www.amperspective.com Online Magazine
Executive Editor: Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Chronology of Islam in America (2016)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
August 2016 - Page Two
Primary win inspires St. Cloud's Somali community
August 9: The Minneapolis legislative district where Ilhan Omar won a historic victory today might be 70 miles from St. Cloud. But members of the local community are celebrating Omar's primary win as an important achievement and inspiration for Somali-Americans, especially young women, throughout Minnesota. Omar, a political activist, is poised to become the first Somali-American lawmaker in the nation after defeating one of the Minnesota Legislature's longest-serving members, Rep. Phyllis Kahn, in the DFL primary. District 60B in Minneapolis is heavily Democratic, meaning Omar is likely to win in November. Omar's win proves that with hard work comes reward, said Haji Yusuf, community director of #UniteCloud, a St. Cloud group that promotes cultural understanding.. He said it also shows that in Minnesota, people can come together if they look at each other as having something in common despite different backgrounds. Yusuf and others said Omar also is an important role model and inspiration for young Somali women who might aspire to run for political office someday. St. Cloud has the largest Somali population in Minnesota outside of the Twin Cities, but no Somali candidates are running for state Legislature in Central Minnesota districts. That could change, said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and a St. Cloud State University graduate. [St. Cloud Times]
Muslim flight attendant sues ExpressJet over suspension
August 9: A Muslim flight attendant has sued ExpressJet, accusing the airline of wrongly suspending her because she refused to serve alcohol to passengers. The Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Michigan chapter announced today it filed the lawsuit last week on behalf of Charee Stanley, a Detroit-based flight attendant for the airline headquartered in Atlanta. The federal court case follows a discrimination complaint filed last year with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which dismissed it without determining whether the airline violated the law. Stanley alleges ExpressJet didn’t provide a reasonable religious accommodation and seeks back pay and other damages. She was placed on unpaid leave last summer. ExpressJet said in a statement that it values diversity but cannot comment on specific personnel matters or ongoing litigation. [Seattle Times]
First Spanish-speaking Islamic Center opens for growing Muslim Latino Community
August 10: The inauguration of the first American Spanish-language mosque in Houston six month ago has created a new understanding of the religion among Hispanics, with more reverts knocking its doors every now and then to learn about their faith. In its first months, Centro Islamico welcomed 28 new converts to Islam, according to Alex Gutierrez, Islam in Spanish’s development and operations director. “They were all Latinos – families, single mothers, couples with children,” he told Houston Chronicle. “We’ve had 10-year-old sisters; we’ve witnessed a grandmother accepting Islam.” The first Spanish-speaking Islamic center was opened in Houston, Texas, earlier this year in January. The new center followed years of hard work to provide Spanish translations of Islamic books by IslamInSpanish, a non-profit organization that educates Latinos about Islam in Spanish, and also to newly-convert Latino Americans. In its early years, IslamInSpanish issued more than 500 audio books and 250 videos, most of which were aired on public access television. More recently, it has directed attention to the internet. Sunday classes are streamed live, offering a worship option to Muslims unable to travel to the Houston mosque. “We reach viewers in Brazil, Spain, Argentina,” Gutierrez said. “We’ve had people tune in from Germany and Paris. We’re open to anybody, any Latinos anywhere in the world who are open to Islam.” In December, the non-profit will host the nation’s first Latino Muslim convention as part of the 2016 Texas Dawah Convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Latinos in the US are considered the fastest-growing demographic group of Muslims in America, according to a report by National Public Radio (NPR). In the state where Latinos comprise almost 40 percent of population, stories of new reverts to Islam were recurrent in Texas.[About Islam.Net]
CAIR-Florida launches statewide survey on bullying of Muslim students
August 10: The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations(CAIR-Florida), the state's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, today announced the statewide release of a survey on bullying targeting Muslim students. The survey seeks to shed light on Muslims being victimized for their race, religion or national origin. Thania Clevenger, CAIR-FL's civil rights director, stated: "This type of bullying happens from students and, unbelievably, from teachers. If you've ever been a victim of discrimination because of your race, religion or national origin, take the time to fill out our survey monkey. It's important to have your input so we can start this hard conversation." The survey is online for students from elementary to high school level. CAIR's California chapter published a report in 2015 based on a similar survey that highlighted incidents of bullying statewide. [CAIR]
Muslim woman sues Chicago police claiming false arrest
August 12: A Muslim woman is suing the Chicago Police Department (CPD), for an incident that took place on July 4, 2015, which she claims involved religious profiling and excessive force. According to a press release issued by the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago), one of the groups representing her, Itemid Al-Matar was at a train station when a group of officers suddenly "grabbed her from the stairs and threw her to the stair landing." Al-Matar's attorney Gregory Kulis says that, during this time, "Her hijab was torn from her face and head, exposing her face to the public contrary to her religious beliefs." He has also told the media that police believed the woman was "lone-wolf suicide bomber." Al-Matar, who also goes by the first name Angel, was taken into custody and charged with several crimes including obstruction of justice and reckless conduct, but she has since been completely cleared. CAIR-Chicago says that her lawsuit is charging the CPD with "use of excessive force, false arrest, violation of freedom of religious expression, and malicious prosecution, among other counts." The police department has declined to comment on the lawsuit, however released a statement on Thursday saying, "While CPD does not comment on pending or proposed litigation our officers work hard each day to investigate suspicious activity and fight crime. We strive to treat all individuals with the highest levels of dignity and respect." [AOL.COM]
Hate crime probe urged for attack on Muslim mother, daughter
August 12: The Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) today called on state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate an attack on a Muslim mother and daughter Thursday morning in West Rogers Park as a hate crime. Video footage of the incident shows the attacker shouting obscene and Islamophobic slurs such as "f**king b*tch" and "f**k you ISIS b*tch" at the Muslim women while they were sitting in a vehicle. The attacker tried to enter the vehicle, but finding the doors locked, kicked the vehicle and smashed the side view mirror while the women inside sat terrified and screaming. As the attacker walked away, she continued to yell derogatory, misogynistic and Islamophobic slurs at the Muslim women. One of the women inside the car asked, "What did we ever do to you?" and the attacker replied "You're ISIS, b*tch!" The mother and daughter reported that their attacker spit on, harassed and yelled at them repeatedly while they were walking to their vehicle that morning. The daughter, Suzanne Damra, informed CAIR-Chicago that the attacker had been verbally harassing them for about a month before she turned violent in this latest incident "We were bothered and scared by her harassment but did not expect it to turn violent until today, and now we are very worried," she said. While the incident was unfolding, the Muslim mother and daughter say that rather than stepping in to help, a couple of men walking by laughed and cheered on the attacker, one of them high-fived the attacker. "This attack is clearly a hate crime rooted deeply in Islamophobia--and it must be treated as such," said Ahmed Rehab, executive director of CAIR-Chicago. "The attacker targeted the victims due to their religion and did so violently. Therefore, we call on local, state and federal authorities to investigate the bias motive behind this assault as a hate crime." Rehab said this attack comes during a time of heightened Islamophobia, which has spiked since the first presidential nominees were announced for the current election cycle. "Things were never this bad since 9/11. I think that a lot of this has to do with the fact that Donald Trump is running for presidency and he is encouraging a climate of hate against Muslims," Damra told CAIR-Chicago. "I don't think that this is acceptable and I don't think that this hate should be encouraged or go unchallenged." [CAIR]
Queens imam and his assistant shot to death by gunman in attack local Muslims
blame on Donald Trump: 'His drama has created Islamophobia'
August 13: A lone gunman executed a revered Queens imam and his friend as the pair walked home from prayers, blasting each in the back of the head without a word, officials said. Mosque leader Maulama Akonjee and friend Thara Uddin were dressed in Muslim garb when the killer “approached from behind and shot” from point-blank range, said NYPD Deputy Inspector Henry Sautner of the Queens South Detective Bureau. Akonjee, 55, a married father of three, was a respected religious leader since his arrival in Queens from Bangladesh less than two years ago. Uddin, 65, died about four hours after the attack. Scores of worshipers from the mosque gathered within hours at the murder scene to denounce the cold-blooded ambush as a hate crime. “That’s not what America is about,” said local resident Khairul Islam, 33. “We blame Donald Trump for this . . . Trump and his drama has created Islamophobia.” A high-ranking police source said the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force would investigate, but it was “too early to say” what the motive was. A second source said investigators were looking into the possibility of a botched robbery because one of the men was found carrying several hundred dollars. The shooter left his victims lying in their own blood just one block from the Al-Furqan Jame Mosque in Ozone Park, where the two victims prayed together only minutes earlier. Cops and witnesses described the shooter as tall and Hispanic, carrying a large handgun, and wearing a dark blue shirt and shorts. [New York Daily News]
Former Kentucky firefighter retires after video showing him burning the Quran surfaces
August 13: A former Kentucky firefighter reportedly retired from his position after a video showing him burning the Quran surfaced. According to the Daily News of Bowling Green, the incident was reported as part of a lawsuit that was filed by another former Bowling Green firefighter earlier this week. In the lawsuit, Jeffrey Queen said he served as a firefighter at the Bowling Green Fire Department for five years, and during that time, he was subjected to a hostile environment. Not only was Queen harassed based on his religion — he identifies as atheist — he was also routinely called derogatory names because of his sexuality including “f*g,” “homo,” and “queer.” At one point, he says, his fellow firefighters said if a gay man worked in their department, “we’ll make sure he dies in a fire. We’ll chop his feet off.” In a press release from Craig Henry PLC, who filed the lawsuit, Queen said he wasn’t the only one who was subjected to the harassment. Other members of the fire department would reportedly call people in the LGBT community “f****** f*ggots” and African-Americans “hood rats” and the n-word. Muslims were referred to as “ragheads,” “towelheads,” and “alibabas.” In addition, Queen said one firefighter was videoed burning the Quran outside the fire station and mocking the Islamic call to prayer.The lawsuit reads: “The fire department’s hostility toward Muslims reached a peak in late 2015 when a firefighter at the Airport Station where Queen was assigned burned the Quran in front of the fire station while mocking the Muslim call to prayer. During the Quran burning, the firefighter stated ‘burn them all.'”[Inquisitr.com]
Muslim women call for hate crime probe after attack in Rogers Park, Chicago
August 14: About two dozen people gathered in Rogers Park (Chicago) today to support two Muslim women who have said they were harassed and assaulted last week. Suzanne Damra, 25, said for the past month she has endured comments from a woman in the neighborhood who repeatedly has called her ISIS, and used other profanity-laced insults. She said, on Thursday, she and her elderly mother were walking to the car when the woman got physical with them. “It was like ‘Oh my God, it’s a whole other side of her, with the insults, and then people walking past are like, ‘Yeah, they are ISIS,’” she said. Damra said she’s still waiting to hear from Chicago Police, who have filed the incident as a simple assault. She wants it documented as a hate crime. In the middle of the rally, a man walked by and yelled at the group that they were supporters of ISIS. Dr. Alia Ammar, one of the speakers at the rally, said she wasn’t surprised.
“This is nothing new to Muslim women, unfortunately. It should be. It should have been shocking. We all should have turned around and said ‘Oh my God, what’s happening?’” she said. Ammar said the Muslim community has been targeted by a growing number of hate crimes, particularly after the rise of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has proposed a ban on Muslim immigrants. “What we saw in Rogers Park on Thursday was an unfortunate example of the hatred that is beginning to bubble to the surface in our nation,” she said. “Being Muslim is never a crime; especially in a country that was based on the principles of religious freedom, and that heralds itself as a place that people can come to from all over the world.” The group said they want Chicago police to increase patrols in the Rogers Park neighborhood. [CBS Chicago]
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