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Chronology of Islam in America (2007)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
July 2007
DHS incident management team discusses UK terror incidents
July 1: the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) joined Muslim, Sikh and South Asian American organizations in a conference call with US Departments of Homeland Security (DHS), State, Justice, Treasury, and Health and Human Services officials to discuss unclassified information and respond to concerns following the terrorist incidents in London and Glasgow in the previous 48 hours. During the conference call, government officials pledged to continue their work to protect all communities and uphold civil rights and civil liberties. Federal officials pledged to continue to be active in prosecuting hate crimes, acts of employment discrimination, and upholding the free exercise of religion by all communities. Community and government leaders discussed in-depth actions the communities and the Federal government can take together. ADC and the other organizations representing these communities have been actively tackling these issues since 9/11 and are active members of the DHS Incident Management Team. The community organizations re-stated that they are serious about developing best practices that will combat extremism and radicalization while protecting civil rights and civil liberties. (ADC Press Release)
British Muslim denied entry to U.S.
July 1: The Greater Los Angeles area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today asked for an explanation as to why a British Muslim citizen was barred from entering the United States and sent back to the UK less than 24 hours after his arrival. According to his family, 57-year-old Rashid Ahmed Esakjee was detained after arriving at Los Angeles International Airport on June 28. Family members reported to CAIR-LA that initially all five members of the family were escorted off the plane but later released, except for Esakjee. The family was planning to visit their daughter Rashida Esakjee and her family on the occasion of the birth of a new baby boy. Esakjee has previously traveled several times to the U.S. without any problems, family members said. He has lived in the U.K. for 40 years and owns a business there. (CAIR Bulletin)
Flight bring Afghan delegation to Vermont delayed
July 2: A flight bound from Chicago to Burlington today was delayed for extra security screening, and some on board say it was because of a group of Afghan passengers in traditional dress. The group was part of a delegation in the US studying its democratic institutions. A Transportation Security Agency spokeswoman says the United flight crew asked for the extra screening.A spokesman for the Council of American-Islamic Relations says he's not surprised by the incident. Ibrahim Hooper says such stepped-up scrutiny of Muslims is all too familiar, and usually increases following international threats of terrorism or violence. (Associated Press)
Community urges FBI to Investigate Muslim convert
July 3: An Orange County Islamic group called on the FBI today to speed up a probe of a Muslim convert banned from an Irvine mosque, where members allege he preferred to discuss jihad rather than Islam. Craig Monteilh, who started calling himself Farouk Monteilh in September when he began studying at the Islamic Center of Irvine, was served with a restraining order Friday based on allegations made by members of the mosque. While the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Anaheim commended local Muslims for reporting Monteilh, it urged FBI agents to finish their probe to protect those who "courageously" stepped forward to make their reports. Since the reports surfaced about a month ago, CAIR-LA said it has gotten complaints that Monteilh had tried to intimidate and threaten those who reported him. The Muslim community was alarmed following reports that David Gaubatz, who works for an anti-Muslim rightist group known with the acronym SANE: the Society of Americans for National Existence, went on May 18, 2007 to the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia. He pretended that he is interested in becoming a convert to Islam. The main objective of the group is to penetrate the mosques and Islamic centers pose as people interested in converting to Islam or who are current Muslims. Gaubatz told a press conference on Jun 13, 2007 that sporting a beard and Muslim dress he went to the center. (AMP Report)
Anti-hate blogger slams Robert Spencer's 'spin'
July 4: Robert H. Spencer, also known as Robert Bruce Spencer, is a very busy man. He is a prolific writer on the Web, the owner and primary author of Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch, along with hundreds of articles in online journals and e-zines. He has written six books (his seventh is due out soon). He has appeared on FOX News, CNN, and many other media outlets. He travels the country giving speeches. All of this - on one subject, a subject on which he is definitely an expert - hatred of all Islam and all Muslims. Aside from already being banned by some search engines, some college campuses city and county libraries libraries around the USA, and in most Muslim countries, Spencer's Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch sites have now been banned by the Chicago Police Dept. as hate speech. (Hatewatch Hall of Shame)
Alabama Muslim center opposition questioned
July 5: Some Hoover (Alabama) residents say opposition to a proposed Muslim worship center is mostly about religion, even though most of the public talk has been about traffic. Some are speaking out in support of a developer's request to build the worship center on a wooded, 4.7-acre lot. "I think it would be a disgrace or shameful if we prevent this religious group from coming in here," said Jerry Akers, who has lived in The Preserve subdivision near the proposed site for three years. Jennifer Campbell said it's easier to complain about traffic than speak out publicly against Muslims. "I truly believe if it were something like a Methodist chapel or something like that, there would not have been such a community-wide response to come together," said Campbell, who also lives in The Preserve. About 150 people attended a June 25 meeting at Gwin Elementary School that was organized by opponents to the center. Traffic was the main concern raised. No one spoke in favor of the center. (The Birmingham News)
West Coast Catholics, Muslims discuss shared values
July 6: Catholic and Muslim leaders from several West Coast states met to discuss common values reflected in the biblical tale of Joseph --- called the prophet Yusuf in the Quran, the sacred book of Islam. The May 21-23, 2007 meeting, designed along the lines of a spiritual retreat, was held at the Mary and Joseph Retreat Center in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. A press release giving the highlights of the gathering was released June 19 in Washington by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The story of Joseph is told in the Bible in Chapters 37-50 of Genesis and in the Quran in Surah 12. Participants found that sharing a reading of the Hebrew Scriptures and the Quran helped them approach those ancient texts in a new light. They identified common ground in understanding virtues exemplified in the story of Joseph: fidelity, forgiveness, family relationships, integrity, loyalty, perseverance, patience rooted in trust in God, astuteness, compassion and wisdom. Co-chairing the dialogue on the Muslim side were Imam al-Qazwini and Muzammil H. Siddiqi, director of the Islamic Society of Orange County. The Catholic co-chairman was Bishop Carlos A. Sevilla of Yakima, Wash. (Tidings)
Federal appeals court overturns wiretap ruling made last August
July 6: An appeals court panel today vacated a ruling by a federal judge in Detroit that a Bush administration wiretapping program was unconstitutional. In a 2-1 vote, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati said that the plaintiffs, which included local Muslim and Arab-American groups, could not prove they have been harmed by a National Security Agency spying program created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The Bush administration argued that such a program was legal and necessary to defend the nation from terrorism. But the American Civil Liberties Union, along with groups and attorneys based in Michigan, filed a lawsuit in Detroit in January 2006 saying that the government's surveillance program was unconstitutional and interfered with their jobs. (Detroit Free Press)
Christians join Muslims to help rebuild Tampa mosque that was burned by an arsonist
July 6: Before someone set fire to the Islamic Education Center of Tampa, Dr. Akram J. Al-Asdi felt isolated, certain that many Americans viewed Muslims negatively. But as word of the April fire spread, so too did the generosity of strangers. Mosque officials estimate that it will cost at least $50, 000 to restore the center, which an arsonist set ablaze in April after breaking a window in the main prayer hall and pouring gasoline inside. So far, the center has $20,000 to rebuild, with most donations coming from individual Muslim donors and other Islamic centers around the state. Christian churches also are among the center's largest contributors. The Rev. Robert Gibbons, pastor of St. Paul's Catholic Church in St. Petersburg, asked his parishioners to contribute shortly after learning about the fire. In the fall, bay area Muslims donated $5,000 to help restore churches in the West Bank and Gaza that were burned by Muslims in the wake of a controversial speech by Pope Benedict XVI. Worshippers at Bayshore Presbyterian Church also felt compelled to pitch in with a $530 donation and an offer to help clean up fire damage. (St. Petersburg Times)
Muslims waiting up to 7 years for citizenship oath
July 6: The Maryland and Virginia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MD/VA) today called on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to expedite the cases of local Muslims who have been waiting for up to seven years to take their citizenship oaths. CAIR-MD/VA says the individuals experiencing the delays are legal residents who have fulfilled all requirements necessary to become American citizens. In some cases, the delays are causing personal hardships for those separated from family members or who are in careers that require citizenship for advancement. Although the Immigration and Naturalization Act requires that the oath of citizenship be given no later than 120 days after completion of the naturalization process, the USCIS has delayed the oaths for many Muslims based on an unlegislated rule that requires rechecking applicant's files. (CAIR Bulletin)
Florida Muslim home torched by arsonists
July 9: The hate crime not only destroyed a house, but also devastated a north Sarasota neighborhood and now deputies want to know who's behind it all. Neighbors say it sounded like a bomb exploded inside the house the windows blew out and the front door came off its hinges. One might think it was just a house fire, but firefighters say spray-paint on the outside of the house raised suspicions the fire was set intentionally. On the garage door were obscenities toward the Islam religion and Allah. Firefighters called in the State Fire Marshall who confirmed the fire was arson. The owner, Hasib Sejfovic, a Muslim of Bosnian heritage, was out of town for the weekend and was not home when the fire broke out. (ABC News)
Milwaukee Islamic leader decries U.K. terror attacks
July 9: Disturbed by terrorist bombing attempts in England and Scotland, the head of Milwaukee's Islamic Society has decried supporters of such violence and endorsed a task force report by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs that cautions against marginalizing Muslims in the United States. Othman Atta, a Milwaukee attorney and president of the society, had strong words for radical Muslim clerics in England who have justified bombings of civilians. "To be frank, if I was in England and I was in control of the laws, I would deport someone who came out with those kind of statements," Atta said. "I don't believe there is any place for that kind of rhetoric in any society. I really don't." The Chicago report, "Strengthening America: The Civic and Political Integration of Muslim Americans," was released last month. It cites independent studies that say that, unlike in Europe, there is little, if any, publicly available evidence here of widespread or entrenched extremist activity with links to global terrorist organizations. Yet it notes that the voices of Muslim-American leaders and organizations are not being heard by the American public, some of whom continue to view Muslim-Americans with suspicion and question the compatibility of Islam with American values. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
21 months for Salah once accused of funding Hamas
July 11: In a case that riveted Chicago's Muslim community, Muhammad Salah, 54, a Bridgeview businessman accused of aiding terrorists was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for lying in a civil lawsuit. Salah, a U.S. citizen, had won a key victory in February when a federal jury acquitted him of conspiring to support Hamas extremists and found him guilty on a less serious charge of obstruction of justice. But federal prosecutors argued that Salah's lies -- about his role in Hamas and, later, they said, about alleged torture by Israeli agents -- deserved a 10-year prison term. U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve refused to accept the prosecutors' arguments, but neither would she spare Salah from prison. "Lying to a court is always serious," St. Eve said. St. Eve also sentenced Salah to 100 hours of community service and ordered him to pay a $25,000 fine. The jurors acquitted Salah of the terrorism charge because they believed he had withdrawn from Hamas activities long ago and was no longer part of any conspiracy, St. Eve said. (Chicago Tribune)
Fears about passenger taken off plane unfounded
July 12: The Transportation Security Administration said that a passenger taken off an international flight in an emergency stop today, because of a crew member's suspicions, had done nothing wrong and had posed no security threat. The American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to London was diverted to New York early today after a crew member became suspicious of the passenger, an airline spokeswoman said. The crew member questioned the man, whom she believed she had seen bypassing security by riding on an employee-only shuttle bus from the parking lot to the LAX airport employee entrance. The plane, carrying 218 passengers and 14 crew members, landed at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport where the passenger was detained and was interviewed by FBI agents. The TSA later found the passenger had gone through proper security procedures. FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles said the man is a U.S. citizen, born in the United States. (CNN)
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