www.amperspective.com Online Magazine
Executive Editor: Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Chronology of Islam in America (2016)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
December 2016 - Page Three
Discrimination complaints against airlines rise again, DOT says
Dec 13: Discrimination complaints filed against airlines continue to rise, according to the latest monthly report issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation.The Air Travel Consumer Report says there were eight complaints alleging discrimination in October. Two were in regard to national origin, two involving religion and four in regard to race. That was up from six that had been filed in September and five complaints filed in October 2015, the agency said.In comparison, the total number of complaints filed against domestic airlines in October fell to 79 complaints compared with 100 a year earlier. (But those were also up from 61 complaints received in September 2016.)The agency recently began highlighting the number of complaints alleging discrimination based on religion, race and national origin.But that’s about it.In recent months, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has urged the Transportation Department and airlines to do more to combat bias incidents of “flying while Muslim.” CAIR staff attorneys have said that little or nothing is done to prevent airlines from unfairly removing passengers or preventing them from flying on the basis that they pose a security risk even when the evidence is flimsy and suggests anti-Muslim bias.The monthly consumer report — which was published Monday and is available online — also tracks the number of flight delays, arrival times, mishandled baggage loss and other consumer-related data.[Washington Post]
Cincinnati Muslims say they were visited by FBI
Dec 14: In October, the local chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations or CAIR sent an advisory to members saying if the FBI contacted them, a lawyer would be available to assist.In the weeks before the election, several Muslims around Cincinnati said they had been questioned by the FBI. They contacted the local chapter of CAIR for guidance."You know these people weren't visited because they were suspected of doing anything," said local CAIR executive director Karen Dabdoub. "It was simply because they were Muslim, and there was some vague threat about ISIS saying they were going to try to disrupt the election or something like that."Dabdoub says she understands the need to prevent a terrorist attack, but questions investigators methods."You're federal law enforcement and you knock on somebody's door or appear at their place of employment, it's very frightening and disruptive to individuals who haven't done anything and aren't suspected of doing anything wrong."Dabdoub won't reveal who the FBI visited because she wants protect their identities.She says some felt they were being coerced into spying on their friends and neighbors.A spokesman for the ACLU of Ohio says they've heard the story before. Gary Daniels says the tactics have been used since 9/11.Bureau spokesman Todd Lindgren declined to be interviewed, but did say in an e-mail, "The FBI does not engage in this type of activity."[WVXU (Cincinnati)]
Jewish man who likened Muslims to Nazis sentenced for Queens mosque stabbing
Dec 14: A man prosecutors say repeatedly stabbed a Muslim worshiper at a Queens mosque in 2012 received a 20 year prison sentence today. The man, 59-year-old Bernard Laufer, was convicted of first-degree attempted assault, second-degree assault, criminal possession of a weapon, and criminal mischief. According to a 2015 Court House News Service article, Laufer spent 13 months in jail for sending death threats in 2014 to the leader of the Council on American Islamic Relations. Laufer also boasted on his Google Plus account that he had made it to the “NYC Most Wanted List for fighting against the Islamic Brotherhood.” In November, Laufer wrote on his Facebook page that “the Nazis of today that kill in the name of the devilish religion called Islam. They will be destroyed like Hitler’s Nazis were!”In a 2014 Facebook post, Laufer described Bashir Ahmad, the victim of his stabbing attack, as “a super Jihadi.” According to Courthouse News Service, Ahmad is a halal food vendor. He survived the attack with stitches and staples on his back, thumb, head, and thigh.[Jewish Political News]
White supremacist gets 30 years prison for his plot to kill Muslims
Dec 19: A self-proclaimed white supremacist convicted on charges he planned to use a “death ray” to kill Muslims and Barack Obama was sentenced today to 30 years in prison, federal prosecutors in New York said. Glendon Scott Crawford, 52, a Navy veteran and a member of the Ku Klux Klan, was found guilty in August 2015 of conspiring with another man to build a radiation dispersal device, dubbed a “death ray” by tabloids. Crawford is the first person to be convicted under a law barring attempts to acquire or use a radiological dispersal device, which combines conventional explosives, such as dynamite, with radioactive material. Congress passed the statute in 2004 to punish individuals who try to set off a so-called “dirty bomb.” Crawford’s co-conspirator, Eric Feight, pleaded guilty in connection with the case and was sentenced to eight years and one month in prison. US prosecutors had sought life in prison for Crawford. He faced a mandatory minimum of 25 years. After his release, he will be supervised for life. Authorities said Crawford, who worked at General Electric Co, carried out extensive research on radiation dispersal devices, learning what level of emission was required to kill humans and conducting reconnaissance on potential targets, including a local mosque. In conversations recorded without his knowledge by a confidential law enforcement source, Crawford spoke often of his hatred of Muslims and said he would go after Obama in the White House with the device. [The Guardian]
American Muslim groups welcome decision to end program once used to track Muslims
Dec 22: American Muslim civil advocacy groups Thursday (Dec. 22, 2016) welcomed President Barrack Obama's decision to permanently dismantle the regulatory framework behind the National Security Exit-Entry Registration System (NSEERS) also called "Special Registration."CNN quoted Neema Hakim, a DHS spokesman, as saying: "The Department of Homeland Security is removing outdated regulations pertaining to the National Security Entry-Exit Registration Systems (NSEERS) program, with an immediate effective date." By 2011, nearly a decade after the program was enacted, NSEERS had not resulted in a single terrorism conviction. The Department of Homeland Security determined in 2011 that the program was "redundant and did not provide any increase in security," said Hakim.The Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) Legal & Policy Director Abed Ayoub states, “This is the right decision by Secretary Johnson. We commend him, and the White House, for letting it be known that such registry programs are futile and have no place in our country.” More than 50 members of Congress had called on President Obama to eliminate the NSEERS regulatory framework, referring to it as “a waste of resources, costing American taxpayers more than $10 million annually.”"Registering and tracking Muslim visitors to the United States is not only discriminatory but a tremendous waste of our nation's national security resources," said the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw. The American Muslim Voice (AMV) also welcomed Obama administration’s decision to permanently end the controversial NSEERs program. The national President of the AMV, Khalid Saeed, in a statement said that “we thank Obama administration for formally rescinding the program which was dormant since 2011 as it was considered redundant and ineffective.” The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) hailed the Obama administration’s decision to rescind the NSEERs program. However, the MPAC warned that although the framework of the program will be removed, the next administration has the authority to rebuild a dangerous NSEERS-type program from scratch.New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Wednesday (12/21) called on Obama to dismantle the NSEERS program.In a letter addressed to the President, Schneiderman wrote that NSEERS, created after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, did not reduce terrorist activity and instead "undermined trust" in law enforcement and instilled fear in some communities. President-elect Donald Trump and advisors close to him have publicly said that the Trump administration would revive and expand the federal registry that once targeted visitors mostly from Muslim-majority countries.Alarmingly, in the wake of the Berlin attack. Trump reaffirmed his commitment to a Muslim registry.(AMP Report)
2016: The worst year for American Muslims since 2001
Dec 31: Three mosques in California were sent anonymous hate-mail in November warning them that Donald Trump would “cleanse” Muslims from the US the same way “Hitler did to the Jews.” This story best reflects the dilemma of the seven-million-strong Muslim American Community during the presidential election year. The year 2016 was perhaps the worst year for American Muslims since 2001. The New York Times pointed out: Hate crimes against American Muslims have soared to their highest levels since the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, according to data compiled by researchers, an increase apparently fueled by terrorist attacks in the United States and abroad and by divisive language on the campaign trail. The trend has alarmed hate crime scholars and law-enforcement officials, who have documented hundreds of attacks — including arsons at mosques, assaults, shootings and threats of violence — since the beginning of 2015. Political rhetoric plays an important role in mitigating or fueling hate crimes. USA Today said Trump's inflammatory rhetoric and policy positions have made many groups feel unsafe on Twitter. Trump has suggested banning Muslims from entering the U.S., has said "Islam hates us," suggested the surveillance of mosques, and has talked about "profiling" of Muslims as a response to terrorism. According to AOL Global, 15 years after the 2001 terrorist attack, Muslim Americans still face discrimination in their everyday lives. Police and news media reports in recent months have indicated a continued flow of attacks, often against victims wearing traditional Muslim garb or seen as Middle Eastern, the New York Times said adding: “Some scholars believe that the violent backlash against American Muslims is driven not only by the string of terrorist attacks in Europe and the United States that began early last year, but also by the political vitriol from candidates like Donald J. Trump, who has called for a ban on immigration by Muslims and a national registry of Muslims in the United States.” A Georgetown University report released in May 2016 similarly found that threats, intimidation and violence against Muslim Americans have surged over the course of the presidential election. According to the report, in the period between March 2015 and March 2016, there have been 180 reported incidents of anti-Muslim violence. These include 12 murders, 34 physical assaults, 56 acts of vandalisms, nine arsons, and eight shootings and bombings. Last September, a leading Muslim civil advocacy group reported that 2016 is on track to be one of the worst years ever for anti-mosque incidents, with a total of 55 cases recorded as of mid-September. The majority of the 2016 incidents have been violent in tone, characterized by intimidation, physical assault and property damage, destruction or vandalism. In the first two weeks of September, three incidents targeting mosques have occurred. The most destructive of these has been in Florida, where a mosque was intentionally set ablaze and a suspect arrested. [AMP Report]
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