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CAIR – December 7, 2009
‘Go home sand n**ger’ painted on Idaho Muslim’s truck
WASHINGTON, D.C., December 7, 2009 - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) reported today that vandals spray-painted “go home sand n**ger” and Nazi swastikas on a truck owned by an Idaho Muslim. The victim also found a racist flier from the Aryan Nations on his lawn.
CAIR is calling on the FBI to assist local police in their investigation of the hate crime.
“This incident is apparently part of a pattern of hate crimes targeting people of all faiths and ethnicities in the area,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. “The FBI should add its resources to those of local police to help protect the entire community from bias-motivated attacks.”
Other local bias incidents included a noose left on a Spokane doorstep, a racist sticker stuck to the door of a Coeur d’Alene human rights center and attacks on and harassment of Hispanics, African-Americans and Native Americans.
Last week, CAIR’s Sacramento chapter held a news conference with community and interfaith leaders to call on law enforcement authorities to investigate a possible bias motive for vandalism at the West Sacramento Islamic Community Center.
CAIR also reported that a mosque in Oregon had been vandalized with hate graffiti in November.
The Spokeman-Review - December 4, 2009
Vandals leave racist message
A Coeur d’Alene man of Middle Eastern descent left his pickup parked downtown Thursday night and returned to find it spray-painted with swastikas and a racial slur and a front tire slashed.
The Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations counts the incident as the seventh hate crime perpetrated in the Inland Northwest since May, co-founder Tony Stewart said Friday.
Haitham Joudeh, 33, who is a Muslim of Jordanian descent, was celebrating a friend’s birthday Thursday and left his black Ford F350 truck parked at the corner of Third Street and Coeur d’Alene Avenue. Friends drove Joudeh and his wife home around midnight, he said.
In the morning, he was notified by police that his truck had been vandalized. Two swastikas were painted on it along with a slur urging him to “go home.”
“I was born in this state. This is my home. What are they talking about?” said Joudeh, a University of Idaho graduate. “It makes me feel like I don’t belong in this place. It makes me fear for my life and my family’s life. I mean, what’s next? They’re going to come to my house? Seriously, what’s going to be next?”
Someone already has been to his house, where Joudeh lives with his wife and baby son. On Friday morning, Joudeh found a racist flier from the Aryan Nations in a plastic baggie on his lawn. The flier was similar to those distributed in several other Inland Northwest neighborhoods in recent months.
Stewart said the vandalism of Joudeh’s vehicle qualifies as a hate crime. It is the most recent in a spate of hate crimes, he said. In other incidents, a noose was left on a Spokane doorstep; a swastika sticker was affixed to the door of a Coeur d’Alene human rights center; and Hispanic, African-American and Native American people were targeted in several harassment and assault cases.
“There is an escalation,” Stewart said. “We don’t know who’s doing it. My suspicion is, from some of the profiles … it seems to be more than one group involved.”
Stewart said the task force will do everything within its power to help Joudeh’s family. “In all these cases,” Stewart said, “if you can find the people, you prosecute them for a felony and you send them to prison. This community won’t turn a blind eye.”
Coeur d’Alene police said they are investigating the incident as a hate crime.
Idaho’s malicious harassment law makes it a felony to deface personal property with “any word or symbol commonly associated with racial, religious or ethnic terrorism.”
Joudeh, a developer, said he has faced harassment since he filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Kootenai County, alleging improper denial of a project he had proposed at Mica Bay. Joudeh’s company, Jordan International, proposed a condominium storage unit facility on 10 acres just off U.S. Highway 95. The case is pending in 1st District Court.
Joudeh said his ethnicity was raised, in a negative light, by people opposed to the project during the first hearing. “Nothing was done or said about it,” Joudeh said.
Since he filed his lawsuit, he said, he has been the subject of racist e-mails and Internet blog posts regarding his proposed project.
A tort claim filed against the county as a precursor to the lawsuit alleged that the project was denied partly because of racism.
Kootenai County commissioners deny that race was any factor….
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/dec/04/vandals-leave-racist-message/?print-friendly
CAIR – December 8, 2009
Citibank urged to Apologize for Hijab Incident
Muslim customer allegedly harassed by bank guard because of Islamic scarf
CHICAGO, IL, December 8, 2009 The Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) today called on Citibank to apologize to a Muslim woman who was allegedly verbally abused by a security guard at a Gresham, Ill., branch because she wears a religious head scarf, or hijab.
According to the Muslim woman, the guard said it was against Citibank's policy for customers to transact business wearing head coverings. While another Citibank employee did allow the woman to complete her business, that employee insisted on personally escorting her to the counter and watched over her shoulder as she conducted her transactions.
The guard also reportedly objected to the woman receiving service because it would encourage more of "them" to come into the bank. Throughout the process, which the Muslim customer described as "humiliating," the guard allegedly made anti-Muslim remarks.
CAIR-Chicago is calling for the apology, a review of Citibank policies related to religious head coverings and for diversity training of bank staff.
“Denying someone the right to enjoy equal treatment in places of public accommodation is illegal and violates our most deeply held values of fairness and respect for others,” said Kevin Vodak, staff attorney at CAIR-Chicago.
“It appears that this security guard was purposefully trying to deter Muslims from patronizing the bank by harassing them. If this is the case, the bank needs to make sure this kind of discriminatory behavior is addressed,” said Christina Abraham, civil rights director at CAIR-Chicago. “It’s illegal and it’s bad business.”
CAIR helped resolve a number of similar incidents nationwide in which Muslim customers wearing hijab have been harassed or denied service because of “no hats” policies being implemented in banks nationwide.
AMP Report – December 10, 2009
Minnesota congressional candidate says
constitution does not apply to Muslims
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, December 10, 2009 - The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) today called on political and religious leaders in that state to repudiate recent incidents of anti-Muslim hate.
In the first incident, a challenger to Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim elected to Congress, said Islam promotes criminal behavior and that Muslims do not deserve constitutional protections. On her campaign web site, Lynne Torgerson wrote in part: “[T]he religion of Islam cannot be protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. It is not ‘religion’ recognizable under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.”
In a media interview, she said, "I don't want other cultures coming into the United States and chilling our freedoms."
Also in St. Cloud, Minn., anti-Muslim cartoons with derogatory depictions of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and Nazi swastikas were posted on utility poles this week.
“We believe there is a direct correlation between anti-Muslim rhetoric and bias incidents targeting American Muslims,” said CAIR-MN Communications Director Jessica Zikri. “Our state’s political and religious leaders need to speak out strongly against anti-Muslim hate, just as they would speak out against any other form of intolerance.”
Torgerson, a criminal defense lawyer, who wants to unseat US Rep. Keith Ellison in Minnesota’s 5th District, unsuccessfully sought election as an independent to the Minnesota House of Representatives in District 59A last year.
Ellison foe Torgerson says Islam promotes criminal behavior
Writing under the headline “Ellison foe Torgerson says Islam promotes criminal behavior,” the City Pages of Minneapolis said that Lynne Torgerson, says she's big on “Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion,” as establishment by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution," but judging by the language she uses on her campaign Web site those freedoms evidently don't apply to Muslims such as Ellison, however.
Torgerson’s views on Islam make up a third of the text on her “Issues” page, falling mainly under a single heading: “Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion.” "What do I know of Islam? Well, I know of 911. Nineteen (19) men from Saudi Arabia, all Muslim, hi-jacked planes, and flew into the two (2) World Trade Towers murdering thousands of people, and tried to fly into our Pentagon, and some believe they also tried to fly an airplane into our White House. From this, what I perceive is Islam conducting an act of war against my country."
The Quran actually teaches Muslims to kill people not of their faith, which includes Christians and Jews, which are labeled infidels. ("Slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush.: (Sura 9:5)). This is advocating criminal behavior. Thus, at a minimum, this portion of the religion of Islam cannot be protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. It is not "religion" recognizable under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
In an interview with the Minnesota Independent, she said, "I don't want other cultures coming into the United States and chilling our freedoms."
Ellison is an American convert to Islam to whom this kind of language is nothing new. In 2006, Glenn Beck once confronted him on a cable news show this way: "Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies." To which Ellison replied: "Let me tell you, the people in the Fifth Congressional District know that I have a deep love and affection for my country. There`s no one who`s more patriotic than I am, and so you know, I don`t need to -- need to prove my patriotic stripes."
Cartoons target Muslim population
Meanwhile, the St. Cloud police are investigating anti-Islamic cartoons found Dec. 8 in at least two locations in the city.
The posters included hand-drawn and digitally-altered photos that are derogatory toward Muslims. They included depictions of the prophet Mohammed and a swastika, among other images.
Five pages of the images were posted on a pole in front of a shop whose manager Deko Farah called the images “awful” and said someone who doesn’t believe in God must have posted them.
Farah said she used to feel safe in the East Side neighborhood, but now the store closes earlier because of safety concerns. “Right now we’re not feeling safe,” she said.
St. Cloud Area Somali Salvation Organization Executive Director Mohamoud Mohamed said it appears the images were downloaded from the Internet. Some of them were written in multiple languages. “It’s an insult to our religion,” he said.
Someone spent a lot of time downloading the images and putting them together, Mohamed said. Then that person spent time walking through Tuesday’s snow and cold to post them. “It’s very scary,” he said.
The Tennessean - December 6, 2009
Nashville activists launch campaign against Islam
By Bob Smietana and Kate Howard
A belief that Muslims are out to destroy the American way of life is gaining a foothold in some Christian and Jewish circles in Nashville. The movement spreads its message through films, books and the Internet.
Its sentiment: Islam is an evil religion rooted in hatred and nurtured by violence.
Some churches have gotten involved, hosting viewings of movies that alert Jews and Christians of the perceived dangers worldwide. One film, produced by a local filmmaker, warns that a second Holocaust is imminent if Americans do not stand united politically with Israel.
Muslims say the messages are an unfair characterization of their beliefs that began with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and are perpetuated whenever someone professing to be a Muslim commits an act of violence, such as the recent shooting deaths at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas.
"We have become the bogeyman of the world," said Amir Arain, spokesman for the Islamic Center of Nashville, the city's oldest mosque, founded in 1979. "Fringe fundamentalists they are talking about, that they think defines Islam, is only 1 to 2 percent, and we do agree that there is a problem. It's a very small quantity or small group of the whole Muslim ummah, or nation, that has somehow hijacked our faith.''
In a recent survey, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that 52 percent of those polled admit they are extremely concerned about Islamic extremism.
Unreliable information about Islam is making matters worse, said Warren Larson, director of the Zwemer Center for Muslim Studies at Columbia International University in South Carolina. Larson, a Christian and former missionary who lived in Pakistan for 23 years, says anti-Muslim groups are taking the wrong approach.
"I don't think they are helping us appreciate and love Muslims as much as they are getting us to hate Muslims," he said. He advocates converting Muslims to Christianity through a message of love.
Supporters of the anti-Islam movement aren't interested.
Act! For America, a national group whose mission is to educate people about the "multiple threats of Islamofascism,'' has 328 local chapters across the country. One of its largest chapters, with about 400 members, is in Davidson County. Act West Nashville has 400 to 600 people on its mailing list but local leaders will not say how many of those are considered active.
The group has shown films like Homegrown Jihad, which alleges there are 35 terrorist training camps in the United States, and First Comes Saturday, Then Comes Sunday, which claims Muslims will first destroy Jews and then Christians. It also runs a blog at actwestnashville.com, with links to Web sites like Jihadwatch.com.
Act West Nashville spokesman Vijay Kumar, who was born in India but is now an American citizen, thinks the United States should ban immigration from Islamic countries. The group has met to share its concerns with 40 churches and community groups, Kumar said, but he refused to name them, citing privacy concerns of the host groups.
Rabbi Saul Strosberg of Congregation Sherith Israel of Nashville, agrees that radical Islam is a threat. He met with members of Act West Nashville but isn't convinced a fear-based response to Islam will help anyone.
"There are a lot of people in Nashville and Act! For America who want to expose the dangerous elements of Quran," he said. "I say great, we should all learn about each other's religion. But the question is, What's next? What are you prepared to do next, once you say that half the world or a third of the world is your enemy? Once we've scared each other to death, what is the next step?"
Act West Nashville recruits members through word of mouth and communicates with supporters through its Web site and e-mails. The organization meets once a month. Some of the meetings are held at the nondenominational Franklin Tabernacle Church in Williamson County.
Franklin Tabernacle's pastor, the Rev. Joshua Johnian, allows the group to meet there because he shares its concerns. He believes Muslims should be allowed to practice their faith, but he is worried that hate crime laws will someday make it illegal for him to criticize Muslims.
"If they have the money, they can put up as many mosques as they want to," he said. "They can put up a mosque right next door to the church. But I'm not going to stand up and say that's a good thing."
Reva Heller, who saw one of the films warning against a second Holocaust, doesn't want to be suspicious of Muslims, but she can't erase from her mind news footage of Muslims celebrating the collapse of the World Trade Center in 2001.
"We are talking about people from a different planet," said Heller, who attends Sherith Israel. "I get a feeling that this is a religion that believes that Israel and Western civilization are evil.''
The FBI, which refused to discuss specifics about any real or perceived threats in Tennessee, said the agency is on the lookout for terrorist-related activity, but also watches other groups.
"The last thing the FBI wants to do is take any step that would chill people's beliefs and willingness to talk and use the speech that's a protected right," said Joel Siskovic, a spokesman for the FBI in the Memphis field office. "But we take seriously any complaints regarding extremism, be it radical Islam or groups here, who may be taking a stance against those practicing Islam in the U.S."
Siskovic said he would be remiss to say extremism doesn't exist here in Tennessee, whether it be from Muslim groups or those opposing Islam.
Much of the local anti-Islam movement is inspired by the writings of Bill French, 68, a former Tennessee State University professor who taught electronic engineering and introductory physics at the school full time from 1988 to 1991 and then as an adjunct professor from 1995 to 1999, according to TSU records. He has a doctorate from North Carolina State University.
French considers himself an expert on Muhammad but admits he can't read Arabic, the language of the Quran and of Islamic theology. He read translations of the Quran and other Islamic holy books, and saw how many verses deal with religion and how many deal with politics. Because more verses deal with politics than religion, he contends, Islam is not just a religion…..
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20091206/NEWS06/912060340/-1/NEWS01
CAIR – December 11, 2009
Franklin Graham Repeats Attack on Islam
WASHINGTON, D.C., December 11, 2009 - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today requested a meeting with Christian evangelist Franklin Graham to discuss his latest remarks attacking Islam.
CAIR said it has received a number of complaints from concerned Muslims who watched an interview last night on CNN during which Graham stated in part: “…we have many Muslims that live in this country. But true Islam cannot be practiced in this country. You can't beat your wife. You cannot murder your children if you think they've committed adultery or something like that, which they do practice in these other countries…I don't agree with the teachings of Islam and I find it to be a very violent religion.”
In 2002, Graham said terrorism is part of “mainstream” Islam and claimed the Quran, Islam’s revealed text, “preaches violence.”
In 2001, Graham stood by remarks he made about Islam at the dedication of a chapel in North Carolina. At that event, he said: "We're not attacking Islam but Islam has attacked us. The God of Islam is not the same God. He's not the son of God of the Christian or Judeo-Christian faith. It's a different God, and I believe it is a very evil and wicked religion."
Following that incident, CAIR called for a meeting between Graham and national Muslim leaders to “come together as people of faith to promote inter-religious understanding and mutual respect." Graham did not respond to CAIR’s 2001 letter.
In a new letter sent today to Graham, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad again called for a meeting at which Graham could be offered accurate and balanced information about Islam.
Awad wrote: “I believe your views on Islam are unworthy of a respected religious leader and are based on misinformation and misconceptions that could be cleared up in a face-to-face meeting with representatives of the American Muslim community.”
In his letter, Awad quoted the Quran, which states: “Invite (all) to the way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for your Lord knows best who have strayed from His Path and who receive guidance.” (16:125)
Franklin Graham is the son of Billy Graham, an internationally-known Christian minister who is respected by Muslims worldwide.
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