAIR-CA received a total of 854 complaints. California Muslims reported incidents to CAIRCA where they were scrutinized by federal law enforcement agencies and local police and where they faced discrimination in the workplace, including harassment from co-workers and managers, denials of religious accommodation requests, and retaliation after complaining about harassment or requesting religious accommodation. Local Muslims also reported intensive searches and delays while traveling and delays when they applied for visas for family members overseas. Moreover, as a result of CAIR’s newly launched Muslim Youth at School Project, parents contacted CAIR-CA after their children were bullied by peers or harassed by teachers. All the reported incidents took place in various locations, including airports, the workplace, schools, and private businesses.
Complaints of employment discrimination made up the largest number of complaints in California numbering 141 or 15.1% of complaints. The next most frequent type of complaint involved immigration issues, including visa and naturalization delays and refugee and asylum issues. The third most frequent type of complaint involved Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and law enforcement, including instances of community members approached for voluntary questioning by the FBI, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), or Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) agents, as well as community members who contacted CAIR-CA because they were concerned about the possibility of law enforcement surveillance. These complaints numbered 101,or 10.8%, of the total complaints received.[CAIR]
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