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Chronology of Islam in America (2014)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
May 2014 page two
Occupy activist Cecily McMillan sentenced to three months in prison
May 19: Cecily McMillan, the Occupy Wall Street activist, was sentenced to three months in prison and five years probation this morning after being found guilty of deliberately elbowing an officer in the face in March 2012. McMillan, 25, and her attorneys had argued that the elbowing occurred after Officer Grantley Bovell grabbed McMillan's breast from behind and she was simply reacting. After her arrest, McMillan appeared on Democracy Now, looking both shaken and bruised, including a bruise shaped like a handprint above her right breast. However, the prosecution accused McMillan of attacking Bovell, 35, as he walked her out of Zuccotti Park in March, 2012, and showed the jury grainy footage of the elbowing incident. The Manhattan jury apparently believed the prosecution's account and found McMillan guilty of second degree assault. But after her conviction, nine of the twelve jurors wrote a letter to the judge, urging leniency when they learned that McMillan could be sentenced to seven years behind bars. Pussy Riot and five City Council members also urged leniency in sentencing. Her conviction was the most serious of dozens against activists in the Occupy movement. It is also believed to be the last of the planned prosecutions. Asked if she felt cheated by the American justice system, McMillan laughed absolutely. [Alternet]
GOP Congressman: Limit right to vote to property owners
May 21: Recently unearthed footage of Rep. Ted Yoho speaking at Berean Baptist Church in Ocala, Florida, during his candidacy for Congress in the 2012 election cycle shows the Republican politician suggesting that only property owners should have the right to vote. “I’ve had some radical ideas about voting and it’s probably not a good time to tell them, but you used to have to be a property owner to vote,” he said to applause. He also called early voting through absentee ballots “a travesty” and hailed Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s move — since rescinded — to significantly reduce early voting from 14 days to eight, saying Scott’s plan didn’t go far enough. “I think it needs to be cut less than that,” he said. [Alternet]
Islamic group asks for new review of Ibragim Todashev shooting
May 22: The Florida chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations asked the Orange-Osceola State Attorney to reopen its investigation of the fatal shooting last year of Chechen immigrant Ibragim Todashev, friend of the slain Boston bombing suspect. CAIR officials complained that State Attorney Jeff Ashton did not interview the FBI agent who killed Todashev, 27, or look into the agent's "history of physical abuse and evidence falsification." Last week, CAIR told Ashton that the FBI agent was a former Oakland, Calif., police officer "with a questionable history, which includes allegations of falsifying documents and abuse of suspects and witnesses." The U.S. Department of Justice and Ashton in March released separate reports that concluded the agent was justified when he killed Todashev in May 2013. The shooting happened at an Orlando condominium where Todashev lived. [Orlando Sentinel]
Muslims concerned about Schools' use of OKC bombing conspiracy film
May 23: An Oklahoma Muslim group asked Jenks Public Schools officials to get rid of a film shown to a ninth-grade history class suggesting that Islamic terrorists could have been behind the Oklahoma City bombing. The History Channel film, “Conspiracy: Oklahoma City Bombing,” examines a variety of conspiracy theories about the 1995 Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing, which killed 168 people. “No student should be made to feel unwelcome in an Oklahoma classroom through the promotion of such conspiracy theories ,” Adam Soltani, executive director of the Oklahoma Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said. “Showing a conspiracy-based film that misdirects the blame for one of the most tragic events in our state’s history only serves to create confusion and will lead to the spread of misinformation and hostility toward students of Middle Eastern and Muslim background,” he said. [Tulsa World]
Muslim donor becomes an issue in Dallas House race
May 24: A candidate for a House seat in Ellis County is raising questions about one of his opponent’s donors because the donor is a Muslim. T.J. Fabby, a small-business owner from Red Oak, said that voters should be aware that Ali Sharaf, a wealthy North Texas businessman and donor to several Republican candidates, is backing opponent John Wray, a former Waxahachie mayor. “Here we have a espoused believer of Islam that’s not just backing a little bit of money, but lots of money to these politicians,” Fabby said. “It’s something that people need to be made aware of.” Wray has received $5,000 in campaign contributions from Sharaf, who owns Victron Energy and the Texas Best Smokehouse franchise. He defended the donor as “a respected local businessman.” [Dallas News]
Negative views on Muslims in EU
May 30: Many people in the seven European Union nations surveyed express negative views about minority groups in their country, according to Pew Research published on May 12. In particular, negative attitudes toward Roma (sometimes also known as Gypsies) are common, while many also give Muslims unfavourable ratings. At least half of those surveyed in Italy, Greece and Poland say they have a negative opinion of the Muslims who live in their country. Public opinion is divided on this question in Spain, while in Germany and the UK a majority says they have positive views of Muslims. The most favourable ratings are registered in France (72% favourable), which among the seven nations surveyed has the highest percentage of Muslims in the national population. As is the case with attitudes toward Roma, views about Muslims are tied to ideology. While 47% of Germans on the political right give Muslims an unfavourable rating, just 20% on the left do so. The gap between left and right is also more than 20 percentage points in France, Italy and Greece. And significant differences are found in Spain and the UK as well. Attitudes are also linked to age, with negative sentiments more pervasive among older respondents. In Spain, about half of those age 50 and older (51%) give Muslims in their country an unfavourable rating; only a third of people under age 30 say the same. Significant differences between people 50 and older and 18- to 29-year-olds are also found in France (a gap of 12 percentage points), Germany (13 points), Italy (12 points) and the UK (9 points). [The Muslim News UK]
Muslim Advocate report exposes online anti-Muslim hate
May 30: A leading American advocacy group has exposed the rise of online anti-Muslim sites and produced a report to help American Muslims counter the “rapid” rise of Islamophobic material online. In its report Muslim Advocates (MA) explains the law and corporate policies that regulate content on the internet with the aim of “empowering individuals with the tools necessary to effectively respond to hate online.” In a statement to The Muslim News MA Staff Attorney and lead author of ‘Click Here to End Hate: Anti-Muslim Bigotry Online & How to Take Action’ Madihha Ahussain, said: “Online bigotry towards American Muslims continues to be a serious issue, particularly in the last few years where we’ve seen hate groups, anti-Muslim proponents, and public officials use varioussocial media platforms to spread hate. Their voices are amplified on the internet and help create a space for the American public to echo these sentiments of hate and engage in acts of violence against an entire group or community. People often think that there is nothing they can do to respond, but the reality is that their voices can be a powerful antidote to hate speech.” Using anti-Muslim blogger Pamella Gellar to illustrate the level of support garnered using the internet, MA said Gellar, who was barred from entering the UK in 2013 for her hate speeches, had 19 thousand followers on Facebook in June 2013 a year later she has over 78 thousand. [The Muslim News UK]
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