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Chronology of Islam in America (2007)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
November 2007
LA Police program to profile Muslims
Nov 1: In the latest government move to intimidate and marginalize the American Muslims, the Los Angeles Police Department has announced a program to “Map” (read profile) Muslim communities in southern California. There are estimated 500,000 Muslims living in the greater Los Angeles area, including Orange and Riverside Counties, which make its concentration of Muslims the second largest in the United States, after New York City. The LAPD ‘Mapping’ program appears a prelude to similar Mappings in other cities with concentration of Muslim population. The LAPD program is backed by the Homeland Department’s Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) at the University of Southern California. The center, nation’s first university center for the combat of terrorism, was established in 2003 with a grant of 15 million dollars. Last May the center was given another 11 million dollars for such programs. According to the Commanding Officer of Los Angeles Police Department’s Counter-Terrorism/Criminal Intelligence Bureau, Michael P. Downing, if this program is successful it could be implemented in other major US cities. In his Oct 30 testimony to Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Michael P. Downing, pointed out that the project would determine the geographic distribution of Muslims in the sprawling Los Angeles area and take “a look at their history, demographics, language, culture, ethnic breakdown, socioeconomic status and social interactions.” Michael Downing also suggested that the study would result in helping amplify the voice of Muslim moderates who could counter fanatics. (AMP Report)
Rumsfeld memos urged staff to 'keep elevating the terrorism threat'
Nov 1: In a series of internal musings and memos to his staff, then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld argued that Muslims avoid "physical labor" and wrote of the need to "keep elevating the threat," "link Iraq to Iran" and develop "bumper sticker statements" to rally public support for an increasingly unpopular war. The memos, often referred to as "snowflakes," shed light on Rumsfeld's brusque management style and on his efforts to address key challenges during his tenure as Pentagon chief. Spanning from 2002 to shortly after his resignation following the 2006 congressional elections, a sampling of his trademark missives obtained (by the Washington Post) reveals a defense secretary disdainful of media criticism and driven to reshape public opinion of the Iraq war. Under siege in April 2006, when a series of retired generals denounced him and called for his resignation in newspaper op-ed pieces, Rumsfeld produced a memo after a conference call with military analysts. "Talk about Somalia, the Philippines, etc. Make the American people realize they are surrounded in the world by violent extremists," he wrote. In one of his longer ruminations, in May 2004, Rumsfeld considered whether to redefine the terrorism fight as a "worldwide insurgency." The goal of the enemy, he wrote, is to "end the state system, using terrorism, to drive the non-radicals from the world." He then advised aides "to test what the results could be" if the war on terrorism were renamed. (Washington Post)
MPAC and APPNA meet with pentagon officials to discuss mental health of detainees
Nov 2: Earlier this week, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and the Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America (APPNA) met with top level Pentagon officials to discuss the mental state of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. Due to four suicide-related deaths within the last year, and a 2006 United Nations report that has indicated that the treatment of detainees has had profound effects on their mental health, MPAC requested a meeting with the Office of Detainee Affairs, the Office of Health Affairs, and the Office of the General Counsel.The U.N. report posits that the effects of indefinite detention and the conditions of confinement such as "sensory deprivation, exposure to extreme temperatures, and the use of interrogation techniques" have led to "serious mental illness, including 350 acts of self-harm in 2003 alone, as well as individual and mass-suicide attempts and widespread hunger strikes." According to the Pentagon, there are currently 330 detainees still being held at Guantanamo out of the original 800. Additionally, the Department of Defense has recognized 41 suicide attempts among 29 detainees. However, in January of 2005, the New York Times reported that out of 350 acts of self-harm, there were 120 incidents of inmates trying to hang themselves, while 23 detainees took part in simultaneous mass-suicide attempts. (MPAC Bulletin)
Former Exxon employees challenge discrimination against Arabs and Muslims
Nov 5: Three Muslim former employees filed today a $12 million lawsuit against ExxonMobil Corporation in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, complaining of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on race, religion, and national origin. The suit alleged that three employees of an Exxon station on the Delaware Turnpike – Sofiene Romdhani, an Arab Muslim originally from Tunisia, and Michelle Maloney and Bobbi Joe Zeller, who had both converted to Islam – suffered persistent racial and religious harassment and discrimination at the hands of Exxon supervisors. The suit alleged that the plaintiffs and other Muslim and Arab employees at the station were subjected to racist graffiti and a steady barrage of anti-Muslim comments by management officials, who vowed to rid the station of all Muslims employees. The suit further alleged that Exxon’s headquarters ignored repeated complaints of discrimination from Muslim employees at the station and failed to perform a timely investigation. Ultimately, the suit alleged, two of the three plaintiffs were forced to resign because they could not tolerate the harassment and abuse, while the third was suddenly terminated on the same day she complained about managers viewing pornography in the workplace. The Delaware Department of Labor, following a lengthy investigation, issued a decision in Mr.Romdhani’s favor, concluding that “witnesses corroborated [Mr. Romdhani’s] allegations that he was continually subjected to harassment by his supervisor in regards to his religious beliefs and national origin” and that Mr. Romdhani “has established that illegal national origin and religious discrimination occurred.” (ADC Bulletin)
Saudi King Abdullah meets Pope Benedict at Vatican
Nov 6: - King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia met with and Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican, in the first meeting ever between a pope and the Saudi monarch. They met for half an hour, speaking through interpreters, in a conversation that a Vatican press release later said had covered such themes as the "value of collaboration between Christians, Muslims and Jews for promoting peace" and "the necessity of finding a just solution" of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Marco Politi, the Vatican correspondent for La Repubblica and a biographer of Pope John Paul II, said, "I think it is extraordinarily important that an official communiqué from the Vatican and an important Islamic state like Saudi Arabia mentions 'cooperation' between Christians, Muslims and Jews - not dialogue but cooperation." (Media reports)
Pat Robertson endorses Giuliani for president
Nov 7: Rudolph W. Giuliani scored a coup today by winning the support of Pat Robertson, who, as one of the nation’s best-known televangelists, could help Mr. Giuliani reassure Republicans who are wary of his support for abortion rights and gay rights. Mr. Robertson, the founder and chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network, said in endorsing Mr. Giuliani in Washington, that he believed “the overriding issue before the American people is the defense of our population from the blood lust of Islamic terrorists” and praised Mr. Giuliani as a “true fiscal conservative.” The endorsement comes just a month after a coalition of other prominent Christian conservatives threatened to back a third-party candidate if Mr. Giuliani were to become the Republican Party’s presidential nominee. The support of Mr. Robertson could not only help Mr. Giuliani present himself as a viable candidate to the Christian right, but could also help him improve his standings in Iowa: Mr. Robertson finished second in the Iowa caucuses during his own run for president in 1988. (New York Times)
Senate confirms Mukasey by 53-40: Historically low tally for new Attorney General
Nov 8: A divided Senate narrowly confirmed former federal judge Michael B. Mukasey tonight as the 81st attorney general, giving the nominee the lowest level of congressional support of any Justice Department leader in the past half-century. The 53 to 40 vote came after more than four hours of impassioned floor debate, and it reflected an effort by Democrats to register their displeasure with Bush administration policies on torture and the boundaries of presidential power. The final tally gave Mukasey the lowest number of yes votes for any attorney general since 1952, just weeks after lawmakers of both parties had predicted his easy confirmation. Mukasey takes the place of Alberto R. Gonzales, who left under a cloud of scandal in September. He avoided defeat only because a half-dozen Democrats voted in favor of the appointment along with Republicans and Democrat-turned-independent Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.). Mukasey, 66, had outraged many lawmakers and human rights groups by repeatedly refusing to classify waterboarding, a simulated-drowning technique, as torture. (Washington Post)
Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm meets Muslim leaders
Nov 8: In Detroit, Michigan, 16 Imams from varying communities met with Governor Jennifer Granholm and Mr. Greg Roberts, liaison to the Governor in religious affairs, to discuss three concerns of the Muslim community and the economic condition of Michigan. The Imams belong to the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan (CIOM) which has been successful in bringing together representatives from most ethnic and cultural groups; and especially Shia and Sunni groups. Imam Mustafa Elturk, spokesman for the group, began with reading a statement relating to Islamophobia, then addressed the Governor regarding the need for better enforcement of Michigan’s Ethnic Intimidation Statute, the need for a statewide bill banning racial profiling similar to a bill already approved by the City of Detroit’s, and desire to work with the State to increase services for convicts, who are attempting to be productive citizens upon the release from prison. (Muslim Media Network)
Evangelicals' Issue: Islamofascism
Nov 10: Following last month's Values Voter Summit in Washington, conservative Christian power-broker Gary Bauer sent an e-mail to supporters. ''The war against Islamofascism is in many respects a 'values issue,''' Bauer wrote. ''That may seem like an odd statement at first glance, but, as I have often said, losing Western Civilization to this vicious enemy would be immoral.'' From one perspective, branding ''radical Islam'' as a family values issue is yet another example of the broadening of the evangelical agenda. ''It's the ultimate life issue,'' said Rick Scarborough, president of the Texas-based conservative Christian group Vision America. ''If radical Islam succeeds in its ultimate goals, Christianity ceases to exist.'' With America at war in Iraq and continued aftershocks from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, national security is an issue for all the campaigns. John Green of the Pew Forum said if radical Islam does become a major campaign issue, it will help the GOP nominee because voters tend to view Republicans as stronger on national security. But he isn't sure it will motivate conservative Christian activists.(New York Times)
LAPD defends Muslim mapping effort
Nov 10: The LAPD's plan to map Muslim communities in an effort to identify potential hotbeds of extremism departs from the way law enforcement has dealt with local anti-terrorism since 9/11 and prompted widespread skepticism today. In a document reviewed by The Times, the LAPD's Los Angeles Police Department's counter-terrorism bureau proposed using U.S. census data and other demographic information to pinpoint various Muslim communities and then reach out to them through social service agencies. LAPD officials said that it is crucial for them to gain a better understanding of isolated parts of the Muslim community. Those groups can potentially breed violent extremism, the LAPD said in its plan. But the effort sparked an outcry from civil libertarians and some Muslim activists, who compared the program to religious profiling. (Los Angeles Times)
Minnesota radio spots dropped over Savage’s Anti-Muslim rant
Nov 11: The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) today thanked three companies in that state that have agreed to drop their advertisements from Michael Savage's nationally-syndicated radio program because of the host's recent anti-Muslim tirade. The CAIR reported that Savage, whose "The Savage Nation" airs on more than 300 radio stations nationwide, screamed attacks on Muslims, Islam and the Quran, Islam's revealed text, during his October 29, 2007, program. It called on radio listeners of all faiths to contact companies that advertise on Savage's program to express their concerns about the host's recent anti-Muslim bigotry. Savage's shouted anti-Muslim attacks included: "I don't wanna hear anymore about Islam. I don't wanna hear one more word about Islam. Take your religion and shove it up your behind. I'm sick of you." (CAIR Bulletin)
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