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Chronology of Islam in America (2008)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
September 2008
Muslim pilot back in the skies pending court decision
Sept 2: A Muslim commercial pilot is free to fly after his name appeared on a U.S. government terrorist watch list, leaving his job up in the air. Eric Scherfen, a Gulf War veteran, was scheduled to be terminated Sept. 1, but his employer, Colgan Air Inc., restored his flight status while the case is under review. Scherfen sued the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies last month for putting his name on a watch list because he converted to the Muslim faith, he said. His constitutional rights were violated and job jeopardized, according to the claim filed by Scherfen and his wife. In their lawsuit, the couple said they have been repeatedly subjected to searches, questioning and detention at airports and border crossings since 2006. Ticket agents and others have made vague references to their names being on lists, but there was no clear explanation for the extra scrutiny. A New Jersey native, Scherfen, 37, said he believes his name was placed on a watch list because he converted to Islam in 1994 — even though he is a Gulf War combat veteran. Both he and his Pakistan-born wife, who is also a Muslim, said they have no criminal records. (Fox/Associated Press)
Muslims form SF Bay Area network
Sept 2: A large coalition of Muslim nonprofit groups and mosques has taken the first steps to build a unifying (San Francisco) Bay Area network. By working together, they hope not only to develop a common voice, but also to more effectively serve their growing community. Spanning theological and ethnic lines that often divide American Muslims, the Northern California Islamic Council will develop statements on issues that affect Muslims. It will also facilitate cohesion among the member organizations - from coordinating events to improving social services to resolving disputes. It would be the first time Bay Area Muslims would have such a resource. "All of these organizations speak for Muslims from a particular perspective, but we're trying to put something together that's truly representative of the community," said Reshma Yunus, 48, a Fremont accountant and a founding board member of the council. "It would show that the community is mature enough to work together ... to listen to somebody else and work toward common goals." (San Francisco Chronicle)
Some charges tossed in case against Muslim charity
Sept 2: Prosecutors have dropped most charges against two men accused of helping a Muslim charity finance terrorism, an apparent sign that the government will focus its case on two other men who were leaders of the group. Leaders of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, based in Richardson, Texas, are accused of funneling millions of dollars to the Middle Eastern group Hamas, which the U.S. government considers a ‘terrorist’ organization.A trial last year resulted in no convictions and a mistrial on most charges, leading prosecutors to narrow their aim for the second trial. In a motion filed last week in federal court in Dallas, prosecutors requested the dismissal of nearly 30 counts against Mufid Abdulqader and Abdulrahman Odeh. The men each will still face three conspiracy counts that could send them to prison, if convicted, for 55 years. Jurors in the first trial found Abdulqader and Odeh not guilty on many of the non-conspiracy charges, but the judge declared a mistrial. That meant prosecutors could have tried them again on those counts. Prosecutors have narrowed their case to focus on the two men they portrayed as most active in running Holy Land: Shukri Abu Baker, the group's chief executive, and Ghassan Elashi, the chairman. They will face the same charges they faced in the 2007 trial: conspiracy, supporting a foreign terrorist organization, money laundering and filing false tax returns. Another defendant, former Holy Land chairman Mohammed El-Mezain, will be retried on one conspiracy count. Jurors in the first trial acquitted him on all other charges, and prosecutors are not permitted to retry him on those counts. Last year, jurors heard two months of testimony and deliberated for 19 days before deciding against convicting any of the five former Holy Land leaders or the charity itself, which federal agents shut down in 2001. (Associated Press)
Religious Discrimination at the Best Western?
Sept 3: Two months after Faiza Abu started working the front desk at the Best Western Airport Executel in SeaTac, new staff uniforms arrived. A Muslim head scarf she had been wearing since she'd taken the job wouldn't work with the new garb, her manager told her. But she kept wearing the scarf, called a hijab, for religious reasons. "Either you're going to take it off or I'm going to fire you," she says the hotel's manager, Shawn Walters, told her. "I didn't take it off—and he fired me." Now the 20-year-old Abu, who is pursuing a nursing degree at Highline Community College, is suing the hotel and its parent company, Piramco Inc., for religious discrimination. Head-scarf cases are pretty common nationally," says Marc Brenman, the Human Rights Commission's executive director. Brenman adds that unless there is a specific safety hazard posed by the hijab, "the answer is yeah, they ought to be allowed to wear the head scarf." (Seattle Weekly)
Muslims workers’ 'English only' complaint resolved
Sept 29: The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) today announced the successful resolution of complaints by Muslim workers that a Macy's department store had adopted an "English-only" policy in the workplace. Following an investigation by the company, it was determined that a low-level manager at Macy's Southdale Mall location in Edina, Minn., gave incorrect information to the Muslim employees. Macy's does not have an English-only policy and respects the diversity of its employees and customers. CAIR-MN had been contacted by six Somali-speaking employees, some of whom have been employed at the store for more than four years, who were told by their manager that a new English-only policy prohibited them from speaking any language other than English during work hours. A company flier obtained by CAIR-MN announcing that “all associates must speak English while working” confirmed the employees’ allegations that their manager had enforced an English-only policy and threatened them with termination if they violated the policy. Macy’s has clarified that both the flier and the actions of the manager do not represent Macy’s policy. (CAIR Bulletin)
Empire State building shines green for Eid holiday
Sept 30: For the second year, the Empire State Building shined its world-famous tower lights in green on Tuesday, September 30 and Wednesday, October 1, 2008 for its annual celebration of Eid-al-Fitr, the "Festival of Fast-breaking," which marks the end of Ramadan. The lighting for Eid is an annual event in the same tradition of the Empire State Building's yearly lightings for Christmas and Hanukah. The Empire State Building's tower lights are world renowned for celebrating different nationalities, holidays, parades, and events of importance to the world.(Media reports)
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