www.amperspective.com Online Magazine
Executive Editor: Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Chronology of Islam in America (2017)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
November 2017 [Page Four]
Protests at Islamic Center in WA lead to alleged assault
Nov 20: The Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-WA) has condemned anti-Muslim harassment at the Islamic Center of Federal Way and has partnered with the mosque and Cedar Law to take legal action. During the past several weeks, the Islamic Center, in Kent, has had protesters causing disputes during their services on Fridays, Kent Police Department spokesman Jarod Kasner said in an email. Men have repeatedly stood outside the mosque during Friday prayers wearing “Make America Great Again” hats, blocking traffic, coming onto the mosque property, leaning into cars, invading the personal space of worshipers, threatening them with deportation and shouting anti-Muslim slurs at them as they enter the building, according to a media release from CAIR-WA. “Members feel unsafe and threatened while coming to worship,” one board member said in the release. “The impact has been a genuine sense of fear.” Last Friday, Kent police responded to a report of an assault at the center, Kasner said. One of the protesters allegedly physically assaulted an interfaith activist who attempted to support those attending prayers, according to CAIR-WA. [Federal Way Mirror]
Man named Mohammad says he was kicked off a greyhound bus because of his name
Nov 21: A Ph.D. candidate who was traveling on a Greyhound bus from Dallas to a conference in Kansas City, Missouri, this month says he was kicked off at 3 a.m. during a stop in Wichita, Kansas, because his name is Mohammad. “The driver lady came to me and woke me up and asked for my ticket. I showed her my ticket on my phone. Seeing my name on the ticket, which is ‘Mohammad,’ she told me ‘Your ticket is not acceptable and since you don’t have a printed version of it, you have to leave the bus,’” wrote Mohammad Reza Sardari on Facebook early this month alongside video of his argument with the driver. Reza—who specializes in urban planning and transportation engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington and won a scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—said he retrieved his printed-out ticket in his backpack and showed it to the driver. “Again she asked me to leave the bus. I asked for the reason and she responded ‘I don’t want to talk to you!’” he wrote. A spokesperson for Greyhound told an NBC News affiliate in Texas that the driver's behavior was unacceptable. “Greyhound does not tolerate discrimination of any kind and is taking these allegations very seriously. We’ve identified the driver and are currently conducting a thorough investigation into the matter,” they said. Reza wrote that the driver called the police after he insisted that he would stay on the bus until he got a clear answer about why he was being removed. The only hint, he said, was his name and the fact that he is an Iranian-American international student. When the police showed up, Reza said, they sided with the bus driver, and told him that since it is private property, the driver can refuse to provide him service. Stranded 200 miles from his destination early in the morning without a ride, Reza told NBC News that he hailed a Lyft driver to take him the remaining distance at a cost of nearly $250. [Newsweek]
Muslim Community Organizations File 9th Circuit Amicus Brief Opposing Muslim Ban 3.0
Nov 22: This week, a group of organizations serving the Muslim community filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in the case of Hawaii v. Trump, arguing that the third iteration of the Trump Administration's Muslim Ban is unconstitutional and discriminatory, has stoked fears in the Muslim community, and contributes to a climate of distrust towards American Muslims. The Council on American-Islamic Relations - California (CAIR-CA) is joined in the brief by the Muslim Justice League and the Muslim Public Affairs Council. The brief, which was prepared by the law firm of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, argues the Muslim Ban presidential proclamation at issue in the case violates the Establishment Clause by targeting individuals from six Muslim-majority countries and creates a policy that unconstitutionally discriminates based on religion, despite also imposing restrictions on certain individuals from two non-Muslim-majority countries. The amicus brief specifically notes: 1) This ban violates the Constitution's Establishment Clause by disfavoring a particular religion and targeting individuals based on their religious beliefs. 2) This ban has irreparably harmed the Muslim-American community by ripping families apart, bolstering harmful and offensive stereotypes about Muslims, and sewing a deep and unjustified distrust of the Muslim community in the United States. 3) The addition of two non-Muslim-majority countries to this ban does nothing to disguise the ban's anti-Muslim animus, which has existed since the original Muslim Ban's inception. 4) This ban does nothing to make the United States safer and there is no immediate security need that justifies this ban - rather, the only common thread between those affected is their faith. [CAIR]
Teen called a ‘dumb Muslim b**ch’ after alleging teacher pulled off her headscarf
Nov 22: A Virginia teen who alleges a teacher pulled off her Islamic headscarf is now being harassed online by other students and another teacher from her school, a Muslim civil rights group has reported. Student Yasmin Yahye said last week that that teacher Lesmond Saunders removed her headscarf without her consent and has since told the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) that she has experienced cyberbullying. In a letter to Lake Braddock Secondary School principal David Thomas Tuesday, CAIR called for the school to protect Yahye from cyberbullying. “The students and teacher are retaliating against Yasmin for reporting her incident. Shamefully, their comments indicate anti-Muslim sentiment,”wrote the group’s attorney Ahmed Mohamed. The letter contains a number of examples of harassment directed at Yahye in the past week. In her account of Saunders’s actions, Yahye said, “My hijab was ripped off my head.” She said this was done “by a teacher I appreciated and valued.” Saunders has been put on indefinite suspension without pay pending an investigation since the alleged incident. [Newsweek]
Muslim leaders speak out against Trump’s inflammatory retweets
Nov 29: Muslim American leaders gathered on Capitol Hill to condemn President Trump’s sharing of videos purporting to show Muslims committing violent acts just hours after he posted the images to his Twitter feed. Americans are “shocked but not surprised” by the president’s actions, said the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ national executive director, Nihad Awad, remarking on Trump’s Wednesday morning (Nov. 29) retweets.The retweets, sent to his more than 43 million followers, showcased three videos originally tweeted from the account of the deputy leader of a British anti-immigrant fringe group, Britain First. The group is considered anti-Muslim by many in the country, and its name was shouted by an extremist who gunned down and stabbed a member of Parliament earlier this year. The group condemned the murder. Trump’s message incites violence and is a continuation of his pattern of targeting minorities, Awad told Religion News Service. Republicans, he continued, should show leadership by condemning the videos. Britain First is a political party condemned as ultranationalist and previously accused of sharing anti-Muslim conspiracy theories. The office of British Prime Minister Theresa May said Wednesday that Trump was wrong to share material from a group that promotes “hateful narratives.” Hate speech leads to hate crimes, Awad warned, noting that CAIR has received one to two reports of a hate crime every day this year on average. According to FBI statistics, nearly a quarter of religious hate crimes in 2016 were against Muslims, with an increase of almost 20 percent from 2015 to 2016. Other organizations joined CAIR to condemn Trump’s retweets and call on other politicians to speak out against them. “Where is the leadership in this country?” asked Ilhan Cagri, a fellow at the Muslim Public Affairs Council. That Trump retweeted the videos shows that he identifies with extremist views, she said. “This is not what a leader should be doing.” Lakshmi Sridaran, director of national policy and advocacy at South Asian Americans Leading Together, said the real threat comes from the administration itself. “We must demand better from our president and our democracy,” she said. [Religion News Service]
You Won't Believe the 'Evidence' They're Using to Prosecute Trump's Election Day Protesters
Nov 29: Federal prosecutors targeting anti-Trump protesters are relying on video evidence from Project Veritas, a far-right group under fire this week for allegedly trying to dupe the Washington Post with a false story of sexual misconduct. The US attorney’s office submitted the footage in court on Tuesday as part of an ongoing trial against activists who protested Donald Trump’s inauguration and now face conspiracy and rioting charges that could lead to decades in prison. Prosecutors played the video – which reportedly showed undercover footage from a meeting of activists – one day after the Washington Post reported that Project Veritas had sent a woman undercover pretending to be a victim of Roy Moore, the US Senate candidate accused of sexual misconduct. The decision to use video from a discredited ultra-conservative group known for ethically questionable tactics has drawn criticisms from civil liberties groups, who have argued that the federal government under Trump is aggressively prosecuting activists who oppose the president. “It’s absolutely shocking that the prosecutors went on record today saying they are relying on a Project Veritas video,” said Jude Ortiz, a member of the organizing crew of Defend J20 Resistance, a group supporting the nearly 200 people facing charges related to the Washington DC protests of Trump on 20 January. “It’s a dubious piece of evidence at best, and it’s appalling that it’s coming from the far right,” said Ortiz, who attended the hearing. Hundreds were arrested during inauguration day demonstrations – including journalists, legal observers and medics – drawing criticisms that law enforcement was issuing overly broad charges against people caught up in the chaos, without specific evidence tying them to alleged crimes. Though some charges were later dropped, many are still on trial for conspiracy, rioting and property destruction allegations, and some could face 60-year prison sentences. The video comes from Project Veritas’ infiltration of a meeting where activists discussed plans to disrupt inauguration activities. [The Guardian]
Facebook says it is deleting accounts at the direction of the U.S. and Israeli Governments
Nov 30: In September of last year, we noted that Facebook representatives were meeting with the Israeli Government to determine which Facebook accounts of Palestinians should be deleted on the ground that they constitute “incitement.” The meetings – called for and presided over by one of the most extremistand authoritarian Israeli officials, its pro-settlement Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked – came after Israel threatened Facebook that its failure to voluntarily comply with Israeli deletion orders would result in the enactment of laws requiring Facebook to do so, upon pain of being severely fined or even blocked in the country. The predictable results of those meetings are now clear and well-documented. Ever since, Facebook has been on a censorship rampage against Palestinian activists who protest the decades-long, illegal Israeli occupation, all directed and determined by Israeli officials. Indeed, Israeli officials have been publicly boasting about how obedient Facebook is when it comes to Israeli censorship orders: Shortly after news broke earlier this month of the agreement between the Israeli government and Facebook, Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said Tel Aviv had submitted 158 requests to the social media giant over the previous four months asking it to remove content it deemed “incitement”. She said Facebook had granted 95 percent of the requests. [By Glenn Greenwald – ICH]
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