News, April 18, 2009

Verse: Rally to a Good Cause

CAIR: Officials Asked to Repudiate NY Rep’s Anti-Muslim Remarks

CAIR Video: Michigan Islamic Group Says FBI Trying to Recruit Spies

CAIR Audio: Mich. Group Claims FBI Recruiting Muslim Spies

Michigan Muslims Request a Probe of FBI (Detroit News)

FL: Acquitted Muslim Vows to Fight Deportation (Tampa Trib)

MN: Ellison on Bachmann Imam Flap: ‘Psycho Talk’

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VERSE OF THE DAY: RALLY TO A GOOD CAUSE - TOP

“Whoever rallies to a good cause shall have a share in its blessings; and whoever rallies to an evil cause shall be answerable for his part in it.”

The Noble Quran, 4:85

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CAIR: OFFICIALS ASKED TO REPUDIATE NY REP’S ANTI-MUSLIM REMARKS - TOP

Rep. Peter King falsely states that ‘few Muslims come forward to cooperate with the police’

(NEW YORK, N.Y., 4/17/2009) - The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today called on American Muslims and all people of conscience to urge their elected representatives to repudiate Rep. Peter King’s (R-NY) bigoted response to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report released earlier this week about the rising threat of right-wing extremism.

In interview on MSNBC, Rep. King stated in part: “[Napolitano] has never put out a report talking about look out for mosques. Look out for Islamic terrorists in our country. Look out for the fact that very few Muslims come forward to cooperate with the police. If they sent out a report saying that, there would be hell to pay.”

SEE: Republican Rep. Peter King: DHS Should Be Targeting Mosques

“We urge elected representatives to distance themselves from King’s bigoted remarks,” said CAIR-NY Community Affairs Director Faiza N. Ali. “Sweeping generalizations about Muslims and mosques have no place in serious national security discourse.”

Ali said King's assertions are directly contradicted by FBI Director Robert Mueller, who on April 23, 2008,told theU.S. House Judiciary Committee: “And every opportunity I have, I re-affirm the fact that 99.9 percent of Muslim-Americans or Sikh-Americans, Arab-Americans are every bit as patriotic as anybody else in this room, and that many of our cases are a result of the cooperation from the Muslim community in the United States.”

At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on March 25, 2009, Director Mueller said the Muslim community “has been tremendously supportive and worked very closely with [the FBI] in a number of instances around the country.”

Ali said King has a long history of rhetorical hostility toward the American Muslim community. He has stated that there are “too many mosques in this country” and has endorsed racial and religious profiling.

SEE: King Endorses Ethnic Profiling

Ali also said: “Muslims will continue to work with law enforcement authorities to take proactive measures to keep our homeland both safe and free.”

She recently coauthored a critique, entitled “Counterterrorism Policy: MACLC’s Critique of the NYPD’s Report on Homegrown Radicalism,” as part of a New York-based Muslim coalition effort to provide a Muslim perspective on law enforcement strategy and decision-making. SEE: Muslim American Civil Liberties Coalition

Click here to watch the video.

The Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan is asking U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate complaints that claim the FBI is spying on Islamic leaders and congregations.

Last week, the organization sent a letter to Holder stating that members of the community have been approached and asked to monitor certain individuals attending mosque. Members say they also have been asked to monitor the donations made by those same individuals.

Dawud Walid, the executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations says complaints grew after the FBI reportedly planted an informant in a mosque in Southern California. (More)

SEE ALSO: CAIR AUDIO: MICH. GROUP CLAIMS FBI RECRUITING MUSLIM SPIES - TOP

Click here to listen to the audio.

--- MICHIGAN MUSLIMS REQUEST A PROBE OF FBI - TOP Feds after informants on local mosques, say members of coalition Gregg Krupa, Detroit News, 4/17/09

A coalition of Muslim organizations asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday to investigate complaints that the FBI is approaching local Muslims, asking them to inform on Islamic congregations in Metro Detroit.

Muslim leaders in Michigan and across the country say members of mosques are frequently asked to provide information about activities in their communities.

"We seek to ensure that our country is secure from all threats regardless of the source, but we take exception to community members being asked to spy on law-abiding Americans exercising the constitutional rights of freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of assembly," said Victor Ghalib Begg, chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan, a group that represents mosques and other Michigan Muslim organizations. (More)

----- MEGAHED VOWS TO FIGHT DEPORTATION - TOP Elaine Silvestrini, Tampa Tribune, 4/17/09

Youssef Megahed plans to fight "to the end" the government's efforts to deport him as a terrorist, his father said.

Megahed, who was born in Egypt but is a legal, permanent resident of the United States, was arrested by immigration agents April 6, three days after a federal jury acquitted him of criminal explosives charges.

In an e-mail Thursday to The Tampa Tribune, Samir Megahed described his son's account of an immigration court hearing Tuesday in Miami.

"It lasted for only a few minutes and the government asked the judge to delay the hearing for two weeks because they are not ready," Samir Megahed wrote.

He said the government's request surprised his son because "after two years of investigation, they still need more time to prepare for the case."

Youssef Megahed also asked for a delay to allow him to hire an attorney, and asked the judge to set bail. The judge said that could be considered at the hearing, Samir Megahed said.

Youssef Megahed was provided with a copy of his green card, which expires in 2017, and his application for U.S. citizenship, dated July 17, 2007, about three weeks before his Aug. 4, 2007, arrest in South Carolina. (More)

----- MN: ELLISON ON BACHMANN IMAM FLAP: ‘PSYCHO TALK’ - TOP Andy Birkey, Minnesota Independent, 4/16/09

bachmann2Rep. Keith Ellison responded to a statement made by Rep. Michele Bachmann last week, when she said the so-called “flying imams” visited Minneapolis in 2006 to attend his election victory party.

Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, appeared on the Ed Schultz Show on MSNBC to refute her claim.

“This is not true,” Ellison told Schultz. “I think it could even be called psycho talk.”

The segment Ellison appeared on was called “Psycho Talk.” Schultz said it was Bachmann’s second appearance since the show debuted less than two weeks ago.

Here’s the full clip.

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties group and has 35 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil liberties, and empower American Muslims.

CONTACT:

CAIR-NY Community Affairs Director Faiza N. Ali, 212-870-2002, 718-724-3041, fali@cair.com;

CAIR-NY Civil Rights Director Aliya Latif, 212-870-2002, 732-429-4268, alatif@cair.com;

CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726,

E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com;

CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787 or 202-341-4171,

 E-Mail: arubin@cair.com -----

CAIR VIDEO: MICHIGAN ISLAMIC GROUP SAYS FBI TRYING TO RECRUIT SPIES -