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Islamophobia still has its place at CPAC

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 19:34:00 +0000

Though, for the most part, the fringiest conservatives were shut out of CPAC this year, one unofficial panel hosted by Breitbart.com did not disappoint, bringing out "The Uninvited" anti-Islam activists for a panel on national security. Speaking to a packed room, Pamela Geller, Frank Gaffney, and former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, talked of the Muslim Brotherhood's infiltration of America, and, more imminently, of the CPAC conference.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, who introduced the panel on Saturday and called the speakers "the world experts on global jihad," bemoaned that the FBI has “scrubbed out” derogatory references to Islam or Muslims because their Muslim advisers told them they had to. He also couldn't pass up the opportunity to talk illegal immigrants, who he called "undocumented Democrats."

Former Bush Attorney General Michael Mukasey warned of Islam's "need to impose sharia on the world," noting that "there has been a systematic purging of references to Islamism, lest offense be given to Muslims." And where is the government finding out what will give offense to Muslims, Mukasey asked. From groups like CAIR and ISNA, "both of which are branches of the Muslim Brotherhood."

Pam Geller shouts down Orly Taitz at CPAC panel

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 19:07:00 +0000

During a panel on Islam and national security by CPAC's "Uninvited" anti-Islam activists, birther queen Orly Tatiz interrupted the question and answer session by repeatedly asking about President Obama's birth certificate, and demanding that the panel explain why it wasn't addressing the topic.

"I think there's enough substance on this panel, I mean how many topics can you handle," Pamela Geller, the blogger for Atlas Shrugged, shot back. "Inappropriate. really."

"We are not a birther site," the moderator, from Breitbart.com, told Taitz before she was shushed by the crowd. She left the room shortly after.

Here's the video, by Salon's Alex Seitz-Wald:

Anti-Islam writer “infiltrates” Muslim conference, finds it “innocuous”

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:15:00 +0000

Mark Tapson, a writer for the conservative and anti-Islam FrontPage Magazine, detailed how his secret infiltration of the Muslim Student Association’s yearly West Coast conference did not yield the expected results. "It was largely very innocuous. I mean, there was nothing beyond what I’ve already told you, really. There was very little that you’d consider radical. Highly politicized, yes, but nothing damning," Tapson said.

Miranda Blue from Right Wing Watch reports that Tapson was speaking on Janet Mefferd's radio show, and was disappointed that after going so far as to use a "variation" of his name to get into the conference, there was nothing too nefarious to report, even at the apparently tantalizingly named panel “Islamatics."

But, he stipulated, this is all part of the plan. Mefferd noted "that for the Muslim Brotherhood front groups that organized this thing, it serves as a very successful recruitment and radicalization tool. Is that really, at root, the reason for the conference, or at least a primary reason for the conference ...?"

Tapson agreed:

Florida advances Sharia ban

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 15:58:00 +0000

Florida is once again mulling a ban on sharia law, this time passing a bill out of the state's Senate Judiciary Committee that would prevent courts from considering "foreign law" when handing down legal decisions.

From the Miami Herald:

The bill, SB 58, bans courts or other legal authorities from using religious or foreign law as a part of a legal decision or contract relating to family law. Florida law would supercede foreign law regarding divorce, alimony, the division of marital assets, child support and child custody. The bill is ready to be heard on the House floor but it has more committee stops in the Senate. Last year, the bill passed the House but died in the Senate.

Woman charged with hate crime over subway shove death

Sun, 30 Dec 2012 14:19:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) -- A woman who told police she shoved a man to his death off a subway platform into the path of a train because she has hated Muslims since Sept. 11 and thought he was one was charged Saturday with murder as a hate crime, prosecutors said.

Erika Menendez was charged in the death of Sunando Sen, who was crushed by a 7 train in Queens on Thursday night, the second time this month a commuter has died in such a nightmarish fashion.

Menendez, 31, was awaiting arraignment on the charge Saturday evening, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said. She could face 25 years to life in prison if convicted. She was in custody and couldn't be reached for comment, and it was unclear if she had an attorney.

Menendez, who was arrested after a tip by a passer-by who saw her on a street and thought she looked like the woman in a surveillance video released by police, admitted shoving Sen, who was pushed from behind, authorities said.

"I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I've been beating them up," Menendez told police, according to the district attorney's office.

Court says Michigan can ban anti-Islam bus ads

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 19:54:00 +0000

A Sixth Circuit Appeals Court ruled that a transit authority in Michigan can ban anti-Islam bus ads because of a previous policy banning all political ads, though the ban must remain “reasonable and viewpoint neutral."

Anti-Islam blogger Pamela Geller and her group the American Freedom Defense Initiative initially tried to get the ad in question on buses in southeastern Michigan in 2010. The ad reads: “Fatwa on your head? Is your family or community threatening you? Leaving Islam? Got Questions? Get Answers! RefugefromIslam.com.”

The Michigan transit authority, called the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation, or SMART, refused to run the ads, citing a policy that prohibited political ads and ads with offensive speech.

From the Wall Street Journal:

The 10 most Islamophobic moments in the 2012 elections

Sat, 20 Oct 2012 19:00:00 +0000

When we're all proven wrong and living in a bacon-less hellscape of Shariah law ruled by the iron fist of Mullah Obama, we can't say we weren't warned. According to the right-wing fringe, racism is dead -- but long live Islamophobia, for there is jihad in every mosque and we must be vigilant.

But Islamophobia -- even from elected officials -- is still dramatically undercovered by the media. So you might easily have missed some of these 10 most disgraceful examples of bigotry, ignorance and hate -- from obscure county parties to the halls of Congress -- during an election cycle with plenty to go around:

10. Allen West is Allen West -- Florida Rep. Allen West is known for making inflammatory statements about pretty much everyone, but he has particularly targeted Muslims. This cycle alone, he’s commemorated 9/11 by screening an anti-Islamic film, said that Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison “really does represent the antithesis of the principles upon which this country was established," and another time theorized that “George Bush got snookered into going into some mosque, taking his shoes off, and then saying that Islam was a religion of peace.”

Dem representative apologizes for calling opponent “lowlife scumbag”

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 15:55:00 +0000

Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., apologized for referring to his Republican election opponent Chris Fields as a "low-life scumbag" in their debate this morning.

The Minneapolis City Pages reports that during the debate, things got so heated that the radio network carrying the debate "temporarily put on hold" and cut away. From Aaron Rupar at the City Pages:

"The highlight came about halfway through the debate when Fields accused Ellison of raising money to research Fields personal life. Earlier this month, City Pages reported on a restraining order Fields' ex-wife filed against him back in 2006, though it's unclear who paid for the research that dug up the court filing. Ellison, who accused Fields of lying repeatedly throughout the debate, took particular umbrage with the you-spent-money-to-get-dirt-on-me accusation and went into meltdown mode.

'You're really stupid for bringing up the domestic violence," Ellison said. 'You're a scumbag. You're a lowlife scumbag.'"

"I look forward to your concession speech, sir," Ellison also said.

Ellison said in a statement that his comments were "uncivil" and "over the line," though he stipulated that Fields' comments were "over the line" as well.

Suspect charged in Toledo mosque arson

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 14:48:00 +0000

Federal hate crime charges were filed today in Ohio against an Indiana man, Randolph Linn, who is a suspect in last weekend’s arson fire that heavily damaged the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo.

Linn was charged with intentionally defacing, damaging and destroying religious property, and with using fire and explosives to commit a felony, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced.

“The Department of Justice will aggressively prosecute persons who attack, deface, or damage houses of worship because of racial or religious animus,” said Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.

A security camera image and a woman who recognized and identified the suspect played key roles in the case, officials say.

Law enforcement officials released still photos of the surveillance video to the media on October 1.

Anti-Muslim attacks continue

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 17:21:00 +0000

Muslims and their places of worship “are clearly under attack,” says the president of one of the country’s largest mosques, which was heavily damaged four days ago in an arson fire.

“We’re actually reeling in disbelief,” Dr. Mahjabeen Islam, president of the Islamic Center of Toledo in Ohio, told Hatewatch today in describing the devastation caused by a fire deliberately set in the mosque’s prayer area on Sunday afternoon, just minutes after worshippers had left the building.

“This is a hate crime,” said Islam. The mosque she heads is the third largest in the United States, a 70,000-square foot landmark, visible for miles, with 3,000 members who will celebrate the center’s 32nd anniversary on Friday.

The fire and water damage from sprinklers touched every room in the Islamic Center, causing an estimated $1 million to $1.5 million in damages. Repairs will take an estimated six months.

A suspect in the arson, whose image was captured on surveillance cameras, was arrested Tuesday in neighboring Indiana. On Wednesday, Randy T. Linn, a 52-year-old truck driver from St. Joe, Ind., was charged in Perrysburg, Ohio, Municipal Court with two counts of aggravated arson, aggravated burglary, and carrying a concealed weapon, the Toledo Blade reported in today’s editions.

“It was a very symbolic fire, we believe, in that it was started in the center of the prayer area right under the dome,” Islam said.

In August, during Ramadan, an anonymous, threatening letter was sent to the mosque with the word “stopped” written in Arabic.

“Never in our wildest dreams did we believe something like this would happen to us,” Islam said. “We are clearly under attack. If our mosque had not been made of brick and concrete, it would have burned to the ground.”

The fire also damaged and shut down classrooms of the Islamic School of Greater Toledo, a K-5 elementary school at the center. Those children are now attending classes at a nearby community college.

The FBI is investigating the arson, and federal hate crime charges may be forthcoming, Hatewatch has learned.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, says the arson is the latest in a notable spike in anti-Islamic hate crimes. CAIR released a report last month detailing the increase in attacks against Muslims and mosques.

During Ramadan, which started on July 20 and ended at sundown on Aug. 18, there was “one of the worst spikes of anti-Muslim incidents in over a decade,” the CAIR report says.

In the first seven months of this year, there were 10 incidents in which Muslim places of worship were targeted. During 13 days in August, Muslim places of worship were targeted eight more times, the CAIR report said.

“We do feel this is part of an overall trend of attacks on mosques and not an isolated incident,” Julia Shearson, CAIR’s director for Northern Ohio, told Hatewatch.

“We believe there a climate that’s been created in the political sphere and the far-right media blogosphere that gives a green light to extremists to act out and commit hate crimes against religious institutions and their members,” she said.

"I don’t think we’ve seen this kind of intolerance toward religious minorities since before the civil rights movement.”

The CAIR official said civic and political leaders should consider convening a national summit on religious intolerance. “For some reason, it’s really been allowed to fester,” she said.

The growing list of anti-Islamic crimes includes the unsolved arson fire of another mosque in Joplin, Mo., that burned to the ground on Aug. 6. In Illinois, shots were fired at a mosque in Morton Grove, and an acid bomb was thrown at an Islamic school in Lombard. In Oklahoma, vandals fired paint balls at a mosque. In California, pigs’ legs were thrown at a mosque. In Panama City, Fla., a firebomb damaged a Muslim family’s home.

Sometimes, it appears, hate crimes have been directed at victims the perpetrators may have mistakenly believed were Muslims, when in fact they were members of another religious faith.

On Aug. 5, six members of a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee were gunned down by neo-Nazi skinhead Wade Michael Page, who belonged to a racist white-power band.

Also during this year’s Ramadan, an Arab Christian church in Detroit was vandalized.

Pro-tolerance subway ads to hang near anti-Islam posters

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 23:00:00 +0000

In response to the Islamophobic ads, which went up around New York subway stations last week, two religious groups (one Jewish, one Christian) are taking out ads to urge tolerance.

The original anti-Islam ad read, "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad." The posters from the Jewish group Rabbis for Human Rights will directly counter this message with the slogan, "In the choice between love and hate, choose love. Help stop bigotry against our Muslim neighbors."

The New York Times reported Thursday:

Journalist arrested for defacing anti-Islam ad

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 15:23:00 +0000

Egyptian-American writer and activist Mona Eltahawy was arrested in New York Tuesday morning for defacing one of the anti-Islam subway ads that went up in 10 stations this week.

The controversial pro-Israel ads, sponsored by Islamophobic blogger Pamela Geller, equate Muslims with "savages." As Salon noted yesterday, anonymous New Yorkers have already made a point of defacing a number of the posters around the city.

A pink coat-clad Eltahawy, who had two arms broken by Egyptian police when covering a protest in Cairo last year, began spraying the offending poster with hot pink spray paint. As she did, another women carrying a camera accosted her and stood in front of the poster, decrying Eltahawy for undermining freedom of expression.

"This is freedom of expression," retorted Eltahawy, as she continued to spray the ad, even while the other woman -- later identified as Pamela Geller supporter Pamel Hall -- placed her body in front of the poster to protect it.

Anti-Islam ‘savage’ ad set for subway

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:34:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — A provocative ad that equates Muslim radicals with savages is set to go up in the city's subway system as violent protests over an anti-Islamic film ridiculing the Prophet Muhammad sweep over much of the Muslim world.

A conservative blogger who once headed a campaign against an Islamic center near the Sept. 11 terror attack site won a court order to post the ad in 10 subway stations next Monday. The ad reads, "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad."

The ad was plastered on San Francisco city buses in recent weeks, prompting some artists to deface the ads and remove some of the words, including "Jihad," or holy war. The blogger, Pamela Geller, said she filed suit Thursday in the nation's capital to post the ad in Washington's transit system after officials declined to put up the ad in light of the uproar in the Middle East over the anti-Islam film.

Abdul Yasar, a New York subway rider who considers himself an observant Muslim, said Geller's ad was insensitive in an unsettling climate for Muslims.

"If you don't want to see what happened in Libya and Egypt after the video — maybe not so strong here in America — you shouldn't put this up," Yasar said.

Judge denies request to stop anti-Muslim film clip

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 19:11:00 +0000

A judge on Thursday denied a request seeking to force YouTube to remove an anti-Muslim film trailer that has been blamed for causing deadly violence in the Muslim World.

Judge Luis Lavin rejected the request from Cindy Lee Garcia, an actress who appears in the clip, in part because the man behind the film wasn't served with a copy of the lawsuit.

Garcia has said she and her family have been threatened and her career damaged since the 14-minute trailer for "Innocence of Muslims" surfaced.

"Emotionally, I am very disturbed," Garcia said before heading into court Thursday.

"My whole life has been turned upside down in every aspect," she added. "My family has been threatened."

Garcia said she was duped by the man behind the clip and that the script she saw referenced neither Muslims nor Prophet Muhammad. She said she was shocked when she finally saw the end result.

"I think it's demoralizing, degrading," she said of the film. "I think it needs to come off."

On Wednesday, Garcia filed a lawsuit for fraud and slander against Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the man behind "Innocence of Muslims" who has gone into hiding since the trailer rose to prominence last week.