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Chronology of Islam in America (2010)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
October 2010
Brooklyn mosque rally turns ugly
Oct 1: It was supposed to be a rally about parking. Somehow it turned into praise for Qu’ran burning, declarations of war and enough vitriol to warrant almost 20 police officers. Almost before it began, it became clear that the crowds lining Voorhies Avenue for last Sunday’s rally against a proposed mosque had different concerns than the local residents. Earlier this year, the Muslim American Society bought a lot on a residential part of Voorhies Avenue announcing that they wanted to build a community center with an after-school program and prayer rooms. Neighbors oppose the plan, saying that the area is residential and that the street can’t handle the additional cars that the community center will bring. They also fear that the mosque will bring down the value of their homes. On Sunday, houses on Voorhies Avenue were plastered with signs reading “Religion is not an excuse for zoning violation” and “If it doesn’t fit then don’t build”. Bay People, a group of residents, had arranged the rally. Their arguments, however, quickly drowned out. At noon, at least 100 people crowded the sidewalk, with more people arriving. Many were holding American flags. Others had draped themselves with them. Signs reading “NO M.A.S.” referring to the Muslim American Society, were ubiquitous. Several signs linked the M.A.S. to Hezbollah and Hamas, and a large banner announced the presence of the Brooklyn Tea Party. Across the street were the supporters of the community center, holding signs that said “We Say No To Racist Fear” and “Muslims Are Welcome Here”. Few of Sunday’s speeches mentioned the concerns heard earlier about parking and home values. John Kenneth Press of the Brooklyn Tea Party said in his speech that “Islam has been fighting the West for 1400 years. Do they believe in freedom in the Middle East?” (The Brooklyn Link)
Feds drops charges against Muslim man targeted by the FBI
Oct 3: The federal prosecutors have applied to dismiss all charges against a Muslim man whose case has been the center of a debate over the FBI's use of agent provocateurs and informants in the American Muslim community since 9/11. According to the Associated Press: The motion to dismiss was filed on September 29 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles in the case against Ahmadullah Sais Niazi, who had been accused by prosecutors of lying about his ties to terrorist groups on his citizenship application. Niazi was scheduled for a November trial on charges of perjury, procurement of naturalization unlawfully, passport fraud and making a false statement. He could have faced up to 35 years in prison if convicted of all charges. The government requested the dismissal of the case without prejudice, which means charges could later be refiled. “After considering all aspects of the case, including the unavailability of an overseas witness, the government decided that it could not move forward with the prosecution," Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, said in a prepared statement. Ahmad Niazi, a Tustin, Calif. man of Afghan origin, was arrested on immigration-related charges in 2009 after he helped report to law enforcement authorities an extremist who was seemingly planning terrorist attacks in the U.S. That extremist later turned out to be an FBI-paid agent provocateur, Craig Monteilh. The FBI used Monteilh to spy on Southern California mosques and to entrap unsuspecting worshippers, according to Monteilh, who has since publicly disclosed the nature of his activities while in the FBI's employ. At a news conference on February 24, 2009, the Greater Los Angeles Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) called on the U.S. Attorney General to investigate FBI’s reportedly coercive and questionable tactics in the arrest of Ahmad Niazi. At a hearing on that day, Mr. Niazi’s bail was set at $500,000. He faced charges of perjury, naturalization fraud, misuse of a passport obtained by fraud, and making a false statement to a federal agency. He maintained the charges are in retaliation for his refusal to become an FBI informant.(AMP Report)
Bosnians open new mosque in Boise, Idaho
Oct 3: While controversy has raged elsewhere surrounding Islam, a new mosque has opened quietly in Idaho. Vacant and neglected for four years, a former church building on the corner of Cloverdale and Lake Hazel roads in Southwest Boise now glows bright white and green from new paint. The new home of the Islamic Community of Bosniaks - a term that means Bosnian Muslim - was dedicated this summer, around the same time a proposed Islamic Center two blocks from the World Trade Center site turned into a national debate about religious freedom, private property rights and the proper way to honor the dead.
The first Islamic community in Boise came together in 1982 with 15 to 20 people, according to the Pluralism Project at Harvard University. In 1989, they moved their worship out of individual homes and into the first of several rented spaces. It wasn't until 2002 that the community bought a building at 27th Street and Stewart Avenue. In August 2009, about 40 families got together to form the first Bosnian Islamic Center. They rented a house on Ustick Road for the first six months, Miljkovic said. About five months ago, they bought the 10,000-square-foot building on the corner of Cloverdale and Lake Hazel roads for about $500,000. "We prayed at the mosque on 27th Street. The Quran is the same everywhere, but the culture is different," Ceric said. "Some people like to say their prayers in Bosnian." For the privilege of being the first one to put the key in the door of the new mosque, one man paid $26,000 in cash.
The 4,000 Bosniaks in the Treasure Valley find themselves on the front lines of a culture war against American stereotypes of Muslims. During the Bosnian War from 1992 to 1995, the Bosnian Serb Army tried to kill all the Bosnian Muslims in territory it controlled in a targeted "ethnic cleansing" campaign. The war culminated with the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. More than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed, and 25,000-30,000 Bosnian Muslim women were forcibly removed from the area. It was the largest mass killing in Europe since World War II and was determined in international court to be genocide. "In Sarajevo, there were snipers and they couldn't go out in the street for fear of being shot," said Jan Reeves, director of the Idaho Office for Refugees. Bosnian resettlement in Boise took place for about 10 years, with the last family arriving in 2004, Reeves said. "People can hold on to their ethnic identity and still be part of America," he said. "The Basques are a perfect example of that." (Idaho Statesman)
CAIR Launches Islamophobia Dept: New Department to address 'alarming' rise in anti-Islam sentiment
Oct 9: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today announced the launch of a department devoted to addressing the alarming rise of Islamophobic sentiment in American society. The CAIR made that announcement at its 16th annual banquet. CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad announcing the new Islamophobia Department said the department will produce an annual Islamophobia report that will track trends in rhetorical attacks on Islam and Muslims and will offer accurate and balanced information to be used in the struggle for tolerance and mutual understanding. Along with an annual Islamophobia report, CAIR's new department will organize conferences, seminars, cultural exchanges, and other activities and events designed to provide opportunities for education and dialogue. "We have seen a small but vocal group of bigots and hate-mongers manufacture an atmosphere of anti-Islam hysteria through smear campaigns that rely on distortions, misinformation and outright falsehoods," said Awad. "We have witnessed this un-American phenomenon before in the targeting of Jews, Catholics, African-Americans, Japanese-Americans, Native-Americans, and others. American Muslims are but the latest minority to feel the sting of prejudice and hate." (CAIR)
Caught spying on student, FBI demands GPS tracker back
Oct 10: A California student got a visit from the FBI this week after he found a secret GPS tracking device on his car, and a friend posted photos of it online. The post prompted wide speculation about whether the device was real, whether the young Arab-American was being targeted in a terrorism investigation and what the authorities would do. It took just 48 hours to find out: The device was real, the student was being secretly tracked and the FBI wanted its expensive device back, the student told Wired.com in an interview.The answer came when half-a-dozen FBI agents and police officers appeared at Yasir Afifi’s apartment complex in Santa Clara, California, demanding he return the device. Afifi, a 20-year-old U.S.-born citizen, cooperated willingly and said he’d done nothing to merit attention from authorities. Comments the agents made during their visit suggested he’d been under FBI surveillance for three to six months. Afifi, the son of an Islamic-American community leader who died a year ago in Egypt, is one of only a few people known to have found a government-tracking device on their vehicle. His discovery comes in the wake of a recent ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals saying it’s legal for law enforcement to secretly place a tracking device on a suspect’s car without getting a warrant, even if the car is parked in a private driveway.
Brian Alseth from the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington state contacted Afifi after seeing pictures of the tracking device posted online and told him the ACLU had been waiting for a case like this to challenge the ruling. “This is the kind of thing we like to throw lawyers at,” Afifi said Alseth told him. “It seems very frightening that the FBI have placed a surveillance-tracking device on the car of a 20-year-old American citizen who has done nothing more than being half-Egyptian,” Alseth told Wired.com. Afifi, a business marketing student at Mission College in Santa Clara, discovered the device last Sunday (10/3/2010) when he took his car to a local garage for an oil change. When a mechanic at Ali’s Auto Care raised his Ford Lincoln LS on hydraulic lifts, Afifi saw a wire sticking out near the right rear wheel and exhaust. [Wired.com]
English Defence League forges links with America's Tea Party
Oct 10: The English Defence League, a far-right grouping aimed at combating the "Islamification" of British cities, has developed strong links with the American Tea Party movement. An Observer investigation has established that the EDL has made contact with anti-jihad groups within the Tea Party organization and has invited a senior US rabbi and Tea Party activist to London this month. Rabbi Nachum Shifren, a regular speaker at Tea Party conventions, will speak about Sharia law and also discuss funding issues. The league has also developed links with Pamela Geller, who was influential in the protests against plans to build an Islamic cultural centre near Ground Zero. Geller, darling of the Tea Party's growing anti-Islamic wing, is advocating an alliance with the EDL. The executive director of the Stop Islamization of America organization, she recently met EDL leaders in New York and has defended the group's actions, despite a recent violent march in Bradford. Geller, who denies being anti-Muslim, said in one of her blogs: "I share the EDL's goals… We need to encourage rational, reasonable groups that oppose the Islamization of the west." Devin Burghart, vice-president of the Kansas-based Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights, said: "Geller is acting as the bridge between the EDL and the Tea Party. She plays an important role in bringing Islamophobia into the Tea Party. Her stature has increased substantially inside the Tea Party ranks after the Ground Zero mosque controversy. She has gained a lot of credibility with that stuff." (The Observer)
Muslim teen beaten, called a 'terrorist' by classmates says he stayed silent out of fear
Oct 10: Four teenagers who allegedly taunted a classmate for his Muslim faith and repeatedly attacked him physically were arrested and charged with a hate crime today. A front-page story in Sunday Advance detailed the student's torturous experiences at Markham Intermediate School from October 2009 to June 2010, where he says a group of bullies called him a "terrorist," often punching him in the groin and once spitting in his face. "I feel good today because they arrested four kids who (allegedly) bothered me," said Kristian, 16, whose family requested that his last name be withheld to protect his security. "They took advantage of me because I was quiet."
Three 14-year-old Hispanic students and one 15-year-old black student were charged with assault and aggravated harassment as a hate crime, said Lieutenant John Grimpel, an NYPD spokesman. Due to the ages of the suspects, the NYPD did not release their names. But Kristian and his parents who immigrated from Trinidad in the 1980s, fearing further harassment from friends and relatives of the charged teenagers, say he won't return to Port Richmond High School, where he started this fall. (Media reports)
Pope creates new office to fight 'eclipse of God' in the West
Oct 12: Pope Benedict XVI today created a new Vatican office to address the growing problem of secularization and the “eclipse of God” in the nations of Europe and the West. Benedict established the office by a document known as a moto proprio (Latin for “of his own accord”). His apostolic letter establishing the office is titled “Ubicumque et Semper (Everywhere and Always)." The Holy See Press Office Archbishop Rino Fisichella will head the newly-founded Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization. In countries where ancient Christian traditions are threatened with eclipse, the Pope said, “only a new evangelization can ensure the growth of a clear and profound faith, capable of making of these traditions a force of true freedom." In the decree, Benedict lamented that with tremendous scientific, social and cultural progress over the past century, parts of the world that once had strong Christian roots had grown to believe that they can exist without God. "While some greeted this as a freedom, they soon realized the interior desert that is born when man - thinking himself the architect of his own nature and destiny - finds himself lacking that which is fundamental to everything," Benedict wrote. Sociological data confirms that religious faith and practice is in decline across the continent. The most recent Global Attitudes Project by the Pew Forum, for example, found that strong majorities in other parts of the world say that religion is “very important” to them, while in Europe the highest mark was in Poland with 36 percent. The numbers for Italy (27 percent), Germany (21 percent), and France (11 percent) are even lower. (AMP Report)
South Carolina mosque defaced with bacon
Oct 12: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on the FBI to investigate a possible bias motive for the defacement of a South Carolina mosque with bacon, a food prohibited to Muslims. The CAIR reported that someone defaced the Florence Islamic Center being renovated in Florence, S.C., on Sunday between morning and noon prayers by using slices of bacon to spell out the words "PIG CHUMP" on the walkway of the mosque. The mosque is currently used for Friday prayers. CAIR is in touch with local police and mosque officials about the incident. This is reportedly the second time that someone has vandalized the mosque. Earlier this year, vandals broke windows in the facility. Local police say they will step up patrols near the mosque and are investigating a possible bias motive for the latest incident. "We urge the FBI to add this incident to the growing list of possible bias-motivated attacks on American Muslims and their institutions," said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. He noted that Mosques in California, Tennessee, New York, Illinois, Wisconsin, Arizona, Louisiana, Kentucky, Texas, and Florida have faced vocal opposition or have been targeted by hate incidents in recent months. (CAIR)
Interfaith leaders ask district attorney to terminate 'Irvine 11' investigation
Oct 15: A group of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders from the Abrahamic Faiths Peacemaking Initiative sent a letter this week to the Orange County District Attorney's office calling for the DA office to drop a criminal investigation of the student protest at UC Irvine in February which resulted in the arrest of 11 students. Signed by 20 interfaith leaders, including Salam Al-Marayati, President of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the letter expressed outrage that DA office investigators are impersonating law enforcement agents in order to build a case against the students and asks the DA office to leave the matter to university officials. The letter reads in part:
Many student protests take place every semester of the school calendar year in many campuses. We have yet to learn of one, however, that did not involve any destruction of property or physical altercation that also led to criminal charges... We strongly urge that you cease criminal investigation of this matter immediately. The campus environment at UCI can improve if that community and university officials dedicate themselves to promoting and supporting civil discourse about the Middle East. Intervention from law enforcement will only hinder, not help, that effort.
On Feb. 8, a group of 11 students -- eight from UC Irvine and three from UC Riverside -- were arrested for shouting criticisms during Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren speech at UCI. The students criticized Oren and Israel's military attack last year on Gaza. Following the incident, the students were arrested and are currently facing criminal charges, as well as university disciplinary action. Though one may disagree with the student's tactics, these do not warrant the student's having a criminal record for supporting human rights. The interfaith leaders believe the incident should be left in the hands of university officials, and that the DA investigation is waste of time and resources. The leaders stand with UCI, which is against the investigation, and ask the DA to terminate the investigation and to not bow to political pressure when it comes to addressing Middle Eastern affairs. (MPAC)
First Alaskan mosque coming to anchorage
Oct 19: A new religious site comes to Alaska as the Anchorage Muslim community broke ground on the state's first mosque this weekend. According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations Executive Director Nihad Awad, between 2,000 and 3,000 Muslims currently live in the Anchorage area. Construction on the mosque is expected to take around two years. (Channel 2 News)
Moscow has a Ground Zero mosque controversy too:
Growing Muslim population needs more room to worship
Oct 20: The leaders of Moscow's 1.5 million strong Muslim community say they desperately need more places of worship. But a plan to build a new mosque in the south-eastern Tekstilshchiki district of Moscow has run into local opposition which is being fuelled by nationalists calling for a "clean Moscow" without Muslims and foreigners. The Moscow media have already christened this patch of green "the Russian Ground Zero" in a reflection of strife over the mosque being built near Ground Zero, the site where the twin towers of the World Trade Center stood in New York before the terror attack of 9/11.
Up until recently only political non-entities, extreme right wingers and ultra-orthodox Christians were openly Islamophobic. Since state authorities have started cracking down on Russia's far-right scene, the groups involved have begun resorting to more subtle tactics. In Tekstilshchiki, an organization of former neo-Nazis is trying to stir up local sentiment against the mosque by citing arguments that people find easier to relate to than abstract words or ideologies: they claim to be opposing the mosque because they want to protect Moscow's green areas. The planned mosque would only be the fifth in Moscow, even though this metropolis of 10.5 million has more than 1.5 million Muslim residents. In comparison, Berlin, which has a proportion of Muslims amounting to less than a sixth of Moscow's, has at least six large mosques. That is why the Moscow council of muftis wants more mosques to be built and says Moscow should have up to 40.
The piece of land that the city administrators gave the Muslim community in the south-eastern district of Moscow is almost as big as a football field. It is also the single green spot between massive brick buildings, rusty garages and modern apartment blocks. Mothers come here to push their prams around, and dog owners play fetch with their pets. The Moscow mufti council, which is responsible for building the mosque, is convinced that nationalists are behind the protests against their house of worship. They say that the mosque will be built at the edge of the park anyway, leaving plenty of room for recreation and dog walkers. "The problem lies elsewhere," says Ildar Aljautdinov, the imam at Moscow's largest mosque. According to estimates by the Moscow council of muftis (equivalent to a council of deacons in the Christian faith), up to 20 million Muslims live in Russia today. (ABC News)
'Obama drops India temple visit over headscarf fear'
Oct 20: US President Barack Obama has cancelled a visit to a Sikh temple in India, sources said today, over apparent concerns that photos of him with his head covered would revive claims he is a Muslim. During his state visit to India early next month, Obama was scheduled to tour the Golden Temple in Amritsar -- Sikhism's holiest shrine -- where he would be required to cover his head in line with the religion's practices. But aides feared images of him with a traditional scarf over his head could be used by opponents in the United States to portray him as a closet Muslim."He will not be going to Amritsar now," a diplomatic official in New Delhi, who declined to be named, told AFP. "The headscarf is one issue and there were other logistical issues that led to the cancellation." (AFP)
U.N. proclaims World Interfaith Harmony Week
Oct 20: The United Nations today approved a resolution by consensus urging member states to declare the first week of February every year World Interfaith Harmony Week. It asked them to “support, on a voluntary basis, the spread of the message of interfaith harmony and goodwill in the world’s churches, mosques, synagogues, temples and other places of worship during that week based on Love of God and Love of the Neighbor, or based on Love of the Good and Love of the Neighbor, each according to their own religious traditions or convictions.” The resolution recalled with appreciation various global, regional and sub-regional initiatives on mutual understanding and interfaith harmony including the Tripartite Forum on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace, and the initiative “A Common Word.” The idea was proposed to the General Assembly in September by Jordan’s King Abdullah, and Jordan’s Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad presented the resolution before the vote. Prince Ghazi is the coordinator of the Common Word group, which promotes dialogue and understanding between Muslims and Christians worldwide. (AMP Report)
Jar of nails thrown at NY Mosque
Oct 21: The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today called on the FBI to investigate a nail attack on a mosque in that state as a possible hate crime. CAIR-NY said someone threw a jar of nails near the entrance of a Huntington, N.Y., mosque Wednesday night. The jar broke and nails were scattered in the area of the mosque's driveway. Suffolk County police are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime. Representatives of the mosque say other possibly bias-motivated incidents have occurred in recent months. "State and national religious and political leaders must address the rising number of hate incidents targeting American Muslims and their institutions," said CAIR-NY Community Affairs Director Faiza N. Ali. "We urge the FBI to add its resources to the investigation of this troubling incident." Ali noted that CAIR's Washington State office today held a news conference in Seattle with two Muslim women who were allegedly attacked at a gas station by an assailant shouting racial and religious slurs. Other recent anti-Muslim incidents include an attack on a New York Muslim mother and child, the arrest of New York teens who allegedly harassed a Muslim student because of his faith and the defacement of a South Carolina mosque. Mosques in California, Tennessee, New York, Illinois, Wisconsin, Arizona, Louisiana, Kentucky, Texas, and Florida have faced vocal opposition or have been similarly targeted by hate incidents in recent months. (CAIR)
Flippant comment upsets local Muslim community
Oct 22: In Philadelphia, National Public Radio news analyst Juan Williams made the following comments on Fox News: “When I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb, and if I think they’re identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried,” said Juan Williams. “I get nervous.” Immediately afterwards, the NPR news analyst said he is not a bigot and not all Muslims are terrorists, but the damage was done. NPR fired Williams for his comments and Williams was hired by Fox. Williams comments about flying with Muslims come just before the Hajj season, when many Muslims will get on airplanes for their pilgrimage to Mecca. “Comments and things that people say,” warned Rugiato Conteh, Outreach Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Philadelphia, “they increase Islamaphobia. They increase hatred against Muslims. They increase hate crimes.” (CBS)
Anti-Muslim crusaders make millions spreading fear
Oct 24: Steven Emerson has 3.39 million reasons to fear Muslims. That's how many dollars Emerson's for-profit company — Washington-based SAE Productions — collected in 2008 for researching alleged ties between American Muslims and overseas terrorism. The payment came from the Investigative Project on Terrorism Foundation, a nonprofit charity Emerson also founded, which solicits money by telling donors they're in imminent danger from Muslims. Emerson is a leading member of a multimillion-dollar industry of self-proclaimed experts who spread hate toward Muslims in books and movies, on websites and through speaking appearances. Leaders of the so-called "anti-jihad" movement portray themselves as patriots, defending America against radical Islam. And they've found an eager audience in ultra-conservative Christians and mosque opponents in Middle Tennessee. One national consultant testified in an ongoing lawsuit aimed at stopping a new Murfreesboro mosque. But beyond the rhetoric, Emerson's organization's tax-exempt status is facing questions at the same time he's accusing Muslim groups of tax improprieties. "Basically, you have a nonprofit acting as a front organization, and all that money going to a for-profit," said Ken Berger, president of Charity Navigator, a nonprofit watchdog group. "It's wrong. This is off the charts."
While large organizations like Emerson's aren't the norm, other local and national entrepreneurs cash in on spreading hate and fear about Islam. Former Tennessee State University physics professor Bill French runs the Nashville-based, for-profit Center for the Study of Political Islam. French, who has no formal religious education in religion, believes Islam is not a religion. Instead, he sees Islam and its doctrine and rules — known as Shariah law — as a totalitarian ideology. In his 45-minute speech, he outlined a kind of 10 commandments of evil — no music, no art, no rights for women — taken from his book Sharia Law for Non-Muslims. The speech was free, but his books, penned under the name "Bill Warner," were for sale in the back and ranged from about $9 to $20. When he was done, the 80 or so mosque opponents gave him a standing ovation and then began buying French's books to hand out to their friends.
Frank Gaffney, head of the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Center for Security Policy, earned a $288,300 salary from his charity in 2008. Gaffney was a key witness in recent hearings in the Rutherford County lawsuit filed by mosque opponents. He said he paid his own way. The list of people on the anti-Islam circuit goes on. IRS filings from 2008 show that Robert Spencer, who runs the Jihadwatch.org blog, earned $132,537 from the David Horowitz Freedom Center, a conservative nonprofit. Brigitte Tudor, who runs the anti-Islam groups ACT! For America and the American Congress for Truth, earned $152,810, while her colleague Guy Rogers collected $154,900. (The Tennessean)
Family in Muslim clothing ejected from flight
Oct 26: A man, described as wearing traditional Muslim clothing was yanked off a plane and questioned by the FBI after spending an unusually long time in the plane's bathroom. So is it racial profiling? Investigators say, in the end they found nothing wrong and everyone re-boarded the plane two hours later. Those in the Muslim community say the incident is another example of "Islam-o-phobia." "If you bash Muslims and Islam then its freedom of speech, if you bash any other minority groups its hate speech," said Dr. Nabil Bayakly. (CAIR)
Long Island mosque becomes target
Oct 26: Muslim leaders on Long Island said today that they are concerned about anti-Muslim bias after two recent bottle-throwing incidents at a Huntington mosque. "It is troubling and it's something we're taking seriously," said Nayyar Imam, chairman of the Muslim Alliance of Long Island and Suffolk police's Muslim chaplain. For the second time in less than a week, detectives with Suffolk's hate crimes unit were called to the mosque after a bottle containing nails and screws was smashed in the parking lot. Except for the type of bottle, the incident was "exactly the same" as an occurrence in the same spot last week, said Det. Sgt. Robert Reecks. A small group was outside the mosque last week when they heard glass smash a few dozen yards away, he said. They found nails, screws and a shattered tomato sauce bottle. The group saw a car drive away, but was unable to provide a description of the vehicle or the driver, Reecks said. The container thrown on Oct 25 was a liter vodka bottle. (Newsday)
Hate crime charges filed in attack on Somali women in Seattle
Oct 27: A woman from Burien, Washington has been charged with a hate crime for physically and verbally assaulting two Muslim women at a Tukwila gas station last weekend.The incident occurred at a Tukwila AM/PM gas station when, according a charging documents, 37-year-old Jennifer Leigh Jennings accosted two Muslim women from Somali decent, calling them “terrorists” and “suicide bombers” before physically attacking them. (Somali Land Press)
Tea Party attacks Muslim congressman
Oct 28: Since his election into Congress in 2006, Ellison's religion has often been a target of opponents. Islamophobia has once again been used as a campaign strategy in US politics as the founder of a controversial Tea Party faction targets one of the Muslim members of Congress. Tea Party Nation leader Judson Phillips has called on voters to oppose Minneapolis Representative Keith Ellison in his reelection bid merely because he is a Muslim. In a letter issued to members of his party on Tuesday, Phillips called Ellison "one of the most radical members in Congress," stressing that Ellison "is the only Muslim member of Congress." Experts say much of that letter is not true, and contrary to Philips' allegation, Ellison is not the only Muslim member of Congress. Representative Andre Carson from Indiana is also a Muslim. Since his election into Congress in 2006, Ellison's religion has often been the target of opponents. However, few have gone so far as to say that his religion alone was grounds for his removal from Congress. (Press TV)
Obama adviser decries anti-Islam sentiments
Oct 30: Speaking to about 400 people in Livonia, Michigan, President Barack Obama's envoy to the Muslim world said there is a "disturbing rise in anti-Islamic sentiment" that may be caused in part by the poor economy. "The things you can say about Islam you can't say about any other faith," Rashad Hussain, Special Envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, said tonight in Livonia, Michigan, at the annual fund-raising dinner of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, a Muslim-founded think tank. "During tough economic times, groups that are seen to be the other ... the scapegoating can increase." Hussain said he's concerned about the increasing vitriol directed at Muslims, which he said may be due to their increasing visibility in the U.S. It's a "reaction to a lot of progress made by Muslim communities," he said. When he was growing up in the U.S, Hussain recalled that many didn't know too much about Islam. But now, it's more well known, he said. Hussain said that the backlash against Muslim-Americans has precedent in the U.S., as African-Americans, Jewish-Americans, Irish-Americans, Japanese-Americans, and Chinese-Americans have faced similar challenges. (Detroit Free Press)
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