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Chronology of Islam in America (2009)
December 2009 Page Two
Muslim leaders grapple with how to protect their youth
Dec 18: In Washington DC, at one of the largest mosques in the United States, Muslim leaders are trying to create a safe haven for young people to learn Islam's lessons about peace. Muslim leaders renewed efforts following the arrest of five American Muslims in Pakistan who allegedly tried to join terrorist groups using the Internet. The young people at the Adams Center are hard at play, and the Muslim elders are hard at work trying to keep them engaged in positive activities.
After basketball, the younger kids meet for Boy Scouts. And after Scouts, hundreds gather for evening prayers. It's a tense time for the Muslim leaders, following the arrest in Pakistan of five young Americans from a neighboring community. The young men are being held on suspicion of links to terrorist groups. Sajjad Ahmad, the sports league coordinator at the Adams Center, describes his reaction to the arrests: "Happy because I think the parents and the community took the right actions but sad because members of the Muslim community, kids that I might have crossed paths with at some time, got into that false ideology," he said. Ahmad says one of the center's top missions is getting youth involved in mosque activities.
Imam Johari Abdul-Malik is a Muslim community leader in the Washington area. He says young Muslims are often confused by disturbing Internet images of their brothers in faith being killed in conflicts, and that one of his community's greatest challenges is helping young people interpret current events. "And that is where the Internet comes in and says, 'Your imam, your community, your youth center, your family, none of them have an answer for this," Johari said. "But we have an answer and we feel your pain." Abdul Malik says Muslims face a modern challenge beyond shielding their young from traditional dangers like drugs and crime."We have safeguarded them from the terrestrial threat of all the bad influences in their environment. But we did not protect them from something that was inside of them that was connected through the Internet," Johari explained. "That is the next level of our fight against what I would call an enemy."
"Many of young people are vulnerable to being preyed on," said Nihad Awad of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR. Awad helped broker talks between the FBI and the families of the young men arrested in Pakistan. He says Muslim leaders had already started looking at dangers on the Internet before the men went missing. "On the Internet, the other side is trying to exploit people's feelings, and they give them instructions on how to do wrong things and we have to give (them) tools and manuals also on how to stay cool and level-headed and stay reasoned and don't get yourself and others in trouble," Awad said. (VOA)
Little Support for extremism Among Muslim Americans
Dec 18: Recent events such as the Fort Hood shootings and the arrest of five Muslim American students in Pakistan have raised questions about the threat of homegrown extremism in the United States. However, the Pew Research Center's comprehensive portrait of the Muslim American population suggests it is less likely to be a fertile breeding ground for extremism than Muslim minority communities in other countries. Violent ‘jihad’ is discordant with the values, outlook and attitudes of the vast majority of Muslim Americans, most of whom reject extremism. As the title of Pew Research's 2007 study suggests, Muslim Americans are "middle class and mostly mainstream." Compared with their co-religionists in other Western societies, they are relatively well integrated into mainstream society. Unlike Western Europe's Muslim populations, Muslims in the U.S. are generally as well-educated and financially well-off as the general population. Most (72%) say their communities are good or excellent places to live, and most believe in the American dream -- 71% say that in the U.S., most people who want to get ahead can make it if they are willing to work hard.
When asked whether they think of themselves first as an American or as a Muslim, 47% of Muslims in the U.S. think of themselves first in terms of their religion, while 28% identify themselves first as Americans and 18% volunteer that they identify as both. At 46%, French Muslims are about equally as likely as those in the U.S. to think of themselves first as Muslim. However, Muslim Americans are less likely to identify primarily with their religion than are Muslims living in Britain, Germany, and Spain. Primary identification with religious affiliation is not unique to Muslims. Religious identity is almost equally as high among American Christians, 42% of whom say they think of themselves first as Christian. About half (48%) of Christians in the U.S. identify first as Americans, while 7% volunteer that they identify both with their nationality and their religion. (PEW)
One quarter of Detroit-area Arab Americans reported personal or familial abuse since 9/11
Dec 18: University of Michigan researchers find discrimination, bad experiences led to adverse health effects among large, well-established Arab community. One quarter of Detroit-area Arab Americans reported personal or familial abuse because of race, ethnicity or religion since 9/11, leading to higher odds of adverse health effects, according to a new University of Michigan study. The study was published today in the American Journal of Public Health. Muslim Arabs also reported higher rates of abuse than Christians, said lead author Aasim I. Padela, M.D., a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar in U-M's Department of General Medicine and clinical instructor in the Department of Emergency Medicine. Padela says those who reported abuse showed a higher probability of having psychological distress, lower levels of happiness and poorer perceptions of health status. What's disturbing about the findings is that residents in Greater Detroit live in a large, well-established Arab community, where they might be expected to be protected from abuse, Padela says. Most of the respondents also had access to health insurance. "Negative associations of perceived post-911 abuse or discrimination might be much worse in less concentrated Arab populations within the United States," Padela says. Approximately 490,000 Arabs reside in Michigan, and more than 80 percent of those live in metro Detroit's Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. Arabs are the third largest ethnic population in Michigan, with a history dating back multiple generations. This community is the largest concentration of Arabs outside of the Middle East. (News-Medical.Net)
Refusal to release Imam Abdullah’s autopsy raises suspicions
Dec 21: The Wayne County medical examiner's refusal to release its autopsy report on Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah is fueling concerns in the Muslim community about a possible cover-up of facts surrounding his death, a community leader in Dearborn, Michigan said today. Abdullah, 53, was killed Oct. 28 in a gunfight with the FBI at a Dearborn warehouse. The FBI said Abdullah, an alleged leader of a radical Muslim separatist group involved in fencing stolen goods, fired a weapon that killed an FBI dog. The county Medical Examiner's Office denied a Nov. 2 request The Detroit News filed for Abdullah's medical examiner report, saying it was not complete. Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Michigan, said the county office has not responded to a request from his organization requesting a copy of the report once it is completed. The office also quoted exorbitant fees for copies of autopsy photos, he said. "The unfortunate and perhaps unintended consequence is that the failure to release the autopsy report and the very exorbitant amount for the pictures is raising in the minds of some people in the community that there's a potential cover-up," Walid said. How many times he was shot, whether he suffered dog bites, and whether Abdullah was handcuffed after he was shot are among the questions on people's minds, Walid said. (The Detroit News)
Racism, religious bias at trucking firm in Chicago
Dec 21: The Council on American-Islamic Relations has filed a lawsuit on behalf of an African-American Muslim who worked as a truck driver in the Chicago area, and who says he was harassed both for his race and for his religion. Reginal Exson worked as a truck driver for the Cook County location of USF Holland. Exson says a company representative made insulting remarks calling him a "liar," making derogatory remarks against African-Americans and telling Exson that lying "must be part of your gene pool." The law suit says: In November 2007, Exson suffered severe injuries in an accident that wasn't his fault, and the company would not honor the work restrictions recommended by his doctor. Exson was also punished based on unspecified false allegations. Furthermore, a worker's compensation coordinator allegedly called Exson a "terrorist," and remarked, "Did you think I was going to let you and Osama bin Laden get off with all this money that we're paying you?" (CBS)
Cross planted on mosque property removed
Dec 22: In Sanford, Florida, a cross was installed at a site where a mosque is planned by the United Muslim Foundation. The cross reading "Christian Nation, Christian Community" was removed after few days. "It is something that could be construed a hate crime. I also see it as a sign that is very unpatriotic because America was founded on the beliefs of liberty and freedom of religion," Masuma Virji of the United Muslim Foundation said. "It's also to be unchristian because I know the beliefs of Christians and a lot of the people who I know personally are beliefs of brotherhood and love and welcoming." Masuma Virji said she does not believe whoever put up the cross represents the beliefs of the majority. (Wesh.com)
NY Muslims Featured in ‘I am American’ Times Square Ad
Dec 22: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced today that its new public service announcement (PSA), called “I am Muslim, I am American,” began airing this morning on the CBS Super Screen in New York City’s Times Square. CAIR’s New York chapter (CAIR-NY) has produced the 15-second PSA, which will air every hour for 18 hours each day through January 16, 2010, on the 26-foot by 20-foot full-motion screen. More than one million people pass through Times Square each day. The PSA features an American Muslim NYPD sergeant, as well as a Muslim Little League all-star, a human rights activist, a doctoral candidate, and an attorney. It begins with the statement, “Building Community, Serving Country.” "This public service advertisement features ordinary American Muslims whose everyday lives are dedicated to building community and serving country,” said CAIR-NY Community Affairs Director Faiza N. Ali. “This initiative is part of our ongoing effort to ensure that a fair and accurate portrayal of Islam and Muslims is presented to the American public.” (CAIR)
President urged to address rise in anti-Islam hate
Dec 23: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on President Obama to address what it called an “alarming level of anti-Islam hate in our nation.” In a letter to President Obama, CAIR cited recent incidents in Florida in which a cross with the message “Christian nation, Christian community” was planted at the site of a planned mosque in Sanford, Florida, and an anti-Islam Christmas display was set up by the Dove World Outreach Center, in northwest Gainesville. This church drew protests last August when it displayed a series of hand-painted signs that read "Islam is of the devil." Other incidents cited by the Washington-based Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization included:
Anti-Islam brochures distributed in the parking lot of a Washington state Islamic school; Hate-filled fliers posted in a Minnesota Somali community; An attack on a Sikh youth in Texas who was mistaken for a Muslim; The painting of “Go Home Sand N**ger” on an Idaho Muslim’s truck; The harassment of a Muslim bank customer in Illinois because of her Islamic head scarf; An attack on another Illinois Muslim after the Fort Hood shootings; A call by far-right members of the U.S. House of Representatives to investigate Muslim interns on Capitol Hill as “spies;” The ethic intimidation of an Ohio Muslim who found a noose and a toy camel on his door a Colorado sheriff who called the U.S. Marines “Travel agents to Allah;" The failure of Virginia’s governor-elect to repudiate anti-Islam statements by one of his top supporters; A defaced Quran that was left at a Michigan mosque; A spate of vandalism incidents at mosques nationwide; Anti-Islam remarks by Christian evangelist Franklin Graham; The use of anti-Islam rhetoric in the platform of a Minnesota congressional candidate.
Tellingly, a recent poll also showed that two-thirds of Protestant pastors consider Islam “dangerous.” “President Obama is in the best position to address the alarming level of anti-Islam hate in our nation and to urge religious and political leaders to speak out in support of tolerance and mutual understanding,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. He added that President Obama himself has been targeted by anti-Muslim hate despite the fact that he is Christian. A Colorado car dealer recently put up a billboard depicting the president as a turban-wearing militant. Awad acknowledged recent remarks to a Muslim and Arab-American gathering in Michigan by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in which he said the U.S. Department of Justice will return to its "traditional" role of ensuring civil rights. The president also signed a spending measure that will give the Justice Department’s civil rights division 102 new staff members, many of whom will be assigned to hate-crimes investigations. (CAIR)
Plane incidents in Ariz., Mich. raise profiling concerns
Dec 27: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on airline passengers, crews and security personnel to avoid ethnic and religious “profiling” in the wake of the attempted bombing of a flight arriving in Detroit on Christmas Day. CAIR made that call following two incidents in which innocent passengers were targeted based either on their national origin or on otherwise ordinary behavior. Today, two Middle Eastern men were pulled off a flight heading to Phoenix because passengers reported they were engaging in suspicious behavior. The men were speaking in a Middle Eastern language. And on a Detroit-bound flight today, a Nigerian businessman was taken off an airplane because passengers became suspicious that he was lingering in the bathroom for too long. The FBI confirmed that the individual’s behavior was due to a legitimate illness. “While everyone supports robust airline security measures, racial and religious profiling are in fact counterproductive and can lead to a climate of insecurity and fear,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. (CAIR)
Right wing renews calls for profiling
Dec 28: In the wake of the failed terrorist attempt aboard a Northwest airlines flight on Christmas Day, the right wing is renewing its pleas for more profiling of Muslims: Radio host Mike Gallagher: “There should be a separate line to scrutinize anybody with the name Abdul or Ahmed or Mohammed.” Rep. Peter King (R-NY): “100 percent of the Islamic terrorists are Muslim, and that is our main enemy today. So why we should not be profiling people because of their religion?” Terrorism pundit Steven Emerson: “Remember, there have been so many complaints about quote, profiling, by the quote, Islamic civil rights groups, that they stopped basically profiling. And that basically led to not putting this guy onto the terrorist watch list.“ (ThinkProgress.Org)
ISNA joins Christian and Jewish leaders in peace mission to Mideast
Dec 30: A 15 member delegation of U.S. Christian, Muslim and Jewish religious leaders visited Jordan, Israel and the West Bank from December 16 to 23. An ISNA press release said following a week of praying together and meeting Jordanians, Israelis and Palestinians, the leaders returned home united in pursuit of peace, with a new, shared sense of urgency. They called for active, fair and firm U.S. leadership in the New Year to restart negotiations for a two-state solution, involving an end to occupation and security for Israel and Palestine. They repeated the goal of the National Inter-religious Leadership Initiative (NILI) to build on the Arab Peace Initiative for comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace, including peace agreements between Israel and Syria and Lebanon. Leaders of the National Inter-religious Leadership Initiative for Peace (NILI) that organized the trip said they will seek high level meetings with the Obama Administration to offer their support for U.S. leadership for peace.
The delegation included Christian leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, Greek Orthodox Church, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), National Baptist Convention, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Episcopal Church, and United Methodist Church; Jewish leaders of Reform Judaism, Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, and Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association; and Muslim leaders of the Islamic Society of North America, Clergy Beyond Borders, and the President Emeritus of the Council of Mosques. Dr. Sayyid Muhammad Syeed, National Director of the ISNA Office for Interfaith & Community Alliances, Islamic Society of North America; Dr. Shaheer Yousaf, Islamic Society of North America, Islamic Center of Southern Maryland; Imam Yahya Hendi, Muslim Chaplain, Georgetown University and Dawud Assad, President Emeritus, Council of Mosques, USA. (ISNA)
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