Muslim American News Briefs, August 30, 2010: Hysterical Islamophobia Continues

(NEW YORK, NY, 8/27/10) -- The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today called recent comments about Muslims by New York Governor David Paterson "grossly misinformed."

In remarks about the developers of the planned Park51 community center in Manhattan, Paterson said: "This group who has put this mosque together, they are known as the Sufi Muslims. This is not like the Shiites. . .They're almost like a hybrid, almost westernized. They are not really what I would classify in the sort of mainland Muslim practice."

SEE: Paterson: Mosque Developers ‘Hybrid, Almost Westernized' Muslims

"For the governor to draw a comparison between Muslims and to make comments that are grounded in nothing but ignorance is abhorrent. Shi'a Muslims work hard, live their lives in a lawful fashion and are as much American as anyone else," Syed Meesam Razvi, representative to ECOSOC of United Nations, Al-Khoei Foundation.

"Governor Paterson's comments are grossly misinformed and will be used to support the false notion that mainstream Muslims are somehow incapable of being productive citizens," said CAIR-NY's Community Affairs Director Faiza N. Ali. "Responsible leaders should refrain from mainstreaming misinformation about Islam and instead reach out to the Muslim community and its leaders. Of particular concern is the governor's derogatory description of Shia Muslims."

She urged Governor Paterson to sit down with representatives of the state's Muslim community to discuss the anti-Islam hysteria generated by the Park51 controversy.

Ali also reiterated CAIR-NY's request that the governor repudiate any insinuation of collective guilt by standing up for the right of Muslim New Yorkers to build a house of worship anywhere in the state.

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties group. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CONTACT: CAIR-NY Community Affairs Director Faiza N. Ali, 212-870-2002, 718-724-3041, E-Mail: fali@cair.com; CAIR-NY Civil Rights Director Aliya Latif, 212-870-2002, 732-429-4268, E-Mail: 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, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

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AMERICA'S TROUBLE WITH ISLAM - TOP Reuters, 8/27/10

Of the many posters held aloft in angry demonstrations about plans for an Islamic cultural centre and mosque in New York, one in particular is worth noting: "All I ever need to know about Islam, I learned on 9/11."

As an example of wilful ignorance, it's in a class by itself. It passes judgment, in just 12 words, about a sprawling universe of 1.3 billion adherents of Islam (in 57 countries around the world) who come from different cultures, speak a wide variety of languages, follow different customs, hold different nationalities and believe in different interpretations of their faith, just like Christians or Jews. Suicidal murderers are a destructive but tiny minority. . .

THE ISLAMOPHOBIA MACHINE

Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic relations, thinks the noise level of anti-Muslim statements has risen because the Tea Party movement has attracted Americans "more ready to speak out" than traditional political outlets. But at the core of the often ugly debate is what he calls "the Islamophobia machine – right-wing bloggers on the Internet, talk radio, and opinion columns in conservative newspapers." (More)

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VIDEO: RACHEL MADDOW TAKES ON ANTI-ISLAM FEAR-MONGERS - TOP MSNBC, 8/26/10

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THE DAILY SHOW MOCKS ISLAMOPHOBIA - TOP The Daily Show, 8/25/10

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VIDEO: CAIR REP DISCUSSES GROWING ISLAMOPHOBIA WITH CHRIS MATTHEWS ON 'HARDBALL' - TOP Hardball with Chris Matthews, 8/26/10

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CAIR-NY VIDEO: MUSLIM TAXI STABBING VICTIM MEETS WITH MAYOR BLOOMBERG - TOP ABC 7, 8/26/10

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MSNBC: AHMED REHAB DISCUSSES STABBING OF CAB DRIVER IN NYC AND ANTI-MUSLIM PROPOGANDA - TOP MSNBC, 8/27/10

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CAIR: IS PRESIDENT OBAMA A MUSLIM? - TOP By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes, 8/27/10

No matter what President Barack Obama does to profess his faith as a Christian, an increasing number of people believe he is a Muslim.

A recent poll by the Pew Research Center found that nearly 20 percent of respondents believe Obama is a Muslim, marking a significant increase since last year. .

The Rumor Doctor then contacted Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. As a Muslim, Hooper was pretty confident in saying that Obama is not a Muslim.

"Why would we have any reason to doubt him?" he said.

But Hooper resents the idea that this rumor is being spread to discredit the president. While a minority of Americans equates Islam with terrorism, he said, the word "Muslim" has become a political pejorative.

"With so many people seeking to smear the president, that's just one alleged smear that they have at their disposal," Hooper said. (More)

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CAIR-MI: WARREN MUSLIMS SHAKEN AFTER TEEN THROWS BOTTLE DURING PRAYERS - TOP By Oralandar Brand-Williams, The Detroit News, 8/26/10

Warren -- An imam says he is beefing up security at his mosque after a teenager hurled a glass bottle into its parking lot during nightly Ramadan prayers Tuesday.

Imam Steve Mustapha Elturk says the no one was hurt, but the incident has shaken the congregation of the Islamic Organization of North America on Ryan Road near 12 Mile. The mosque is considering contacting police or the FBI, but hasn't done so yet. . .

On Thursday, the Michigan office of the Muslim civil rights group Council on American-Islamic Relations called on Michigan mosques to "step up security during nightly Ramadan programs and Friday sermons in the wake of a recent nationwide surge of Islamophobia."

"We advise all Islamic centers in Michigan to increase security in parking lots and at mosque entrances," said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid in a press statement.

"We also call on Michigan politicians, civic leaders, and religious clergy of all faiths to respond to the growing anti-Muslim intolerance, which is sweeping America."

Walid told The Detroit News "it's really getting scary out here."

"We're just concerned," added Walid. "We're not forecasting something to happen here."(More)

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CAIR-NY: THE MOSQUE RAGE BOILS OVER: ANTI-MUSLIM ATTACKS INCREASING ACROSS US - TOP By Miral Sattar, Time, 8/26/10

As protests in downtown Manhattan over the "Ground Zero" Mosque have escalated, violent incidents involving Muslims have increased. Forget simmering debate; this is closer to a full boil.

Last night, a drunk man barged into a Queens mosque and shouted anti-Muslim slurs at the congregation during the nightly Tarawee prayers. He then proceeded to urinate on the prayer rugs and gave congregants the finger. Two men managed to subdue him and call 911.

The incident, which occurred at the Iman Mosque on Steinway Street in Astoria, is the latest in anti-Muslim incidents that are being reported across the US.

Faiza N. Ali, community affairs director for CAIR-NY (Council of American Islamic Relations) told NewsFeed that "The constant vilification of Islam and its adherents over the air on talk radio and peddled by some politicians is contributing to the rise in anti-Muslim sentiment across the country." The recent attacks, she says, are a "manifestation of hate and fear-mongering." (More)

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CAIR-NY: VICTIM OF ANTI-MUSLIM STABBING SPEAKS OUT - TOP Democracy Now, 8/27/10

The New York City taxi driver stabbed by a drunken passenger in an anti-Muslim attack has spoken out for the first time since the attack earlier this week. The victim, Ahmed Sharif, was slashed across his face, neck and hands after the suspect, Michael Enright, asked him several questions about his religion, including whether he's a Muslim and observing Ramadan. Speaking Thursday at City Hall, Sharif described the moment his neck was slashed.

Ahmed Sharif: "The knife was in front of my throat. When I go little bit back, this came right over there. If this one, if can put it here [pointing to his throat], I'm not supposed to be talk right now, I'm dead. So when the attack come from the back, it was a shock. Still I'm scared. I mean, still I have a view of the knife when I close my eye."

The attack on Sharif came amidst the ongoing hysteria over a proposed Islamic cultural center near New York's Ground Zero. Enright faces multiple charges including felony attempted murder as a hate crime. He's being held without bail. Aliya Latif of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said Enright should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Aliya Latif: "Indeed crimes motivated by racial and religious hatred implicate entire communities and, as such, demand our utmost attention. To that end, Mr. Sharif's case should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, to serve as both a legal deterrent and public repudiation of violent bigotry." (More)

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CAIR: IS NEW YORK CABBIE STABBING RESULT OF 'ANTI-MUSLIM HYSTERIA'? - TOP By Ron Scherer, Christian Science, Monitor, 8/26/10

In the wake of a knife attack on a Muslim New York City taxi driver, Islamic leaders are calling for an end to anti-Muslim rhetoric that many say has proliferated on talk radio and cable TV amid the heated debate over the planned Islamic center near ground zero.

Many prominent Muslim-American leaders say they are alarmed by what they deem "anti-Muslim hysteria" that could lead to violence and hate crimes.

"I have been working on behalf of other Muslims for more than 30 years and I have never see it like this, not even after the 9/11 attacks," says Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Washington.

Mr. Hooper blames the harshness of language toward Muslims not just on the heated protests over the Islamic center planned for a site 2-1/2 blocks from ground zero, but also on right-wing rabble rousing, continuing resentment over the election of Barack Obama, and the difficult economy.

"We've had a perfect storm for Islamophobia," Hooper says. (More)

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CAIR-NY: MUSLIM CAB DRIVERS PROTECTED IN NYC HATE CRIME LAW - TOP By Angela Wang, Epoch Times, 8/26/10

The government was urged to take measures to protect Islamic taxi drivers from hate crimes on Thursday at City Hall, where assaulted taxi driver Ahmed Sharif again met Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"This attack runs counter to everything that New Yorkers believe, no matter what God we may pray to," said Bloomberg on Wednesday, when he first met with Sharif. "I want to thank the men and women of the NYPD for their quick response in apprehending the suspect who was arrested and charged with attempted murder as a hate crime" . . .

Aliya Latif, Civil Rights director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said, "The vicious and deliberate attack on Mr. Sharif on account of his religion shocks the conscious." (More)

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CAIR-MI VIDEO: METRO DETROIT MOSQUES INCREASING SECURITY DURING RAMADAN - TOP

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There is great concern for local Muslims and local mosques during the religious period of Ramadan that ends September 9th.

A warning is going out about the importance of increased security in the parking lots of mosques, and dealing with strangers.

It's because of what's seen as a growing trend called "Islamophobia."

The Council on American Islamic Relations is telling local Muslims as they come and go from prayer to be extra careful, and to report anything suspicious.

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CAIR-OH VIDEO: LOCAL MUSLIMS FIGHTING BACKLASH FROM PLANNED NY MOSQUE - TOP

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Singled-out after 9/11, Muslims everywhere are coping with the backlash from a proposed mosque in New York.

Some in Northeast Ohio's religious community are now working to keep the fear from spreading.

This is the holiest time of year for the Muslim community, but Ramadan is being overshadowed by protests and violence, including the beating of a Muslim cab driver in New York after he allegedly revealed his religious beliefs to a passenger.

"As a Muslim who lives in America, who's part of the American life, I should have the freedom to practice my religion in any locale," said Shehadeh Abdelkarin from the Islamic Center of Cleveland. He is concerned for the first time since 9/11 about a rise in what some call 'Islamaphobia', or a growing anger towards Muslims. "At what point do you draw the line that a Mosque can be close to Ground Zero," asked Abdelkarin. "Is six blocks okay? Fifteen blocks? Another city?"

"I don't like it, I don't like it at all. I think it's wrong," said an unidentified Cleveland woman. "Because of what happened on 9/11, absolutely. I mean, they can put it around there, but not on that spot."

Most Americans agree, which worries religious leaders of all faiths who gathered on Thursday night for a traditional Muslim meal. "Everyone needs to be sensitive to the, people who are still grieving, I mean, you'd never get over 9/11. I think, for America it's very hard to get over that for all of us," said Julia Shearson from the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Shearson says as many as 200,000 Muslims live in Ohio and almost 70% are in the northern part of the state, where many say they've felt safe for years. "I'm really proud of the greater Cleveland area," said Shearson. "This has always been a very diverse environment, very rich with immigrants who've been here historically for hundreds of years."

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CAIR-CA VIDEO: MUSLIMS CONCERNED POSSIBLE 9/11 END TO RAMADAN COULD STOKE ANGER - TOP KTVU, 8/27/10

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CAIR: ANTI-MUSLIM BIAS, ABSENT AFTER 9/11, SURFACES IN NEW YORK - TOP By S. Mitra Kalita, Wall Street Journal, 8/26/10

Perhaps most remarkable about the furor over the proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero and the stabbing of a cab driver this week is that pervasive anti-Muslim sentiment in New York has taken nine years to surface.

In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, Muslims braced themselves. Some retreated, shuttering stores and newsstands. Others displayed flags prominently in their windows, and they symbolized the bearers' fear as much as their patriotism. Bigots, the thinking went, would surely see the red, white and blue and think twice about harassing a fellow countryman. . .

An analysis of 2008 civil rights incidents reported to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a nonprofit civil liberties and advocacy group, supports this idea. The three locations that saw the most incident reports? Washington, D.C., California and Illinois. New York comes in fourth, but its proportion was well behind the others. (More)

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