Islamophobia in the US: Ignorant Islamophobes Abusing the Term 'Sharia', April 2, 2011

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "The Fire (of Hell) is forbidden to touch anyone who is close to the people, soft, lenient, and kind-hearted."

Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 223

When a group of people spoke harshly to the Prophet Muhammad, and his wife replied in kind, he cautioned her: "Be calm ... for God loves that one should be kind and lenient in all matters."

Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Hadith 273

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CAIR THANKS SENATORS FOR HEARING ON MUSLIM CIVIL RIGHTS - TOP

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/29/2011) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, today thanked Sens. Durbin (D-IL) and Graham (R-SC) for holding a hearing this morning titled "Protecting the Civil Rights of American Muslims" in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights.

SEE: "Protecting the Civil Rights of American Muslims" Durbin: King, Gingrich Statements on Muslims Create 'Fertile Climate for Discrimination'

In a written statement submitted to the subcommittee, CAIR outlined a number of key civil liberties concerns confronting American Muslims.

CAIR identified four core threats to the free exercise of the Islamic faith in America: 1) legal, rhetorical and violent attacks on places of worship, 2) concerns about the use of Muslim-bashers as law enforcement trainers; 3) Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda and other violent extremists; 4) state-level legislation and laws that can move our nation toward state-sanctioned discrimination.

SEE: CAIR's Testimony on Protecting the Civil Rights of American Muslims SEE ALSO: CAIR-Chicago’s Written Submission to Hearing

"Subcommittee Chairman Durbin demonstrates true leadership in seeking to reinforce the rights of a minority faith," said CAIR National Legislative Director Corey Saylor. "The hearing rebuts the violent extremists who claim Islam cannot get fair treatment in America."

Saylor added that the facts produced by this hearing also refute yet another unsubstantiated claim by Rep. Peter King (R-NY), who yesterday said the hearing may, "create the illusion that there's a violation of civil rights of Muslims in this country. It's absolutely untrue, and to me it makes no sense."

SEE: Official statement of the Justice Department reporting a 150 percent increase in employment discrimination cases against American Muslims since 9/11. CAIR-LA: Police Investigate Alleged Anti-Muslim Hate Crime

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CONTACT: CAIR National Legislative Director Corey Saylor, 202-384-8857, E-Mail: csaylor@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, or 202-488-8787, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

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CAIR ASKS ALASKA LAWMAKER TO DROP HATE GROUP LEADER AS WITNESS - TOP Stop the Islamization of America (SIOA) designated as anti-Muslim hate group by Southern Poverty Law Center

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/29/11) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on Alaska state Rep. Carl Gatto (R-Palmer) to drop a scheduled witness in support of a proposed anti-Sharia bill (House Bill 88) who is the leader of an extremist organization recently designated as a hate group.

ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE and RESPECTFUL) Contact Rep. Gatto's Chief of Staff Karen Sawyer to request that Pamela Geller be dropped as a witness. E-Mail: karen.sawyer@legis.state.ak.us, Copy to: info@cair.com, Tel: 907-465-5025

CAIR says that witness, Pamela Geller, heads Stop the Islamization of America (SIOA), which was designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as one of the nation's more than 1,000 hate groups. Gatto's office has confirmed that Geller is scheduled to testify in support of the bill on March 30.

SEE: Active Anti-Muslim Groups Sponsor Statement: House Bill 88

Geller has claimed that "Hitler and the Nazis were inspired by Islam" and that Islam "mandates" lies and deception. She has also posted images on her blog that include a fake photograph of then Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan in a Nazi uniform, another fake image of President Obama urinating on an American flag and drawings purporting to depict Islam's Prophet Muhammad as a pig.

One image posted by Geller, headlined "Piss Be Upon Him," showed one of the controversial Danish cartoons of the prophet covered in urine. ("Piss Be Upon Him" is designed to mock the traditional phrase "Peace Be Upon Him" that Muslims use when mentioning any prophet of God.) In a 2010 blog entry, Geller posted a video claiming that Muslims engage in bestiality.

SEE: Pamela Geller: The Looniest Blogger Ever Video: TV Host Exposes Pamela Geller's Anti-Muslim Bigotry SIOA is an Anti-Muslim Hate Group

The United States Patent and Trademark Office refused to grant SIOA a trademark because: "The applied-for mark refers to Muslims in a disparaging manner because by definition it implies that conversion or conformity to Islam is something that needs to be stopped or caused to cease."

SIOA is an outgrowth of a similar group in Europe that seeks to block the construction of mosques on that continent. Its sister organization, Stop the Islamization of Europe, "considers Islamophobia to be the height of common sense."

Geller also co-founded another hate group, American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), with an individual who says he is an admirer of the founder of two terrorist organizations and who has in the past called for the killing of all Muslims.

SEE: SIOA Co-Founder: Kill Your Liberal Relatives and All Muslims

Rep. Gatto, whose bill is modeled on similar state measures introduced nationwide targeting Islamic principles (Sharia), said the proposed law is necessary because of the religious beliefs of recent immigrants. "As a kid, we had Italian neighborhoods, Irish neighborhoods ... but they didn't impose their own laws," Gatto said. "When these neighborhoods are occupied by people from the Middle East, they do establish their own laws."

SEE: Alaska Seeks to Bar Foreign Law From Courts

Similar anti-Sharia bills are being considered in a number of state legislatures. Many of the bills are drawn from a template prepared by David Yerushalmi, head of the anti-Islam hate group Society of Americans for National Existence (SANE). Yerushalmi testified at a past hearing for the Alaska bill.

SEE: Tennessee Bill Would Jail Shariah Followers Meet the White Supremacist Leading the GOP's Anti-Sharia Crusade

On its now password-protected website, SANE offered a policy proposal that would make "adherence to Islam" punishable by 20 years in prison, called for the immediate deportation of all non-citizen Muslims and urged Congress to declare war on the "Muslim Nation," which SANE defined as "all Muslims."

SEE: A SANE Act to Deal with the Islamic Threat to America's National Existence (SADITANE)

CONTACT: CAIR Legislative Director Corey Saylor, 202-384-8857, E-Mail: csaylor@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, or 202-488-8787, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-OK: LAWMAKER PUSHES FOR NEW BAN ON SHARIAH - TOP KOCO, 3/28/11

Watch the video.

A controversial lawmaker is pushing a new ban against foreign religious laws, but one group said it is made to target Muslims.

Rep. Sally Kern said House Bill 1552, aimed at forbidding foreign or religious laws to supersede U.S. laws in a court case, will protect the rights of Oklahomans. But is some local religious groups said it will only hurt the economy ... .

Muneer Awad, executive director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations, said the bill is another attack on the Muslim community.

"If Islam and Sharia, which she would definitely proclaim as being foreign and would be banned under this law, I would ask people to consider the fact that Christianity and Judaism are no less foreign than Islam. They all came from the same region of the world," Awad said.

Awad said Kern has no idea the impact it will have on the local economy.

"Banning foreign law in U.S. courts will basically harm any business contracts with a foreign company. Business contracts can include foreign law clauses, choice of law clauses and foreign arbitration," Awad said. (More)

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CAIR-OK: OKLAHOMA ELECTION BOARD ASKS COURT TO OVERTURN ISLAMIC LAW RULING - TOP Robert Boczkiewicz, Oklahoman, 3/29/11

The Oklahoma Election Board asked an appeals court Monday to let the board certify November's voter-approved ban against state judges considering Islamic law in making their court decisions.

The board told the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that a lower court judge in Oklahoma City was wrong to bar the board from certifying the election results against Sharia law.

"The trial court abused its discretion when it enjoined the election board from certifying the election results which would officially incorporate State Question 755 into the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma," the board contended.

The board stated its position in 44 pages of arguments submitted to the Denver-based court, seeking to have U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange's Nov. 29 preliminary injunction lifted.

Miles-LaGrange granted the court order at the request of Muneer Awad, an American-born Muslim and executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Oklahoma. The order is in effect until she determines the merits of Awad's lawsuit. (More)

--- FL: HASNER JUMPS ON ANTI-SHARIA BANDWAGON - TOP Cooper Levey-Baker, Florida Independent, 3/29/11

In a YouTube clip posted on March 20 by the conservative blog Shark Tank, former Florida House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, currently exploring a run for the U.S. Senate, can be heard warning about the dangers of Islamic law entering the American court system.

As evidence, Hasner cites a Tampa judge's recent ruling in a lawsuit against the Islamic Education Center of Tampa -- this despite evidence that the judge's decision is a "very common" one, and that the religious rules of all faiths are regularly discussed in American courts.

"A judge within the state of Florida, in litigating, in judging the litigation between private citizens in a Florida state court, announced that the decision is going to be based on Islamic law," Hasner says in the clip, which you can watch in full below. "That is not supporting the United States Constitution, or the Constitution of the state of Florida. We need to speak out! We need to make sure that these threats do not continue to grow and do not continue to infiltrate our state and our country. And I would share with you that American prosperity, our national security and our foundation on Judeo-Christian values are interwoven and inseparable." (More)

----- CAIR SLAPS HERMAN CAIN OVER SHARIA LAW COMMENTS - TOP Juana Summers, Politico, 3/28/11

Herman Cain has drawn fire from a Muslim advocacy group after he slammed Sharia law and the spread of the Muslim faith in America.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) accused Cain of "bigoted speech" after the Atlanta businessman told a blogger that he would not appoint a Muslim to his cabinet or as a federal judge if elected president.

Asked whether there would be a place for a Muslim appointee in Cain's administration, Cain flatly said "No."

"There is this creeping attempt to gradually ease Sharia law and the Muslim faith into our government. It does not belong in our government," he told a Think Progress blogger.

He continued, "The role of Islam in America is for those that believe in Islam to practice it and leave us alone. Just like Christianity. We have a First Amendment. And I get upset when the Muslims in this country, some of them, try to force their Sharia law on the rest of us."

Ibrahim Hooper, the Council on American-Islamic Relations' national communications director, told CNN that Cain's words were "even going beyond the almost routine Muslim-bashing we see coming from the right wing of the political spectrum."

"Even post 9/11 you didn't have this level of mainstreaming of anti-Muslim hate as you have now," Hooper said. (More)

SEE ALSO:

CAIR: HERMAN CAIN ASSAILED AS 'BIGOTED' OVER MUSLIM REMARKS - TOP Shannon Travis, CNN, 3/28/11

A leading Muslim advocacy group accused potential presidential candidate Herman Cain of spewing "bigoted speech" Monday following remarks he made at a conservative conference last weekend.

While attending the Conservative Principles Conference last weekend in Iowa, Cain told a reporter- if he became president - he would not appoint a Muslim to his cabinet or as a federal judge.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) expressed outrage on Monday, saying Cain's words show how "right wing" conservatives are currently engaging in Muslim bashing.

"Even post 9/11 you didn't have this level of mainstreaming of anti-Muslim hate as you have now," said Ibrahim Hooper, National Communications Director for CAIR.

Cain's comments came in response to a question from a reporter for liberal-leaning Think Progress about potentially appointing a Muslim in a Cain administration. ...

In criticizing Cain's comments, Hooper characterized them as going "even beyond the almost routine Muslim-bashing we see coming from the right wing of the political spectrum."

Hooper was asked to specifically address Cain's assertion, echoed by other conservatives, that some Muslims are trying to invoke Sharia law into the United States.

"It's a manufactured controversy," Hooper said. "There is nothing to it. It would be laughable if it weren't having such a negative impact on the lives of Muslim Americans."

"There are millions of American Muslims that are just as much 'Us,' as he [Cain] is." (More)

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VIDEO: GOP STRAW POLL WINNER SAYS MUSLIMS NOT 'DEDICATED' AMERICANS (CAIR) - TOP

Watch the video.

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GOP PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFULS BLAST SHARIA IN PRE-PRIMARY RHETORIC - TOP Devin Dwyer, ABC News, 3/29/11

Watch the video.

Republican presidential hopefuls, eager to shore up support with primary voters, have unleashed a series of rhetorical attacks against Islamic law, or Sharia, in what is widely seen as an attempt to burnish their conservative credentials.

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty says his decision to shut down a state-sponsored mortgage program designed to appeal to devout Muslims -- who are forbidden by Sharia law to collect or pay interest on loans -- demonstrates his commitment to rooting out Islamic law.

"As soon as Gov. Pawlenty became aware of the issue, he personally ordered it shut it down," Pawlenty spokesman Alex Conant said of the program in a statement. "Fortunately, only about three people actually used the program before it was terminated at the governor's direction."

Herman Cain, another likely GOP presidential contender, said over the weekend that he would not appoint a Muslim to his administration or the federal courts because he believes all Muslims "force their Sharia law onto the rest of us."

SEE ALSO:

NEWT GINGRICH AND THE ISLAMIC RADICAL STATES OF AMERICA - TOP Time, 3/29/11

... Hang on -- can Gingrich really believe this? The secular atheism, maybe (although the U.S. remains a highly religious country, especially relative to its industrialized peers). But an America dominated by Islamic radicals? That's the kind of thing you'd hear from a second-tier A.M. radio Glenn Beck wannabe.

So why would Gingrich talk this way? Perhaps it's just his showman impulse at work. Gingrich has spent the past few years earning good money as a television commentator, author and DVD producer, and he's previously tapped into the conservative mania over creeping Sharia-ism in America. This quote would be consistent with the theory that Gingrich -- whose horrendous poll numbers cast his electability into real doubt--sees the presidential campaign primarily as a giant self-promotional opportunity. (More)

----- CAIR-OH: TEA PARTY GUEST INCITES DEBATE ON ISLAM - TOP Linda Martz and Bryan Bullock, Mansfield News Journal, 3/29/11

MANSFIELD -- More than 350 people crowded into the Premier Office Complex on Monday night to hear a speaker whose talk about Islam was suddenly moved from Mansfield Senior High School because of worries about public safety.

Tea party members receptive to the lecture bumped elbows with concerned listeners from the Mansfield chapter of the NAACP and the Islamic Society of Mansfield.

Several police officers stood by in the back of the room during Usama Dakdok's 150-minute lecture. It included few outbursts -- but no question-and-answer period at the end ... .

He quoted the Koran and Islamic figures -- contending the U.S. Constitution had its roots in the Bible, while Islam produced slavery, religious murders and repression.

The tea party meeting originally was scheduled to take place Monday evening at Mansfield Senior High School.

On Friday, the Mansfield chapter of the NAACP criticized the school district for allowing a speaker it calls "anti-Muslim" to address the public on school property, arguing that permitting the event created the appearance of endorsing it.

Local, state and national Muslim groups and civil rights organizations publicly echoed the concerns and asked the school district to cancel the event.

Mansfield City Schools Superintendent Dan Freund announced in a press conference Monday morning the district would cancel the event. Speaking at the school's central office, Freund said, after consulting with Mansfield police, the school could not guarantee public safety if the event was held there ... .

Meanwhile, in his speech, Dakdok argued that followers of the Koran must involve themselves in a jihad against the infidel, including Jews and Christians, and would take control of the U.S., if given opportunity.

"Any person with common sense should hate the cult of Islam. They believe a lie," he said. "I am not anti-Muslim. I am anti-Islam. I have no problem with Muslims. Muslims themselves are victims of Islam." ...

"Over and over and over again, he misrepresented our religious texts. He basically set up a straw man -- and then attacked it," said Julia Shearson, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Ohio. "It was intense fear-mongering. It was like what was done to the Jews during the rise of Hitler. He demonized them and made them subhuman, and then people blamed them for things like the economy. It's very frightening that people might believe what he says and then take action against our community. I'm concerned.

"The vast majority of Muslims live in peace with Christians and Jews. We lived side-by-side for hundreds of years." (More)

----- CAIR-LA: POLICE INVESTIGATE ALLEGED HATE CRIME IN NEWPORT BEACH - TOP CBS, 3/28

NEWPORT BEACH (CBS) -- Police in Newport Beach are investigating an alleged hate-crime against an Arab-American taxi driver, a sergeant confirmed Monday.

Newport Beach police Sgt. Steve Burdette said the officer who took a battery report that day did not have enough evidence to make an arrest. But a detective is following up with interviews of witnesses who saw the March 19 confrontation outside the La Habana Cigar Co. at 107 Palm St., on the Newport peninsula, he said.

The driver, who was born in Palestine, was called to pick up a fare at the cigar store March 19 when he was confronted by someone who identified himself as the owner, according to CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) spokeswoman Munira Syeda. The man told the driver, "I am a Marine officer, (expletive) you," according to Syeda. (More)

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-LA: INVESTIGATE MUSLIM CAB DRIVER ASSAULT AS A HATE CRIME - TOP Sean Emery, The Orange County Register, 3/28/11

NEWPORT BEACH - Police are investigating reports of a Muslim taxi driver being assaulted in front of a cigar lounge, with officials from the Council on American-Islamic Relations on Monday calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to look into the incident as a hate crime.

CAIR officials say the taxi driver was responding to the cigar lounge after a woman called for a cab March 19 when four men confronted him, followed him to his vehicle and attacked him.

Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve Burdette confirmed that officers did take a report of an assault at a cigar shop on Palm Street in the Newport Peninsula. The investigation is open, and no arrests have been made, Burdette said ... .

"The Department of Justice has worked with our office in the past, and they have made it clear that they want to make sure that any hate incidents against the Muslim community are investigated," said Munira Syeda, a CAIR spokeswoman. "In making such incidents public, we want to make sure that hate crimes or violence against any community of Americans will not be tolerated." (More)

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CAIR-LA: NEWPORT BEACH INVESTIGATING WHETHER ATTACK WAS HATE CRIME - TOP Southwest Riverside News Network, 3/28/11

Police in Newport Beach are investigating an alleged hate-crime attack on an Arab-American taxi driver, a sergeant confirmed today.

Meanwhile, the Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on the U.S. Department of Justice to join local authorities in investigating the March 19 attack.

Newport Beach police Sgt. Steve Burdette said the officer who took a battery report that day did not have enough evidence to make an arrest. But a detective is following up with interviews of witnesses who saw the confrontation outside the La Habana Cigar Co. at 107 Palm St., on the Newport peninsula, he said. (More)

----- VIDEO: DETROIT RELIGIOUS LEADERS TELL TERRY JONES TO STAY HOME (CAIR-MI) - TOP

Watch the video.

DETROIT (WJBK) - "Everything he's doing here is a violation of the Gospel," said Pastor Ed Rowe with Central United Methodist Church.

Metro Detroit religious leaders are standing in solidarity, sending letters and sending a message to the controversial pastor from Florida. They say stay home.

"We do not agree with Terry Jones. We do not agree with his philosophy, and we want to continue to keep this region as unified as we possibly can," said the Rev. Charles Williams II with King Solomon Baptist Church.

"We need more progress than anything right now. What we don't need is any incendiary acts that would push us back," said the Rev. Maurice Rudds with Greater Mount Tabor Baptist Church.

"Too many barriers have already been tore down, and so we say today to all that might hear my voice, we love Muslims, we love Jews, we love all God-fearing people," said the Rev. Charles Williams, Senior with King Solomon Baptist Church.

What they don't love is the visit Pastor Terry Jones is planning -- a protest outside the Islamic Center of America on April 22.

Jones is coming at the invitation of the Order of the Dragon, some newly-formed, obscure group of about five people from up north -- hardly a ringing endorsement for Jones' services.

"Shame on that militia group here in Michigan who was trying to import Mr. Jones, who's a very controversial figure, to try to stir up trouble in their own state," said Dawud Walid with CAIR Michigan.

Still, the Muslim community will welcome Jones if he comes in peace.

"If Pastor Jones is willing to come and dialogue and have a peaceful talk, we would be more than happy to host him," said Imam Steve Elturk with the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan. (More)

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