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Chronology of Islam in America (2005)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
May 2005
Religious leaders denounce Robertson comments
May 4: Religious leaders, left-leaning political activists and victims of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York joined today to denounce recent comments Pat Robertson made about the escalating battle over the federal judiciary. Robertson, who had a brief 1988 GOP presidential bid, told "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos that federal jurists were a more serious threat to America than "a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings" and that Muslims were unfit to hold federal judgeships. MoveOnPAC, a progressive group that provides financial backing to congressional candidates, said it's launching a TV ad campaign repudiating the religious broadcaster's Sunday (May 1) comments on ABC's "This Week." In a telephone news conference, the Rev. Jim Wallis, evangelical editor of Sojourners magazine and the author of "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It," said Robertson's remarks were "irresponsible, extreme and hurtful." He added that Robertson's claims that "all Muslims want to kill us" were particularly destructive to the healing process happening in the Islamic community. (Religion News Service)
Suit says Muslim fired because of his religion
May 4: Choose your prayers or your job. That's the ultimatum an Aurora man says his boss gave him before he was fired from a suburban company two years ago. Amer Mirza, a 25-year-old Indian Muslim, said the environment at Specialty Publishing in Carol Stream got increasingly tense and unfriendly as the U.S. war in Iraq loomed in 2003. Particularly when it came to his Friday prayers, Mirza said in a federal lawsuit filed this week by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on his behalf. Mirza, a U.S. citizen who came here from India in 1994, said the harassment got so bad he was hospitalized with severe stomach and chest pains related to stress. He said the company looked for an excuse to fire him and eventually did in September 2003. (Chicago Sun Times)
Arab American National Museum opens in Detroit
May 5: Metro Detroit Arab-Americans are looking forward with understandable pride and excitement to the opening of the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn. Arab-Americans are a vital part of this region's culture and economy, and understanding their story is essential to understanding Metro Detroit. The $13 million, 38,500-square-foot museum, features exhibits on the Arab world, the successive waves of Arab immigration to America, Arab religious and cultural life and the Arab experience in America. (The Detroit News)
Harvard City Council rejects plan for Muslim school
May 6: The Harvard City Council this week rejected a request to open a Muslim boarding school in the northwest McHenry County town, saying it wasn't compatible with nearby residences. After about 10 minutes of discussion, the council denied the bid by the Ibrahim Education Foundation to convert an old church into a boarding school for Muslim boys. (Chicago Tribune)
Baltimore County school calendar denies Muslim request
May 10: The Baltimore County school system has proposed a calendar for the 2006-2007 academic year that does not include days off for the two most religious Muslim holidays, despite more than a year of lobbying by the Muslim community. The proposed calendar does include a day off for the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Bash Pharoan, president of the Baltimore County Muslim Council, said he would continue fighting for the schools to close for Muslim holidays. (Baltimore Sun)
Judge bars discussion of Mideast conflict in Dr. Al Arian case
May 10: Attorneys for a former college professor accused of raising money for a Palestinian terrorist group may not introduce the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as part of their defense at his upcoming trial, a judge in Tampa, Florida, ruled today. Sami Al-Arian, 47, and three other men face a 53-count indictment charging them with support of a foreign terrorist organization, racketeering, conspiracy and extortion. They face life in prison if convicted. Attorneys for the former University of South Florida professor had argued that jurors must understand the 50-year conflict to put Al-Arian's public statements and some of his activities into context. But Judge James Moody Jr. agreed with prosecutors, who filed motions to block political and religious issues relating to the conflict that would serve as explanations for the defendants' motives. (Los Angeles Times)
Anti-Muslim hate crimes in US jumps 52 percent
May 11: Anti-Muslim hate crimes in the United States increased by more than 50 percent in the past year, from 93 cases in 2003 to 141 in 2004, according to a report released today by the Council on American-Islamic Relations' (CAIR). The CAIR report - the only annual study of its kind - outlines 1522 incidents and experiences of anti-Muslim violence, discrimination and harassment in 2004, the highest number of Muslim civil rights cases ever recorded in the group's annual report entitled: 'Unequal Protection: The Status of Muslim Civil Rights in the United States 2005'. Among the most prevalent complaints: There were 225 alleging religious discrimination such as community opposition to the presence of a mosque; 196 asserting employment discrimination; and 190 reported instances of verbal harassment. Anti-Muslim Internet traffic and radio broadcasts are fueling an atmosphere of hate and contributing to increased discrimination, the report pointed out. (CAIR)
Tensions between U.S. and Muslims reaching new highs, say analysts
May 11: Far from abating since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, tensions between the United States and Muslims appear to be reaching a fever pitch. A new report today documented a sharp increase last year in hate crimes and civil rights violations against Muslims living in the country. Author and academic Muqtedar Khan, on staff at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding in Clinton, Mich., says favourability ratings toward Muslims among Americans were not significantly negative for some time after the Sept. 11 attacks but started going down in 2003. He blames increasingly tense relations on anti-Islamic rhetoric from right-wing religious groups in the U.S. and a small segment of Muslims bent on reinforcing violent stereotypes. (The Canadian Press)
American Muslims demand high-level investigation of Qur'an desecration at Guantanamo prison
May 11: American Muslim organizations today called for high-level Pentagon investigation of the reported desecration of Holy Qur'an at the US detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The allegations have been made by recently released Pakistani and Afghan detainees and published in the latest edition of the American Newsweek magazine. Leading Muslim organizations, American Muslim Council, American Muslim Voice, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Muslim Civil Rights Center and many other groups issued separate statements expressing their dismay at the desecration of the holy Qur'an at the Guantanamo Bay Prison. (American Muslim Perspective report)
Channel 25, Herald face libel suit
May 11: The chairman of the board of trustees of the Islamic Society of Boston filed a defamation suit against the Boston Herald and WFXT-TV (Channel 25), marking the second time in three months an official of that group said he had been unfairly harmed by news reports linking him to terrorism. In the suit filed in Suffolk Superior Court, Osama Kandil, a biomedical researcher and a US citizen residing in Egypt, alleges that a series of Herald stories that began in October 2003 and a Channel 25 broadcast in November 2004 destroyed his reputation ''by sensationalizing a story that Dr. Kandil . . . was linked to radical Islamic terrorists and that both he and the ISB [Islamic Society of Boston] presented a danger to the community." (Boston Globe)
One of the largest mosques in US opens in Detroit
May 12: The Islamic Center of America in Detroit formally opened its $12 million complex to provide its 3,000 members with more room to worship and have community activities. The Islamic Center -- which is among the largest mosques in the country -- is a 120,000-square-foot complex that includes the mosque, the Muslim American Youth Academy, an auditorium and library. There are about 500,000 Arab-Americans in Metro Detroit. About 30,000 Dearborn residents -- about one-third of the city's population -- are of Arab descent. The Islamic Center's existing mosque in Detroit began as the Islamic Center of Detroit in 1963. Coupled with the American National Museum and Cultural Center and mosque, Dearborn will now be the country's hub of Arab American culture and religion. The Dearborn Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services also opened the $12.8 million museum this month. (The Detroit News)
Two Muslim teenage girls released after New York suicide bomb scare arrests
May 12: In New York, Immigration authorities have released two 16-year-old Muslim girls who were detained for six weeks amid reports they were potential recruits for a suicide bomb plot that never materialized. The girls - one from Bangladesh, the other from Guinea - were taken into custody separately in New York on March 24 and held at a detention centre. The Bangladeshi girl, her mother and two brothers left the country voluntarily on today, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Manny Van Pelt said. The Guinean girl was released last week and was allowed to remain in the city but still faces removal proceedings, Van Pelt said in Washington, D.C. (Associated Press)
U.S. neo-cons embellished “terror” threat
May 13: A British documentary which argues that U.S. neo-conservatives exaggerated the “terror” was premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on today, with many believing it will stir up emotions very much the way "Fahrenheit 9/11" did a year ago. "The Power of Nightmares" re-injected politics into the festival that seemed eager to steer clear of controversy this year after American documentary maker Michael Moore won top honors in 2004 for his film deriding President Bush's response to terror. At a screening, "The Power of Nightmares" by filmmaker and senior BBC producer Adam Curtis kept an audience of journalists and film buyers glued to their seats and taking notes for a full 2-1/2 hours. The film, a non-competition entry, argues that the fear of terrorism has come to pervade politics in the United States and Britain even though much of that angst is based on carefully nurtured illusions. It says Bush and U.S. neo-conservatives, as well as British Prime Minister Tony Blair, are exaggerating the terror threat in a manner similar to the way earlier generations of leaders inflated the danger of communism and the Soviet Union.( Al Jazeera)
MPAC campaign to redress grievances of American Muslims
May 13: The Muslim Public Affairs Council today announced a petition campaign to the President calling for redress of grievances suffered by American Muslims. The petition calls for an immediate investigation of detainee abuse and religious mistreatment by U.S. military interrogators of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, and demands swift corrective action against those responsible, including termination of employment of high-level officials who allowed such abuses to take place. (MPAC)
Muslim charity officer pleads not guilty
May 16: In Worcester, Mass., a former officer of a defunct Islamic charity pleaded not guilty today to federal charges of lying to authorities investigating the group's alleged ties to terrorist organizations. Muhamed Mubayyid was released on bond and given an electronic monitoring bracelet after a court hearing. He was one of two former officers of a group called Care International to be indicted on charges of concealing information from federal agencies, conspiring to defraud the government, and making false statements to the FBI. (Washington Post)
Student reports holy book in toilet at CA College
May 16: Campus police at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton CA, are investigating a report that a student found a copy of the Quran in a library toilet at the college. The student claims to have found the Muslim holy book in the toilet of a second-floor men's bathroom in the library. (KESQ Channel)
Desecrated Quran delivered via Amazon.com
May 17: An American Muslim woman who ordered a copy of the Quran from Amazon.com received one with the words "F*ck this piece of sh*t" and "Death to all Muslims" scrawled across the inside cover. Customer Azza Basarudin and the Muslim Public Affairs Council demanded that Amazon issue a formal condemnation and take corrective action. "The cult of hatred against Islam and Muslims is manifesting in different sectors of our society," said MPAC Executive Director Salam Al-Marayati. "The sooner we address these problems, the better we can serve America's national and international interests." (MPAC)
CAIR elects Dr. Parvez Ahmed as new Chairman
May 17: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced today at its annual conference the election of Dr. Parvez Ahmed as the new Chairman of the Board for CAIR National. Assisting the new Chair will be Dr. Ahmad Al-Akhras as the Vice Chairman of the Board. Omar Ahmad will be retiring as CAIR's Founding Chairman after 11 years of exemplary and dedicated service to the American Muslim community. (CAIR)
ICRC told U.S. of disrespect of Quran at Guantanamo
May 19: The international Red Cross told U.S. authorities about American personnel at the Guantanamo Bay detention center showing disrespect to Islam's holy book, the Quran, a spokesman said today in Geneva. Delegates from the International Committee of the Red Cross informed the relevant U.S. authorities, who took action to stop the abuse, said spokesman Simon Schorno, who declined to specify the nature of the incidents. The Geneva-based ICRC confidentially reported the incidents to U.S. authorities in 2002 and 2003, and has since been able to verify that any disrespect of the Quran has been stopped. (Associated Press)
U.S. 'Thumbs Its Nose' at Rights, Amnesty Says
May 25: In coordinated broadsides from London and Washington, Amnesty International accused the Bush administration today of condoning "atrocious" human rights violations, thereby diminishing its moral authority and setting a global example encouraging abuse by other nations. In a string of accusations introducing the organization's annual report in London, Irene Khan, Amnesty's secretary general, listed the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, the detention of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and the so-called rendition of prisoners to countries known to practice torture as evidence that the United States "thumbs its nose at the rule of law and human rights." Ms. Khan labeled the United States detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, where more than 500 prisoners from about 40 countries are being held, as "the gulag of our times." Defending its human rights record as "leading the way," the White House dismissed the accusations as ridiculous and unfounded. (New York Times)
Inmates Alleged Koran Abuse: FBI Papers Cite Complaints as Early as 2002
May 25: Detainees told FBI interrogators as early as April 2002 that mistreatment of the Koran was widespread at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and many said they were severely beaten by captors there or in Afghanistan, according to FBI documents released today. The summaries of FBI interviews, obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union as part of an ongoing lawsuit, include a dozen allegations that the Koran was kicked, thrown to the floor or withheld as punishment. One prisoner said in August 2002 that guards had "flushed a Koran in the toilet" and had beaten some detainees. (Washington Post)
Pakistani deported after one year in detention
May 27: Pakistani native Khamal Muhammad, who told authorities he was an armed guard and cook for Harakat ul-Mujahidin — designated by the State Department as a terrorism organization associated with al-Qaida, has been deported to Pakistan after being detained for over a year, Homeland Security investigators said today. Muhammad, 23, was living in the San Francisco area when he was arrested in January 2004 for overstaying his visa by eight months. The Justice Department did not pursue criminal charges against Muhammad. "Knowledge or connection to a terrorist activity may not be sufficient to prove a terrorism crime," said Justice spokesman Kevin Madden. "Sometimes the best alternative from a national security standpoint is to pursue other disruption efforts, including removal from the United States." (San Francisco Chronicle)
Prayer time for Muslim cabbies at Cleveland airport leads to police ticketing
May 27: Somali immigrants who work as cab drivers at the Cleveland airport say police are ticketing them when they step out of their cabs for traditional Islamic prayer. Police say they are enforcing a requirement that all drivers remain in their vehicles outside the terminal and are trying to maintain order in an increasingly competitive airport cab scene. The USA Taxi company says a third of its drivers have quit in recent months over the enforcement. They say the ticketing has hurt efforts to attract Somali cab drivers to Cleveland from the big Somali immigrant community in Columbus. "Nobody wants to work in an environment of harassment," said Abdifatah Samatar, 25, the manager of the Somali-owned company. "Everyone came here to work. Instead, everyone feels unwanted." (Fox News)
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