|
Chronology of Islam in America (2011)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
May 2011 (Page Two)
Dubious Muslim-bashing ‘expert’ hired to train cops
May 24: The Department of Homeland Security this month paid $5,000 to anti-Muslim terrorism "expert" Walid Shoebat to speak at a conference for South Dakota law enforcement, despite Shoebat's history of dubious claims about the threat of Islam as well as his own background. That $5,000 figure was unearthed by a public records request filed by Rapid City Journal reporter David Montgomery. Shoebat is an evangelical Christian whose website describes him as a "former PLO terrorist [who] now speaks out for USA and Israel."However, as Hussein Ibish and others have documented, Shoebat's claims about his past are largely unsubstantiated, down to whether his real name is really Walid Shoebat. He, for example, claims that, in his Islamic extremist days in the 1970s, he threw at a bomb at a Bethlehem bank. But the bank says it never happened, and there are no news reports of any such terrorist attack. Surveying Shoebat's history of questionable claims, Ibish concludes that he is a "shameless fraud."
Shoebat's appearance -- his second in two years in South Dakota alone -- is the latest sign of the institutional embrace of self-styled terrorism experts who are both openly hostile to Islam and unfit to provide well-grounded information to law enforcement. (For recent examples of this phenomenon in New York City and around the country, see here and here.) At last year's conference in South Dakota, Shoebat reportedly encouraged attendees to tap the phones of Muslim student groups because "you can find out a lot of information that way."
A typical Shoebat tactic is to quote selectively from the Quran, painting Muslims as cartoonish evil-doers. For example it's hard to see how this bit of Shoebat's speech this month, quoted by the Rapid City Journal, will add to law enforcement's understanding of Islamic extremist terrorism:"If you meet the unbelievers, then smite off their necks," Shoebat quoted the Quran, a translation of the fourth verse of chapter 47. "What part of ‘smite off their necks’ do you Americans not understand?" he asked.
CAIR cries foul over stereotypes in airport drill
May 24: A national Muslim civil rights group is asking the head of Homeland Security to investigate the use of stereotypes after a man who appeared to be of Middle East descent was used in a recent security drill at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has renewed a request that Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano review "the use of outside trainers who offer hostile, stereotypical and grossly inaccurate information about Muslims and Islam." The organization has previously asked the Obama administration, the Department of Defense and Congress to provide oversight for apparent "widespread anti-Muslim bias in the training of law enforcement and security and military personnel nationwide.” "Well, let's cover all the stereotypical bases," Ibrahim Hooper, national spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said. "It's not surprising in the least that [federal authorities] would resort to anti-Muslim stereotypes." Hooper, whose group acts as a rights watchdog on behalf of Muslims in the United States, said he has no problem with such security tests, but "when you resort to ethnic and religious stereotypes in these types of drills, it sends the message to watch out for these people, and that leads to profiling." (Star Tribune)
Stockton, CA, mosque fire an arson
May 25: An early-morning fire that burned down a Stockton mosque last month was the work of an arsonist, fire investigators said today. They announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the April 23 blaze that destroyed the Masjid Al Emaan Mosque at 4212 N. Pershing Ave. in central Stockton. Also damaged were adjacent businesses -- Reliance Real Estate Office and Living Well Ministries and Christian Center. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined the investigation with the Stockton Fire and Police departments. There were no injuries and the fire damage was estimated at $400,000, ATF spokeswoman Helen Dunkel said. The ATF released footage from a video taken in the mosque of an image of a person wearing a bag over his or her head, entering just after 3 a.m. (Sacramento Bee)
Anti-Muslim note left on woman’s car: 'We Don't (Want) Muslims In America'
May 25: "Muslims leave." Those words were on a note someone left on a woman's car in Redmond, Washington. The woman, who did not wish to be identified, said she and her third-grade daughter had just gone into the coffee shop for a few minutes. And when they came out, they found a note on her car window saying, "We don't Muslims in America." And another message, strangely in Arabic said: “We don’t want Muslims in our country, go away.” CAIR-WA held a news conference with the Muslim mother and her daughter to talk about the incident. The victim said she isn't angry about the note, but she's shocked that it would happen in a community she's grown to love. "We are just regular people, and I hope this person realizes that they can't make us afraid to go out and live our lives regularly," she said.According to the police report of the incident, the daughter began to cry because she was afraid they would be followed and attacked by the person who left the hate note. (AMP Report)
Senators Say Patriot Act Is Being Misinterpreted
May 26: Two senators have claimed that the Justice Department had secretly interpreted the so-called Patriot Act in a twisted way, enabling domestic surveillance activities that many members of Congress do not understand. At the same time, Congress and the White House were rushing to enact legislation to prevent a lapse in several of the federal government’s investigative powers under the Patriot Act that were set to expire at midnight. The Senate passed the bill 72 to 23 late in the afternoon, and within hours the House approved it 250 to 153. In an unusual move, a White House spokesman said that President Obama, who was in Europe, would “direct the use” of an autopen machine to sign the bill into law without delay. During the debate, Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat and a member of the Intelligence Committee, said that the executive branch had come up with a secret legal theory about what it could collect under a provision of the Patriot Act that did not seem to dovetail with a plain reading of the text. “I want to deliver a warning this afternoon: When the American people find out how their government has secretly interpreted the Patriot Act, they will be stunned and they will be angry,” Mr. Wyden said. He invoked the public’s reaction to the illegal domestic spying that came to light in the mid-1970s, the Iran-contra affair, and the Bush administration’s program of surveillance without warrants. Another member of the Intelligence Committee, Senator Mark Udall, Democrat of Colorado, backed Mr. Wyden’s account, saying, “Americans would be alarmed if they knew how this law is being carried out.” Mr. Wyden has long denounced the idea of “secret law” — classified memorandums and rulings about the meaning of surveillance law developed by executive branch officials and the FISA Court. He and Mr. Udall had proposed requiring the Justice Department to make public its official interpretation of what the Patriot Act means. The two had also sponsored a proposal to tighten the circumstances in which one of the expiring provisions, known as Section 215, could be used. It allows the F.B.I. to obtain “any tangible things” — like business records about customers. Mr. Udall criticized Section 215, saying it lets the government get private information about people without a link to a terrorism or espionage inquiry. In a 2009 debate over the Patriot Act, another member of the Intelligence Committee, Russell Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, also hinted that Section 215 was being used in a secret way that, he said, “Congress and the American people deserve to know” about. He was defeated for re-election in 2010. [New York Times]
Congress approves extension of Patriot Act surveillance provisions
May 26: Congress, rejecting demands for additional safeguards of civil liberties, approved a four-year extension tonight to key provisions of the USA Patriot Act that will allow federal investigators to continue to use aggressive surveillance tactics in connection with suspected terrorists. The House voted 250-153 to renew three parts of the counter-terrorism surveillance law. Thirty-one House Republicans joined most Democrats in opposing the extension, while 54 Democrats supported it. Hours earlier, the bill cleared the Senate on a 72-23 vote, with 19 Democrats and four Republicans voting no, mostly over concerns the Patriot Act violates personal privacy and civil liberties. The provisions were due to expire at midnight Thursday without an extension. President Obama was attending a summit in France, but the bill was signed by autopen with his authorization moments before the deadline, the White House said.
One of the sections of the Patriot Act extended by Congress (Section 206) is the "roving wiretap" power, which allows federal authorities to listen in on conversations of foreign suspects even when they change phones or locations. Without such roving wiretap authority, investigators would be forced to seek a new court order each time they need to change the location, phone or computer that needs to be monitored. Approval for the surveillance must be obtained from a federal court. Law-enforcement agencies have been able to use wiretaps for criminal investigations since 1986.
Another provision, Section 215 of the Patriot Act, gives the government access to the personal records of terrorism suspects; it's often called the "library provision" because of the wide range of personal material that can be investigated. This section allows the FBI to apply to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court to issue orders granting the government access to any tangible items in foreign intelligence, international terrorism and clandestine intelligence cases.
The third provision extended for four year is Section 6001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorist Prevention Act. In 2004, Congress amended the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to authorize intelligence gathering on individuals not affiliated with any known terrorist organization, with a sunset date to correspond with the Patriot Act provisions. The provision, which is thus technically not part of the Patriot Act, is explicit in saying it does not to apply to US citizens. Law enforcement officials refer to it as the "lone wolf" provision.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which has long called for changes to the Patriot Act, said Congress missed an opportunity to amend the measure to include privacy protections. "Congress has once again chosen to rubberstamp the Patriot Act and its overreaching provisions. Since its passage nearly a decade ago, the Patriot Act has been used improperly again and again by law enforcement to invade Americans' privacy and violate their constitutional rights," said Laura Murphy, of the ACLU, in a statement. Two Senate Democrats on the Intelligence Committee, Mark Udall and Ron Wyden, were quoted by the New York Times today as saying that the Obama administration has a "secret" and far-reaching interpretation of the Patriot Act that goes well beyond standard readings of its limits, especially the ability to seize business and other records. [AMP Report]
Resolution introduced in the House to counter anti-Muslim sentiment
May 26: In a House of Representative resolution introduced today, the Detroit Democrats John Conyers and Hansen Clarke urged federal investigators to avoid unconstitutional profiling and called for the government to target rhetorical attacks and violence against Muslim, Arab, Sikh and South Asian American communities. "Communities should be protected from the threat of violence and suspicion that, for example, was at the heart of last January’s thwarted attack against the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn," Conyers and Clarke said in a joint statement. "They should also be able to rely on law enforcement’s fundamental integrity and respect for First Amendments protected rights. Ultimately, the American Muslim community should be able to rely on the federal government to lead the effort in fostering an open climate of understanding and cooperation. Only through a balanced examination of the challenges facing the nation will we establish a strong policy framework for protecting security, while respecting the Constitution and the interests of affected communities." The resolution comes in the wake of complaints from several Metro Detroit Muslim Americans who say they were harassed, searched, groped or jailed without reason when crossing into Michigan from Canada. The complaints prompted a probe by the Department of Homeland Security's office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, while last week's resolution was sent to the House Judiciary Committee, which Conyers chairs, for review. The resolution, supported by many representatives, was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
The resolution HRES 283 IH in part said:
Whereas there exists in the United States today a disturbing and dangerous trend of anti-Muslim rhetoric and bigotry, evidenced by attacks against individuals, religious institutions, and entire communities;
Whereas putting an entire community under suspicion erodes trust in government and law enforcement at all levels, which, in turn, undermines public safety;
Whereas targeting American Muslims for scrutiny based on their religion goes against the core principles of religious freedom and equal protection under the law;
Whereas a 2006 study commissioned by the United States Department of Justice found that Arab Americans were suspicious of Federal law enforcement due to government policies and that both community members and law enforcement officers determined that diminished trust was the most important barrier to cooperation; and
Whereas scores of religious, civil rights, law enforcement, and national security leaders and organizations representing diverse citizens of the United States and areas of expertise are concerned about hearings which appear to target the American Muslim community: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that--
- (1) investigations into radicalization in the United States should focus on the criminal behavior of individuals and avoid creating the impression of unconstitutional profiling based on constitutionally protected beliefs and activities; and
- (2) the Federal Government should take steps to counter the growth in anti-Muslim sentiments, targeted rhetorical attacks, and violence against the Muslim, Arab, Sikh, and South Asian American communities.
Cain continues walk-back of muslim comments
May 27: In less than two weeks, former Godfather's Pizza chief executive Herman Cain will return to Iowa as a participant in a religious conservative group's presidential lecture series. For now, however, he is traveling the nation as a GOP presidential candidate and speaking with conservative-friendly media outlets in hopes of lessening the damage his remarks concerning Muslims have caused. On Tuesday, Cain appeared on out-going Fox News host Glenn Beck's radio program, and reiterated his belief that earlier comments he had made about Muslims had been "misconstrued." "I immediately said, without thinking, 'No, I would not be comfortable.' I did not say that I would not have [Muslims] in my cabinet. If you look at my career, I have hired good people regardless of race, religion, sex gender, orientation and this kind of thing." When Cain was approached by a Think Progress blogger in Des Moines following a late March Conservative Principles Conference, however, he was very clear. ... Would you be comfortable appointing a Muslim, either in your cabinet or as a federal judge? Cain: "No, I would not. And here's why. There is this creeping attempt, there is this attempted to gradually ease Sharia law and the Muslim faith into our government. It does not belong in our government ... . The question that was asked that 'raised some questions' and, as my grandfather said, 'I does not care, I feel the way I feel.' ... " (Iowa Independent)
Muslims, Jews find common cause on Calif, circumcision ban
May 30: In November, San Franciscans will vote on a ballot measure that would outlaw circumcision on boys under the age of 18. Although experts say it is highly unlikely the measure will pass -- very few state propositions pass, much less one this controversial -- the mere fact that it reached the ballot, and in such a major city, has caused much concern for Jews and their allies. Opponents of the bill see it as a violation of the Constitution's protection of religious rights and an infringement on physicians' ability to practice medicine. More than that, however, the measure is being seen as a frontal attack on a central tenet of Judaism. ... Locally, the San Francisco Jewish Community Relations Council organized a wide-ranging coalition of religious, medical, legal and political leaders to oppose the ballot measure. It was the first time that the Jewish community organized a formal counter effort because it was the first time that such a measure has made it to the ballot, according to Abby Porth, the JCRC's associate director and the force behind the Committee for Parental Choice and Religious Freedom. The fight against the San Francisco ballot measure has brought a number of Muslim organizations into the JCRC-led coalition, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Bay Area director Zahra Billoo notes that CAIR rarely finds itself on the same political side as groups such as the Orthodox Union. It's the assault on religious freedoms that brings the two together, Billoo said. "The civil rights of Jewish and Muslims are being impacted," she told JTA. "We don't agree on all things all the time, but we do find common cause in many areas. An attack on one religion is an attack on all religions." (JTA)
Robertson: Fighting Muslims Is Just Like Fighting Nazis
May 31: On the 700 Club today, Pat Robertson once again spoke out against American Muslims, singling out the construction of mosques and the purported threat of creeping Sharia law. Robertson likened critics of Muslims to opponents of Nazis and rejected claims that his opposition to rights for Muslims is bigotry, asking, "I wonder what were people who opposed the Nazis, were they bigots?" "Why is it bigoted to resist Adolf Hitler and the Nazis and to say we don't want to live under Nazi Germany?" Robertson said. "But oh it's bigoted if we speak out against a force that slowly but surely is trying to exercise domination over the world." (Rightwing Watch)
Arab and Muslim registry ends, but its effects remain
May 31: In the jittery months after the 9/11 attacks, the federal government created a program that required thousands of Arab and Muslim men to register with the authorities, in an effort to uncover terror links and immigration violations. After complaints that the practice, known as special registration, amounted to racial profiling, the Homeland Security Department scaled back the program in 2003, and ended it late last month, saying it "no longer provides a unique security value." But for Mohammed G. Azam, a 26-year-old Bangladeshi native who came to the United States when he was 9, its legacy lives on. When he registered in Manhattan in 2003, officials began deportation proceedings, and now, eight years and numerous hearings later, his case has outlasted the program. Mr. Azam is one of hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of people still caught in the program's net, immigration experts say. (New York Times)
Return to page one
2011 January February March April May June
July August Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
|
