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Chronology of Islam in America (2014)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
March 2014
Anti Sharia bills active in GA, FL, MO only; dead in MS
March 5: The latest efforts to ban state court use of international or foreign law, often cited in the context of banning the use of sharia law by state courts, appear to be failing. The vast majority of such bills are not even getting committee hearings. A case in point is Mississippi’s HB 44: the bill had been approved by the full House 116-2 in February, but failed to get out of the Senate Judiciary A committee before the March 4 legislative deadline for committee passage. Effectively only three states have active efforts to enact such bans: (1) Georgia: hearings were scheduled on February 10 (SR 808) and on both February 19 and February 24 (HB 895) UPDATE: The Georgia bill(s) failed to make the March 3 crossover deadline for the 2014 session. (2) Florida: just came into session but nearly passed a ban last year. (3) Missouri: passed a ban that was vetoed last year, held hearings on February 25. [Gavel to Gavel]
Anti-Defamation League exploits fear of Muslims to undermine anti-gay bill
March 5: The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) can’t quit pushing anti-Muslim bigotry. The latest instance emerged in a peculiar fashion: in opposition to an anti-gay bill in Arizona pushed by religious conservatives. The ADL landed on the side of liberals in opposing the legislation, which would have enshrined the rights of business owners to deny service to gays and lesbians if they justified it with their religion. But one of the reasons the ADL opposed the bill, which was eventually vetoed by the state’s governor, was the specter of Muslims using the legislation to discriminate against non-Muslims. Or as an ADL official put it: “A Muslim-owned cab company might refuse to drive passengers to a Hindu temple.” Slate‘s William Saletan was the first to report on how the ADL exploited Islamophobia to kill the bill: If you want to kill legislation that protects the right of Christians to withhold business services from same-sex couples, here’s one way to do it: Don’t warn people about Christians. Warn them about Muslims… The first reference to Muslims in the Arizona fight, as far as I can tell, came from the Anti-Defamation League in a letter to state senators and in testimony before a state Senate committee on Jan. 16. If the bill were to pass, the ADL’s assistant regional director told the committee, “A Muslim-owned cab company might refuse to drive passengers to a Hindu temple.” [Mondoweiss]
2nd Muslim Day at the Capitol in Albany
March 11: More than 50 members of the New York Muslim community participated in today's 2nd Annual “Muslim Day at the Capitol,” a program of that state’s chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY). During meetings with more than 50 elected officials of the New York State Assembly and Senate, American Muslims urged lawmakers to support upcoming bills that directly impact the New York Muslim community, including a bill to recognize Muslim holidays in City University of New York (CUNY) and State Univerisity of New York (SUNY) branches, a bill to introduce halal food in public schools, and a bill urging the admissibility of hate speech as evidence when determining a hate crime. "Muslim Day at the Capitol is a day for Muslims to work together with our elected officials to address issues and concerns that affect our community, our religion and our daily lives. On this day, Muslims of different nationalizes, ages and neighborhoods joined in the collective effort to engage in conversations of change and empowerment in local and state government," said CAIR-NY Director of Operations Sadyia Khalique. [CAIR]
Three permanent residents not allowed to return to US
March 12: The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) says it wants the state department to allow three brothers, who are permanent residents of the US, to return from Russia. One of the three brothers was friends with a Chechen man shot during an FBI investigation in Orlando last year. The Florida chapter of the CAIR, says Russian Authorities reportedly told the brothers - Khusen, Umar and Khasan Taramov that '“the American side" had put in a request to keep them off the flight,' when they tried to board a plane to the United States in December. Khusen Taramov was friends with Ibragim Todashev, who was shot and killed in Orlando last year while being questioned by the FBI in connection with one of the Boston marathon bombing suspects. CAIR Florida has written to secretary of state John Kerry, saying that preventing the brothers from returning to the US without due process of law constitutes grave violations of their civil rights. [WMFE.ORG]
Helping Hand among top ten charities in the US
March 14: Helping Hand for Relief and Development has been rated among the Top Ten Charities in the US by Charity Navigator. HHRD was in 10th place in 2013 and moved to 9th in 2014 Alhamdulillah! This is exciting news for a Muslim charity non-profit organization that has worked hard to get this acknowledgement from an organization like Charity Navigator that watches all charitable NGOs in the USA. This means a lot and shows that you can trust and have confidence in giving your donations to Helping Hand for Relief and Development. Please see its website: www.hhrd.org .
Jersey City Muslims who lost mosque to fire praying at nearby church
March 14: The congregation of Jersey City’s Tawheed Islamic Center lost their mosque to a devastating 3-alarm fire on Feb. 28, but congregants have been holding Friday prayers at The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints on Sip Avenue. “All the engineers are saying that the building has to come down even though some of the brick sides are still standing,” said Islamic Center President of the Board of Trustees Ibrahim Eldewak, 59, of the Islamic Center on West Side Avenue. The city helped secure the Sip Avenue church, less than one-half a mile away, where the Islamic Center congregation now hold Friday afternoon prayers. The use of the church on Sip is open-ended, Eldewak said. Islamic Center engineers and architects are working on a plan for rebuilding the center, but right now the building is sealed as the insurance company conducts its evaluation prior to drafting a final report. [The Jersey Journal]
New organization unites American Muslims in one coalition
March 14: Seeking to make a bigger impact in American politics and to better protect their civil rights, 10 Muslim groups have banded together under a new umbrella group: the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations. “This is the dream of every American Muslim, to unify the approach, agenda and vision of the Muslim community,” said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, at an announcement at the National Press Club. “In the past, many people have tried to unite on a limited agenda, but this is a broad agenda for the American Muslim community.” The council plans to advocate for issues important to American Muslims and to boost their voter registration. The idea is to give Muslims a bigger political platform in elections and society, and to leverage the community’s purchasing power. Council members say their first charge is to conduct a census of Muslims in the U.S. to get a better handle on what issues Muslims care about most. They hope to complete it within two years, to help shape their agenda in the 2016 elections. [Washington Post]
Volunteers step up to remove mosque graffiti
March 14: A handful of Princeton (West Virginia) residents wielded scrub brushes and paint thinner to combat a vandal’s anger. Michael Parks, Derek Zeigler and Barbie Dobbins spent much of volunteering their time and materials to continue working to remove graffiti spray-painted on the exterior walls of the Islamic Society of the Appalachian Region’s mosque. “This is bigotry and hate right here on a wall,” Parks said. The ISAR Islamic Center was vandalized once in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. At the time, local Islamic leaders said the community stepped up and assisted in the clean-up process. [Princeton Times]
Muslim Student Association wants to know who bugged prayer room
March 15: Over a year after a possible listening device was found in the Graham Center’s Serenity Room in 343, the Muslim Student Association is still waiting for someone to claim the bug students say was discovered burrowed in the carpet under a prayer mat on February 9, 2013. The MSA released a statement on its Facebook page on March 11 in response to an article published by Miami New Times, which coupled the investigation with an incident in New York where NYPD is said to have spied on MSA chapters in the area. “For reasons unknown, the placement of such a device evidently accounts for a form of espionage intended to take place in the room,” the statement reads. “However, we find it necessary to establish that these assumptions behind this finding will only lead to closed ends.” Neither the University Police Department nor Miami Police Department have claimed the device as one they were using for an investigation. [Florida International University Media]
FBI alleged to have sought mosque spy
March 15: An attorney for an American man who claims he was tortured in the United Arab Emirates at the behest of the U.S. government said Friday that his client is too afraid to try to travel back home. The contention came at a hearing involving a lawsuit filed by Yonas Fikre, alleging the FBI and State Department demanded that he spy on a Portland mosque in 2011, then had him abused in a UAE prison when he refused. The federal agencies have declined to comment on the allegations, citing the ongoing litigation. Fikre remains in Sweden, where he sought asylum after saying he was told by FBI agents that he was on the no-fly list. He also said a person who attempted to use his ticket to obtain a boarding pass in UAE was told Fikre could not fly. At a hearing in U.S. District Court, government attorneys said Fikre couldn’t claim that he suffered harm from placement on the government’s no-fly list because he hasn’t tried to fly home. Fikre’s attorney, Tom Nelson, says his client remains scarred by his previous experience, and fears that if he did return to the U.S., he would not be permitted to leave again. “Mr. Fikre fears for his personal safety,” Nelson said. “It’s critical (that) this court ensures Mr. Fikre won’t be subjected to these actions again.”
Fikre said he was held for 106 days in the United Arab Emirates after refusing to cooperate with Portland-based FBI agents in an interview in Sudan. The State Department confirmed previously that Fikre was held in Abu Dhabi “on unspecified charges,” but said he was visited by State Department officials and showed no signs of mistreatment. Fikre said the FBI agents named in the suit wanted him to become an informant at Portland’s largest mosque, Masjid As-Saber, and were angered when he refused. He said interrogators in Abu Dhabi later used information Fikre had given to the FBI agents in his interrogation. U.S. District Court Judge Anna Brown said Nelson needed to better specify the harm Fikre suffered and the specific constitutional rights that might have been violated. Two other Oregon Muslims who worship at the mosque have also alleged they were held overseas and asked to become informants by Portland-based FBI agents. These other men have since returned to Oregon. [The Associated Press]
Man threatens staff at CAIR-Ohio office
March 19: Earlier this afternoon, a man entered the office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Columbus, Ohio, walked down a hallway to the last office he found, and reportedly told an intern: "I'm going to take you all down. This whole place, this whole organization, I'm going to take you all down." He also allegedly stated: "I know what's going on here." After making his threat, the man walked out, slamming the exit door. Police have been called to the scene. CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. [CAIR]
Muslims protest anti-Sharia bill in Tallahassee
March 19: About 100 Central Florida Muslims are traveling today to join about 300 other Muslims from throughout Florida to lobby the state Legislature against an anti-Sharia bill. It’s the sixth year that Muslims have participated in the Florida Muslim Capitol Day to lobbied legislators on issues ranging from education to jobs, and the fourth year to voice opposition to an anti-Sharia bill. “The bill is designed to marginalize the community and create fear in the community,” said Manal Fakhoury, chairwoman of Florida Muslim Capitol Day. “It’s un-American, it’s bad for Florida, it’s bad for business. It’s against the First Amendment, our right to practice our religion.” The bill, which would ban the use of Sharia laws in the courts, is sponsored by Republican State Sen. D. Alan Hays, of Umatilla, who contends the law is necessary to “vaccinate” against the spread of Islamic law in the United States. “The bill is about a problem that doesn’t exist,” Fakhoury said. “Sharia is a teaching. It’s how you conduct yourself, how parents teach their children.” [Orlando Sentinel]
Continued on page two
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