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Chronology of Islam in America (2014)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
October 2014 page three
Maryland public school teacher denies he told students all Muslims are terrorists
Oct 17: Prince George’s County school administrators are investigating allegations that an English teacher told students at Parkdale High School that all Muslims are terrorists who “will kill you.” The teacher — Anthony Fonebi, who has been with the school system since 2003 — denied that he said anything derogatory, saying in an interview that the situation was a misunderstanding and a classroom discussion was “blown out of proportion.” The discussion came at the end of an 11th-grade class on Sept. 18, and students later reported it to school officials and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the country’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. CAIR asked the school system to take disciplinary action against the teacher, to protect the students who spoke up from retaliation and to provide sensitivity and diversity training to the school’s faculty and student body. “Our focus is making sure it doesn’t occur again,” said Jenifer Wicks, an attorney at CAIR. Max Pugh, a spokesman for the school system, said the school system became aware of the alleged incident yesterday and immediately began looking into it. Parkdale High School has a growing Muslim population, and it has recently changed its policies to be more accommodating to those students. Former principal Cheryl Logan recently changed school rules to allow Muslim students who have parental permission and high grades a pass out of class every day to pray. [Washington Post]
Probe urged of Maryland Teacher's Anti-Muslim Statements
Oct 17: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nations' largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today announced that it has asked the principal of Parkdale High School in Riverdale, Md., to investigate a teacher who made a series of anti-Muslim statements to his class. According to a report received by CAIR, the teacher took time during his English class last month to discuss ISIS and the 9/11 terror attacks, telling the class, "Muslims are dangerous. They are terrorists and they will kill you." Interjecting into a conversation between students, the teacher allegedly told students that one should never "be Muslim." Addressing Muslim students in the class, he reportedly said "You guys did 9/11." When one student objected and said "we are not all like that," the teacher allegedly said "No, all of you are like that." According to CAIR's investigation, other students in the class disagreed and felt uncomfortable with the teacher's remarks. [CAIR]
Are Revere parents really angry about Islam in the curriculum?
Oct 20: Some parents in Revere (Massachusetts were angry when they learned students were being taught about Islam and the Muslim religion. "No religion should be taught at school. In their paper it says Allah is their only God. That's insulting to me as a Christian who believes in just Jesus only," said Anthony Giannino. A section of the textbook describing the beliefs of Muslims says, "I bear witness that there is no God but Allah." Giannino immediately pulled his son out of the classroom. "We don't believe in Allah. I don't believe in my son learning about this here," he said. "If my son was from another country and came here, he would have been catered to. But where he's not being catered to, they give him an F." The superintendent of Revere Public Schools wrote the parents a letter explaining that it is simply part of the history in that section of the curriculum, and stated, "I want to be very clear that no religion is taught with the purpose of converting students to that religion..." Other parents said they had no issue with the assignment. "What is Muslim about, what is Christianity about. That's what I teach at home. Everybody should respect everybody else's religion," said Idalia Garcia. "When you're talking about a specific region in the world, there's going to be traditions and there's gonna be religions that children should learn about," said Ovidio Raffa. [WHDH.COM]
Palestinian-American woman claims she was assaulted because of her faith
Oct 21: A Palestinian-American CUNY student claims she was assaulted — because of her Muslim faith — by a “gang of thugs” led by a local Jewish leader at a preseason basketball game at Barclays Center. Nerdeen Kiswani, 20, says Leonard Petlakh, executive director of the Kings Bay Y in Sheepshead Bay, was part of a group of people that punched her in the stomach and stole her Palestinian flag after the Oct. 7 game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv team. But a lawyer for Petlakh denied the allegation, and video of the incident does not appear to show Kiswani being punched, though it does show a man snatching a flag out of her grip. “What the h--- is wrong with you?” Kiswani is heard saying on the video, as she chases the man up the steps. “Did you just f-----g assault me?” “I didn’t touch you,” the man is heard saying. Kiswani said at a press conference at Brooklyn Borough Hall today that “being the only visibly Muslim women in the arena with a scarf apparently warranted an assault.” Her attorney, Lamis Deek, said the video didn’t pick up the violent hit on her client. [New York Daily News]
Canadian Muslims stand united with fellow citizens in condemning Ottawa attacks
Oct 22: The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), a prominent Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, stands united with Canadians in categorically condemning today's shooting attacks at Ottawa's War Memorial and on Parliament Hill which left a Canadian soldier dead and several others injured. "All Canadians are horrified and shocked by these repulsive attacks in Ottawa and our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families today," says NCCM Executive Director Ihsaan Gardee. "We stand firm with fellow Canadians in upholding and protecting the safety and security of our country, as well as our national institutions. We commend our law enforcement agencies for putting themselves in harm's way in order to protect all of us from terrorism." In July 2005, the NCCM coordinated a national statement by over 120 Canadian Imams which condemned terrorism and religious extremism. On June 4, 2014, the NCCM called upon Canadian Muslim communities to renew their efforts to combat radicalization towards extremist violence and the NCCM joined the Canadian Council of Imams in denouncing ISIS and its violent extremism. More recently, the Islamic Social Services Association, in conjunction with the NCCM, launched the handbook United Against Terrorism which is designed to give communities information and tools to counter radicalization towards violent extremism and build civic engagement. The NCCM is an independent, non-partisan, and non-profit grassroots advocacy organization. It is a leading voice for Muslim civic engagement and the promotion of human rights. [NCCM]
NC school board candidate calls Islam 'evil religion'
Oct 22: Jeremy Davis, who is running as the candidate from the Bethel district, wrote in a letter to The Mountaineer newspaper concerning a program hosted by the Center for Diversity in Education where sixth-graders learned about Islam: “Programs that advocate religions of hate should not be allowed to continue in our schools …. We have a situation in this country and the world where this evil religion is taking hold and we cannot allow this to continue in our own communities.” Later in the same letter, Davis brought his feelings about Islam into the school board race: “Our children’s very souls are up for grabs in this school board election and this type of religious deception cannot be allowed to continue.” And finally, this: “The Center for Diversity in Education has pictures on their website of Muslims holding up signs that say ‘we are not all terrorists.’ Current events around the world tells us otherwise ….” [Smoky Mountain News]
Peter King wants all out surveillance of Muslims in U.S.
Oct 23: Republican Rep. Peter King says the United States should respond to the shootings yesterday morning in and around the Canadian Parliament, which left a soldier dead, by increasing surveillance on Muslims. The New York Republican, speaking with NewsMaxTV’s America’s Forum King said: “We can have all the technology in the world, the fact is we have to find out what’s happening on the ground in these Muslim communities and we can only do that through increased surveillance.” “We have to find out what’s going on in the mosques which are often incubators of this type of terrorism.” King was citing the system put in place by the NYPD following 9/11, in which undercover police officers and paid informants they called “rakers” and “mosques crawlers” would compile data and trawl through Muslim neighborhoods. Rakers would hang out in local businesses and write reports on goings-on. [Buzzfeed]
CAIR releases results of Muslim voter survey in six states
Oct 23: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today released the results of a survey indicating that 69 percent of registered Muslim voters will go to the polls on November 4 and that more than half will vote for Democratic Party candidates. Domestic issues like the economy and health care continue to top the Muslim voters' list of priority concerns in this election. Growing Islamophobia in American ranked as the third most important issue for Muslim voters. CAIR's poll of more than 1500 registered Muslim voters in California, New York, Illinois, Florida, Texas, and Virginia was conducted using an independent automated call survey provider and asked three questions: (1) "Do you plan to vote in the November 4th midterm election?" 69% plan to vote, 16% have no plan to vote: 14%, declined to answer. (2) "Which political party do you support in the upcoming election?" 51% Democrat, 15% Republican, 2% Libertarian and 5% Green. (3) "What is the most important issue to you in this upcoming election?" Education 7%, Civil Liberties 10%, Islamophobia 15%, Health Care 17%, Economy 24% and Foreign Affairs 5%. [CAIR]
Georgia Muslims condemn extremist violence by ISIS, Boko Haram
Oct 23: Muslim groups in Georgia have issued a statement condemning violence committed in the name of Islam by terror groups like ISIS in Iraq and Boko Haram in Nigeria. The Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta, which recently honored Georgia’s 100 most influential Muslims, has sought to highlight Muslims’ positive influence on American society and promote interfaith understanding. The bureau’s statement uses Quranic verses to show that violence has no place in Muslim religious practice. It is endorsed by the Georgia chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations and 30 mosques around the state. "We are horrified at the loss of life and property, the destruction of sacred sites including churches and mosques, the forced conversion of religious minorities, the disruption of the lives of Muslims and others, in addition to the ascription of these groups’ criminal and grotesque enterprises to Islam. This behavior has no place whatsoever in Islamic theology or practice,” the statement reads. Soumaya Khalifa, who founded the speakers bureau in 2001 just a few weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks, said the group was responding to the suggestion that moderate Muslims aren’t condemning acts of violence committed in the name of their religion. [Global Atlanta]
Allen West 0n Ottawa attack: "shut down" mosques of perpetrators and deport the Imams
Oct 24: Fox News contributor Allen West believes the Western world should respond to the Ottawa terrorist attack by shutting down "the mosques and Islamic Centers where these individuals are attending" and deporting the imams. West added that closing these places "of so-called worship" is "the only way we send a message into the Muslim communities" that we're "not going to tolerate these snake pits of sedition." West was speaking on the October 23 edition of BlogTalkRadio's REELTalk. Here's his reaction to the Ottawa attack:
WEST: But I think, Audrey, the real thing that we're going to have to do is the mosques and Islamic Centers where these individuals are attending, when they commit these acts, we gotta shut 'em down. We have to send a message. The imam that's at that mosque or Islamic Center is deported. That place of so-called worship, which is just proselytizing, you know, hate and violence, they have to be shut down. I think that's the only way we send a message into the Muslim communities here in Western Civilization that we're not going to tolerate it. We're not going to tolerate these snake pits of sedition that are, you know, popping up all over the place. We're not saying, you know, we start shutting down mosques and Islamic Centers. But the ones who are feeding us these violent jihadists, they need to be the ones that are shut down. Like I said, the imams, the mullahs that are there running these mosques and centers, they need to be deported. Because we have to say, this is, you know, a zero-sum game. We're not tolerating it.
West is an Islamophobe. He believes that "Islam is a totalitarian theocratic political ideology, it is not a religion. It has not been a religion since 622 AD, and we need to have individuals stand up and say that." He attacked Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), who is Muslim, as representing "the antithesis of the principles upon which this country was established." The former Florida congressman has similarly claimed that "Barack Hussein Obama is an Islamist" and "I don't understand where this president's loyalties lie, and I have to ask the question, whose side is he on?" Despite his long history of incendiary rhetoric, Republican candidates and organizations have been using West as a regular surrogate on the campaign trail. [Media Matters]
Mosque vandalized in Cold Lake, Alberta (Canada)
Oct 24: A mosque in northeastern Alberta was being cleaned up after a brick was thrown through its windows and a "go home'' message was painted on the wall. Mahmoud Elkabri, a mosque board member, said he noticed the vandalism when he went to open the doors for prayers early Friday morning. He said his family has lived in Cold Lake since 1996 and has always felt welcome. "You see a message 'go home' — I just want to let everybody know, this is our home,'' Elkabri said. "My kids saw it and they started crying and I said: 'Why are you crying?' They said: 'We were born here and raised here and this is our home.''' Cold Lake is home to a large military base where six Canadian CF-18 fighter jets departed this week to join the international mission combating Islamic extremists in Iraq. Elkabri believes the vandals could be from outside the community and doesn't think the act is connected to any anti-Muslim sentiment following attacks on soldiers in Ottawa and Quebec. Elkabri said the mosque has been open for four years at its current location and has been targeted before, but that was part of vandalism done to several businesses in the area. [CJAD News]
FBI approaching U.S. Mosque leaders for questioning
Oct 24: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today urged mosque and community leaders to seek the advice of an attorney if they are approached by the FBI for questioning. CAIR says it has received reports from around the nation of mosque officials being asked to meet with FBI agents and then being pressed to inform on members of their congregations. In an advisory to Muslim community leaders, CAIR recommended that before any meeting with the FBI or any law enforcement agency, American Muslim leaders should seek the advice of an attorney and have that attorney present at any meeting. "American Muslim leaders and institutions should maintain positive relations with local and federal law enforcement authorities, but those relations must be built on respect for constitutionally-protected civil rights," said CAIR Civil Rights Litigation Director Jenifer Wicks. "Consulting with an attorney is the best way to protect your rights." She said all Americans are invested in protecting our nation; however, the FBI's overbroad and coercive use of informants in mosques, reports of outreach meetings being used for intelligence gathering and other acts of abuse demonstrate that community leaders should engage legal professionals to ensure the protection of their rights and those of their congregations. Wicks recommended that if community leaders are contacted by the FBI or other law enforcement officials, they should ask for business cards from those individuals and immediately consult with an attorney before any questioning takes place. [CAIR]
Molotov cocktail thrown at Albuquerque mosque
Oct 24: FBI agents and Albuquerque police investigated a Molotov cocktail thrown at a mosque in southeast Albuquerque this morning. The device hit the exterior wall of the Islamic Center of New Mexico, scorching a wall and leaving broken glass on the ground. The Molotov cocktail was apparently thrown at the section of the building dedicated to women and children. Friday is also the day hundreds of Muslims from across the area come to the mosque to pray. No one was injured, but the incident is still disturbing to those who attend the mosque. This is not the first incident at the Islamic Center. According to mosque member Andy Brooks, people threw flaming Qurans into the mosque's yard a couple years ago, and last year, someone walked into the Iman's office and threatened him with a gun. Also, this past February, a man approached two children on the mosque's playground and allegedly threatened to stab them because he hated Muslims. U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) issued a statement:"The news that a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the Islamic Center of New Mexico is deeply troubling. Acts of violence have no place in our society. The members of the ýCenter and the entire Muslim community in New Mexico are in my thoughts." The New Mexico Conference of Churches also expressed concern over the incident. [KOB-TV]
Muslim group holds 'Islamaphobia boot camp' in Ottawa
Oct 25: People attending a boot camp course on how to respond to incidents of Islamaphobia today did so with renewed focus on the issue after Wednesday’s shootings in Ottawa. The National Council of Canadian Muslims’s boot camp was planned before Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, who had frequented a B.C. mosque while criticizing it for being “open and welcoming”, shot and killed Cpl. Nathan Cirillo. After the shooting an Alberta mosque was vandalized, a local Toronto election candidate was assaulted and there have been reports of Muslims being discriminated against in Ottawa. “(My mom) was driving and someone just yelled at her to go back to her country, used some profanities,” said Fahma Khalam. She said her mother recently experienced an Islamaphobic incident in Ottawa. The Council, along with other Canadian Muslim organizations, has condemned Cpl. Cirillo’s killing, saying they have no connection to Islam or its beliefs. Council executive director Ihsaan Gardee said people lashing out are likely reacting out of fear and ignorance. He said the best thing to do is tell them what they’re doing is hurtful and explain how Muslims don’t condone extremism. [CBC]
Parent banned from La Plata HS (Maryland) after Islam homework dispute
Oct 27: The father of a La Plata High School student has been barred from the school grounds after officials said he threatened to disrupt the school environment. Kevin Wood was issued a no-trespass order last week after a telephone call with La Plata High Vice Principal Shannon Morris on Thursday. Wood called to air complaints regarding his daughter’s world history assignment that asked students to examine elements of the Islamic religion. Morris and La Plata High Principal Evelyn Arnold reported to the Charles County Public Schools central office that Wood in his phone call had threatened to upset the school environment in some way Monday, according to school spokeswoman Wood, a former corporal with the U.S. Marine Corps, where he was enlisted for eight years, said in an interview Monday afternoon outside of the school system’s central office that he did not wish for his daughter, a junior at La Plata, to learn the Islamic religion, a faith he does “not believe in,” he said. Kevin Wood said he blasted the school for violating his daughter’s “constitutional rights” and said he would contact the media and “bring a [expletive] storm down on them like they’ve never seen.” [Southern Maryland Newspapers]
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