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Executive Editor: Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Chronology of Islam in America (2017)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
May 2017
Vulgar anti-Muslim and racist images posted in North Carolina University dorms
May 1: UNC Charlotte’s student body president and vice president expressed solidarity with Muslim students after they said vulgar images targeting racial and religious minorities were displayed in two on-campus residence halls. Over the past two weeks, such images were found twice in the halls, student body president Tracey Allsbrook and vice president Bryan McCollom said in a statement on Twitter and Facebook. Both images have been removed and are being investigated by the university, according to Allsbrook and McCollom. “We believe in a campus community that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” the students said in their statement. “We reject discrimination and/or bigotry being directed at anyone, on the basis of their race, religion, sex, gender, disability and all other identities. “We want to express our solidarity especially with our Muslim student population who were targeted in the most recent of the two incidents.” Statement from the Allsbrook McCollom Administration expressing Solidarity with Muslim Students at UNC Charlotte. [Charlotte Observer]
CAIR demands accountability for police shooting of unarmed black 9th-Grader in Texas
May 2: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today demanded accountability for the actions of law enforcement personnel following the police shooting of an unarmed African-American ninth-grader in Texas. Jordan Edwards, 15, was leaving a party over the weekend when he was fatally shot by police, who initially claimed that Edwards and his companions had backed down the driveway "in an aggressive manner" towards them. An Edwards' family representative said the car was fired on without provocation and police now say the car carrying Edwards was driving away from them when they shot into it. In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said: "There must be a thorough and independent investigation of this tragic incident so that the facts come to light in a transparent manner and to ensure that all those responsible for the death of Jordan Edwards are held accountable for their actions. There have been too many such police-involved shootings nationwide resulting in the deaths of African-American men and boys. This issue must be addressed by law enforcement agencies and by our nation's leaders and policy-makers." CAIR has called for similar investigations of other incidents nationwide involving allegations of disparate treatment of African-Americans by law enforcement authorities. [CAIR]
US high school cancels Canada trip over fears students might not be let back in
May 3: A high school band in Washington State has canceled a longstanding field trip to Canada over concerns that some of its students may be barred from re-entering the United States. For 18 years, the school band from Kentlake high school has crossed the border to take part in the Victoria Day parade in British Columbia. The Seattle-based school board decided last week to cancel the trip in order to protect students who may be undocumented, said Chris Loftis, a district spokesperson.“You can’t go on a field trip with 100 kids and come back with 99,” Loftis told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Earlier this year, amid concerns over the White House’s attempts to impose a travel ban and heightened anxiety among students affected by immigration issues, a school board official called US Customs and Border Protection to clarify what Loftis described as the “sometimes confusing messaging” emerging from Donald Trump’s administration. The board – which ranks among the most diverse in the US, with students who hail from more than 100 countries and speak more than 135 languages – was told that any student lacking adequate documentation of legal US residency would have a very high chance of being detained at the border, Loftis told the Seattle Times. The response was to cancel all international field trips, including the band trip to Victoria and a forthcoming exchange trip to Osaka, Japan. The decision was not taken lightly, said Karen DeBruler, the school board president, given the months of planning and fundraising that went into the trips. [AlterNet News]
Trump signs order aimed at allowing churches to engage in more political activity
May 4: President Donald Trump today said he would direct the Internal Revenue Service to relax enforcement of rules barring tax-exempt churches from participating in politics as part of a much-anticipated executive order on religious liberties. The order - which Trump formally unveiled in a Rose Garden ceremony with religious leaders - also offers unspecified "regulatory relief" for religious objectors to an Obama administration mandate, already scaled back by the courts, that required contraception services as part of health plans. "For too long the federal government has used the state as a weapon against people of faith," Trump said, later telling those gathered for the event that "you're now in a position to say what you want to say . . . No one should be censoring sermons or targeting pastors." But the sweep of the order - unveiled on a National Day of Prayer - was significantly narrower than a February draft, which had alarmed civil libertarians, gay rights and other liberal advocacy groups and prompted threats of lawsuits. Among other things, that version included a controversial provision that could have allowed federal contractors to discriminate against LGBT employees or single mothers on the basis of faith. The order released today instead included a blanket statement that "it is the policy of the administration to protect and vigorously promote religious liberty." While Trump's action was applauded by many in the Rose Garden, some religious groups criticized him for what they characterized as a vague directive that didn't live up to his campaign rhetoric. The advocacy group Public Citizen and the American Civil Liberties Union both announced plans to sue over the relaxation of rules on politicking from the pulpit. "The actions taken today are a broadside to our country's long-standing commitment to the separation of church and state," ACLU executive director Anthony D. Romero said in a statement. "Whether by executive order or through backroom deals, it's clear that the Trump administration and congressional leadership are using religion as a wedge to further divide the country and permit discrimination. " As a candidate and shortly after taking office, Trump declared he would "totally destroy" what's known as the Johnson Amendment, a six-decade-old ban on churches and other tax-exempt organizations supporting political candidates. The provision applies to all tax-exempt organizations, including many colleges and foundations. But Christian groups have complained most vociferously about its use. [Chicago Tribune]
Belgium just banned kosher and halal slaughter in its biggest territory
May 8: Belgium's Wallooon region has voted to ban kosher and halal meats by outlawing the slaughter of unstunned animals. The environment committee of southern Belgium's Walloon Parliament voted unanimously for the ban, which will take effect on 1 September, 2019. Both Jewish kosher and Islamic halal rituals require the butcher to swiftly slaughter the animal by slitting its throat and draining its blood, a process condemned by animal rights campaigners, who argue it is more humane to stun animals before killing them. Similar legislation has been proposed by the parliament in the northern Flemish region. The European Jewish Congress has strongly condemned the decision, calling it "scandalous".“This decision, in the heart of Western Europe and the centre of the European Union, sends a terrible message to Jewish communities throughout our continent that Jews are unwanted," EJC president Moshe Kantor said. "It attacks the very core of our culture and religious practice and our status as equal citizens with equal rights in a democratic society. It gives succour to anti-semites and to those intolerant of other communities and faiths." He added: “We call on legislators to step back from the brink of the greatest assault on Jewish religious rights in Belgium since the Nazi occupation of the country in World War II." [Independent]
Neo-Nazi, racist vandalism targeting North Dakota Church condemned
May 8: The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN), a leading Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned the racist and anti-Semitic vandalism targeting a northern North Dakota church. According to Rev. Ensley Windham, one of the associate pastors at the Church of the Living God in Minot, N.D., the church was vandalized late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. Police are investigating the drawing of Nazi swastikas and the writing of "KKK" and the "N" word on the church building. "With our nation facing increased racially and religiously-motivated attacks, this reprehensible attack against our Christian brothers and sisters must be condemned by Americans of all faiths," said CAIR-MN Executive Director Jaylani Hussein. "CAIR-MN extends its solidarity and support to the Church of the Living God community and to all North Dakotans trying to practice their faith during these trying times." "No North Dakotan should face harassment because of his or her religious beliefs," said Hussein. "We are a nation united by our diversity. Any attack motivated by religious bigotry is an attack on all Americans and the values we hold dear." There has been an unprecedented spike in hate rhetoric and bias-motivated incidents targeting people of various religious faiths and other minorities in the last few months and many incidents go unreported due to fear. CAIR and the American Muslim community have in the past expressed solidarity with Christian, Jewish, Native American, African-American, and Sikh communities in New Mexico, Florida, South Carolina, Maryland, Alabama, Massachusetts, South Dakota, Ohio, Texas, and other states following acts of hate, threats, violence, vandalism, arson, or bombings. [CAIR]
NY teacher rips off 8-year-old girl's hijab, fired
May 10: A teacher at a US school has been fired after he allegedly ripped the hijab off an 8-year-old girl's head for "misbehaving" in class. Oghenetega Edah, 31, demanded that the girl at the Bennington School, Bronx, take off her religious scarf, police said. The girl was misbehaving in class and sitting in the teacher's chair without his permission. So the teacher tapped her on her arm to get her to move, The New York Post reported. When she did not comply, Edah, a subsitute, threatened to take the scarf. "I'm taking it off," he said as he pulled the hijab off her head, causing an injury to her right eye, according to police. "This alleged behavior is completely unacceptable," Michael Aciman, a Department of Education spokesman, said in a statement. "This individual was removed from the school immediately and his employment has been terminated," he said. [Times of India]
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