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Executive Editor: Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Chronology of Islam in America (2016)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
October 2016 - page two
Miami passes resolution condemning hate speech, violence against Muslims
Oct. 13: The Miami commission today passed a resolution condemning hate speech and violence directed at Muslims. The item was intended to show "solidarity with Muslims and those targeted for their ethnicity, race, or religion." The item was sponsored by Vice Chair Ken Russell and passed unanimously by the commission. Russell said there are thousands of Muslim residents in Miami who have "needed a voice to speak for them." "And it's not about courage as a politician, it's simply heartfelt empathy for someone's freedom to express their religion and not be persecuted for it," Russell said. "And to recognize it as a religion of love. Not to judge a group of people by the minority few within their population that commit bad crimes." There are about 27 Islamic centers in Miami-Dade County and about 60 in the tri-county area, with close to 120,000 to 140,000 Muslims living in the tri-county area, according to Wilfredo Ruiz, communications director with CAIR Florida. Ruiz said that there has been an increase in Islamophobia that has been "raised by some politicians on all levels, local, state and national levels." Ruiz said there has been a 500 percent increase in hate crimes against Muslims in Florida in the past year. "Resolutions like this really help foster a better environment, where the contributions of this many Muslims that have served and keep on serving our nation are protected, and we are embraced as another part of the American fabric," Ruiz said. [local10.com]
Three arrested in alleged bomb plot targeting Somalis in Kansas
Oct 14: Three members of a Kansas militia group were charged today with plotting to bomb an apartment complex that's home to Somali immigrants in the western Kansas meatpacking town of Garden City, a thwarted attack prosecutors say was planned for the day after the November election. The arrests were the culmination of an eight-month FBI investigation that took agents "deep into a hidden culture of hatred and violence," Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said. A complaint unsealed charges Curtis Wayne Allen, 49; Patrick Eugene Stein, 47; and Gavin Wayne Wright, 49, with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction. The men are members of a small militia group that calls itself "the Crusaders," and whose members espouse sovereign citizen, anti-government, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant extremist beliefs, according to the complaint. The complaint alleges group members chose the target based on their hatred for Muslims, people of Somali descent and immigrants — and out of a desire to inspire other militia groups and "wake people up." The FBI began a domestic terrorism investigation of the group in February 2016, and a confidential source attended its meetings in southwestern Kansas. The complaint said that Stein discussed the explosives used in the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City by Timothy McVeigh. Heidi Beirich, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project, called the details of the plot disturbing, saying it "should serve as a warning to those who traffic in the politics of fear and bigotry." [NBC San Diego]
Call for hate crime probe of 'Trump' vandalism targeting Iowa mosque
Oct 15: The Iowa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Iowa) today called on state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate vandalism targeting a mosque in that state as a possible hate crime. CAIR-Iowa said the vandalism was the latest in a series of hate incidents targeting mosques and Islamic centers nationwide in the past few days. Worshipers at the Waterloo-Cedar falls Islamic Community Center-Masjid Al-Noor report that the word "Trump" was painted on the mosque. A police report about the vandalism has been filed. GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump has promoted anti-Muslim policies and has made a number of Islamophobic statements during his campaign, which many commentators link to an unprecedented rise in hate incidents targeting Islamic institutions and ordinary American Muslims. "Because of Donald Trump's mainstreaming of Islamophobia, and the resulting rise in anti-Muslim bigotry in our society, we urge law enforcement authorities to treat this as a possible hate crime," said CAIR-Iowa Executive Director Miriam Amer. [CAIR]
Call for probe of 'walking while black' incident in Minnesota
Oct 17: The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) today joined the Minneapolis National Association for the Advancement of Color Ppeople in calling for an independent investigate of an incident in which an African-American man was arrested for walking in the street because a sidewalk was under construction. Cell phone video of the arrest by a white police officer in Edina, Minn., has drawn widespread outrage. The woman who captured the incident on video said, "There was absolutely no reason for the officer to stop him from walking." "We believe this humiliating incident would not have occurred had the individual targeted by the officer been white," said CAIR-MN Executive Director Jaylani Hussein. "This is an apparent case of 'walking while black' that should be investigated by an independent body." CAIR has called for similar investigations of other incidents nationwide involving allegations of disparate treatment of African-Americans by law enforcement authorities. [CAIR]
Anti-Islam speaker's talk at Bagley High School, Minnesota, raises alarm
Oct 18: A speaker scheduled to deliver a talk tonight titled the “Global Islamic Movement” at Bagley High School is facing some opposition.The Council on American-Islamic Relations in Minnesota is calling for the high school to cancel the speech, saying it may create a perception that the public high school is endorsing the speaker, John Guandolo, who has been called a “notorious Muslim-basher and conspiracy theorist” by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The event, listed on a web page calendar for the radio station QFM, said Guandolo’s presentation “will review the threat and the jihadi network in the U.S. and Minnesota, but will focus on the cooperation between the hard-left/Marxist Movement and the Jihadi Movement in the U.S. and practical actions citizens can take to defend their communities and take back ground.” CAIR-MN argues Guandolo has a right to speak but shouldn’t be allowed to do it at “a taxpayer-funded academic institution,” Executive Director Jaylani Hussein said in a news release. [Star Tribune]
Anti-Muslim Legislation in Pennsylvania
Oct 18: A Western Pennsylvania lawmaker is seeking to prohibit Pennsylvania courts and state judges from applying foreign legal code or legal systems, including Sharia law, when in conflict with the federal or state constitutions, or infringe upon Constitutional rights. The bill was advanced by the House State Government Committee today. According to Republican state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, of Butler, he wrote in a statement that the fundamental liberties protected under House Bill 1288 include due process, right to bear arms, freedom of religion and speech, freedom of press and any right of privacy that is defined in the Pennsylvania Constitution and the United States Constitution. “This legislation addresses an alarming trend across America where activist judges apply or sanction foreign law in cases such as family law,” said Metcalfe. “In particular, sharia law relegates women, children and non-Muslims to second-class citizens and allows for primitive treatment, fierce punishment, torture, mutilation and even ‘honor killings’ for anyone who refuses to comply with sharia mandates. If enacted, House Bill 1288 would ensure that sharia law and all other unjust and barbaric foreign legal systems are forever banished from Pennsylvania courtrooms and that the Constitution remains supreme in the fair and equal dispensations of the rule of law.” Most commonly referred to as American Laws for American Courts, legislation similar to House Bill 1288 has been passed with strong bipartisan support in Tennessee, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arizona, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida, Mississippi and South Dakota, Metcalfe said in statement. [fox43.com]
White privilege wages jihad: Kansas “militia members” aren’t considered “terrorists” because they’re not Muslim
Oct 19: The Federal Bureau of Investigation on October 14 announced that it had arrested three white men, Curtis Allen, Gavin Wright and Patrick Stein, who as part of a militia group called the Crusaders planned to bomb a housing complex and mosque in Garden City, Kansas. Allen, Wright and Stein had stockpiled 2,000 pounds of ammunition and numerous homemade bombs to conduct the attack. Their intended victims were Somali immigrants. In information gathered by the FBI, Stein, the apparent ringleader, told his followers, “If you’re a Muslim I’m going to enjoy shooting you in the head.” Stein also instructed his confederates, “if you start using your bow on them cockroaches, make sure you dip them in pig’s blood before you shoot them.” The destruction and murder would have been total. Allen, Wright and Stein planned to spare no one from their hateful wrath; babies and children would be killed along with adults. Stein told his fellow militia members, “When we go on operations there’s no leaving anyone behind, even if it’s a 1-year-old. I’m serious. I guarantee if I go on a mission those little fuckers are going bye-bye.” Their ultimate goal was to “send a wake-up call” to (white) Americans about the “threat” posed by Muslims. Stein said “the only fucking way this country’s ever going to get turned around is it will be a bloodbath and it will be a nasty, messy motherfucker.”…The murderous actions planned by Allen, Wright, and Stein are the very definition of terrorism: politically motivated violence against a vulnerable civilian population. The headlines from major American news outlets, however, described Allen, Wright and Stein as “militia members” instead of “terrorists.” White privilege takes many forms in America. Terrorists are nebulous brown “Arabs” and “Muslims.” White privilege deems that such a label not be applied by the mainstream news media and in the popular discourse to white Christians such as Allen, Wright and Stein. [Salon]
It’s treasonous not to deport all Muslims
Oct 19: Myrtle Beach, SC, has published the following letter from Johnson Smith of Conway:
When talking about immigration, invariably the topic of Muslim immigration presents itself. There are U.S. citizens who believe that though Muslims have murdered many U.S. citizens in this country, Muslims committing the murders are not representative of Muslims as a whole. “Don't punish all Muslims for the sins of a few,” so to speak.Experts estimate that between 15 percent to 25 percent of Muslims are terrorists, the ones who stab, behead, murder and massacre non-Muslims to make Islam the only system of governance in a country. During World War II, most Germans were peaceful. However, the extremely violent Nazis drove the agenda and murdered 60 million people. The peaceful majority was irrelevant. Also, in World War II, the majority of Japanese were peaceful, yet the Japanese murdered 12 million people. The peaceful majority was irrelevant. On Sept. 11, 2011, the U.S. had 2.3 million Muslims - and it took only 19 Muslim terrorists to murder about 3,000 Americans. The peaceful majority was irrelevant. It was reported that the “peaceful majority” cheered at the news. The peaceful majority of Muslims is not really benign, though. They provide aid and comfort to Muslim terrorists. I wouldn't advise you to sketch a picture of a person and label it Mohammad and put it in your front yard when you have the “peaceful majority” walking in your neighborhood. To do so may cause your head to separate from your body when a Muslim terrorist happens to drop by your house. The peaceful majority inform the terrorists in their group and will help terrorists escape. Ever hear of Muslims turning in one of their own due to suspicions of being a terrorist? All Muslims have the same goal - make everyone Muslim, or dead. To not have this goal would mean they are not Muslim. The book they follow, the Koran, instructs them on this goal. Some Muslims pursue this goal more intensely (terrorists) than others (peaceful majority). Anyone agreeing to allow Muslims into the U.S.A. is committing treason. Anyone who does not agree to deport all Muslims is committing the same. [Myrtle Beach, SC]
FBI Probe called for hate vandalism targeting Arkansas mosque
October 20: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, is calling on the FBI to join the investigation of hate vandalism targeting an Arkansas mosque. CAIR said the Arkansas vandalism is the latest in a series of hate incidents targeting mosques and Islamic centers nationwide in the past week. Police in Fort Smith, Ark., are looking for three people who allegedly spray-painted hate graffiti on the outside of Masjid Al Salam mosque. Surveillance video shows the people painting Nazi swastikas and phrases like, "Go Home," "USA," "F___ Islam," "F___ Allah," and "Go Back to Your Country," on the mosque and its signage. Police distributed a photograph from the video showing a white man in a baseball cap apparently painting something on the mosque's wall. A police official said "obvious bias motivations exist in this case." "Given the recent spike in anti-mosque incidents nationwide, and the targeting of Islam and Muslims in the presidential campaign, we urge the FBI to add its resources to the investigation of this case," said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. [CAIR]
FBI investigates graffiti vandalism at two Fort Smith mosques
Oct 20: The FBI got involved in an investigation into graffiti vandalism found at two mosques in Fort Smith this morning, according to Fort Smith police.Police said they are now searching for three suspects, who they said are responsible for spray painting swastikas and "go home" on an Islamic center at 8501 S. 28th St. and another center at 1800 S. Albert Pike Ave. Police have not confirmed that they are connected, but they are investigating. Police were originally investigating the vandalism as misdemeanors, but now that the FBI is involved, the crimes could be considered as felonies on a federal level. Hisham Yasin, a board member of the mosque on 28th Street, found the graffiti when he came to the Islamic center to pray this morning. [5newsonline]
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