www.amperspective.com Online Magazine
Executive Editor: Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Chronology of Islam in America (2017)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
December 2017 - page two
Pro-Trump white supremacist arrested for allegedly phoning threats to Augusta, Georgia mosque
Dec 14: Preston Q. Howard, a Missouri man, has been arrested for allegedly making several profane and threatening calls to the Islamic Society of Augusta (ISA) over the summer. Between June 22, 2017 and August 8, 2017, 49-year-old Howard allegedly called the ISA eight different times in the early morning, leaving more than 20 minutes of voicemail messages. The caller repeatedly threatened to shoot, bomb, and otherwise attack mosques and American Muslims in general. A Facebook page that allegedly belongs to Preston Q. Howard features posts that express support for President Trump, the Confederacy, the III% Security Force militia, and Nazi Germany. Another Facebook page listed under the same name, with the same profile picture, also features images of President Trump and Adolf Hitler. Among many other threats made in his voicemails, Howard allegedly said: “We are actually gonna come to your mosques and f*cking blow the heads off of the people that are in your mosques and f*cking kill you and shoot everybody in your mosques as a mass slaughter. So either way, you sand n*ggers are going to get out of my country…just so you know. And if you think I’m joking, it's going to happen. In fact, I know where you live at.” "The white people of America are going to kill you out of this country. . ." "Now that President Trump is president, I'm going to report your number to the White House and he's going to do something about this....It's not going to be overnight, but I'm telling you. We're going to get rid of you one way or another." "The United States was founded on Christian religion. That's the reason why our American dollar says, In God We Trust. It doesn't say, In Allah We Trust." [CAIR]
Hundreds of travelers had their global entry airport privileges revoked
Dec 14: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in August and October obtained emails and documents through the Freedom of Information Act confirming that CBP revoked Global Entry memberships for hundreds of travelers from Arab and Muslim-majority countries – many of them U.S. citizens — earlier this year. And ADC’s own records show that the number of revocations exceeds what CBP has acknowledged. Global Entry is one of four CBP Trusted Traveler Programs that allow vetted U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and nationals from nine countries expedited entry through airport security and customs. In order to obtain Global Entry clearance, applicants must provide biometric records and undergo interviews and background checks. Days after President Donald Trump signed a hotly contested executive order restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, about 30 Muslim and Arab travelers in the United States reported to ADC that CBP revoked their Global Entry clearances, according to immigration attorneys Andrew Free and Greg Siskind, who filed a lawsuit on ADC’s behalf. “What has happened, in practice, is that people who were once able — by the virtue of Global Entry — to escape the constant racial and ethnic profiling they faced when traveling have now been suddenly, and without explanation, denied that privilege,” Free told The Intercept. “The only thing they all have in common is that nothing has changed in their own personal situations, and, of course, the reality of their own identities.” [The Intercept]
Thousands in Washington protest US Jerusalem decision
Dec 16: Thousands gathered near by the White House today to protest President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organizations, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Muslim Amarican Society (MAS), the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations,Turkish American National Steering Committee (TASC) and Jews United Against Zionism took their grievances to the U.S. Capitol. "Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Palestine whether Trump or his buddy, the war criminal, Benjamin Netanyahu like it or not," AMP Director Osama Abu Irshaid said during his speech to protestors. "If Mr. President wants to give property to the state of Israel, he should give one of his properties if he really owns them," Abu Irshaid continued. "But we don't really know how much he owns because he never declared his taxes." He said that Jerusalem does not belong to Trump or Israel and Trump has no right to give away Palestinian's land. TASC Director Halil Mutlu also spoke at the protest and emphasized the importance of the city of Jerusalem for three major religions such as Islam, Christianism and Judaism. "As we said before Al-Quds [Jerusalem] is our redline. 80 million Turks and millions of Christians, Jews and Muslims around the world are against Trump's decision," Mutlu said. During Mutlu's speech, demonstrators hailed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's robust stance against the U.S. move, shouting, "Recep Tayyip Erdogan, true leader of Ummah [Muslim believers]". A protestor, Abdollah Haniyyah said that he and his family came from Chicago to stand against Trump's decision and show their solidarity. "We love Turkish people and President Erdogan," Haniyyah told Anadolu Agency. "He is the true leader of Muslims and we want all Muslim leaders to show solidarity for Palestine and Jerusalem as he does." Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss and many of Jewish believers from New York and Washington chapters of Jews United Against Zionism, were also among those who participated in the demonstration, even though they were not supposed to travel on Saturdays due to religious believes. While Muslims performed the daily prayer in the area, Rabbi Weiss and his companions held banners that read: “Torah true Jews in Jerusalem and Worldwide condemn the aggression in Al-Aqsa and the occupation of Palestine” and “Judaism rejects Zionism and the state of Israel”. [Anadolu Agency]
Missouri lawmaker justifies anti Muslim bill
Dec 18: A measure barring the use of foreign laws in Missouri courts is being filed in the state legislature for the upcoming session. Under the bill, any court ruling based on a foreign law would be unenforceable. House Republican Bill Kidd of Independence says the proposal is not similar to bans on Shariah Law that some states have enacted. “I’m trying not to take it into that realm of this is an anti-Sharia or anti-Muslim deal,” said Kidd. “I just wanted to make it basic that it’s as simple as, if you’re in the United States, use American laws in American courts. And I’m not trying to take into an issue of ‘This is a Sharia, this is an anti-Muslim thing. It’s not.” A number of states adopted Sharia law bans after a New Jersey judge in 2009 determined a Muslim man had not sexually assaulted his wife because he was acting consistent with his practices. In that case, a state appeals court reversed the judge’s decision to deny the woman a restraining order. Voters in neighboring Oklahoma overwhelmingly approved an anti-Sharia law in 2010, which was extended by its legislature to include all foreign laws in 2011. The statute was ultimately overturned by federal courts as unconstitutional. Missouri first passed a measure banning foreign law in 2013, but Democratic Governor Jay Nixon vetoed the bill, saying it could negatively impact the ability of families to adopt kids from abroad. [MissouriNet]
Muslim community alarmed at the Facebook post alluding to the use of a Wichita mosque as a shooting range
Dec 18: A Facebook post alluding to the use of a Wichita (Kansas) mosque as a shooting range is raising concern in the local Muslim community. Wichita police spokesman Charley Davidson said they are investigating and extra patrols are occurring. Police have also notified the Federal Bureau of Investigations. A picture of the Wichita Islamic Society building was posted Thursday as a suggestion in response to a Facebook question seeking a good gun range to learn to shoot. Hussam Madi told KWCH-TV that regardless of the poster's intent, it should be investigated. He says it's nothing to joke about and he hopes others will think before posting threatening things. The Kansas chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations has called for the posting to be investigated as a possible hate crime. [Associated Press]
Trump revives plan to separate immigrant children from parents, reviving tactic used by Nazi Germany
Dec 27: The Trump administration is contemplating resurrecting one of the most heinous practices of the 20th century under the guise of stopping illegal immigration from Central America, according to the Washington Post. In a report by Nick Miroff, the Department of Homeland Security is evaluating separating detained children from their parents as one of several anti-immigration measures in response to an increase in migrants crossing the Mexican border. "These measures, described on condition of anonymity because they have not been publicly disclosed, would also crack down on migrants living in the United States illegally who send for their children," Miroff wrote. "That aspect of the effort would use data collected by the Department of Health and Human Services to target parents for deportation after they attempt to regain custody of their children from government shelters." Separating children from their parents was a notorious tactic used by Nazi Germany in its mass arrests of Jews and other targeted populations during World War II. In North America, the U.S. and Canadian governments also separated Native American children from their families a century ago. Using children as informants to target and subsequently arrest parents was a devious tactic employed during the darkest moments of WWII. The Trump administration justified this approach as a tough but necessary deterrent for illegal immigration, Miroff noted, citing an increase in November arrests as a pretext for considering these actions. "In November, U.S. agents took into custody 7,018 families, or 'family units,' along the border with Mexico, a 45 percent increase over the previous month, the latest DHS statistics s how," the Post said. "The number of Unaccompanied Alien Children, or UAC, was up 26 percent... Overall, the number of migrants detained last month along the Mexico border, 39,006, was the highest monthly total since Trump became president, according to DHS figures." [By Steven Rosenfeld – Oped News]
Islamophobia even worse under Trump than after 9/11 attacks
Dec 27: Muslims in America are more vulnerable to bigotry and Islamophobia as a result of Donald Trump’s behaviour and actions than they were after the 9/11 attacks, according to a leading Muslim activist. As the country approaches the anniversary of Mr Trump’s first year in office, Ibrahim Hooper said such was the level of anxiety and apprehension, many Muslims were fearful to public display signs of their faith. A number of Muslim women, for instance, were deciding not to to appear in public wearing the veil. “It’s not just Americans Muslims [who feel anxious],” Mr Hooper, a founder of the Council On American-Islamic Relations, told The Independent. “We have seen white supremacists emboldened under Trump.” Mr Hooper said many people of colour and members of minority communities had been deeply dismayed by a large number of Mr Trump’s actions, including his Muslim travel ban and his administration’s crackdown on undocumented migrants. He said the President’s failure to speak out against white supremacism and extremism – as in the aftermath of neo-Nazi-led violence in Charlottesville in August which left one woman dead – had the impact of allowing such views to become mainstream. Mr Hooper said several episodes of anti-Muslim violence had made international headlines. Among them was an incident in May, when two men were killed and a third badly injured, after they tried to intervene on a train in Portland, Oregon, when a man started screaming anti-Muslim insults at two women. In Quebec City, Canada, six people were killed and 10 others injured after a lone gunman opened fire. Mr Hooper’s organization said it had been collating details of other alleged hate crimes and incidents of Islamophobia that did not always get widespread media coverage. Between January and September 2017, the organization recorded 1,656 so-called “bias incidents” and 195 hate crimes. That represented a 9 per cent increase in bias incidents and a 20 per cent rise in hate crimes compared to 2016. “Based on preliminary estimates, it’s fair to say that 2017 is gearing to be the worst year on record for incidents of anti-Muslim bias since we began our current system of documentation,” said research and advocacy coordinator Zainab Arain. “Additionally, this year we’ve noted a disturbing trend of perpetrators invoking Trump to express racial and religious animosity.” [Independent]
World's richest 500 see their wealth increase
Dec 28: Ultra-rich warned of ‘strike-back’ as global inequality hits a 100-year high and billions of poorer people see their earnings stagnate. The world’s 500 richest people have increased their wealth by $1trillion so far this year due to a huge increase in the value of global stock markets, which are likely to finish 2017 at record highs. The big increase in the fortunes of the ultra-wealthy comes as billions of poorer people across the world have seen their wealth standstill or decline. Most of this wealth is unearned income from rent-seeking or monopoly. Amazon's Jeff Bezos became $34 billion dollars richer this year, making him the wealthiest man in the world, worth over $100 billion. [OpEd News]
Houston police arrest man found with arsenal near NYE celebration
Dec 31: Houston police have arrested a man (later identified as 49-year-old Russell Lawrence Ziemba) found with a small arsenal of weapons on the top floor of the Hyatt Regency hotel, the site of a major New Year’s Eve celebration. The man was initially facing charges of disorderly conduct for drunken behavior at the hotel’s bar, but officers later found an AR-15, a shotgun, a handgun and lots of ammunition in his hotel room, Lt. Gordon Macintosh told KPRC 2 News. Police are investigating the incident. The Hyatt hosts a popular New Year’s Eve party that spans four floors of the hotel, with major turnout expected to watch live performances and a 50,000 balloon drop at midnight. [The Daily Beast] Tellingly, Houston Chronicle reported the story with this headline: Police believe man found with small arsenal at Hyatt Regency downtown had no intent to use. Police said Ziemba is facing trespassing charges.
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