Opinion Editorials, November 2014

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Video: CAIR-MN Works to Increase Muslim Voter Turnout in Minneapolis


Backgrounder: CAIR to Mobilize Muslim Voters for Midterm Election

CAIR-FL: FBI to Keep Visiting Mosques Despite Muslim Complaints (Tampa Tribune)

CAIR�s Hassan Shibly said American Muslims are concerned about the FBI visits and questioning. �We think it�s unacceptable to target people for questioning just because of their religious affiliation,� Shibly said.

�The FBI has threatened law-abiding individuals, saying, �You either spy for us on your mosques and houses of worship or we�ll throw you in jail.� We feel that�s inappropriate.� He said there�s no reason for that.

�The American Muslim community is very cooperative with law enforcement,� he said. �If we know of a threat. . .we will be the first to report it to law enforcement. We are not saying don�t speak to the FBI or law enforcement. It is our duty to cooperate to keep America safe.�
CAIR: Head of Joint Chiefs Asks Muslim, 'Are You Taliban?' (The Hill)

Ibrahim Hooper, the communications director at the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told The Hill he didn�t share Soule�s sentiment.

�I think this is yet another symptom of the growing anti-Muslim sentiment in our society,� Hooper said. �I would put this more in the category of casual Islamophobia. It�s joking and jovial, but it�s Islamophobia nonetheless.�

Hooper�s group is the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in America. He added that the joke coming from a top American military official makes it �all the more disturbing.�
AZ: Response to Mosque Firebombing Shows Albuquerque's Maturity, Imam Says

Shafi Abdul Aziz, a native of Kenya who became the Islamic Center�s imam in 2009, took advantage of it. Addressing a few hundred people who rallied Thursday to show their support for the center, Abdul Aziz said that Albuquerque is �a mature community. This community is above hate.�
CAIR: Eradicating Anti-Muslim Bullying in Maryland (Washington Post)

Maryland has established a reputation for being a relatively diverse and tolerant state. This makes reports of incidents targeting Muslim students at public schools all the more alarming.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations recently asked the principal of Parkdale High School in Riverdale to investigate complaints that a teacher made inflammatory and false anti-Muslim comments to his class last month.

Students said the teacher told his English class, �Muslims are dangerous. They are terrorists and they will kill you.�
Our Treatment of Muslims is 21st-Century Disgrace

As I toured the National Center for Civil & Human Rights on Wednesday, it made me think of Middle Tennessee. Several of Nashville�s prominent young civil rights leaders, including John Lewis, Bernard Lafayette and Diane Nash, were well represented. But instead of dwelling on the Nashville of the 1960s, I kept flashing to Middle Tennessee�s treatment of Muslims today.
Our Years of Panic: Indians, Women, Blacks, Jews, Muslims

Alarm over Arab Muslims may be the threat of the day. But as Stein shows, political panics have a 300-year history, actually existing here before the country became the United States.
Canada: Harper�s Silence on Anti-Muslim Backlash Disheartens Muslim Groups
Canada: Police Investigate Vandalism at Mosque
1,000 Years of Scientific Texts from the Islamic World are Now Online
Please help support CAIR's work.
 

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Ahead of Midterms, Islamophobes Ramp Up Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Although the anti-Muslim contingent frames border security as a way deter terrorists, their messaging mirrors old-school nativist rhetoric as they aim to uphold policies that harm a broader spectrum of communities.

Rick Perry, Ron Johnson, Jeff Sessions to Join Anti-Muslim Activists FrontPageMag editor and increasingly unhinged anti-Obama yeller David Horowitz is hosting his annual "Restoration Weekend" for anti-Muslim activists at a beach resort in Florida this month. This year, Horowitz has recruited an impressive slate of Republican politicians, including Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, Oklahoma Rep. Jim Bridenstine to partake in the event's offerings of golf, spa treatments, and Muslim-bashing.

Christians Blast Ballot Initiative Banning Sharia Law in Alabama Alabama voters will be asked to cast their ballots on Amendment 1, a carefully worded measure that would prohibit "the application of foreign law" in the state's courts. The ballot initiative is ultimately seeking to ban sharia law, an increasingly popular right-wing legislative tactic that serves to demonize the Islamic faith as something that Americans need to be protected from. CAIR Blog: Your Vote Matters It's election season. That means over the last several months, you've been inundated with ads from candidates who've collectively spent hundreds of millions of dollars vying for your vote. If that makes you feel special, it should. Clearly, your vote matters

CAIR: The Muslim Vote (Audio) CAIR: US Midterm Elections ... How Muslims Vote? A recent poll by CAIR showed that of the 69 percent of registered Muslims voters who plan to vote on Nov. 4, 51 percent will cast their ballots in favor of Democratic candidates. Virginia Muslim Political Action Committee Endorsements for 2014 Election CAIR: Fil-Ams 2nd Largest Among Registered Asian Voters in California "Your Vote Matters! 2014" community partners include: API Equality-LA, Asian Youth Center, Council on American Islamic Relations, Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment, Japanese American Citizens League, Empowering Pacific Islander Community, KIWA, Khmer Girls in Action, Muslim Public Affairs Council, OCAPICA, Pilipino Workers Center, Thai CDC, Sikh American Legal Defense Fund, and South Asian Network.

CAIR-CA: Homeless Deaths Recalled in Vigil "We need action to solve this problem," added Imam Sharif Battikhi of the local Council on American-Islamic Relations. Muslim Students Defend Petition to Revoke Bill Maher's Campus Invite

Rula Jebreal Sounds Off on Bill Maher Islam Spat: "What he is doing is un-American"

In YouTube Ad, Native American Targets DC Football Team's Name

Backgrounder: CAIR-MN to Join Protest of Racist Team Name at 'Redsk*ns'-Vikings Game

CAIR: NY Muslims Condemn Terrorist Acts In the U.S., the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Fiqh Council of North America, USA have come out strongly condemning IS. In an opinion piece published Sept. 5 in Time, CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad called IS "little more than a criminal gang that attaches itself like a leech to revered symbols of Islam." IS and its ilk exploit desperate people and injustices to cover their own terrible actions, Awad argued.

CAIR ACTION ALERT:

American Falls Into Coma in Egyptian Prison Ask President Obama to help prevent Mohamed Soltan's death

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/3/14) �- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, is calling on all people of conscience to again urge President Obama to help prevent the imminent death of Mohamed Soltan, an American citizen detained in Egypt.

Soltan, a 26-year-old graduate of Ohio State University, has been on a hunger strike in an Egyptian prison since January 26, 2014, and reportedly fell into a coma on Sunday.

He was detained August 25, 2013, after he was shot during a peaceful protest against the coup in Egypt. Soltan's trial dates have been postponed a number of times.

To contact President Obama about Mohamed Soltan, CLICK HERE.

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

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Ahead of Midterms, Islamophobes Ramp Up Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Although the anti-Muslim contingent frames border security as a way deter terrorists, their messaging mirrors old-school nativist rhetoric as they aim to uphold policies that harm a broader spectrum of communities.

Rick Perry, Ron Johnson, Jeff Sessions to Join Anti-Muslim Activists FrontPageMag editor and increasingly unhinged anti-Obama yeller David Horowitz is hosting his annual "Restoration Weekend" for anti-Muslim activists at a beach resort in Florida this month. This year, Horowitz has recruited an impressive slate of Republican politicians, including Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, Oklahoma Rep. Jim Bridenstine to partake in the event's offerings of golf, spa treatments, and Muslim-bashing.

Christians Blast Ballot Initiative Banning Sharia Law in Alabama Alabama voters will be asked to cast their ballots on Amendment 1, a carefully worded measure that would prohibit "the application of foreign law" in the state's courts. The ballot initiative is ultimately seeking to ban sharia law, an increasingly popular right-wing legislative tactic that serves to demonize the Islamic faith as something that Americans need to be protected from. CAIR Blog: Your Vote Matters It's election season. That means over the last several months, you've been inundated with ads from candidates who've collectively spent hundreds of millions of dollars vying for your vote. If that makes you feel special, it should. Clearly, your vote matters

CAIR: The Muslim Vote (Audio) CAIR: US Midterm Elections ... How Muslims Vote? A recent poll by CAIR showed that of the 69 percent of registered Muslims voters who plan to vote on Nov. 4, 51 percent will cast their ballots in favor of Democratic candidates. Virginia Muslim Political Action Committee Endorsements for 2014 Election CAIR: Fil-Ams 2nd Largest Among Registered Asian Voters in California "Your Vote Matters! 2014" community partners include: API Equality-LA, Asian Youth Center, Council on American Islamic Relations, Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment, Japanese American Citizens League, Empowering Pacific Islander Community, KIWA, Khmer Girls in Action, Muslim Public Affairs Council, OCAPICA, Pilipino Workers Center, Thai CDC, Sikh American Legal Defense Fund, and South Asian Network.

CAIR-CA: Homeless Deaths Recalled in Vigil "We need action to solve this problem," added Imam Sharif Battikhi of the local Council on American-Islamic Relations. Muslim Students Defend Petition to Revoke Bill Maher's Campus Invite

Rula Jebreal Sounds Off on Bill Maher Islam Spat: "What he is doing is un-American"

In YouTube Ad, Native American Targets DC Football Team's Name

Backgrounder: CAIR-MN to Join Protest of Racist Team Name at 'Redsk*ns'-Vikings Game

CAIR: NY Muslims Condemn Terrorist Acts In the U.S., the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Fiqh Council of North America, USA have come out strongly condemning IS. In an opinion piece published Sept. 5 in Time, CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad called IS "little more than a criminal gang that attaches itself like a leech to revered symbols of Islam." IS and its ilk exploit desperate people and injustices to cover their own terrible actions, Awad argued.

CAIR ACTION ALERT:

American Falls Into Coma in Egyptian Prison Ask President Obama to help prevent Mohamed Soltan's death

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/3/14) �- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, is calling on all people of conscience to again urge President Obama to help prevent the imminent death of Mohamed Soltan, an American citizen detained in Egypt.

Soltan, a 26-year-old graduate of Ohio State University, has been on a hunger strike in an Egyptian prison since January 26, 2014, and reportedly fell into a coma on Sunday.

He was detained August 25, 2013, after he was shot during a peaceful protest against the coup in Egypt. Soltan's trial dates have been postponed a number of times.

To contact President Obama about Mohamed Soltan, CLICK HERE.

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US Muslim leaders say FBI pressuring people to become informants

Los Angeles Times

By John M. Glionna,

November 4, 2014

LAS VEGAS —

Muslim leaders nationwide say the FBI is pressuring some Islamic community members and religious leaders to spy on fellow Muslims as part of a government effort to combat extremist recruiting in the U.S.

The campaign has intensified in recent weeks, with mosques in California, Texas, Minnesota, Ohio, Florida and other states reporting unannounced visits by FBI agents, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization.

In a nationwide alert, the group urged mosque and community leaders to seek the advice of an attorney if they are approached by the FBI for questioning. They worried that the civil rights of numerous imams were being violated as the religious leaders were asked to meet with FBI agents, who then pressed them to inform on members of their congregations.

"It's happening all over the country," said Ibrahim Hooper, a Washington-based spokesman for CAIR. "The agents are approaching these community leaders at mosques with basic questions that quickly turn into something different: pressure to become informants."

Leaders at several mosques in California and Minnesota contacted for comment said they were afraid to speak out for fear of becoming a government target.

The FBI would not comment on the CAIR alert, but spokesman Paul Bresso said in an email that the agency respected the rights of all citizens and "we value our partnerships with the Arab, Muslim and Sikh communities as they are partners in our efforts to stem crime, violence and civil rights violations."

One agent said such visits were standard procedure. "It's not unusual for us to go out and talk to, I don't want to call them at-risk folks, but people dealing with issues," said the agent, who declined to give his name because he was not authorized to talk about the matter.

Jennifer Wicks, an attorney who heads the civil rights department for CAIR, said she knew of no crimes committed by FBI agents. "No one has been detained in any way or taken from one setting to another," she said.

She said the interrogation tactics depended on the agent and the situation.

"These visits aren't based on people being suspected of doing anything wrong. It's because this is a Muslim community. That's why people are being targeted," Wicks said.

"However, the FBI's over-broad 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," Hicks said in statement on the CAIR website.

Activists said the visits were tantamount to religious profiling.

"For us, the issue is one of civil rights," Hooper said. "Too often these interactions are done in private and people feel coerced. Because ISIS is a hot topic, they're going to mosques. It's all based on the round-up-the-usual-suspects style of law enforcement."

Federal officials are calling for new ways to fight what they see as the nation's latest national security threat: people indoctrinated by extremists returning to plan terrorist acts here. The Justice Department recently unveiled a pilot program in Los Angeles, Boston and Minneapolis that enlists social and mental health workers, religious leaders and police to thwart Islamist group recruiters.

Orlando, Fla., attorney Hassan Shibly said he had represented 33 clients this year who claimed they had been pressured by the FBI to release information on their religious beliefs and practices. He said the number of cases had risen dramatically in the last few weeks.

"In Orlando, they pressured one citizen who happened to be Muslim to spy on mosques, Islamic restaurants and hookah lounges or they would throw him in jail," he said. "In another case, they approached an imam with pictures of a woman they claimed would testify of an affair unless he helped them. These are law-abiding Muslims, not criminals."

He has taken those and other cases to court, alleging the FBI was using illegal tactics to gain information.

Shibly said Muslims were targets because many didn't know their legal rights.

"The FBI thinks it can get away with bending the law," he said. "Many Muslims come from Third World countries where such practices are common fare for the secret police. But in the U.S. you don't expect such blackmail, with threats of deportation or worse."

In several cases, Shibly said, imams were asked about their opinions on political affairs and other matters. Agents return and tell the imams that informants have contradicted their previous statements. "They are laying the groundwork for a charge of giving false information to a law enforcement officer. That's the trick to get them to cooperate," he said.

In Florida, tips from the Muslim community led to the arrest of Sami Osmakac, later convicted of planning a terrorist attack at a Tampa-area nightclub. Osmakac was found guilty in June of attempted possession of a weapon of mass destruction.

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CAIR: Muslim Americans Projected to Vote at High Rates

Christian Coalition of Alabama Opposes Anti-Islam Referendum

CAIR: U.S. Muslim Leaders Say FBI Pressuring People to Become Informants (LA Times) The campaign has intensified in recent weeks, with mosques in California, Texas, Minnesota, Ohio, Florida and other states reporting unannounced visits by FBI agents, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. NY: Proposal for an Islamic Cultural Center Sparks Irrational Outcry (Buffalo News) Let's hope the reaction to news that an Islamic cultural center is about to open in Wheatfield is limited to a few disturbed individuals. But this is the real world. The few hateful telephone calls received may be all there is to the opposition, but they could also unfortunately represent the wrongheaded thinking of many more people. CAIR: U.S. Muslim-Christian Coalition Formed to Protect Religious Minorities in Arab Countries

BREAKING NEWS

CAIR-LA Calls for FBI Probe of Shots Fired at California Mosque

(LOS ANGELES, CA, 11/4/14) - The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today called for an FBI investigation of shots fired at a mosque in that state.

Several shots were fired at the Islamic Society of the Coachella Valley, in Coachella, Calif., at about 5 a.m. today. The shooting is being investigated as a possible hate crime. According to local law enforcement authorities, the mosque was occupied at the time of the attack, but no one was injured.

"Any time shots are fired at a house of worship, the FBI should offer its resources to local authorities to help determine whether or not there was a bias motive for the attack," said CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush. "Our nation's leaders also need to speak out against the growing level of anti-Muslim sentiment that can lead to such incidents."

Ayloush thanked local police for their prompt and professional response to the incident.

Last month, CAIR called on state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate a firebomb attack on an Albuquerque, N.M., mosque as a hate crime.

CAIR's San Diego chapter also asked the FBI to investigate a threatening letter with an unknown substance sent to a local Mosque.

CAIR is urging community leaders to implement safety measures outlined in its booklet, "Best Practices for Mosque and Community Safety," which was published in response to previous attacks on American mosques. The booklet is designed to be used by mosque officials, Muslim school administrators and other community leaders and activists who seek to identify and eliminate vulnerabilities to bias-motivated attacks. A free copy of CAIR's "Best Practices for Mosque and Community Safety," may be requested on CAIR's website.

Some of the guidelines in CAIR's safety kit were outlined in a community alert sent out in September.

The Washington-based Muslim civil rights organization is also asking American Muslims to contact a local CAIR chapter to report any bias incidents.

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CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

 
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