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Executive Editor: Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Chronology of Islam in America (2018)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
October 2018
Major Jewish Federation bankrolled blacklist targeting college students who criticize Israel
Oct 3: One of the largest Jewish charities in the U.S. has been secretly funding a shadowy online blacklist targeting college students who criticize Israel. For three years, a website called Canary Mission has spread fear among undergraduate activists, posting more than a thousand political dossiers on student supporters of Palestinian rights. The dossiers are meant to harm students’ job prospects, and have been used in interrogations by Israeli security officials. At the same time, the website has gone to great lengths to hide the digital and financial trail connecting it to its donors and staff. Registered through a secrecy service, the site is untraceable. Now, for the first time, the Forward has definitively identified a major donor to Canary Mission. It is a foundation controlled by the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, a major Jewish charity with an annual budget of over $100 million. The federation’s support of Canary Mission connects the American Jewish establishment itself to a website that is facing increasing criticism from young Jews. Canary Mission has been controversial since it appeared in mid-2015, drawing comparisons to a McCarthyite blacklist. While some of those listed on the site are prominent activists, others are students who attended a single event, or even student government representatives suspected of voting for resolutions that are critical of Israel. In recent months, it's been the subject of growing backlash from pro-Israel Jewish students and local Hillel professionals, who say it is damaging to their own work. Mainstream American Jewish leaders have claimed not to know who funds Canary Mission. As it turns out, a big chunk of the money came from within their own ranks. In late 2016 or early 2017, the Helen Diller Family Foundation earmarked $100,000 for Canary Mission. It made the donation to the Central Fund of Israel, a New York-based charity that serves as a conduit for U.S. taxpayers seeking to make tax-exempt donations to right-wing and extremist groups in Israel. In its tax filings, the Diller Foundation listed the purpose of the grant as “CANARY MISSION FOR MEGAMOT SHALOM.” Megamot Shalom appears to be an Israeli public benefit corporation that operates or operated Canary Mission. Jonathan Bash, who the Forward previously identified as the person who operates Canary Mission, signed the charity’s 2016 financial reports. Though it does fund a number right-wing causes, the Diller Foundation is known mostly as a provider of well-regarded Jewish teen programming. It runs a yearlong Jewish leadership program for teenagers from around the world, and sponsors the Diller Tikkun Olam awards, which honor young Jewish volunteer workers with $36,000 cash prizes. The president of its board, real estate developer Jaclyn Safier, sits on the board of visitors of the University of California, Berkeley, and is a distinguished director of a foundation that supports the University of California, San Francisco. Another board member, Richard Rosenberg, is the former chairman and chief executive of Bank of America. [Haaretz]
CAIR-OK releases annual civil rights report
Oct 4: The Oklahoma Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OK) announces the release of the 2017 Civil Rights Report, detailing the work of the Civil Rights Department from January – December 2017. “2017 was a tumultuous year, not just for the Oklahoma Muslim community, but for civil rights and social justice,” said CAIR-OK Civil Rights Director Veronica Laizure. “The Civil Rights Report reflects heightened fear of Islamophobia and the work that CAIR-OK continues to do to fight bigotry and injustice in our state.” The report shows a 46% increase in total calls processed by the Civil Rights Department in 2017, compared to 2016 numbers. It also shows a 30% increase in calls that do show evidence of discrimination, with the most significant number of discrimination-related complaints falling in the categories of employment, harassment, and the denial of religious accommodations. “While the report shows progress, particularly in the area of school and student-related complaints, it’s clear that we still have work to do in safeguarding the rights of Oklahoma Muslims,” Laizure said. The 2017 data also showed a large increase in the number of calls referred to immigration services. “The implementation and subsequent legal battles over President Trump’s “Muslim ban” resulted in confusing and disorienting changes to immigration policy, which was reflected in the number of calls concerning immigration status and travel-related issues,” Laizure continued. In 2017, the CAIR-OK Civil Rights Department also produced Guides to Islamic Religious Practices for educators and for healthcare professionals, joining the guides for employers that were released in 2016. The guides outline basic Islamic religious practices and suggest best practices for teachers, administrators, and healthcare professionals to use in supporting their Muslim students, clients, patients, and families. The guides are all available free of charge from the Civil Rights Department. The Civil Rights Report also tracks the activity of the Civil Rights Department in the areas of community outreach, youth leadership, and interfaith work, listing some of the events and workshops that featured CAIR-OK’s work. It also notes that Civil Rights Director Veronica Laizure was honored with a Human Rights Award from the Oklahoma Universal Human Rights Alliance in 2017. [CAIR]
Corona CA councilman – under fire for sermon’s remarks about Muslim candidate
Oct 5: Less than a week after a controversial video surfaced on Facebook, Corona City Councilman and pastor Randy Fox is facing calls for a censure after he said a council candidate “will not say no to sharia law.” The second half of the 20-minute video, taken from his Aug. 12 sermon at New Hope Family Worship Center in Corona, shows Fox discussing the Nov. 6 City Council election. Fox, elected in 2014, is not seeking a second term. In the video, Fox refers to a candidate who is a “member of the mosque leadership there, who will not say no to sharia law, most certainly.” Fauzia Rizvi, a District 4 council candidate who said she’s Muslim and once had a leadership post with the Islamic Society of Corona-Norco, said she believes Fox’s comments targeted her. “I find it disgraceful that my opponents are using my religious background as political props instead of engaging on the issues,” Rizvi wrote in a statement. When asked if his comments were about Rizvi, Fox this week did not answer that question. The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and early 200 residents, who signed a petition, have called on the city council to censure, or reprimand, Fox for those comments. Hussam Ayloush, a Corona resident and the group’s executive director, blasted Fox. “I’m appalled and disgusted that an elected official would bring such politics of fear mongering and hate into our city,” Ayloush said Friday, Oct. 5. “His intent was obviously to rile up potential voters using buzzwords that create fear based on people’s misperception of what sharia means,” Ayloush added. Fox, in a written statement, said no organization should “put pressure” on the council to issue a censure for a sermon. [The Press-Enterprise]
CAIR files amicus brief with Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals over first amendment freedom of association claims
Oct 5: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today announced the filing of an amicus (friend of the court) brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in support of en banc (before the entire bench) review of the Ninth Circuit's legal standard applied to First Amendment freedom of association claims. CAIR's amicus brief seeks review by the complete Ninth Circuit of a panel opinion issued last month in Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Becerra. In that opinion, a Ninth Circuit panel held that so long as a government's collection of sensitive donor information "increases. . .investigative efficiency" and so long as the collection is for "nonpublic" use, there can be no First Amendment concerns. CAIR supports the confidentiality of donor information and asserts that the Ninth Circuit's statement of First Amendment law dramatically weakens constitutional protections for all freedom of association claims. CAIR regularly challenges the constitutionality of the federal terrorist watchlist, including on First Amendment freedom of association grounds. As explained by CAIR's amicus brief, "The federal terrorist watchlist system rests on a foundation of bulk collection and analysis of American Muslims' associations." "The experience of the American Muslim community leaves no doubt that government officials monitor their associations in order to falsely label them as terrorists," said CAIR National Litigation Director Lena F. Masri. "Robust First Amendment protections are vital to civil liberties for all Americans.". . . [CAIR]
FBI urged to probe social media threat targeting CAIR-Minnesota Executive Director
Oct 8: The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) today called on state and federal law enforcement authorities, including the FBI, to investigate a social media threat targeting CAIR-MN's Executive Director Jaylani Hussein. In a tweet, an anti-Muslim organizer who attended an event featuring a talk by Hussein this past Saturday at the Minnesota History Center, wrote: ". . .trust me you are my mission. I will take you down. You are done I am pretty sure they will make it look like an accident." (grammatical errors maintained) "We urge the FBI and local law enforcement authorities to investigate what clearly appears to be a threat of violence targeting a leader of a minority community because of his activism in defense of civil rights and the Constitution," said CAIR-MN Civil Rights Attorney Ellen Longfellow. He added that CAIR has witnessed an unprecedented spike in bigotry targeting American Muslims, immigrants and members of other minority groups since the election of Donald Trump as president. CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims. [CAIR]
Anti-Muslim campaigning in the US is a 'losing strategy'
Oct 22: Republican candidates claiming that Islam is a political ideology rather than a religion. Super PACs broadcasting a slew of television ads linking Democratic candidates to "terrorism". Anti-Muslim campaign fliers sent out in areas across the country. With the US midterm elections slated to take place on November 6, a new pre-election report blasted these types of anti-Muslim campaigning tactics as a "losing strategy". Published on Monday by the Muslim Advocates civil rights group, "Running on Hate" describes a swell of anti-Muslim campaign rhetoric throughout the era of US President Donald Trump. It documented 80 instances of "clear anti-Muslim rhetoric" employed by political candidates in 2017 and 2018, adding that 64 percent of the candidates held office before or enjoyed a presidential endorsement. Scott Simpson, the public advocacy director of Muslim Advocates, explained that anti-Muslim candidates have vied for "every level of government" office in "every region" of the country in the past two years. "Behind the world view pushed by these candidates is something very troubling: Muslims and non-Muslim allies are conspiring to take over the government to replace the constitution with Sharia law," he told Al Jazeera. [Al Jazeera]
Trump fan convicted in anti-Muslim terror plot asks judge to consider Trump's rhetoric
Oct 29: Attorneys for a President Donald Trump supporter who was convicted in a domestic terrorism plot aimed at slaughtering Muslim refugees asked a federal judge to factor in the “backdrop” of Trump’s campaign rhetoric when deciding their client’s sentence. Patrick Stein was one of three right-wing militiamen found guilty in April of a conspiracy to kill Muslim refugees living in rural Kansas. Ahead of the 2016 election, Stein and two others plotted with an FBI informant and an undercover agent to bomb an apartment complex that housed Muslims in Garden City. Stein went by the handle “Orkin Man” and referred to Muslims as “cockroaches” he wanted exterminated. A jury convicted Stein and his co-defendants, Curtis Allen and Gavin Wright, on weapons of mass destruction and conspiracy against civil rights charges. They are scheduled to be sentenced Friday, a week after another Trump supporter was arrested for mailing bombs to the president’s critics and a right-wing extremist killed 11 Jewish Americans inside of a Pittsburgh synagogue. The government said it is seeking life sentences for all three defendants. [Huffington Post]
In the wake of deadly attack on synagogue in Pittsburg PA:
American Muslim groups express solidarity with the Jewish community
Oct 30: American Muslim civil advocacy groups have strongly denounced the killing of worshipers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh PA. In solidarity with the Jewish community two Muslim organizations have raised around $200,000 to help victims and their families of the synagogue shooting. Robert Bowers, a white supremacist stormed into the synagogue during Sabbath and fired upon innocent men, women, and children attending religious services, killing 11 and wounding 5. The shooting took place during a bris, a baby naming ceremony. There were close to 100 people inside of the synagogue at the time of the attack. Robert Bowers, a 46-year-old resident of Pittsburgh, was arrested at the scene. Bowers yelled “all Jews must die” as he entered the Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue in Pittsburgh. U.S. Attorney Scott Brady filed federal hate crimes charges against Bowers on Saturday evening. Those charges include: Eleven counts each of Obstruction of Exercise of Religious Beliefs Resulting in Death and Use of a Firearm to Commit Murder During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence, four counts of Obstruction of Exercise of Religious Beliefs Resulting in Bodily Injury to a Public Safety Officer and three counts of Use and Discharge of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence. An hour before the shooting, Bowers reportedly wrote on a social media site, Gab, “HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics. I’m going in.” HIAS is the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, a group that helps refugees. [AMP Report]
‘Kill All Blacks’ Message at Maryland High School denounced
Oct 30: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today joined Indivisible Anne Arundel County and the Caucus of African American Leaders in denouncing a racist message discovered at Chesapeake High School last Friday afternoon. According to a letter sent to families by the school, the message read “Kill All Blacks” on a sign-in sheet for counseling appointments. A fourth word was scrawled out. "We send our children to public schools to be educated not intimidated,” said Carl Snowden, Chairman of the Caucus of African American Leaders. “All students should be in a school environment free of racism, sexism and bullying. Our children's safety is not negotiable.” “Enough is enough,” said Yasmin Jamison of Indivisible Anne Arundel County. “We must take a stand together as a community against hate. We owe it to our children.” In recent months, CAIR has condemned a disturbing pattern of racist, anti-Black incidents at this and other public schools in Anne Arundel County and around the state, including: (i) an AP class essay written by a student suggesting extermination of the Black race (ii) a racist petition circulated by “Kool Kids Klan” - a thinly veiled reference to the KKK (iii) swastikas and racial slurs discovered on school property (iv) nooses hung on school property. CAIR’s 2018 Civil Rights Report, ‘Targeted’, the organization recorded a 17 percent increase in bias-motivated incidents against Muslim Americans from 2016-17, and a 15 percent increase in the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes in the same time period. [CAIR]
Hate crime investigation urged into Nation of Islam mosque threat
Oct 31: A Muslim advocacy organization is asking for an investigation into what it says was a bomb threat against a mosque in North Carolina. The Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a news release it would like the alleged incident investigated as a hate crime. Police said someone called in a bomb threat to Muhammad Mosque 36 in Charlotte last Sunday (Oct 26). Communications director Ibrahim Hooper said at a time of attacks and threats targeting houses of worship, members of minority groups and national political figures, it's imperative that the bomb threat be investigated as a hate crime and the perpetrator brought to justice. The Washington-based civil rights organization is urging mosques and other houses of worship and faith-based and advocacy organizations to take extra security precautions. [WSOCTV.COM]
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