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Executive Editor: Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Chronology of Islam in America (2016)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
October 2016 - Page Three
ADC Demands Cancellation of HBO show “Mogadishu, Minnesota”
Oct 21: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) demands cancellation of the airing of the HBO show “Mogadishu, Minnesota.” Formerly titled “The Recruiters,” ADC has serious concerns that the show will feed into further stereotyping and stigmatization of the Somali-American community in Minnesota, and Arabs and Muslims around the country. Local activists in the Minneapolis area strongly oppose the show and are concerned with the way their community will be portrayed and criminalized. For Americans who have never interacted with the Somali community, this TV show centered on “jihadi recruitment” will be the only depiction of Somali-Americans they may ever see, endorsed by HBO. ADC has serious concerns that the HBO series theme is part of the same narrative of Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) policies that have targeted the Somali American youth. CVE is a government led program that is based on the notion that certain groups of people are inherently predisposed to violence. [ADC]
Hate crime in U.S. survey up 6 percent; But Anti-Muslim rise 89 percent
Oct 22: Our recent 20-state study, released last month, and to be presented at the American Society of Criminology next month, found small overall hate crime increases punctuated by significant spikes that vary by location, offense type, significant event dates and targeted group. The data relied primarily and preferably on official law enforcement figures. Overall small increases hid significant spikes in bias crimes against Muslims, Arabs and transgender people in 2015, with hate crimes against Muslims rising 89 percent, statistically breaking out of range of between 105 and 160 in the years since 9/11. In our 21-state sample of official law enforcement data there were 210 anti-Muslim hate crimes, which we cautiously expect to rise up to 280 nationwide when the FBI releases its data next month. [Huffington Post]
'Massive rise' in hate speech on Twitter during presidential election
Oct 23: Trump's inflammatory rhetoric and policy positions have made many groups feel unsafe on Twitter. Trump has suggested banning Muslims from entering the U.S., has said "Islam hates us," suggested the surveillance of mosques, and has talked about "profiling" of Muslims as a response to terrorism. Irfan Chaudhry, a criminology instructor at MacEwan University in Edmonton, Canada, who has researched racism on Twitter, says these disturbing attacks typically grow in numbers and intensity during a presidential election. The difference: In 2016 there are far more people on social media than there were in 2012. "During the last presidential election, a lot of people were still trying to get a handle on what social media is," Chaudhry said. "Now they know what it is, and now we are able to utilize it in more data-driven and analytical ways that give us these insights we weren't aware of before." Leslie Miley, a former Twitter employee, says hate speech has always lurked on Twitter. But the alt-right, the community of activists that embrace white nationalism and supremacy, "has its Twitter game on point right now," he says. [USA TODAY]
This election flyer shows “radical Islamic terrorists” aiming at children
Oct 24: A Republican-leaning political action committee mailed a flyer to New Hampshire residents depicting what it called “Radical Islamic terrorists” with assault rifles and crosshairs over children and the American flag. The flyer, mailed by the political action committee One Nation, has been accused of associating Muslims with violence by a civil liberties organization. The ad takes aim at Maggie Hassan, the current governor of New Hampshire and Democratic candidate for US Senate against Republican incumbent Kelly Ayotte. The flyer implies Hassan’s support for the Iran nuclear deal could endanger Americans. “Radical Islamic terrorists are knocking at our door…and Maggie Hassan’s judgment could put our families at risk,” one side of the flyer read, with a picture of a suburban home with an American flag in crosshairs. Another part of the flyer shows two men with assault rifles wearing keffiyehs — a tradition middle-eastern headdress and scarf — in a way that covers their faces. Children are depicted through a gun sight with the words “Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to continue attacking America,” above them. “The mailing intentionally invokes the specter of terrorism and associates Muslims with violence against civilians in a clear attempt to sway voters using Islamophobia,” Dr. John Robbins, executive director of CAIR-Massachusetts, said in a statement. “This group is obviously exploiting both the candidate’s Arab and Muslim-sounding name and the growing Islamophobic sentiment in our nation.” [Buzz Feed]
California man who threatened to kill had a stockpile of weapons and a ‘hatred for Muslims’
Oct 25: A California man who threatened to kill all the members of a Los Angeles area mosque and had amassed rifles, shotguns, handguns, high-capacity magazines and “thousands of rounds of ammunition” has been charged with making terrorist threats. Mark Feigin, 40, called the Islamic Center of Southern California twice and “threatened to kill the person who answered the phone along with other members of the center because of [his] hatred for Muslims and his belief that Muslims will destroy the United States,” L.A. police commander Horace Frank told reporters today. A police search of Feigin’s home uncovered numerous rifles, shotguns, handguns, high-capacity magazines and “thousands of rounds of ammunition,” Frank said. “We believe he certainly had the means to carry out these threats, and that’s why we took action.” Omar Ricci, a spokesman for the Islamic Center of Southern California, said that the threats and Feigin’s arrest had left the mosque’s members “a bit shaken” and that news of the weapons found in Feigin’s home had initially conjured images of “a Columbine-type event” in his mind. Ricci, who spoke alongside Los Angeles police and community leaders during today’s news conference, said the mosque had experienced harassment before. “Unfortunately, in today’s political climate, such hate is not uncommon.” But he said Feigin’s threats rose to a new level of concern. Law enforcement officials in several cities say there has been a spike in threats and crimes against Muslims over the past year. Muslim community leaders have frequently cast the blame for such actions at anti-Muslim political rhetoric in the 2016 presidential campaign, and particularly from Republican candidate Donald Trump. [Washington Post]
Lawsuit by Muslim woman from St. Louis County claims employment discrimination
Oct 25: The Council on American-Islamic Relations has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a St. Louis County woman who claims that a nationwide security firm discriminated against prospective Muslim employees, the group said today. Securitas Security Services refused to hire Zahraa-Imani Ali, "at least in part, but likely entirely, on the fact that Ms. Ali wears the hijab as part of her adherence to the Islamic faith," lawyer Robert West claimed in a statement announcing the suit. The suit, filed Oct. 21, seeks monetary damages, costs and attorneys' fees and seeks class-action status to represent other applicants. The lawsuit says that Ali, a former correctional officer, applied for a job with Securitas in September 2015. During a phone screening that October, she asked whether wearing a hijab would be an issue, the suit says. The "recruitment specialist" said that there shouldn't be a problem, but in a series of emails, a regional compliance manager recommended that the specialist "side step" and "pass on" Ali, the suit says. [4-traders.com]
Islamophobic Hearing at Okahoma State House
Oct 25: The Oklahoma chapter of the Council onAmerican-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OK) today responded to comments made during an Islamophobic hearing for Interim Study H16-029, "Radical Islam, Sharia Law, the Muslim Brotherhood and the radicalization process." "Representative John Bennett is shamefully wasting taxpayer money to promote his own biased agenda," said CAIR-OK Executive Director Adam Soltani. "This hearing was a new low for Representative Bennett, as his guests presented a biased narrative that achieves nothing more than demonizing and marginalizing the Oklahoma Muslim Community." H16-029 was proposed by Representative John Bennett (R-Sallisaw), who has been widely criticized for his open hostility toward Islam and Muslims. Most notably, Rep. Bennett has called Islam "a cancer that needs to be cut out of the nation" and has repeatedly stated that he does not consider Islam to be a religion. Rep. Bennett is currently running for re-election against Tom Stites, a local businessman, engineer, and community leader."Perhaps most troubling to me was Frank Gaffney's assertion that Islamic charitable giving, or zakat, is somehow funding terrorism in the United States," said CAIR-OK Government Affairs Coordinator Anna Facci. "Here in Oklahoma City, zakat money from the community funds a food bank and a free clinic in a neighborhood that is otherwise a food and resource desert. Zakat is no different than the Christian tradition of tithing, and charity and is at the very core of the Oklahoma Standard." Among the speakers present after the hearing were Frank Gaffney, president and founder of the Center for Security Policy; John Guandolo, founder of UnderstandingtheThreat.com, an extreme anti-Muslim conspiracy theory website; and retired Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin, former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and current executive Vice President of the rabidly anti-LGBTQ Family Research Council. [CAIR]
Agoura Hills CA man planned 'Columbine-type' attack on L.A. mosque
Oct 26: An Agoura Hills Man was arrested and accused of making criminal threats against the Islamic Center of Southern California, the Los Angeles Police Department announced yesterday. Mark Feigin, 40, was arrested at his home on Oct. 19, Cmdr. Horace Frank, of the Counter Terrorism and Special Operations Bureau, said at a news conference at the LAPD headquarters downtown. He was accused of making two calls to the Islamic Center in September, threatening to kill local Muslims and violence against the ICSC. Investigators were able to trace the calls made on Sept. 19 and 20 to Feigin, but Frank did not disclose how police were able to link them to Feigin, citing an ongoing investigation. Police also found a stash of weapons, including riffles, modified ammunition magazines and ammunition inside Feigin's home, Frank said. Some of the weapons were registered to the suspect, but Frank did not say if the other weapons were unregistered or registered to another person. [Patch]
GOP mailers: Watch for new ISIS ‘neighbors’ in Kansas
Oct 28: The Kansas Republican Party is sending out mailers in legislative races around the state depicting ISIS fighters and explosions from terrorist attacks. A mailer going to homes in east Wichita’s House District 88 shows an ISIS fighter holding a machine gun with a message that reads: “Have you met the new neighbors?” The other side of the mailer touts Republican Rep. Joseph Scapa’s support for funding to train Kansas law enforcement officers to “recognize and deal with foreign and domestic threats to our state, from those who support ideologies that are in conflict with the U.S. Constitution and our Kansas values.” Clay Barker, executive director of the Kansas Republican Party, said similar mailers are being sent out around the state. “We did polling and focus groups, and the one issue that got overwhelming positive response and was associated with Republicans was safety,” Barker said. [The Wichita Eagle]
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