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Chronology of Islam in America (2010)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
June 2010
Calif. DMV apologizes for hijab incident
June 3: The San Diego office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-San Diego) announced today that a Muslim woman will be able to have her driver's license photograph retaken with her Islamic scarf, or hijab, after initially being asked to remove the religious head covering. An employee at the Oceanside office of the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) had insisted that the woman remove her headscarf and show her hair for the driver's license photograph, despite California regulations that allow for religiously-mandated head coverings, requiring only that the whole face be shown. CAIR-San Diego contacted the DMV and arranged for the woman's photograph to be retaken and for the DMV employee to apologize to the woman and be reprimanded for giving her inaccurate information. (CAIR)
Virginia Beach official objects to mosque plan, takes heat
June 4: Virginia Beach City Councilman Bill DeSteph irked fellow council members and local Muslims today by sending a letter to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg protesting a plan for an Islamic community center near the World Trade Center site. DeSteph wrote on city letterhead that "the citizens of Virginia Beach and the Commonwealth of Virginia" are opposed to the plan. "Obviously, he doesn't represent the city of Virginia Beach just because he's a council member using that stationery," Mayor Will Sessoms said. "I'm very disappointed he would do that." The proposed center, called the Cordoba House, would include a prayer space, a 500-seat performing arts center, a culinary school and a restaurant. The building would expand on an existing five-story building two blocks from where the twin towers, attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, stood. "I'm not opposed to mosques or Islam," said DeSteph, an at-large City Council representative seeking his second term in November. "I'm opposed to putting a mosque 600 feet from ground zero. It's a slap in the face of every American." Aziz Khawaja, president of the Muslim Community of Tidewater, said New York City leaders should approve the plan. "It will send a message that the United States still believes in their forefathers by giving freedom of religion and freedom of speech," he said. "New York is a city that represents a diversified community." He said DeSteph's letter represents a mentality that unfairly paints all Muslims as terrorists. (The Virginian-Pilot)
Anti-Islam ballot measure advances in Oklahoma
June 5: Oklahoma State Question 755, which likely will be on the ballot in November, would make in-state courts rely on federal and state laws when deciding cases and forbid courts from using international law or Sharia law when making rulings. State Rep. Rex Duncan, R-Sand Springs, primary author of HJR 1056, said Oklahoma is the first state to pass such legislation and he hopes other states will follow. Council on American-Islamic Relations spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said he has been working on Muslim civil rights issues for several decades and anti-Islam rhetoric is approaching “Nazi-like” levels. “This is just the flip side of the anti-Semitic coin,” Hooper said. Regarding unintended consequences, Hooper wondered aloud what the amendment would mean for Muslims who want to wear a scarf in a driver’s license photo, for Muslims who want to pray in the workplace, if Muslims attending Oklahoma’s public schools will be forced to eat pork.
Who is the sponsor of anti-Islam ballot measure? In October 2007, Rep. Rex Duncan, sponsor of the anti-Islam ballot measure, refused a copy of the Quran offered by the Oklahoma Muslim community. Rep. Rex Duncan, also wrote to his fellow legislators that he is refusing a copy of the Quran because, “Most Oklahomans do not endorse the idea of killing innocent women and children in the name of ideology.” In March 2009, Rep. Rex Duncan proposed legislation to ban religious headwear in driver's license and other identification card photos. The bill was rejected by the Oklahoma legislature. This bill not only would affect the Muslim community but also a wide range of Oklahoma's faith communities such as Catholic nuns, Orthodox Jews, Sikhs and other religious groups who have headwear. (AMP Report)
Fla. Muslim receives white powder in mail
June 8: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called for an FBI hate crime investigation after a Florida Muslim who worships at a recently-bombed Jacksonville mosque received suspicious white powder, initially suspected to be anthrax, in a letter sent to his home on Monday. CAIR said the Muslim, a convert to Islam known for engaging in religious debate, was taken to the hospital for precautionary testing. The white powder was later found not to be a biological threat. "Whenever a person known publically for their religious views is allegedly targeted in this way, federal law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident as a possible hate crime," said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. (CAIR)
Anti-Muslim hate rides the bus: 'Leaving Islam' ads are prejudice disguised as assistance
June 9: Last month, about 30 buses in New York City's fleet started running ads professing to assist individuals trying to leave Islam; they'll continue to run through the middle of next week. These are messages of hate masquerading as messages of help - and all New Yorkers who believe in peaceful coexistence should reject them. Sponsored by an organization called Stop the Islamization of America, led by Pamela Geller, the ads read like something aimed at battered women trying to escape abusive relationships: "Fatwa on your head? Is your community or family threatening you? Leaving Islam?" Readers are then directed to a Web site aimed at providing support as they "escape" their religion. The implication: Countless American Muslims are trapped in an oppressive and violent faith, dying to get out. And if they dare try, they could be injured or killed. These are lies, and offensive ones at that. We should be clear: Few of the 5 million to 7 million Muslims in America want to escape their faith - and those who do are free to do so. There are extremists of all faith traditions, including those who identify as Muslim. But they are a small minority and do not represent Islam as a whole or American Muslims, for whom Islam is a beautiful and inspiring faith - not a prison.
Islamophobia and anti-Islam hatred are on the rise in the U.S., especially after the events of 9/11. Even before that fateful day, Muslims were often portrayed in the media as democracy- and America-hating terrorists - a portrayal that, unfortunately, has increasingly seeped into our consciousness. In 2002, 41% of respondents in a national poll admitted to harboring anti-Muslim sentiments (even though only 7% said they understood Islam very well). In 2009, the percentage of those admitting anti-Islam attitudes reached 46%.
The bus ads fuel the fire. Although Geller says that practicing Muslims should simply ignore the ads, and that they are aimed at those who want to leave the religion, the reality is that people frequently switch religions in the U.S., Islam included. Approximately half of all Americans change religious affiliations at some point in their lives. And violence is not a U.S. response to those who leave a tradition, whether it is Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism or any other faith. Thus, the ad is not really directed at a marginalized group of individuals yearning to leave Islam across the U.S. Rather, these ads subliminally reinforce the fearful stereotype that Islam is a religion of violent coercion. That it is cultlike in its hold over adherents. That it is a dangerous belief system from which people must escape. (New York Daily News)
Bomb That Mosque!
June 10: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission against Michael Berry, the former city councilman who hosts a talk show on KTRH each afternoon, for calling for violence against the proposed mosque in New York. When a caller to Berry's show supported building a mosque near Ground Zero in New York, Berry responded: "No, no, Tony, you can't build a mosque at the site of 9/11. No, you can't. No, you can't. And I'll tell you this — if you do build a mosque, I hope somebody blows it up...I hope the mosque isn't built, and if it is, I hope it's blown up, and I mean that." Berry has said on his blog that he went too far: "While I stand by my disagreement of the building of the mosque on the site, I SHOULD NOT have said, 'I hope someone blows it up.' That was dumb, and beneath me. I was trying to show "Tony" how much I opposed his opinion, but I went too far. For that, I apologize to my listeners." In a press release CAIR said: "Calls for acts of violence against houses of worship must never be tolerated or excused," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. "We ask the FCC to demonstrate that incitement to violence is never acceptable on our nation's airwaves."He said Berry's call to violence against an American mosque is of particular concern, coming as it does after a bombing at a mosque in Jacksonville, Florida, earlier this month. (Media Reports)
Sunnyvale Muslim beaten after being call ‘terrorist’
June 11: The San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA) today called on the FBI to initiate a hate crime investigation into an attack on a local Muslim allegedly beaten after being called a “terrorist.” CAIR-SFBA said the Sunnyvale, Calif., resident was walking down the street this afternoon when he was approached by three young men who asked him if he was Jewish. When he said he is Muslim, one of the alleged assailants reportedly responded, “That’s worse, you’re a terrorist.” After the alleged victim tried to explain that Islam does not permit terrorism, he was reportedly punched multiple times in the face, resulting in lacerations. Police are searching for a young male suspect. “Whenever racial, ethnic or religious slurs are used by alleged perpetrators, additional state and federal hate crime charges should be considered,” CAIR-SFBA Programs and Outreach Director Zahra Billoo. “This disturbing incident shows that Jewish and Muslim Americans must continue to work together to challenge bigotry and intolerance.” She said FBI involvement in this case would re-confirm Attorney General Eric Holder’s recent commitment to prosecute hate crimes targeting American Muslims.” (CAIR)
UC Irvine MSU appeals draconian suspension
June 14: The Muslim Student Union (MSU) at the University of California, Irvine, announced today that it has filed an appeal to the recommendation by the Senior Executive Director of Student Housing to revoke the student group's charter for one year, following allegations that the MSU violated sections of University policy. The allegations arose as a result of the appearance of Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren for a UCI-sponsored event in February. During the event, eight UC Irvine students stood up and protested against Israeli policies which deprive Palestinians of their human rights. Shalom Elcott, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation Orange County, said he commends the university's decision to follow through on this issue. "The university's disciplinary action regarding the MSU establishes an important and appropriate precedent and sends a powerful message to other universities across the nation." Elcott said the federation along with other campus and local Jewish organizations have worked with the university to what he called resolve this issue. Dean of the UCI Law School Erwin Chemerinsky wrote in the Los Angeles Times that he "disagree[s] with those who call for draconian sanctions against these students or of punishment for a larger group." When asked by the Orange County Register whether the Muslim Student Union would be disciplined, the director of UCI Media Relations also said she "would find it highly surprising if that was happening." Husam Ayloush, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations,said: "It appears to be politically motivated to silence any future peaceful and legitimate criticism of Israel's brutal practices," he said. "This was nothing but a peaceful and symbolic protest of the Israeli Ambassador at UCI. It was a reflection of a growing worldwide campaign by human rights activists to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine and their racism toward the Palestinian people." (AMP Report)
Muslim states seek UN action on West's Islamophobia
June 16: In Geneva, Muslim states said today that "Islamophobia" is sweeping the West and its media and demanded that the United Nations take tougher action against it. Delegates from Islamic countries, including Pakistan and Egypt, told the United Nations Human Rights Council that treatment of Muslims in Western countries amounted to racism and discrimination and must be fought. "People of Arab origin face new forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance and experience discrimination and marginalisation," an Egyptian delegate said. And Pakistan, speaking for the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), said the council's special investigator into religious freedom should look into such racism "especially in Western societies". Acting for the OIC, Pakistan has tabled a resolution at the council instructing its special investigator on religious freedom "to work closely with mass media organizations to ensure that they create and promote an atmosphere of respect and tolerance for religious and cultural diversity". The OIC -- and its allies in the 47-nation council including Russia, China and Cuba -- dub criticism of Muslim practices and linking of terrorism waged under the proclaimed banner of Islamism as "islamophobia" that pillories all Muslims. (Reuters)
Muslim group’s vehicle vandalized in Washington State
June 23: TA van, which is owned by the Seattle chapter of the Islamic Circle of North America and is leased to various Muslim organizations throughout the Seattle area, was vandalized this evening. The van, which advertises the ICNA’s “Why Islam” outreach project and reads “Discover Islam,” features the project’s telephone number and web site. “The project’s biggest goal is to clarify misconceptions of Islam,” says Arsalan Bukhari, Executive Director of the statewide chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The project provides free literature on Islam and features a call center that answers questions about Islam. “This hate crime shows we have to work harder to promote proper understanding of Islam and to negate the poison and false propaganda being spread by misinformation,” wrote Secretary of the ICNA Washington Chapter Dr. Muhammad Ayub in a local press release. CAIR has called upon both the Bellevue Police Department and the FBI to consider this incident a hate or bias-motivated crime. (Real Change News)
Five Northern Virginia Muslims convicted on terrorism charges in Pakistan
June 24: Five Northern Virginia men were convicted on terrorism charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Pakistani court today. Pakistani and U.S. law enforcement officials suspect the five traveled to Pakistan in hopes of joining insurgent groups active in battling U.S. forces in Afghanistan, although they were apparently turned away. One had left behind a video that investigators said made clear his violent intent. The men -- Umar Chaudhry, Ramy Zamzam, Ahmad A. Minni, Waqar Khan and Aman Hassan Yemer -- did not carry out any attacks but were convicted of criminal conspiracy and funding a banned terrorist organization. An attorney for the men questioned the legitimacy of the verdict and accused prosecutors and the judge in the closed-door trial of ignoring key evidence. He promised an immediate appeal. Prosecutors said the men traveled from their port of arrival, Karachi, to the cities of Hyderabad and Lahore, where they met with members of the banned militant organizations Jaish-i-Muhammad and Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The organizations accepted small donations from the men -- from $6 to $12, according to receipts presented as evidence -- but rejected the five as potential fighters, prosecutors and police said. Defense attorneys said several inconsistencies indicated that police had fabricated the e-mails, maps and confessions. Lawyer Hassan Katchela said "The evidence that we produced in the court was not even read." The men grew up in the Alexandria area and worshiped at the same small mosque in Fairfax. They said during the trial that they had traveled secretly to Pakistan for the wedding of one of the five and in hopes of helping the orphaned and homeless in neighboring Afghanistan. When they were arrested in December, after their families reported them missing around Thanksgiving, they ranged in age from 18 to 24. (Washington Post)
U.S. appears uninterested in repatriating five American Muslims jailed in Pakistan
June 25: U.S. officials are indicating that the Obama administration has little interest in exerting its diplomatic clout to try to ease the plight of five Muslim men from Northern Virginia who earlier this week were jailed by Pakistani authorities for 10 years on terror-related charges. But the head of a prominent U.S. Islamic group is suggesting that the administration was treating the Northern Virginia five under a double standard, noting that Gary Faulkner, an American arrested by Pakistani authorities while on a self-proclaimed mission to stalk and kill Osama bin Laden, was released and sent home only days after his arrest. Three U.S. officials, who all spoke on condition of anonymity, say that they were unaware of any effort or interest on the part of the Obama administration to pressure the Pakistanis to work out some kind of deal to allow the five an early release from Pakistani custody, perhaps in return for some sort of promise that they would serve out their sentences in an American prison. The U.S. government appears to believe there is "good violence and bad violence," Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on Islamic-American Relations, tells Declassified, noting that the five young Northern Virginia Muslims are likely to remain in jail for a decade, while Colorado construction worker Gary Faulkner, who was arrested while trying to cross from Pakistan into Afghanistan armed with a pistol, sword and night-vision goggles, was quickly released and allowed to return to the U.S. But a senior U.S. official, who asked for anonymity when addressing a politically sensitive issue, retorts, "Rambo [Faulkner] did not leave behind a jihad videotape. There is no comparability to the two cases." Awad also disputes that the men's trial was transparent, claiming it was conducted in secret and that the defendants were tortured by their Pakistani captors. He says their local defense lawyer said evidence against them, which reportedly included a dozen e-mail messages the defendants allegedly exchanged with a notorious Pakistani militant and maps of a Pakistani nuclear plant, was fabricated by Pakistani authorities. "At least the U.S. government should investigate the torture allegations," Awad says. (Newsweek)
ACLU files lawsuit challenging unconstitutional 'No Fly List'
June 30: The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit on behalf of 10 U.S. citizens and lawful residents who are prohibited from flying to or from the United States or over U.S. airspace because they are on the government's "No Fly List." None of the individuals in the lawsuit, including a disabled U.S. Marine Corps veteran stranded in Egypt and a U.S. Army veteran stuck in Colombia, have been told why they are on the list or given a chance to clear their names. "More and more Americans who have done nothing wrong find themselves unable to fly, and in some cases unable to return to the U.S., without any explanation whatsoever from the government," said Ben Wizner, staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project. "A secret list that deprives people of the right to fly and places them into effective exile without any opportunity to object is both un-American and unconstitutional."
According to the ACLU's legal complaint, thousands of people have been added to the "No Fly List" and barred from commercial air travel without any opportunity to learn about or refute the basis for their inclusion on the list. The result is a vast and growing list of individuals who, on the basis of error or innuendo, have been deemed too dangerous to fly but who are too harmless to arrest. "Without a reasonable way for people to challenge their inclusion on the list, there's no way to keep innocent people off it," said Nusrat Choudhury, a staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project. "The government's decision to prevent people from flying without giving them a chance to defend themselves has a huge impact on people's lives – including their ability to perform their jobs, see their families and, in the case of U.S. citizens, to return home to the United States from abroad." (PR Newswire)
NYC Muslims push for school holidays
June 30: Nearly two hundred Muslim parents, students and supporters rallied on the steps of City Hall, to call on New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Department of Education to include Eid-ul Adha and Eid-ul Fitr in the New York City public school calendar. The rally marked an important anniversary for supporters of the proposal. One year ago today NYC Council overwhelmingly passed a resolution on Tuesday to add two of the most important Muslim holy days to the public school holiday calendar. But the vote, which was non-binding, put the Council in conflict with Mayor Michael Bloomberg who has the final say to designate the days off. "Over 12 percent of the city's 1.1 million school children are Muslim, and our children deserve to have their holiday like everyone else," said City Council Education Committee Chair, Robert Jackson. The Council's resolution would have added Eid al-Fitr, which celebrates the end of Ramadan, the sacred month of fasting, and Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, which marks the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. The holidays are known as the Eids. Under current DOE policy, Muslim students are allowed excused absences for those days, but have to make arrangements with teachers to make up the class work. There are a number of school districts that currently recognize Muslim holidays. (wpix.com)
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