 |
Chronology of Islam in America (2006)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
November 2006
Judge blocks Wayne (NJ) from taking mosque's land
Nov 1: Finding the township's motives suspect, a federal judge today temporarily blocked Wayne (New Jersey) from instituting condemnation proceedings to acquire an 11-acre tract where a Paterson-based Muslim group hopes to build a mosque. At the same time, U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan enjoined the Albanian Associated Fund from moving ahead with construction of the mosque if it receives the necessary site plan approvals from the Planning Board. The suit, filed in July, said township officials have stalled the mosque for nearly four years at the Planning Board level, imposing unusually stringent requirements and orchestrating a series of delays. Upon realizing it couldn't stop the project, the suit alleges, the Township Council approved a resolution authorizing it to obtain the Colfax Road tract via eminent domain. (NorthJewsey.com)
Baptist leader, politicians stereotype Islam and Muslims
Nov. 1: The Council on American-Islamic Relations today reacted to a series of physical and rhetorical attacks on Islam and Muslims nationwide by calling on religious and political leaders to repudiate growing Islamophobia in American society. The CAIR reported that a county commissioner in Florida said that he agrees with a letter his wife wrote to a local newspaper calling Islam a "hateful, frightening religion." In Missouri, a top Baptist leader in that state told 1,200 convention delegates: "Today, Islam has a strategic plan to defeat and occupy America." He said Muslims are planning to take over America one city at a time, starting with Detroit. "They are trying to establish a Muslim state inside America, and they are going to take the city of Detroit back to the 15th century and practice Sharia (or Islamic) law there." Also in Missouri, "KKK" and "Kill Muslim" were scrawled in spray paint on the garage door of a family of Pakistani heritage. In Pennsylvania, Sen. Rick Santorum compared the Islamic concept of "Jihad" to Nazism. "Mein Kampf means struggle; jihad means struggle," said Santorum. (CAIR Bulletin)
Governor Jeb Bush criticizes anti-Islam letter by official's wife
Nov. 1: Governor Jeb Bush today criticized remarks a Hernando County commissioner's wife made calling Islam a "hateful, frightening religion." In an Oct. 23 letter to the St. Petersburg Times, Mary Ann Hogan objected to the county's assistance to a mosque celebration of the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting. "The stated goal of the Muslim faith is to kill us, the 'infidels.' By providing county employees for their use Hernando County is sanctioning this hateful, frightening religion," she wrote. Commissioner Tom Hogan Sr., a Republican, defended his wife's comments. "I'm not seeing that as bigotry, because I don't feel bigoted on it. It's just a matter of fact," he said. Bush, who appointed Tom Hogan in August, condemned the couple's remarks. "He's disappointed. He thought their comments were entirely inappropriate," said Alia Faraj, a spokeswoman for the governor. (Associated Press)
American Muslims gear up for the next week’s elections
Nov. 2: An intensive voter registration and get-out-the-vote drive is under way in the seven-million strong American Muslim community before the Nov 7 mid-term election. The Muslim groups are targeting 12 states with a high concentration of Muslim population: California, Illinois, New York, Texas, New Jersey, Michigan, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota. The Muslim American Society, which has set up voter registration booths in mosques across the country, has added 30,000 new voters to the rolls in recent weeks.In Illinois, another state with a heavy concentration of Muslims, the Council of Islamic Organisations of Greater Chicago has been working to register more of the area's approximately 400,000 Muslims to vote. In California which hosts 20 per cent of the American Muslim population, American Muslim Voice (AMV) and American Muslim Alliance (AMA) are also encouraging Muslims to register as voters and participate in the national political process. The AMA has issued an election advisory suggesting its preference for the candidates who supported the Muslims on the issue of civil rights which remains the top Muslim concern in elections since 2000. (American Muslims gear up for the next week’s elections By Abdus Sattar Ghazali)
CAIR seeks profiling clarification from congressman
Nov. 3: The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations announced today that it has issued a letter, along with several other diverse organizations, demanding a clarification from Congressman Jerry Weller (R-IL, 11th congressional district) on his recent comments about racial profiling. In a recent debate against his opponent John Pavich, Congressman Weller remarked: "if we know a Middle Eastern male has entered our community, I believe our law enforcement needs to be able to go out and look for Middle Eastern males, if that Middle Eastern male was part of a jihadist movement and part of a terrorist threat to our nation," when asked what he would do about racial profiling. Sadiya Ahmed, CAIR-Chicago Governmental Relations Coordinator, said that the practice of racial profiling "creates a cycle of discrimination that is difficult to break out of." "Elected officials have the ability to protect the civil rights of their constituents," remarked Ahmed. "Singling out a group of people, Middle Eastern men, and encouraging law enforcement to seek them out only encourages a dangerous climate of hate. Our representatives should be the ones protecting people against such mistreatment in the first place." (CAIR Bulletin)
Rift over Israeli attack on Lebanon tears Muslims, Jews apart
Nov. 3: "Building Bridges," a new half-hour interfaith talk show, is being carried nationally by the Muslim-owned cable channel Bridges TV. In metro Detroit, the channel is carried by Comcast. Michigan Muslim leaders occasionally appear on the programs. Rabbi Bradley Hirschfield of New York is the cohost. On the holiest day of the Jewish year, Rabbi Joseph Klein rose before his congregation in Oak Park last month to deliver a stunning sermon in which he apologized for working with local Muslim leaders and vowed to boycott interfaith events. He accused Muslim leaders of complicity in "hate-filled and violence-promoting rallies" against Israel in Dearborn this summer. The sermon was a thunderclap marking the edge of a storm that has been building for more than a year as local Jewish and Muslim communities pulled apart. Now, the tensions are open and obvious. Rabbis are avoiding events attended by imams and, when they do show up, conversation often becomes strained. As a result, after years of pioneering efforts in southeast Michigan to create a haven for dialogue among Jews, Christians and Muslims, metro Detroit's world-famous interfaith tapestry is unraveling. (Detroit Free Press)
Eid Postage stamp causing controversy
Nov. 6: An Internet campaign to boycott a holiday postage stamp is once again circulating around Central Texas. The stamp in question commemorates the two biggest Muslim festivals of the year. An email message from retired postal worker Ron Smith is all over the web, asking people to remember attacks on the U.S. done in the name of Islam when it's time to buy stamps, and not buy ones, commemorating Muslim celebrations Eidulfitr and Eid Uladha. Smith said, "From the little kids up, they're trained to be a terrorist and for us to honor. I’m sure there are good Muslims, but I just don't think it's appropriate for our country to honor their holidays." Despite the growing e-mail campaign, at the post office said there have been no complaints about these stamps. The stamp was first released on September 1st of 2001. (KCEN-TV )
First Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress
Nov. 7: Keith Ellison, a Democratic candidate from Minnesota’s 5th District, today created history when he became the first Muslim to be elected to the US Congress. Ellison got 136,061 or 56% votes while his rival, Republican Party candidate, Alan Fine, received only 52,263 or 21% votes. Independent candidate Ms. Tammy Lee also got 21% or 51,456 votes. Voters responded to his liberal message calling for peace, withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and universal health care. In a victory message to his voters, Ellison said that he made history because he showed that a candidate can run a 100% positive campaign and prevail, even against tough opposition. American Muslim Voice Executive Director, Samina Faheem Sundas, welcoming the election of Ellison said that the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, have both heightened prejudice against Muslims and spurred Muslims to be more politically active in hopes of countering that prejudice. "There are millions of Muslims in this country. It shouldn't have taken this long to elect one to Congress." (AMP Report)
Al-Arian’s prosecutor openly condemned Islam
Nov. 9: Documents unsealed in the Sami Al-Arian case today raise questions about an assistant U.S. attorney's motives for requiring Al-Arian to testify before a federal grand jury in Virginia. Al-Arian's Tampa attorney, Jack Fernandez, wrote that on Sept. 18 he asked Gordon Kromberg, assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, to delay Al-Arian's transfer 30 days until after the Islamic religious holidays of Ramadan. According to a court motion filed by Fernandez, Kromberg responded: "If they can kill each other during Ramadan, they can appear before the grand jury, all they can't do is eat before sunset. I believe Mr. Al-Arian's request is part of the attempted Islamization of the American Justice System. I am not going to put off Dr. Al-Arian's grand jury appearance just to assist in what is becoming the Islamization of America." On Oct. 19, Kromberg called Al-Arian before a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., and questioned him about his knowledge of the workings of an Islamic think tank in Northern Virginia. Al-Arian refused to answer, saying his "forced cooperation violated the plea agreement" he had made with prosecutors in Tampa. In April, Al-Arian pleaded guilty to one count of aiding the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad with nonviolent activities. He was sentenced to 57 months in prison. (St. Petersburg Times)
American Muslims in 2006 elections
Nov. 10: The seven-million-strong American Muslim community got a big political push when the Minnesota Democrat Keith Ellison was elected as the nation's first Muslim member to the US Congress in November 7, 2006 elections. Ellison's election was accompanied by a massive turnout of the American Muslim voters to make their voices heard. It is not clear how many Muslim Americans contested in the 2006 elections but there are fragmented reports that dozens were candidate for various offices from US Congress, State Senate and assemblies to local bodies. An informal poll of Muslim voters, conducted by the New Jersey Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ), indicated that the vast majority in that state voted for Democrats in the mid-term elections. There are at least 18,000 registered Muslim voters in the state of New Jersey. An informal poll of Muslim voters, conducted by the CAIR Columbus office indicated that the overwhelming majority of Muslim voters in that state voted for Democrats in the mid-term elections. Seventy-five Muslim voters from Ohio responded to a post-election survey. More than 90 percent of the respondents said they had voted for Democratic Party candidates. (American Muslims in 2006 elections By Abdus Sattar Ghazali)
Senator Webb's thin margin of victory in Virginia boosted by Muslim voter turnout
Nov. 10: The Muslim American Society's Center for Electoral Empowerment (CEE) has reported a significant increase in the turnout among Muslim voters for the 2006 midterm election. It attributed Jim Webb’s thin victory in Virginia against the incumbent senator George Allen partly to the Muslim vote. There are approximately 60,000 Muslim voters in Virginia, with 85% of them living in Northern Virginia. According to MAS CEE Director Mukit Hossain, it is estimated that 47,700 Muslims voted for Jim Webb, which positively contributed to his narrow victory over Senator George Allen. (MASNET)
`Wear a Hijab Day” honors slain Afghan mother in Fremont, CA
Nov. 13: Samantha Keller of San Jose wrapped a pink scarf around her face today, covering her long, curly brown hair. The church-going Catholic donned a Muslim veil as part of a global social experiment to show that she respects other people's cultures and faiths. The event was dreamed up by a handful of Fremont (CA) community activists in response to the Oct. 19 slaying of Alia Ansari, 38, an Afghan mother of six who wore a hijab the day she was killed. Because Ansari had no known enemies, many perceive the brazen daytime shooting as a hate crime. Hijab-day organizers wanted to show Ansari's family, and the wider community, that Fremont is not a hateful place. With 212,000 residents who hail from 155 countries, the Bay Area's fourth-largest city is the most diverse of its size in the country. Countless people from London to New York and Saudi Arabia e-mailed the organizers to say they would wear head scarves, too. The event expanded to include Sikh turbans, Jewish yarmulkes and African-American-style head wear. (Mercury News)
Anti-Muslim posters at Yale University
Nov. 15: An unknown party posted what many called an anti-Muslim cartoon across Yale's campus this morning, the third recent instance of anonymous postering on campus. The cartoons on the posters - which were taken down mid-morning by members of the Muslim Students Association - depicted the prophet Muhammad with a sword in one hand and a decapitated head in the other, underneath a speech bubble which included the phrase: "Don't mess with Ahmadinejad's nukes." MSA President Altaf Saadi said she was shocked that the cartoons would be posted on a campus like Yale's and was unhappy that the individuals responsible decided to remain anonymous. (Yale Daily News)
UCLA student stunned by taser plans suit
Nov. 17: The UCLA student stunned with a Taser by a campus police officer has hired a high-profile civil rights lawyer who plans to file a brutality lawsuit. The videotaped incident, which occurred after the student refused requests to show his ID card to campus officers, triggered widespread debate on and off campus about whether use of the Taser was warranted. It was the third in a recent series of local incidents captured on video that raise questions about arrest tactics. Attorney Stephen Yagman said he plans to file a federal civil rights lawsuit accusing the UCLA police of "brutal excessive force," as well as false arrest. He said that Mostafa Tabatabainejad, when asked for his ID, declined because he thought he was being singled out because of his Middle Eastern appearance. Tabatabainejad is of Iranian descent but is a U.S.-born resident of Los Angeles. The lawyer said Tabatabainejad eventually decided to leave the library but when an officer refused the student's request to take his hand off him, the student fell limp to the floor, again to avoid participating in what he considered a case of racial profiling. After police started firing the Taser, Tabatabainejad tried to "get the beating, the use of brutal force, to stop by shouting and causing people to watch. Generally, police don't want to do their dirties in front of a lot of witnesses." (Los Angeles Times)
Six Imams removed from flight
Nov. 20: Six Muslim religious leaders were taken off a US Airways flight in Minneapolis on Monday evening and detained for several hours after some passengers and crew members complained of behavior they deemed suspicious, including prayers at the gate. The incident prompted the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Washington officials of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to call yesterday for Congressional hearings on profiling and an investigation by the Justice Department and the Transportation Security Administration. The six men detained, all imams, had attended a Minneapolis conference of the North American Imams Federation. They were handcuffed by the police and led off the flight, bound for Phoenix, after reports from passengers and crew members of “unsettling” behavior, according to a police report. One passenger had slipped a note to a flight attendant that began, “6 suspicious Arabic men on plane,” the report said. After being detained for five hours and questioned separately by federal agents, all six men were released, said Patrick Hogan, a spokesman for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. (New York Times)
Savage calls for a ban on Muslim immigration and construction of mosques
Nov. 27: Michael Savage – on his nationally syndicated radio show today - declared that in order to "save the United States," lawmakers should institute "an outright ban on Muslim immigration" into the country. Savage also recommended making "the construction of mosques illegal in America, and the speaking of English only in the streets of the United States the law." Savage made the remarks while discussing a November 20 incident in which six imams were detained at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport after a passenger became alarmed that the imams were praying. The imams were cleared of any wrongdoing. Savage claimed that the imams' prayers in the airport -- and not the fact that they were asked to de-board the plane -- constituted a "complete and total assault upon our civil rights," adding that the Justice Department should "stand up to these imams and possibly throw them out of the country for having staged this attack at the airport against US Airways specifically to impose Muslim views on society through civil rights and diversity training." Savage also baselessly suggested that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) planted the imams at the airport to incite the incident, saying that "there's an email trail about how to do this and it goes right into the ACLU and the other subversive organizations." Savage has previously described Arabs as "non-humans" and "racist, fascist bigots," advocated "kill[ing] 100 million" Muslims, and claimed that there is no difference between "radical Islam and the rest of Islam over there." (Media Matters for America)
Raided Muslim charity sues bank
Nov. 27: A Muslim charity raided by federal agents in September has sued a bank, saying it violated the charity's civil rights by planning to close its accounts. The charity, Life for Relief and Development, also seeks an injunction to stop Comerica Bank from giving other banks any information it might have about the organization. The charity is challenging the constitutionality of a section of the Patriot Act, which allows financial institutions to share information about suspected money laundering or terrorist activity. Comerica had told the charity that it planned to terminate the accounts Nov. 15, but granted an extension, according to the lawsuit. FBI agents assigned to a terrorism task force searched Life's offices Sept. 18, seizing computer servers, donor records and other financial documents. They also searched the homes of the charity's chief executive, an ex-employee and two board members. The FBI would not say what agents were looking for, but charity officials have said it might be related to relief work the group did in Iraq. The international humanitarian organization also is active in Afghanistan. No charges have been filed against the charity. (Washington Post)
Radio spoof draws support for Nazi-like treatment of U.S. Muslims
Nov. 27: A parody of anti-Muslim bigotry on a Washington, D.C., radio station drew support for treating American Muslims in a manner similar to how the Jewish community was targeted in Nazi Germany. The Council on American-Islamic Relations said today that the reaction to the parody is a "wake-up call" for religious and political leaders who remain silent on the issue of growing Islamophobia in America. In his 630 WMAL program on Sunday, November 26, talk show host Jerry Klein seemed to advocate a government program to force all Muslims to wear "identifying markers." He stated: "I'm thinking either it should be an arm band, a crescent moon arm band, or it should be a crescent moon tattoo." Klein said: "If it means that we have to round them up and do a tattoo in a place where everybody knows where to find it, then that's what we'll have to do." The program focused on public reaction to the removal of six Imams, or Islamic religious leaders, from a US Airways flight in Minnesota last week. Some callers to the program rejected discriminatory treatment of Muslims, but others supported Klein's statements and even suggested that even more severe measures be taken against American Muslims. "Richard" in Gaithersburg, Md., said: "Not only do you tattoo them in the middle of their foreheads; you round them up and then ship them out of this country, period." (CAIR Bulletin)
Federal judges slows administration attempts to shut down charities
Nov. 28: A federal judge struck down President Bush's authority to designate groups as terrorists, saying his post-Sept. 11 executive order (13224) was unconstitutional and vague. Some parts of the Sept. 24, 2001 order tagging 27 groups and individuals as "specially designated global terrorists" were too vague and could impinge on First Amendment rights of free association, U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins said. The order gave the president "unfettered discretion" to label groups without giving them a way to challenge the designations, she said in a Nov. 21 ruling that was made public today. The judge, who two years ago invalidated portions of the U.S. Patriot Act, rejected several sections of Bush's Executive Order 13224 and enjoined the government from blocking the assets of two foreign groups. (Associated Press) Commenting on the court ruling the Muslim Public Affairs Council said: Over the past five years, the Bush Administration has designated several charities "specially designated terrorist groups" under Executive Order 13224. As a result of the designation, several U.S. charities have been effectively shut down without any checks or balances from Congress or the Judiciary. Since the War on Terror began, a handful of Muslim American charities have had their operations suspended by government action (including having their assets frozen). To date, such efforts have not yielded a single conviction of anyone involved with the designated charities for terrorist financing or support. Those charities have either been shut down or have been under more scrutiny because of their desire to provide humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in particular. (MPAC Bulletin)
Cedar Rapids residents work to restore oldest mosque
Nov. 28: The first mosque built by Muslims in the U.S. is located in Iowa. It's called the Mother Mosque of America and was built in 1934 in Cedar Rapids. Residents are working to restore the mosque that is used as a cultural center, a library and a place of worship. In the late 1800s, Cedar Rapids had its first influx of immigrants from a region that is now Lebanon. (KCCI)
Mayfield settles case against feds for $2 million
Nov. 29: The Washington County lawyer wrongly arrested by the FBI in connection with the 2004 terrorist bombings of passenger trains in Madrid has settled his lawsuit against the federal government for $2 million. Brandon Mayfield, a Muslim who lives in Aloha and practices law in Beaverton, sued the United States, the U.S. Attorney General, the FBI and federal agents for continuing to investigate him after Spanish authorities eliminated him as a suspect. In May 2004, the FBI apologized to Mayfield and his family for confusing the lawyer's fingerprints with those of an Algerian man, but Mayfield sued the government, alleging that agents mistreated him during his arrest and illegally investigated him after he was released. As part of the settlement, the federal government issued this apology to Mayfield and his family this week: “The United States of America apologizes to Mr. Brandon Mayfield and his family for the suffering caused by the FBI’s misidentification of Mr. Mayfield’s fingerprint and the resulting investigation of Mr. Mayfield, including his arrest as a material witness in connection with the 2004 Madrid train bombings and the execution of search warrants and other court orders in the Mayfield family home and in Mr. Mayfield’s law office. The United States acknowledges that the investigation and arrest were deeply upsetting to Mr. Mayfield, to Mrs. Mayfield, and to their three young children, and the United States regrets that it mistakenly linked Mr. Mayfield to this terrorist attack. The FBI has implemented a number of measures in an effort to ensure that what happened to Mr. Mayfield and the Mayfield family does not happen again.” Mayfield said in his statement that his financial settlement with the federal government does not preclude him from pursuing his claim that the USA Patriot Act, passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and renewed this year, is unconstitutional. (Portland Tribune)
Federal judges slows administration attempts to shut down charities
Nov. 30: In a significant development on the right of charitable giving, a federal judge ruled that the Bush administration violated the U.S. Constitution when it froze the assets of more than two dozen alleged terrorist groups after the 9/11 attacks. The ruling held that an executive order President Bush issued on Sept. 24, 2001, designating 27 groups and individuals as "specially designated global terrorists", was "unconstitutionally vague" and flawed because it failed to explain the criteria used to make the designations and included no process to challenge the decision. Over the past five years, the Bush Administration has designated several charities "specially designated terrorist groups" under Executive Order 13224. As a result of the designation, several U.S. charities have been effectively shut down without any checks or balances from Congress or the Judiciary. Since the War on Terror began, a handful of Muslim American charities have had their operations suspended by government action (including having their assets frozen). To date, such efforts have not yielded a single conviction of anyone involved with the designated charities for terrorist financing or support. Those charities have either been shut down or have been under more scrutiny because of their desire to provide humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in particular. (MPAC Bulletin)
|
