www.amperspective.com Online Magazine
Executive Editor: Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Chronology of Islam in America (2017)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
August 2017 - page two
Trump fires Islamophobic white supremacist strategist Steve Bannon
Aug 18: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed the firing of White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, the architect of President Trump's "Muslim ban" executive orders. CAIR had long called for Bannon's removal. In February, CAIR called on Republican Party leaders to demand that President Trump dismiss Bannon following revelations that he promoted virulently anti-Muslim conspiracy theories in a 2007 film proposal. Bannon is former head of the White supremacist mouthpiece "Breitbart News," which traffics in misogynistic and racist stories targeting women, people of color and immigrants. In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said: "We welcome Steve Bannon's removal from a position of power in the White House that he did not deserve and should never have been given. His malevolent influence on policy-making has done possibly irreparable harm to our nation's interests and image. We thank all those courageous public officials, community leaders and private citizens who brought pressure to bear, resulting in Bannon's ouster." [CAIR]
Anti-Muslim, pro-Trump rallies in 36 states canceled, will be held as online demonstrations
Aug 22: Anti-Muslim and pro-Trump rallies, scheduled for September 9th, that were originally being planned for roughly 37 locations across the US have been canceled. The hate rallies were coordinated by ACT For America, a pro-Trump and anti-Muslim hate group best known for its “March Against Sharia” back in June, according to Matt Novak of Gizmodo. The group said it will instead hold online demonstrations. ACT For America, which calls itself “the NRA of national security,” released a statement to Breitbart, claiming that the cancellations were due to “the recent violence in America and in Europe.” “In recent weeks, extremist and radical organizations in the United States and abroad have overrun peaceful events in order to advance their own agendas, and in many cases, violence has been the result,” ACT For America told Breitbart in a statement. But there’s some speculation online that the pro-Trump crowd had other motives for canceling the events. Pro-Trump demonstrators were vastly outnumbered in Boston over the weekend, making it clear that Americans are ready to stand up against hate and bigotry in large public settings, Gizmodo said adding: Roughly 40,000 anti-fascist demonstrators rallied in Boston compared to just 100 or so fascists who huddled in a safe space. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, ACT for America is not only a hate group with a local chapter, but the largest anti-Muslim group in America. Before the groups canceled the rallies altogether, local officials in some cities were already voicing opposition. In Syracuse, New York, the group was denied a permit to hold a rally and the mayor of Milwaukee, Tom Barrett, said he didn't want the group or any Nazi, alt-right or white supremacist organizations to demonstrate in the city. At the anti-Sharia rallies hosted by the group in June, counter-protesters came out in droves. At just one of the rallies held in Seattle, about 75 people came out to demonstrate against Sharia law while several hundred counter-protesters showed up to drown out the anti-Sharia protest. As Gizmodo noted, a scan of Facebook event invites for some of the rallies showed that the RSVP list didn't look too promising. At most, a maximum of eight people had RSVPed yes to attending the rallies in Boston and on Cape Cod. In a statement, CAIR said: "This is a victory over white supremacy and Islamophobia. ACT for America is a hate group, plain and simple. During its rallies in June, the group hosted white supremacist organizations like Vanguard America and Identity Evropa. While ACT for America founder Brigitte Gabriel has been welcomed into the White House, we are inspired by the fact that mainstream America continues to reject the group's hateful message. CAIR thanks the many organizations and individuals participating in the ongoing peaceful pushback against the recent surge of white supremacy, Islamophobia and other forms of bigotry and racism." [AMP Report]
UN issues rare warning over 'alarming' racism in US
Aug 24: UN human rights experts have called on the United States and its leadership to "unequivocally and unconditionally" condemn racist speech and crimes, warning that a failure to do so could fuel further violent incidents. The rare "early warning and urgent action" statement, which is reserved for serious situations, was issued by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) yesterday. It stopped short of criticizing US President Donald Trump by name. CERD said it was "disturbed by the failure at the highest political level" of the US to reject racist demonstrations. That failure could lead to "fuelling the proliferation of racist discourse and incidents" in the United States, the statement said. "We are alarmed by the racist demonstrations, with overtly racist slogans, chants and salutes by white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and the Ku Klux Klan, promoting white supremacy and inciting racial discrimination and hatred," Anastasia Crickley, who chairs the UN panel, added. [Al Jazeera]
Civil advocacy groups denounce Trump's pardon of Shariff Arpaio
Aug 25: Civil rights groups and Democrats today condemned President Donald Trump's decision to pardon former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted of disobeying a court verdict ordering his agency to stop racially profiling Latinos. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tweeted the move "makes a mockery of rule of law, & says communities of color can be targeted & abused w/ total impunity." Tom Perez, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, noted that Trump announced the pardon "during a natural disaster that could hurt millions." "That's not presidential, that's a coward," said Perez, who sued Arpaio while serving in the Obama Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. Arizona’s two Republican senators also expressed disappointment with the president’s decision. “Regarding the Arpaio pardon, I would have preferred that the President honor the judicial process and let it take its course,” Jeff Flake wrote on Twitter. In a statement, John McCain offered a blunter critique. “The president has the authority to make this pardon, but doing so at this time undermines his claim for the respect of rule of law as Mr. Arpaio has shown no remorse for his actions,” the state’s senior senator said. A joint statement was issued by leading civil rights and racial justice organizations condemning Sheriff Joe Arpaio pardon. The statement said: "For 24 years, Sheriff Joe Arpaio ruled Maricopa County with an iron fist. His desire to embody a “tough” image and quest for fame led Arpaio to become one of the most famous and nefarious Sheriffs in America. Entrusted with the safety and well-being of the over four million residents of Maricopa County, Arpaio instead turned the county into a breeding ground of humiliation, intimidation and racial profiling. And, his jails became inhumane facilities operating under a culture of cruelty. Communities were terrified by his illegal and mismanaged immigration enforcement, inmates died in his jails, and he used his leverage as a “law and order” proponent to become a heavy hitter in federal politics and raise vast sums for his reelection campaigns. A Presidential pardon of Joe Arpaio is a grave miscarriage of justice." The Joint Statement was issued by the following organizations: Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Heather McGhee, Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society at UC Berkeley, National Congress of American Indians, National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), National Urban League, PICO National Network, Race Forward, Race Research Action Council. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), one of Arpaio’s legal foes over the years, called Trump's pardon a "presidential endorsement of racism." The ACLU, said pardoning the former sheriff “would just be the latest injustice to befall the countless people wronged by his years of racism, lawlessness, and abuse.” Cecilia Wang, the deputy legal director of the ACLU, said the president “has chosen lawlessness over justice” and that the pardon amounted to “a presidential endorsement of racism.” [AMP Report]
CAIR California releases annual civil rights report
Aug 29: The California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR California) today released its annual civil rights report titled "Civil Rights Report 2017" which summarizes and analyzes all civil rights and immigration complaints in 2016 reported to CAIR California's offices in the Greater Los Angeles Area (CAIR-LA), the Sacramento Valley (CAIR-SV), San Diego (CAIR-SD), and the San Francisco Bay Area (CAIR-SFBA). According to the report, CAIR California handled a total of 1,239 incidents in 2016, resulting in a 10 percent increase in reported incidents from the previous year. The incidents reported involved complaints related to religious-based discrimination received by all four CAIR California offices and immigration matters reported to CAIR-LA and CAIR-SD. Key highlights of CAIR California's new report include a 49 percent increase in reported discriminatory treatment during travel from 2015 to 2016. The number of immigration matters handled also increased significantly. CAIR-LA's Immigrants' Rights Center alone assisted in more than 400 immigration applications, with an increase of 58 percent in naturalization petitions from the previous year. The categories receiving the most incident reports for 2016 were immigration (38.8%), law enforcement interactions (17%), hate incidents or hate crime (14.7%) and employment discrimination (10.6%). "Given the hostile and divisive political atmosphere, and increasing bigotry targeting minority communities, including the American Muslim community, it is important for all of us to know the facts on the ground," said Susanne Arani, CAIR San Diego's staff attorney. "This report is further proof that as responsible members in our communities, we have a lot of work to do. We must come together and challenge such injustices." Arani said CAIR California is encouraging all Californians to gain a better understanding of their civil rights and to engage community leaders and public servants in dialogue about how they can better serve the state's American Muslim community. [CAIR]
CAIR-NJ expresses solidarity with Jewish community of Mahwah on religious boundary
Aug 30: The New Jersey chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ) announced today that it stands in solidarity with the Jewish community of Bergen County as it defends the right to religious accommodation. This past July, Mahwah Township officials ordered the Jewish community to take down half-inch plastic pipes that had been mounted to utility poles to mark a boundary called an “eruv” because they violate the towns zoning regulations. The boundary allows activities that are typically forbidden in public on the Sabbath to be performed. Since the order was issued, the pipes designating the eruv have been subjected to vandalism. In response to the order, on August 11, the Bergen Rockland Eruv Association filed a lawsuit against the town accusing the town of fanning the flames of xenophobia. “In an era of legitimized racial and religious bigotry, the bigots have been emboldened,” said CAIR New Jersey Executive Director James Sues. “This is clearly a case of religious intolerance hiding behind a thin veil of barely-applicable local ordinances.” [CAIR]
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