CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS - TOP
The growing controversy over military chaplains using the armed forces to spread the Word.
Kathryn Joyce, Newsweek, 6/19/09

Ever since former president George W. Bush referred to the war on terror as a “crusade” in the days after the September 11 attacks, many have charged that the United States was conducting a holy war, pitting a Christian America against the Muslim world.

That perception grew as prominent military leaders such as Lt. Gen. William Boykin described the wars in evangelical terms, casting the U.S. military as the "army of God."

Although President Obama addressed the Muslim world this month in an attempt to undo the Bush administration's legacy of militant Christian rhetoric that often antagonized Muslim countries, several recent stories have framed the issue as a wider problem of an evangelical military culture that sees spreading Christianity as part of its mission…

Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, says it's "counterproductive to the interests of our military to have officers or servicepeople proselytizing. It should be addressed at the highest levels of the military." Hooper says that while he can't say whether events such as these constitute a systematic problem in the military, "we've certainly seen enough incidents for it to be a concern." (More)

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CAIR-MI: JUDGE: CHRISTIAN GROUP CAN'T WALK WITH LITERATURE AT ARAB FESTIVAL IN MICHIGAN - TOP
David N. Goodman, Associated Press, 6/18/09

[…]

An official of the Council of American-Islamic Relations said Arabic Christian Perspective was asking for special treatment.

"They should abide by the rules and purchase a booth like the other religious groups," saidDawud Walid, executive director of the group's Michigan chapter. "Christians can talk about Christianity and Muslims can promote Islam. This is the right we have as Americans." (More)

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EVANGELICAL GROUP TO LINKED TO ANTI-MUSLIM PREACHER - TOP
Gustavo Arellano, OC Weekly, 6/18/09

I thought I recognized the name Arab Christian Perspectives when I read this Orange County Register story about how the group recently filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking access to proselytize outside an Arab festival in Dearborn, Michigan. In 2004, I did a story about Christians who tried to convince Muslims outside the Islamic Society of Orange County in Garden Grove to leave their faith and join Christ. Among the groups? The Arabic Christian Education Center in Anaheim, which hosted seminars under Arabic Christian Perspectives preaching the evils of Islam. (More)

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CAIR-NY: EDUCATION PANEL VOTES TO ADD 2 MUSLIM HOLIDAYS TO SCHOOL CALENDAR - TOP
Amisha Padnani, Staten Island Advance, 6/18/09

It's not easy having to choose between religion and education. Some would even say it's not fair.

But for those people whose religious holidays aren't recognized by the public school system, that's the choice they have to make.

Yesterday, the City Council's Education Committee advocated to eliminate that dilemma -- at least for Muslim families. The committee passed a resolution that would call upon the city Department of Education to incorporate two major Muslim holidays into the school calendar. The committee has also been pushing for the introduction of a state law that would require schools to close on those two days.

The 10-1 vote, with Councilman Oliver Koppell (D-Bronx) voting no, came with concerns from some council members that giving children two more days off would negatively impact their education. Some said they were voting in favor with the hope that the school calendar would be extended so students wouldn't lose out on classroom time. (More)

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WHO ARE THE GATEKEEPERS OF THE SOMALI COMMUNITY? - TOP
Farheen Hakeem, Star Tribune, 6/19/09

Omar Jamal, Executive Director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, is the go-to guy for media coverage of Somalis in Minnesota. But does he really speak for Minnesota’s Somali community?

Last week, Jamal participated in a protest accusing Minnesota’s only Muslim civil rights organization, the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) of impeding an investigation into the missing Somali youth. The protest was organized by Abdirizak Bihi, Jamal’s colleague and an uncle of Burhan Hassan, one of the missing Somali young men.

I, unfortunately, know Bihi all too well. When I ran for Mayor of Minneapolis, I caught Bihi, who was working for McLaughlin’s campaign, running around the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood telling Somalis not to vote for me because “she is a lesbian.” This didn’t damage my campaign because I actually received more votes. It did however completely kill my romantic life (don’t get me started). I know who I am so I could care less of others’ opinion of my sexuality, but I was appalled that Bihi would use hate toward the GLBT community to gain political power.

Not surprisingly, Bihi’s irresponsible tactics against the Somali community have also found their way into the media. In a WCCO interview, Bihi said, “They [Abuubakar Islamic Center] curse us [Burhan’s family]. Call us infidels, because simply we spoke up for our son…Now we can say yes, that they do have something to do with it because they're always acting out in a sinister way."

The FBI hasn’t indicted anyone in the disappearance of the missing men, yet Bihi offered conjecture and speculation that the mosque is involved. He also accused the mosque of a hit job on his nephew simply because he feels they are “always acting out in a sinister way.” The question is: where are the facts?

Bihi is, according to Somali community leaders that I know, not representing their views. The Somali community’s lack of engagement with the media allows Jamal and Bihi to run amok spewing allegations that only harm the Somali community. These self-proclaimed leaders cannot differentiate feelings and conjecture from facts. Their accusations are inconsistent and personal.

Jamal and Bihi alleged that CAIR-MN is ‘impeding the FBI’s investigation’ by informing the Somali community of their right to remain silent and have an attorney present when questioned by federal law enforcement. This attempt to intimidate and shame the Somalis into giving up their constitutional rights is atrocious. Having an attorney present to avoid unfair prosecution is reasonable and responsible behavior, especially for individuals who already fear law enforcement due to negative experiences they’ve had in their homeland.

According to a February 2009 Minnesota Public Radio story, “Rights groups say Somalis being stopped, questioned,” a CAIR-MN representative told the story of a Somali man stopped by agents while walking and invited into a car for questioning: "There was one agent sitting in the front seat and another agent in the back seat….he was bombarded with questions. He just answered "no" to everything. He was just so scared.”

Lying to federal law officials, even if you’re scared, is a felony. This man needed to invoke his right to remain silent and have an attorney present. It would ensure him to understand his rights, and to be comfortable to answer the questions truthfully. This process builds trust and nurtures Somalis to engage the greater community instead of hiding in fear. No one should be ashamed or ostracized for asking for an attorney, especially when it’s their constitutional right.

According to CAIR-MN’s publication, ‘Know Your Rights and Responsibilities as an American Muslim”: “American Muslims strongly support law enforcement and the protection of our national security…..If you know of any criminal activity taking place in your community, it is both your religious and civic duty to immediately report such activity to local and federal law enforcement agencies.”

CAIR-MN has been offering trainings in the Somali community long before the Somali youth disappeared. The trainings are offered by both Muslim and non-Muslim attorneys (including law professors). The information CAIR-MN is sharing with the community is no different than theinformation offered by the ACLU.

Bihi and Jamal definitely have a right to speak for themselves, but speaking for the thousands of Somalis in Minnesota will warrant questioning of their intent, credibility and integrity. They must be held accountable to their statements. The protest against the civil rights group received media coverage. The Star Tribune’s headline read, “Somalis take to the street to protest group's actions.” Did the protest really represent the Somali community?

According to a press conference the following Saturday, organized by over a dozen local Somali organizations, it did not. The Somali organization leaders asserted that the vast majority of the individuals protesting last week were the elderly with limited English skills. When approached by Somali leaders afterwards, they stated that they were told to protest against an “anti-Somali group.” When asked, most did not know the name of that group they were protesting. (More)

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NY: SUSPECTS’ FAMILIES SAY FBI SET TRAP FOR ACCUSED - TOP
Timothy O'Connor and Hoa Nguyen, Journal News, 6/19/09

Desperate for money and wooed by a man offering cash and favors, the men accused of trying to blow up two temples and other terrorist activities had little choice but to go along with the plot, the family of three of the four men said last night at a forum sponsored by supporters…

Last night, David Williams' mother and aunt, Cromitie's fiancee and Onta Williams' girlfriend appeared at the headquarters of WESPAC Foundation, a social justice organization, to talk about how their lives have been affected. Family members and friends of the accused men have labeled the case entrapment in the wake of their arrests on May 20 in the Bronx by FBI agents and New York City police.

The four were described as reluctant participants in the plot who had no interest in bombing temples or harming people but because they were desperate for money went along with a man who was relentless in his recruitment of them, family members said. The man had been coming to the Newburgh mosque - where two of the accused occasionally attended Friday prayers - offering $25,000 to worshippers to join in some undertaking and talking about jihad, Salahuddin Mustafa Muhammad, head imam at the mosque has said. The man turned out to to have been an FBI informant. (More)

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HEAD SCARFS IN ESSEX COUNTY: BEND THE UNIFORM POLICY FOR MUSLIMS - TOP
Star-Ledger Editorial Board, 6/19/09

A federal court has been asked to decide whether Essex County discriminated against Yvette Beshier, a Muslim corrections officer, when it fired her for refusing to remove her head scarf.

The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit last week accusing the county Department of Corrections of wrongfully dismissing Beshier. She had been suspended and later given the sack for wearing a khimar, a Muslim head covering, on the job. Corrections officials said it violated the department's uniform policy.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the job on the basis of race, color, sex, religion or national origin. It also requires that employers make "reasonable accommodation" for religious practices. But when Beshier asked officials to make an exception to the uniform policy to allow her to follow her religious beliefs, they refused. (More)

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ACLU LAWSUIT CHALLENGES SECRET CREATION OF ISOLATED HOUSING UNITS IN FEDERAL PRISONS - TOP
Prisoners Unfairly Assigned To Draconian Units Government Claims Are For Terrorists
ACLU, 6/18/09

TERRE HAUTE, Ind., June 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Indiana today filed a legal complaint challenging the unprecedented and secret creation of housing units inside federal prisons in which prisoners are condemned to live in stark isolation from the outside world. Called Communication Management Units (CMUs) and designed to house prisoners viewed by the government as terrorists, they were established in violation of federal laws requiring public scrutiny and today are disproportionately inhabited by Muslim prisoners - many of whom have never been convicted of terrorism-related crimes.

The complaint, which names as defendants U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder and two senior Bureau of Prisons officials, was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on behalf of Sabri Benkahla, an American citizen confined in the CMU at the Federal Correctional Institution in Terre Haute, Indiana despite being found not guilty by a federal judge in 2004 of providing support to the Taliban.

"The government created CMUs without any opportunity for public comment or oversight in an effort to skirt obligations of accountability and transparency," said David Shapiro, a staff attorney with the ACLU National Prison Project. "And after inventing these units behind closed doors, prison officials arbitrarily assigned prisoners to them without providing prisoners any real ability to challenge their placement there." (More)

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ISRAELI TROOPS HUMILIATE PALESTINIANS - AND PUT IT ON YOUTUBE - TOP
Uri Blau, Haaretz, 6/19/09

Forty-three seconds: that's the duration of a video clip uploaded to YouTube less than a year ago under the category of "Comedy."

For the "hero" of the clip, an unidentified young Arab, they were probably eternally long seconds and far from amusing. He was forced to slap himself and sing to the jubilant shouts of the photographer and his buddies - all of them members of Israel's Border Police.

This clip, which has been viewed more than 2,800 times, shows the unknown Palestinian standing in a desert setting while a disembodied voice orders him in Hebrew to hit himself: "Yallah, start, do it hard!"

The viewers hear the chuckles of the other policemen and a clear voice telling the Arab: "Say 'Ana behibak Mishmar Hagvul' ["I love the Border Police? in a mix of Arabic and Hebrew]. Say it!"

They see him obey in a subdued voice and with a frightened look, even as he goes on slapping himself. They hear the "director" laughing and the faceless voice shouting: "Again! Ana behibak Mishmar Hagvul."

After a little more than 30 seconds, the voice says, "Say 'Wahad hummus wahad ful'" - and the Arab man obeys and then is told to complete the rhyme: "Ana behibak Mishmar Hagvul."

After 40 seconds, the abusers appear to have had enough and the voice impatiently orders the victim: "Yallah, rukh, rukh, rukh" ("go"). The camera turns and for a fraction of a second a Border Police Jeep is visible.

A few dozen viewers sent comments. "Hahahaha, it was great the way he excruciated himself." Another added: "That's how it should be!!!!! Stinking Arab."

And a third pointed out, "He should have been shot!! Sons of bitches." A few viewers took pity on the victim, though with reservations. One person remarked, "Mercy on the guy, even if he's an Arab. What's it in aid of? He didn?'t do anything." (More)

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THE LANGUAGE THAT ABSOLVES ISRAEL - TOP
A special political vocabulary prevents us from being able to recognize what's going on in the
Saree Makdisi, Los Angeles Times, 6/19/09

On Sunday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech that -- by categorically ruling out the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state -- ought to have been seen as a mortal blow to the quest for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

On Monday morning, however, newspaper headlines across the United States announced that Netanyahu had endorsed the creation of a Palestinian state, and the White House welcomed the speech as "an important step forward."

Reality can be so easily stood on its head when it comes to Israel because the misreading of Israeli declarations is a long-established practice among commentators and journalists in the United States.

In fact, a special vocabulary has been developed for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the United States. It filters and structures the way in which developing stories are misread here, making it difficult for readers to fully grasp the nature of those stories -- and maybe even for journalists to think critically about what they write.

The ultimate effect of this special vocabulary is to make it possible for Americans to accept and even endorse in Israel what they would reject out of hand in any other country.

Let me give a classic example.

In the U.S., discussion of Palestinian politicians and political movements often relies on a spectrum running from "extreme" to "moderate." The latter sounds appealing; the former clearly applies to those who must be -- must they not? -- beyond the pale. But hardly anyone relying on such terms pauses to ask what they mean. According to whose standard are these manifestly subjective labels assigned?

Meanwhile, Israeli politicians are labeled according to an altogether different standard: They are "doves" or "hawks." Unlike the terms reserved for Palestinians, there's nothing inherently negative about either of those avian terms.

So why is no Palestinian leader referred to here as a "hawk"? Why are Israeli politicians rarely labeled "extremists"? Or, for that matter, "militants"?

There are countless other examples of these linguistic double standards. American media outlets routinely use the deracinating and deliberately obfuscating term "Israeli Arabs" to refer to the Palestinian citizens of Israel, despite the fact that they call themselves -- and are -- Palestinian.

Similarly, Israeli housing units built in the occupied territories in contravention of international law are always called "settlements" or even "neighborhoods" rather than what they are: "colonies." That word may be harsh on the ears, but it's far more accurate ("a body of people who settle in a new locality, forming a community subject to or connected with their parent state").

These subtle distinctions make a huge difference. Unconsciously absorbed, such terms frame the way people and events are viewed. When it comes to Israel, we seem to reach for a dictionary that applies to no one else, to give a pass to actions or statements that would be condemned in any other quarter. (More)

[Saree Makdisi is a professor of English and comparative literature at UCLA. He is the author of, among other books, "Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation."]

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