Muslim American News Briefs, May 3, 2010

Muslim American News Briefs

May 3, 2010

Hadith: No Racism Allowed in Islam CAIR: Anti-Islam Va. Driver is White Supremacist (Wash Post)

Video: 'Draw Muhammad' Cartoonist Apologizes to Muslims

Muslim-Bashers Battle Each Other (Loon Watch)

CAIR-CAN: Canadian Muslim Community Centre Sign Defaced

Canadian Mosque Site Defaced with Hate Graffiti

Video: CAIR-MI Releases 911 Tape of Imam's Shooting

NY: Terror Case Bias Alleged (Hearst)

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HADITH OF THE DAY: NO RACISM ALLOWED IN ISLAM - TOP

The following is an excerpt from the last sermon of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He delivered this sermon during his last pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj), only months before he passed away in 632 AD (10 AH).

"All humankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab. Also, a white person has no superiority over a black person, nor does someone who is black have any superiority over someone who is white -- except by piety and good action...

Abu Dharr said the Prophet told him: "You are not better than people (of other races) unless you excel them in piety."

Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1361

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RACING OR RACIST: DOES FACEBOOK REVEAL VA. DRIVER'S TRUE COLORS? - TOP Brigid Schulte, Washington Post, 4/30/10

The saga of the Virginia license plate that is either a white supremacist message or a tribute to NASCAR continues ...

After I wrote a story last Thursday about local motorists and a Muslim group complaining about a license plate on a Chantilly man's pick-up truck, the driver of the truck, Douglas Story, 46, sent me an email arguing that the license plate -- 14CV88 -- had nothing to do with racism, but rather his love of NASCAR.

The numbers 14 and 88 referred to his two favorite NASCAR drivers, he said, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. The number 14 did not refer, as others had complained, to the late white supremacist David Lane's 14-word motto: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for our white children." Nor, Story said, did the number 88 refer, as the complainants argued, to "Heil Hitler" (H is the eighth letter of the alphabet).

"Prior to this incident, I’d never even heard of David Lane," Story told me Thursday. Lane founded the white supremacist group The Order and was sentenced to 190 years in prison on racketeering and civil rights violations stemming from the murder of Denver radio talk show host Alan Berg.

Story's explanation appeared in Thursday's Post.

And now, as the late Paul Harvey would say, for the rest of the story.

Readers have been emailing me with links to Story's Facebook profile and comments he's left on some Facebook pages.

According to Story's profile, his favorite book is by David Duke. He likes to listen to White Power Metal. Under his Contact Info, he links to the New Saxons website, which advertises itself as "An online community for whites by whites." A web banner for the National Socialist Movement emblazoned with a Nazi swastika marches across the top of the page.

Here is one of Story's posts on Facebook's "Band of Heroes" gaming page:

No folks, the "Holocaust" is really the Gentiles' jew masters pulling the wool over our eyes, the "holocaust", or rather, the HOLOHOAX is just that, A HOAX!!! Never happened, and I refuse to fight in this game "Band of Heroes" for the interests of jews (Germany NEVER attacked the US, so we had NO business in the European theater of Operations). I will, however, fight those sneaky, Pearl Harbor bombing jap bastards (like my Granddaddy did in the Philippines).

Arguing that his license plate was purely about NASCAR and had nothing to do with race, Story told me that he had a Jewish sister-in-law and had attended his niece's bat mitzvah. He denied being anti-Semitic.

But here's how he describes himself on Facebook:

"100% WHITE MAN, 100% ARYAN, 100% PRO-LIFE (Children are innocent), 100% PRO DEATH PENALTY (Criminal Scum aren't innocent). Over the past 28 years; I, like David Duke, have had an Awakening."

Note to self: In these days of social media, Twitter and personal oversharing on the web, always check Facebook...

When I called Story to ask about the Facebook page, he continued to maintain that his license plate message had nothing to with racism. He stuck by his NASCAR story. "Southern white men. Southern white sport. What else needs to be said?" he said.

Story acknowledged that he thinks of himself as 100 percent Aryan. "Aryan is a Sanskrit word that means noble," he said, "no matter what spin the liberal media tries to put on it as being a racist, hate word."

He said he is an admirer of David Duke, who, he said was "reamed by the media because of his Klan affiliations." "I am a white nationalist," Story said. "I am in favor of the whites having their own homeland." When I asked him where that homeland would be, he said he didn't know. "The Pacific Northwest maybe. Alaska. Denmark. Greenland. Iceland."

I asked if he really thought that the Holocaust was a hoax. "I don't know what to think," he said.

I also called Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, who had sent the Virginia DMV a letter complaining about the plate last week...

"We'd like to extend an invitation for him to come to CAIR and meet with regular Muslims to clear up some of his misperceptions about Islam," Hooper said. "And because he clearly also has misperceptions about people of other colors and our staff is very diverse, we may be able to clear up some of those as well."

Story said he wasn't interested. (More)

SEE ALSO:

APOLOGETIC 'DRAW MUHAMMAD' CARTOONIST URGES 'DRAW AL GORE' INSTEAD - TOP Michael Cavna, Washington Post, 4/30/10

Molly Norris, the Seattle artist who drew and circulated an "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!" cartoon to support "South Park's" censored creators, not only has distanced herself from the viral campaign her work spawned. Now she also playfully prefers a different campaign:

"Everybody Draw Al Gore Day."

In a new video posted on her website, Norris -- who draws for Seattle's City Arts magazine -- addresses the sensation that arose around her cartoon last week, and conveys her surprise at what a large national nerve her cartoon struck. (As she told Comic Riffs last week: "I made a cartoon that went viral but [this campaign] isn't really my thing.")

Norris makes a point to apologize to "everyone of the Muslim faith who has or will be offended" by her cartoon and supports calling off "Everyone Draw Mohammed Day," which was set for May 20. She also urges America's Muslims and non-Muslims to come together -- to meet "halfway."

In a lighter turn, Norris reaches out to the "South Park" creators she supported, saying: "I could use a little support from you guys." Norris had dedicated the "Mohammed" cartoon to show creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, who say Comedy Central edited their work and censored attempts to depict Muhammad. (More)

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THE GREAT BLOG WARS: ANDREW BOSTOM VS. ROBERT SPENCER - TOP Loonwatch.com, 4/30/10

Wow. How the mighty have fallen. It might be too early to call it the end but it looks like ex-booze buddies Andrew Bostom and Robert Spencer are at each others throats. Bostom is accusing Spencer of plagiarism, and Spencer is replying that he is "miffed" by the accusation.

The sorry fact is that both of them plagiarize from Orientalists who have made the same arguments and presented the same research centuries ago. (More)

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SOUTH NEPEAN MUSLIM COMMUNITY CENTRE SIGN DEFACED - TOP (Ottawa, Canada – April 30th, 2010) - The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) has strongly condemned the defacement of a sign marking the future location of the South Nepean Muslim Community Centre in Barrhaven, Ottawa. Offensive words, phrases, and symbols were sprayed in red and black paint on the sign and were discovered early this morning by local residents. The incident has been reported to local Police. CAIR-CAN calls on the Ottawa Police to ensure that this incident is investigated swiftly and that the perpetrators are brought to justice.

In a statement released today, CAIR-CAN said:

"Such acts are offensive, hurtful and intimidating to local citizens. Unfortunately, there have been several such incidents reported to CAIR-CAN in the last 4 months. Mosques in Hamilton, Calgary, and Waterloo were vandalized and hate messages were spray-painted outside a mosque in Pickering earlier this week,” said Ihsaan Gardee, CAIR-CAN Executive Director.

“While the recurrence of such incidents is deeply disturbing, CAIR-CAN does not believe that such acts represent the sentiments of the vast majority of Canadians, which is why we ask our fellow citizens to join us in condemning this and all such incidents.”

“CAIR-CAN urges mosque officials and community members to remain vigilant and to immediately document and report suspicious behaviour to the proper authorities, and to CAIR-CAN, in order to establish a clear record of such incidents.”

See photos here & here.

CAIR-CAN is a national, non-profit, grassroots organization striving to be a leading voice that enriches Canadian society through Muslim civic engagement and the promotion of human rights.

CONTACT: Ihsaan Gardee, CAIR-CAN Executive Director, 613.254.9704; 613.853.4111