www.amperspective.com Online Magazine
Executive Editor: Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Chronology of Islam in America (2017)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
October 2017
Arkansas gun range owner declares her business a 'Muslim-free zone'
Oct 1: An Arkansas gun range owner has declared her shooting range a "Muslim-free zone," saying she refuses to cater to customers whose religion "commands" its followers to kill people. Gun Cave Indoor Shooting Range owner Jan Morgan said in an online post that she was banning Muslims out of fear that one of them might slaughter other customers. "This is not a coffee and donut shop. This is a live fire indoor shooting range," Morgan wrote in the bizarre missive, posted Sunday and reported by the Arkansas Times. "The Koran (which I have read and studied thoroughly) … contains 109 verses commanding hate, murder and terror against all human beings who refuse to submit or convert to Islam," she said. "Why would I want to rent or sell a gun and hand ammunition to someone who aligns himself with a religion that commands him to kill me?" On the site, Morgan identifies herself as a "nationally recognized 2nd Amendment Advocate," NRA certified firearms instructor, journalist, Tea Partier and gun-rights lecturer. According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) will monitor the Hot Springs, Ark., shooting range that has been declared a "Muslim-free zone" by its owner. [New York Daily News/CAIR]
Civil Rights Groups Welcome Oakland's Historic New Law Protecting Against FBI Abuses
Oct 3: Oakland today reaffirmed its commitment to protecting its Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (AMEMSA) communities from the Trump administration's abuses by unanimously enacting a simple, yet powerful law that requires Oakland police officers to follow state and local law and policy when working on federal task forces. The "Transparency and Accountability for City Participation in Federal Surveillance Operations" ordinance, which went into immediate effect tonight, will ensure that Oakland Police Department officers assigned to federal task forces such as the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force ("JTTF") follow the same state and local laws adhered to by the rest of their Department, rather than the looser and highly problematic FBI guidelines. The law, which was sponsored by Councilmember Lynette McElhaney, has passed through every stage with unanimous support. It was modeled after the Safe San Francisco Civil Rights ordinance, and is now the second of its kind in the country. "This timely and critically-needed law is a win for Oakland in every way," said Christina Sinha, National Security and Civil Rights Program Manager and Staff Attorney at Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus. "It protects many targeted Oaklanders, gives the City more control of its own officers, and increases public safety by strengthening police-community relations." [CAIR]
The City (Dearborn, Mich) that bears the brunt of the national terror Watchlist
Oct 3: With a large population of Muslim and Arab Americans, Dearborn has the most per capita residents on a shadowy and unaccountable watchlist. It is nearly impossible to find out if you’re on it, let alone get your name off. There’s a running joke in Dearborn Mich. that has residents talking to an omnipresent Uncle Sam. Off-color or politically contentious remarks — whether uttered at work, school, the hair salon, the grocery store, the masjid or the shawarma place — are sometimes followed by a person looking up at the ceiling and saying something like: “I didn’t mean it!” “They’re not looking up at God,” explained Dawud Walid, executive director at the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “They’re looking up because they think maybe there’s a bug somewhere” — a recording device, that is, placed by the U.S. government to listen in on a community with one of the highest concentrations of Arab and Muslim Americans in the country. “You have to joke about it to relieve some of the anxiety,” said Walid. That anxiety has permeated this diverse suburban Detroit community of nearly 95,000 since 9/11. Largely unknown to the rest of the country before those terror attacks, Dearborn has since become the focus of right-wing conspiracy theories, and of America’s sustained and systemic criminalization of Muslim and Arab Americans. There’s the surveillance. Bank accounts are known to suddenly close. Charities have been shut down. There are wrongful terror arrests. Immigration raids and travel bans ripfamilies apart. (For many Yemeni-Americans here, Walid said, there’s the added cruelty of having to desperately petition the U.S. government to bring family members over from Yemen, where American military supplies are fueling a Saudi-led bombing campaign that has devastated the country.) Walid, 45, recalls how in 2010 he found a bug underneath his desk at CAIR’s office in the neighboring town of Southfield. He didn’t report finding the bug to law enforcement, he said, because he had a “hunch” it was law enforcement who put the device there in the first place. But perhaps nothing lays bare the U.S. government’s targeting of Muslim and Arab Americans in Dearborn more than the terror watchlist. The U.S. government would have you believe there are more terrorists or potential terrorists per capita in Dearborn than anywhere else in the country. Leaked intelligence documents obtained in 2014 by The Intercept showed the five American cities with highest number of residents on the “Terrorist Screening Database,” the U.S. government’s watchlist of “known or suspected terrorists” that is used by multiple agencies, including the FBI. At number one was New York City, with a population of over 8 million. At number two was Dearborn, with a population of about 95,000. The other three cities in the top five — Houston, San Diego and Chicago — all have populations of over a million people. “It’s just overt and bodacious racial profiling by the federal government’s law enforcement entities on this community, which again has not produced a single terrorist that’s done anything to harm the homeland,” Walid said. [Huffington Post]
What's a 'Lone Wolf'? It's the Special Name We Give White Terrorists
Oct 4: We have a double standard in the United States when it comes to talking about terrorism. The label is reserved almost exclusively for when we’re talking about Muslims.Consider Stephen Craig Paddock, the shooter in Sunday’s massacre in Las Vegas. Is he a terrorist? Well, the authorities aren’t calling him one, at least not yet. This is all the more remarkable because Paddock’s actions clearly fit the statutory definition of terrorism in Nevada. That state’s law defines terrorism as “any act that involves the use or attempted use of sabotage, coercion or violence which is intended to cause great bodily harm or death to the general population.” Paddock shot and killed at least 59 people and injured more than 500 others. If that doesn’t qualify as a textbook definition of Nevada’s terrorism law, I don’t know what does. Yet, when asked at a press conference in Las Vegas if the shooting was an act of terrorism, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo replied: “No. Not at this point. We believe it’s a local individual. He resides here locally,” suggesting that all terrorism is foreign in nature. Lombardo didn’t call Paddock a terrorist, but he did label him a “lone wolf,” which in our lexicon is the special name we use for “white-guy terrorist.” Nor is this oversight limited to Lombardo. Las Vegas’ mayor, Carolyn Goodman, also described Paddock not as a terrorist but as “a crazed lunatic, full of hate.” No doubt many other people will repeat the same sentiment in the days to come. And Donald Trump, who craves every opportunity to utter the words “radical Islamic terrorism,” avoided any mention of the word “terrorist” when discussing the tragic events of Sunday night. Speaking from the White House, the president instead called the mass shooting “an act of pure evil.” Rather than offering sensible policy changes, such as greater gun control, the president had other ideas. He thinks we should pray more. Paddock’s act though is, by definition, terrorism. Even under the stricter federal definition of terrorism, Paddock’s murderous rampage should qualify. The federal code defines “domestic terrorism” in part as “activities that appear intended to affect the conduct of government by mass destruction”. It’s hard, if not impossible, to understand how committing one of the largest mass shootings in American history is not “intended to affect the conduct of government”. But one reason, beyond outright racism, why white people are less frequently charged with terrorism than Muslims in the United States lies with the little-known fact that while federal law does define “domestic terrorism”, it does not codify “domestic terrorism” as a federal crime. (At least 33 states do, however, have anti-terror legislation.) This is partly out of concern that such a statute could go a long way toward criminalizing thought and trampling on the first amendment. [By Moustafa Bayoumi - The Guardian]
Protesters at WSU target Muslim travel ban, border wall
Oct 4: A crowd of students, families and activists stood today beneath overcast skies, their voices rising: “No ban, no wall, full citizenship and rights for all!” It was a rallying cry for a coalition of grassroots groups that gathered at Wayne State University to protest policies of the Trump administration they believe discriminate against Muslims, immigrants and others. “We can’t stand for this,” said Nour Soubani, an advocacy specialist with Take on Hate. “We are going to continue to protest.” The demonstration, which drew about 50 people, came a day before eligible recipients in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program had to submit renewal applications. Trump has announced he plans to end the initiative his predecessor Barack Obama created to protect immigrants brought to the United States as children and now here illegally. The protest also coincides with uncertainty over Trump’s latest travel ban. Citizens of eight countries, including North Korea and Venezuela, face restrictions entering under a proclamation the president signed that replaces his expiring travel ban. The new rules were scheduled to start Oct. 18. [Detroit News]
CAIR-Oregon Calls for Hate Crime Probe of Message Threatening Muslims
Oct 5: The Oregon chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Oregon) today called on law enforcement authorities in Portland to investigate a threatening message targeting Muslims. Portland police say the message threatening Muslims was found in a break room at a Multnomah County building. “Any time there is a threat of violence targeting a minority group, it should be investigated as a hate crime,” said CAIR-Oregon spokesperson Zakir Khan. Last month, CAIR-Oregon called on state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate vandalism of a mosque in that state as a hate crime after vandals spray-painted “ISIS” on the Abu-Bakar Islamic Center in Portland, Oregon. [CAIR]
Islamophobic Fliers, Graffiti Found on Western Washington University Campus
Oct 5: The Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Washington) today condemned multiple instances of Islamophobic fliers and graffiti found on the Western Washington University campus in Bellingham, Washington. According to reports, there have been three separate occasions of anti-Muslim fliers, posters, graffiti, and various printed material found on campus since August. The most recent incident took place on September 29, two days after the start of fall quarter. Fliers have called for the extermination of "Islamo-Nazi scum" and "Islamo-Fascist Vermin," among other hateful and threatening messages. [CAIR]
Remembering Alex Odeh: 32 Years Later
Oct 11: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) commemorates the life of Alex Odeh, ADC's Southern California Regional Director, who was tragically assassinated on October 11, 1985. Today marks the 32nd Anniversary of the terrorist attack in Santa Ana, California, where Mr. Odeh was killed when a pipe bomb exploded as he opened the door of the ADC office. In addition to killing Alex Odeh, the act of terrorism injured several other victims. Alex Odeh dedicated his life to ADC and social justice. Joining the organization in 1982, Mr. Odeh was at the forefront of combatting the stereotyping of Arabs and biased reporting on the Mideast in the media. Mr. Odeh fought tirelessly to build inter-faith unity between Jews, Muslims and Christians in Southern California. On the day of his assassination he was scheduled to give a speech at Congregation B’nai Tzadek, a Jewish synagogue in Fountain Valley. Prior to Mr. Odeh’s assassination, he was subjected to numerous hate-motivated threats to his life and safety because of his advocacy for Arab and Palestinian-American rights. An exemplary civil rights activist, he was dynamic and he never let the threats deter him from his work.Following Mr. Odeh’s assassination in 1985, the FBI classified the bombing as an act of domestic terrorism and designated the investigation into the case as the highest national priority. However, despite solid leads, advancements in technology and forensics which should have aided in the investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators, no arrest has been made.The FBI’s case into Mr. Odeh’s murder remains open, with a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Press reports have stated over the years that the FBI identified members of the Jewish Defense League (JDL) as suspects. However, none of the identified JDL individuals have ever been charged or prosecuted in connection with the murder. One of the prime suspects in the case, Robert Manning, is currently in prison for the murder of Ms. Patricia Wilkerson, 32, a secretary at the Prowest Computer Corp. Manning was extradited to the U.S. from Israel to face murder charges in the Wilkerson case. Although not confirmed by the U.S. Government, it is believed that the extradition agreement between the U.S. and Israel stipulated that Manning cannot be charged with the murder of Mr. Odeh. [ADC]
Islamic school's girl-boy segregation ruled unlawful by UK
Oct 13: An Islamic school's policy of segregating boys and girls in classrooms has been ruled unlawful by a court panel in the UK today. A three-judge bench of the Court of Appeal in London ruled that the policy of Al-Hijrah school in Birmingham of compulsory segregation from Class 5 onwards caused detriment and less favourable treatment for both male and female pupils by reason of their sex, and was contrary to the UK's 2010 Equality Act. The ruling will have an impact on other faith schools that follow similar policies in Britain. In a test case ruling, the master of the rolls, Sir Terence Etherton, Lady Justice Gloster and Lord Justice Beatson unanimously allowed a challenge by the UK's schools watchdog Ofsted against a previous High Court ruling in favor of the school. "Ofsted's job is to make sure that all schools properly prepare children for life in modern Britain. Educational institutions should never treat pupils less favorably because of their sex, or for any other reason," said Amanda Spielman, the Ofsted chair who had launched the appeal against the school. "The school is teaching boys and girls entirely separately, making them walk down separate corridors, and keeping them apart at all times. This is discrimination and is wrong. It places these boys and girls at a disadvantage for life beyond the classroom and the workplace, and fails to prepare them for life in modern Britain," she said. After an inspection last year, Ofsted had ruled that Al- Hijrah was "inadequate" and it was put in "special measures", saying its policy of separating the sexes was discrimination under the 2010 Equality Act. In November, a High Court judge had overruled the inspectors, saying that they had taken an "erroneous" view on an issue "of considerable public importance". But in the Court of Appeal ruling, the judges rebuked the UK government and Ofsted for failing to identify the problem earlier and directed that other schools operating similarly should be given time "to put their houses in order". Around 20 other schools of Islamic, Jewish and Christian denomination are believed to have similar segregation policies in the country, which will now have to be reviewed. "This case involves issues of real public interest, and has significant implications for gender equality, Ofsted, government, and the wider education sector. We will be considering the ruling carefully to understand how this will affect future inspections," Ofsted chief Spielman said. During the appeal hearing, Al-Hijrah's interim executive board had claimed that boys and girls at the school were treated entirely equally despite the segregation, which was attributed to religious reasons. The school, which is part funded by the state and has pupils aged between four and 16, has complete segregation of boys and girls from ages nine to 16 for all lessons, breaks, school clubs and trips. [Press Trust of India]
Holliston, Massachusetts, man who threatened Obama's life sentenced for ammo conviction
Oct 16: A Holliston man who authorities said talked about killing President Obama and burning down a mosque was sentenced Thursday (Oct 12) after pleading guilty to a charge of unlawful possession of ammunition earlier this year. Federal agents found a "substantial weapons trove" inside the home of Joseph Gargiulo, 41, who told a judge in July that he is "more clear-headed now." Gargiulo was sentenced to time served – approximately 14 months – pending acceptance by and entrance into an intensive mental health inpatient treatment facility, according to the US Attorney's office.Federal agents searched Gargiulo's home last year after learning he had acquired parts to make an AR-15 rifle and was stockpiling other weapons, including tasers, mace guns, hunting knives and incendiary chemicals. Authorities said around this time Gargiulo talked about planting bombs in police stations and killing as many homeland security officers as he could before he was killed, chaining a mosque shut and burning it down and assassinating President Obama. Gargiulo never mentioned a specific mosque or time for such an attack. A search of the 41-year-old's home yielded the parts needed to make an AR-15, more than 250 rounds of ammunition for the rifle, more than 100 rounds of 9-mm ammunition, chemicals that could be combined to create incendiary or explosive compounds and handwritten notes threatening violence against Muslims. Gargiulo was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition due to an active restraining order against him. [Patch.com]
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