Opinion Editorials, February 2016

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North Carolina Muslim Victims: 23-year-old Dhiya Shaddy Barakat, his wife, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19.	NH EXIT POLL: 66% of GOP primary voters support banning Muslims from entering the U.S. #Decision2016

• Hadith of the Day: Be Moderate in Your Religious Deeds
  
  The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "The good deeds of any person will not make him enter Paradise (i.e., no one enters paradise only through his or her good deeds)." The Prophet's companions asked: "Not even you?" The Prophet replied: "Not even myself, unless God bestows His favor and mercy on me. So be moderate in your religious deeds and do what is within your ability. None of you should wish for death, for if he is a doer of good, he may increase his good deeds, and if he is an evil doer, he may repent to God." Sahih al-Bukhari
• CAIR-Chicago: Emotional Goodbye from Professor Who Said Christians and Muslims Worship Same God
  
  The joint statement, which did not allow questions from the press, featured former student Jordan Yates and George Kalantzis, Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at Wheaton College, as well as Eboo Patel, Founder and President of Interfaith Youth Core, and Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of CAIR-Chicago. It was emceed by Rev. C.J. Hawking, Executive Director of Arise Chicago.
• CAIR Leader to St. Cloud: Let's Talk, Be an Example
  
  Jaylani Hussein's presentation at St. Cloud State University covered the past, present and future of religious intolerance.
• A Year After 3 Muslim Students Were Killed, Islamophobia in the U.S. May Be Getting Worse
  
  In the last three months alone, ThinkProgress has found at least sixty-five incidents in which Muslims throughout the country have been subject to shootings, personal assaults, harassment, and attacks on their houses of worship.
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  • CAIR is Urging People to Participate in Events Honoring Three College Students Who Were Shot to Death in 2015 (AP)
    
    The Council on American-Islamic Relations says events on Wednesday are planned for UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University and at the Light House, a Raleigh community center designed to honor three Muslim students, serve as a small-business incubator, provide after-school programs and to counter what the group calls growing Islamophobia.
• Two-Thirds of New Hampshire Republican Primary Voters Want to Ban Muslims from U.S.
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  • CAIR-AZ: Islamophobia and the Election - It's Not Just Trump
    
    As we plod forward to November, Muslim Americans are bracing themselves for what promises to be a campaign season full of unabashed bigotry.
  • American Sikh Barred From Mexico Flight Sees 'Small Victory'
  • GA: Man Sentenced for Anti-Muslim Bomb 'Hoax'
• CAIR-MI: Detroit Students at 'Freedom School' During Absences on Count Day
  
  These students are protesting the bad school conditions and the conditions their teachers have been forced to work in for years. "The actual state of Detroit schools have actually gotten worse from emergency management," says Dawud Walid, who is on the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

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Islamophobia and the Election: It’s not just Trump

Mondoweiss, Imraan Siddiqi

February 10, 2016

Marco Rubio criticizes Obama mosque speech for implying 'US discriminates against Muslims'

The perpetual election season is in full-swing, as we are now past Iowa and New Hampshire.  With November seemingly around the corner, the GOP candidates have honed in on cultivating Islamophobia as a sound strategy for drumming up their base.

While the media focuses on the demagoguery of Donald Trump, the war-mongering of Ted Cruz and the sheer-unhinged nature of Ben Carson – the reality is that even “moderate” candidates, such as Marco Rubio are riding a wave of anti-Muslim sentiment, in order to seem tough on national security.

Global Islamophobia continues to reach its crescendo, with anti-refugee and thereby anti-Muslim sentiment spreading like wildfire across Europe.  This rhetoric has also continued to grow in the U.S. – with record numbers of Islamophobic incidents reported in 2015 against mosques.  For American Muslims, it is now almost 15 years post-9/11 – yet the question remains on whether the continual scapegoating and marginalization of this community within the political sphere will ever end.

Obama’s Mosque Speech

Last week, President Obama finally visited a mosque – the Islamic Society of Baltimore, and gave a speech addressing the undeniable rising anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S.  Now I have been critical of POTUS’ notable absence from U.S. mosques for some time, as have been many inside and outside the Muslim community.  Additionally, it is impossible to overlook his administration’s use of drones, support for Israeli aggression against civilian populations, as well as its continual framing of terror to be a Muslim-centric issue.

At the same time, it is also undeniable that Obama’s speech at the mosque did hold major importance for American Muslims.  In the wake of the Paris and San Bernardino attacks, the level of anti-Muslim rhetoric has risen globally, to what some are saying is an all-time high.  Since San Bernardino alone, the number of hate-crimes stemming from Islamophobia has numbered over two dozen, in the U.S. alone.  This includes violent attacks against Muslims and Sikhs, as well as arsons at mosques and multiple cases of vandalism at Muslim institutions.  

What we don’t see amongst these statistics and news reports is the immense damage that has been done to the psyche of Muslims living in the West.  Lost in all these numbers is the impact the venomous rhetoric is having upon everyday Muslims.  This includes harassment, profiling, dirty looks, or just overall bigoted sentiment that is permeating society at the moment.  For example, in a New Hampshire Primary exit poll, 2/3 of GOP respondents believe Muslims should be banned from entering the U.S.  

So while there were some inherent flaws with Obama’s speech – most American Muslims viewed this, at the very least – as being a little relief and validation during a time of heightened tension.  The spike in anti-Muslim rhetoric has been an extension of Obama’s very existence in the most powerful position in the land.  Since his election, hate group membership has spiked, along with “birther” and “creeping sharia” narratives permeating the political discourse.  The perception amongst many American Muslims has been that Obama has been evasive on the issue of Islamophobia, as not to lose political points.

The “Moderate” Candidate Responds

Unsurprisingly, the right-wing met the news of the speech with their usual hyperbole and distortion of facts.  It was expected that staunch neoconservatives and Islamophobia Industry operatives would take this opportunity to sling mud at one of the rare opportunities to depict Muslims in a semi-positive light.  The so-called “moderate” GOP candidate Marco Rubio also saw this as an opening to weigh in, via The Huffington Post:

“I’m tired of being divided against each other for political reasons like this president’s done,” Rubio said at a Wednesday campaign stop in Dover, New Hampshire. “Always pitting people against each other. Always! Look at today: He gave a speech at a mosque. Oh, you know, basically implying that America is discriminating against Muslims.”

Rubio added: “Of course there’s discrimination in America, of every kind. But the bigger issue is radical Islam. And by the way, radical Islam poses a threat to Muslims themselves. They argue that. They’ll tell you that. But again, it’s this constant pitting people against each other. I can’t stand that. It’s hurting our country badly.”

The assertion that Islamophobia is a innocuous or non-existant, points to Rubio’s absurd level of ignorance, as well as his penchant for spitting out robot-like talking points, with disregard for actual facts.

In the past 2 months, there have been:

Arsons that have destroyed a mosque in Coachella, CA and a Muslim-owned restaurant in North Dakota Mosques that have been vandalized from coast to coast. Individuals who have been physically attacked and sent to the hospital for speaking Arabic or wearing Muslim garb. Multiple attacks against Sikhs and their institutions, for being perceived as “Islamic.”

Add this to the fact that the Presidential candidate with the most face-time (Trump) has proposed banning Muslims from entering the country, or that the 2nd place candidate (Cruz) proposed carpet-bombing Iraq to “make the desert glow.” Previous frontrunner Ben Carson went heavy on the Islamophobic rhetoric early in the race, and was able to raise a massive amount of funds in doing so.

The fact that the leading candidates in the GOP race are succeeding with extremist, and some might even say fascist rhetoric – allows the “establishment” candidates appear to be centrist in nature.  In reality, middle-of-the-road candidates such as Rubio are pushing very extreme, bigoted rhetoric as well.

In November, in response to Trump’s assertion that he would “close down mosques,” – Rubio took it a step further: Close down anywhere Muslims meet:

It’s not about closing down mosques. It’s about closing down any place — whether it’s a cafe, a diner, an internet site — any place where radicals are being inspired. The bigger problem we have is our inability to find out where these places are, because we’ve crippled our intelligence programs, both through unauthorized disclosures by a traitor, in Edward Snowden, or by some of the things this president has put in place with the support even of some from my own party to diminish our intelligence capabilities.

So whatever facility is being used — it’s not just a mosque — any facility that’s being used to radicalize and inspire attacks against the United States, should be a place that we look at.

The initial premise that individuals in the U.S. are being radicalized at mosques simply has no foundation.  In the relatively few cases that have been prosecuted pertaining to ISIS, many have involved FBI informants or have involved online radicalization.  The narrative that is being driven by many politicians and mainstream media outlets however, is that mosques are responsible for radicalization.  Part of the reason that Trump, Cruz, Rubio are advancing this narrative ties into the fact that they’re being advised by one of the Islamophobia Industry’s foremost wingnuts:  Frank Gaffney.  Gaffney’s Center for Security Policy is responsible for advancing conspiracy theories, such as “all Muslims in public-life are Muslim Brotherhood operatives,” and that “80% of America’s mosques are radicalized.”

Even though candidates such as Rubio have been quoted as saying “I value every human life” – he has taken a hardline against taking in Syrian refugees during the largest refugee crisis since World War II.  The fear-mongering around taking in refugees is Islamophobic at its core, as a faulty narrative that there are terrorists among them has now polluted the conversation.  Rubio is also a staunch advocate for keeping Guantanamo Bay open, in a near nod to continuing keeping prisoners (all Muslim) in inhumane conditions.

Vying For Adelson’s Money?

American elections have sadly become a horse-race where candidates vie for the seemingly unlimited stream of funds from the nation’s wealthiest .01%.  In the 2012 election, casino magnate and one of the world’s ten richest people, Sheldon Adelson had an immense impact on the discourse.  Adelson, who is a staunch supporter of Israel, spent $15 million propping up a fringe candidate in Newt Gingrich throughout the election.  In exchange, Gingrich help shift the Republican conversation to the extreme-right when it came to issues such as Israel and Islam.  Even though Gingrich floundered in the polls throughout the race, the influx of Adelson’s money kept him in the game long beyond where he deserved to be.  The tycoon has also famously said “Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Islamic” – as well as being a well-known contributor to prominent Islamophobic projects.  The question is, who will he look to in this election cycle to push forth his agenda?

In the 2016 election cycle, many say that Marco Rubio is that guy.  With over $93 million spent during the last election, it’s plausible that Adelson may spend well over $100 million this time around.  This could explain at least partially, why the supposed “moderate” candidate is pushing such extreme rhetoric during the debates.  After the New Hampshire primary, however – his campaign may be in a free-fall. Either way, the amped up rhetoric bodes badly for American Muslims.

The Never-Ending Cycle of Bigotry

As we plod forward to November, Muslim Americans are bracing themselves for what promises to be a campaign season full of unabashed bigotry.  We now live in a time when white supremacist groups are openly making robocalls advocating for Trump, saying “We don’t need Muslims.  We need smart, educated white people.” Ted Cruz, who has openly appeared at Islamophobia Industry events – continues to use the dog-whistle of “let’s call radical Islam by its name” – in order to froth up his extreme base.  Some of them even show up armed, demonstrating with AR-15 assault rifles outside mosques.

This never ending cycle of demagoguery, from extreme right and “centrist” candidates is having an effect on public opinion and is contributing to polarization in the country.  It is the hope of the Muslim community, that elected officials and those in positions of influence continue to call out and denounce this vicious and divisive rhetoric.

Imraan Siddiqi is a writer, activist and Executive Director of CAIR-Arizona.  He has been published in a wide variety of outlets on the subject of Islamophobia and American Muslims.  He is also editor of the website HateHurts.net – a project to track Islamophobia and its fallout on multiple communities.  You can follow him on Twitter @imraansiddiqi

Other posts by Imraan Siddiqi.

- See more at: http://mondoweiss.net/2016/02/islamophobia-and-the-election-its-not-just-trump/#sthash.SasLpWwA.dpuf

NH EXIT POLL: 66% of GOP primary voters support banning Muslims from entering the U.S. #Decision2016

Salon, Tuesday, Feb 9, 2016, 06:32 PM EST

By Amanda Marcotte

Months of Republicans stoking bigotry results in 2/3 of GOP voters supporting ban proposed by Donald Trump

Early on Tuesday, it was too early to say anything meaningful about actual poll returns in New Hampshire, but NBC reported an absolutely stomach-turning result from exit poll data:

At this stage in the race, everything gets filtered first through the “horse race” lens, and so the immediate take on this is clearly that this is good for Donald Trump, the only candidate who has seriously backed the idea that this country should ban Muslims from entering our country.

But the real story here is the real damage that has been done by a Republican primary where the candidates constantly compete over who is most certain that ISIS is hiding in their bushes. Even those Republican candidates who have pushed back against Trump’s proposed travel ban for Muslims have nonetheless pushed the idea that Muslims are inherently untrustworthy people that should be handled very carefully, as if they are beehives instead of people.

Every single Republican candidate in the race has demagogued on this ridiculous notion that Syrian refugees present a serious threat to the country and that the Obama administration is somehow not vetting them enough. Even Jeb Bush, who tried to take a more moderate stance on this, argued that Christians should have priority over Muslims, a stance that is based on this notion that there is something inherently shifty and dangerous about being Muslim. Chris Christie was so eager to sell the notion that Muslims are frightening by nature that he argued that even “orphans under five” need to be treated like a threat.

Anti-Muslim hysteria was bound to rise after the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, of course. It’s a shame, but there’s always going to be people who refuse to hear reason or look at evidence and hide behind knee-jerk bigotry instead. But it’s hard to imagine that it would be this serious. The San Bernardino shooting had fewer than half the casualties that you get on an average day in this country from gun violence, after all, and there’s no real evidence to suggest the shooters were attached to any larger conspiracy.

No, this level of bigotry is the direct result of Republicans climbing all over each other to declare that they were scared of Muslims the most. You can’t tell people, day in and day out, to hate and fear others for their differences without the message taking hold.

Amanda Marcotte is a politics writer for Salon. She's on Twitter @AmandaMarcotte  

http://www.salon.com/2016/02/09/gop_islamophobia_two_thirds_of_new_hampshire_republican_primary_voters_want_to_ban_muslims_from_entering_u_s/

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