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Executive Editor: Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Chronology of Islam in America (2015)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
October 2015
American Islamophobes Fund Dutch Islamophobe
Oct 1: The American anti-Islam campaigner David Horowitz donated $20,000 (€18,110) to the Dutch anti-immigration party PVV, run by Geert Wilders, in 2014, government documents show. The donation from the David Horowitz Freedom Centre is the only one on the official home affairs ministry list of outside funding for the party last year. Since 2013, Dutch political parties have been required by law to publish all donations over €4,500. The PVV was strongly opposed to the move at the time. It is not the first donation Horowitz has made to Wilders. In 2012 he told Reuters news agency that he had paid Wilders for two speeches, but declined to say how much. Horowitz is considered to be one of the most influential purveyors of anti-Islam propaganda in the US, alongside Pamela Geller who has also supported Wilders in the past. Geller, who believes US president Barack Obama is a secret Muslim, has invited Wilders to speak several times. Daniel Pipes, who founded the pro-Israeli think-tank, The Middle East Forum, told Reuters in September 2012 he had funded police protection and paid legal costs for Wilders. The PVV does not quality for official funding for political parties in the Netherlands because it has no membership structure. Wilders is the only official PVV member. [Dutch News]
Anti-Islam bigotry at the Values Voter Summit
Oct 1: During a panel called “The Islamic Threat,” retired Army Lt. Gen. William Boykin stood behind a conference-room podium at the Values Voter Summit last weekend and told his listeners that, while there are good Muslims in the United States, Islam is unlike any other religion and should not be protected by the First Amendment. “No religion that threatens our Constitution can be protected under that Constitution,” Boykin, now executive vice president of the Family Research Council, said firmly. He added that “16 percent of Islam is religion. The rest of it is political.” Boykin was joined by Cathy Hinners, founder of a Tennessee-based Web site devoted to “exploring and exposing Islam in America.” She reminded listeners that “in the time of Muhammad, mosques were centers” for military activity. And panelist Sandy Rios, head of governmental affairs for the American Family Association, told the crowd that a “peaceful” Islam is a “delusion.” Rather than dissipate after 9/11 and the eventual killing of Osama bin Laden, the deeper range of fears about Muslim dangers to the United States have only proliferated in blogs, books, videos and speeches among true believers. Now those fears are bursting to the forefront of the GOP presidential contest, and polls show they have become commonplace among Republican voters. Last month, GOP front-runner Donald Trump did not challenge a questioner who said at a town hall meeting, “We’ve got a problem in this country — it’s called Muslims,” and who asserted that President Obama is a secret member of the faith. The man also asked Trump about getting rid of Islamic “training camps” on American soil, to which Trump replied: “We’ll be looking at that.” [Washington Post]
Teaching about Islam stirs anger, change in Georgia schools
Oct 6: When it comes to learning about Islam, the line between teaching and proselytizing is so close in some parents’ minds that it caused a flare-up of tension in Walton County last week. A group of parents there pressured school board members, and met with them and the media about this issue. The pressure they created reached the state education department, which removed a teaching guide on the subject. Learning about Christianity, Judaism and Islam, three monotheistic faiths from the Mideast, and the way they influenced history, is part of learning about the world in middle school social studies classes. However, some of the Georgia parents objected to a worksheet saying all faiths worshipped “the same God,” and complained the lessons had crossed the line into doing more than teaching about religion. Some threatened to withdraw their children from the classroom when the subject of Islam came up. [The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
Court rules being Muslim is not political
Oct 7: Today, the U.S. District Court in Manhattan ruled in favor of Vaguely Qualified Productions (VQP), reversing the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) decision to refuse to run comedic ads about American Muslims. In June, Muslim Advocates filed a lawsuit on behalf of VQP challenging the MTA refusal to run the ads. The ads, created by Muslim comedians Dean Obeidallah and Negin Farsad, use humor to talk about American Muslims. While the MTA initially approved VQP’s ads to run on the New York City subways, it later revoked the approval, citing new policies that restrict “disputed” political speech. The court ruled “The text of the messages…is not ‘prominently or predominantly political’ – unless we have reached the unhappy moment in this country where the mere mention of one of the three Abrahamic faiths is ‘prominently or predominantly political’ simply because that faith is Islam.” “The court decision upholds our claim that sharing humor and stories by and about American Muslims educates the public about the Muslim community and should not be considered political speech,” said Glenn Katon, Legal Director at Muslim Advocates. “We applaud the court’s decision to allow the ads to run in the MTA system.” [Muslim advocates]
Ben Carson: Founding Fathers wouldn’t have trusted a Muslim president
Oct 10: Ben Carson offered up a new explanation for why he’s opposed to a Muslim American becoming president, citing fears of “different loyalties” that he believes the Founding Fathers articulated by barring immigrants from becoming chief executive. As has been the case in the past, the implication was that outwardly patriotic Muslims could not be fully trusted as loyal Americans given their faith. He has previously cited theories popular on the far right warning that seemingly assimilated Muslim Americans may be using religious edicts to conceal an extremist plot. The latest comments came at an appearance at the National Press Club, when an audience member asked why he felt a Muslim citizen couldn’t be loyal to the Constitution as president given that there were already Muslim military officers, policemen, and judges – all positions that require fidelity to the law. “A good understanding of the Constitution answers that question for you,” Carson said. “Because when you look at the Article II, and we’re talking about requirements for the president, they have to be a ‘natural born citizen.’ Now why is that the case?” The clause Carson refers to bars naturalized immigrants from the position of president. There are numerous Muslims born in America, of course, and a hypothetical Muslim president would by definition have to be a natural born citizen. The Constitution prohibits any “religious test” for public office, but Carson argued that the audience should read between the lines to divine the Founder’s intent. “I’m sure if you had gone to the Founders and said, ‘but what about this person? They may not be a natural born citizen but you know they’ve been in America for most of their lives, and they’re a fine upstanding citizen, they served in the military, they came back they were on the police force, can’t they be the president?’… they would have said no,” Carson said. “They said ‘We don’t even want to take the slight chance that we would put someone in that position who had different loyalties.’ That’s the answer to your question.” Several Muslim activists briefly approached Carson at a reception before the event, hoping to convince him that citizens like themselves were as American as anyone else. [MSNBC]
Steve King: Can’t think of time when Muslims ‘assimilated into the broader culture of civilization’
Oct 13: Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), speaking about Syrian and Iraqi refugees, said he can't think of a time when Muslims have assimilated into another culture. "I’m all about assimilation and whatever people can come here and assimilate and they’re here legally, I’m for those folks," King said. Iraqi Christians, including some King said he recently met, "they assimilate pretty fine into this culture. But I can’t find models of the folks that, say, do the hajj to Mecca, I can’t find models where they’ve assimilated into the broader culture of civilization wherever they’ve gone." King claimed President Obama wants to increase the number of Iraqi refugees coming to the United States to 200,000; Obama increased the number of Syrian refugees coming to the country to 10,000. King said he would train the refugees, give them uniforms and weapons and tell them to go defend their countries. If not, "then send them into Saudi Arabia, where they have the air-conditioned tents at Mecca. Those tents are not busy for 11 months out of the year, and they would assimilate into that civilization like a hand into a glove." The Iowa Republican, speaking at a rally for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), said that "demographics and culture are your destiny" and that Democrats are undermining that fate by increasing the number of refugees allowed into the United States. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned Rep. Steve King’s (R-IA) bizarre claim. “Steve King’s demonstrably false assertion that Muslims cannot be assimilated is deeply disturbing and reminiscent of Nazi-era falsehoods targeting European Jews,” said CAIR Government Affairs Manager Robert McCaw. McCaw noted that in April, King invited infamous Dutch Islamophobe Geert Wilders to privately address members of Congress and to speak at a Capitol Hill news conference. In the past, Wilders has stated "I hate Islam," called the Quran a "fascist book" that should be banned, referred to the Prophet Mohammed as "the devil," and proposed putting a tax on Islamic head scarves (hijab) worn by Muslim women. [AMP Report]
Vandals smash glass door of Katy, Texas mosque
Oct 14: One of the front glass doors is still covered in cardboard at the Masjid Al-Ahad mosque in Katy, Texas. Leaders at the mosque say they think vandals possibly targeted their place of worship because the glass door was shattered in the middle of the day, in between prayers. They also say the vandals may have watched to know when the place would be empty. The mosque is located on Clay Road near Greenhouse Road and has been here for eight years. Close to 400 people worship here and it is also home to a small school for children. It's next door to another church and some restaurants, but the mosque was the only storefront vandalized that day. Nothing was stolen inside. Leaders are concerned for their safety. "We don't bother anyone. We help everyone. We always work with peace," said Mufti Saleem, the Imam of Masjid Al-Ahad. "We need to stay careful. Because today happened one glass, maybe tomorrow it happens big, who knows." [ABC13]
Indiana University student attacks Muslim woman, yelling ‘white power’ and ‘kill them all’
Oct 19: A 19-year-old student from Indiana University was arrested over the weekend after allegedly attacking a Muslim woman. Witnesses claim that Triceten Bickford began shouting ethnic slurs at the 47-year-old woman and her 9-year-old daughter while they sat inside the Sofra Cafe on Saturday night (10/17/2015). The teen began screaming “white power” and "kill them all” before attacking her, WTTV-TV reported. Bickford slammed the woman’s head into the table and attempted to choke her whilst removing her headscarf. Her husband ran to her aid alongside another man after hearing her scream for help. The Indiana Daily Student reports that both men pinned Bickford to the ground as he spit in their faces and threatened them. After his arrest, the teen kicked at the patrol car’s windows and would later bite an officer on the lower leg inside the Monroe County jail. Bickford faces the following charges: One count of intimidation, one count of public intoxication, two counts of misdemeanor battery, one count of felony-level battery, one count minor consumption of alcohol and one count strangulation. The University of Indiana announced on Tuesday afternoon that Bickford has been expelled for the alleged attack. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy organization, urged for Monroe County officials to bring bias charges against the alleged assailant. Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation's largest Muslim advocacy group, questioned the charges and bail set against the assailant. “We urge prosecutors to bring a ‘bias crime’ charge in this case as outlined under Indiana’s Criminal Code,” said Mr Hooper. “We are concerned that the low bail in this case is an indication that it is not being taken as seriously as it should given the allegations of violence and the alleged bias motive.” Bickford's bail was set at $2,000. [Independent]
Kansas official shows warning slideshow of criminals named Mohammed
Nov 20: A commissioner in the second most populous Kansas county put on a slide presentation at a local government meeting showing convicted criminals with the name Mohammed, prompting a Muslim group to respond that American politicians seem to be racing to see who is the more bigoted. The Kansas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations urged Kansas political and religious leaders to repudiate views expressed a day earlier by Sedgwick County Commissioner Karl Peterjohn. The county includes the city of Wichita. Saying he was providing "a public warning for citizens," Peterjohn put on a slide presentation depicting photos of people named Mohammed or some derivation of it. Among those depicted in the slides were Mohamed Atta, one of leaders of the Sept. 11 attacks and John Allen Muhammed, who was executed for the 2002 Washington, D.C. sniper attacks. "What I am hearing from our community is a lot of people are very concerned about this crescendo of calls from different politicians, mostly unfortunately Republican politicians, that are almost racing to see who is more bigoted than the other," said Moussa Elbayoumy, Kansas board chairman for CAIR. Mohammed is one of the most common names in the world, he noted. The Kansas remarks added to an increasingly Islamophobic atmosphere that can lead to violence and intimidation targeting American Muslims, Elbayoumy said. Hussam Madi, spokesman for the Islamic Society of Wichita, said a lot of "real good people" — in sports and politics — also have the name Mohammed. [Talking Point Memo]
Tenn. Gov skeptical of bill to remove so-called Islamic indoctrination from schools
Oct 20: Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam (R) may not be on board with a bill offered earlier this month that would keep elementary and middle school students from learning about religion. The legislation was proposed amidst complaints from parents and lawmakers that students were learning about too much about Islam. "I don't know how you talk about the founding of America, and what became of the United States, without talking about religious doctrine," Haslam told reporters, according to the Associated Press. "Now, that's very different than indoctrinating, or teaching that doctrine as truth." Haslam said he felt that the bill could keep students from understanding why the pilgrims left Europe for America in particular, according to the AP. The bill proposed by Tennessee state Rep. Sheila Butt (R), would keep schools from teaching "religious doctrine" before the 10th grade and specifies that the curriculum cannot feature one religion more than another. Butt's bill followed concern from parents that students had to memorize the five pillars of Islam. Numerous lawmakers in the state quickly denounced the assignments on Islam as "indoctrination." "There is a big difference between education and indoctrination," Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said in a statement. "It is reprehensible that our school system has exhibited this double-standard, more concerned with teaching the practices of Islam than the history of Christianity. Tennessee parents have a right to be outraged and I stand by them in this fight." [Talking Points]
Anti-Muslim political fliers distributed in Hamtramck
Oct 21: A flier urging voters to "get the Muslim out of Hamtramck in November 3rd" has been distributed in Hamtramck, according to local citizens. The flier, shared via writer Dawud Walid's Instagram account, is remarkably similar to fliers that were distributed in August asking voters to "get the blacks out of Southfield." Both fliers are cheaply made and show white candidates along with the copy "Let's take back our city" on the bottom. Similar to the Southfield case, the politicians whose names appear on the flier have denied any connection. "This is ridiculous and it is insulting to my family and work that I've done,” Hamtramck city council candidate Susan Dunn told WJBK. The city clerk says they will hand over a copy of the flier to police for further investigation. As we noted back in August, if someone spends more than $100 on a local election, they are required by law to report their activity to their county clerk. Furthermore, such messages are supposed to have a disclaimer identifying the sponsor.
Could these fliers have landed under the law's $100 threshold? Perhaps. As the Michigan Campaign Finance Network's Rich Robinson told us in August, complaints for alleged violations of the Campaign Finance Act should go to the Department of State, which could then get investigated by the state’s Attorney General. [Metro Times]
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