STUDENT IN HERNANDO FLAG FLAP LIED, SCHOOL OFFICIALS SAY - TOP
Tony Marrero, St. Petersburg Times, 8/31/09

SPRING HILL — The JROTC member at Springstead High School who said she confronted a Muslim student last week because the girl did not stand for the Pledge of Allegiance fabricated that part of the story, school officials said Monday.

Heather Lawrence, a 16-year-old junior at the school, has said she was walking by another homeroom Wednesday morning when she saw a girl with the traditional Muslim head scarf sitting during the pledge.

Later, Lawrence said she confronted the girl, told her she should stand during the pledge and, according to her own account and a school report, said, "Take that thing off your head and act like you're proud to be an American."

A teacher witnessed the confrontation and Lawrence was suspended for five days for violating the district's policy against bullying and harassment. The suspension has since been reduced to three days.

But Lawrence could not have seen what she said she saw, Springstead principal Susan Duval said Monday.

"This girl lied," Duval said. "I have confirmed with the homeroom teacher the young lady stood for the pledge."

The girl and her parents also insist she was standing, Duval said…

Ahmed Bedier, president of the Human Rights Council and a personal friend of the family was relaying a request by the Times for comment this afternoon. But the family is reluctant to go on record with the media, he said.

On Saturday, the Muslim girl's father found his daughter reading online news stories about the incident and the comments from readers, Bedier said.

"She was crying," Bedier said. "She said, 'I didn't do anything wrong. Why are these people saying all these horrible things?'"

"To her, somebody made a mean comment and she just kept walking," Bedier said. She never expected any of this to happen."

The story is troublesome because it has stoked negative feelings toward Muslims among some Americans, Bedier said.

"There are some very known anti-Muslim blogs and Web sites and they're taking up this cause of Heather Lawrence," he said. This girl got caught bullying someone else, and to deflect it she's making it about patriotism and the flag. (More)

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MUSLIMS WANT MORE PEOPLE TO READ THE QURAN - TOP
National Public Radio, 8/31/09

Listen to the story here, or go here to learn more about the project.

The Bible is one of the most read books in the United States, but how much do Americans know about other sacred texts, like the Quran? In an effort to help educate more people about Islam and its teachings, the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has launched the "Share the Quran" campaign. The goal: to distribute 100,000 copies of the Quran to local, state and national leaders before year's end. CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad offers more about the campaign.

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CAIR: U.S. LOSING BATTLE OF PUBLIC PERCEPTION IN THE MUSLIM WORLD - TOP
Colin Campbell, Press TV, 8/30/09

Click here to watch the video.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has written a searing critique of government efforts at strategic communication with the Muslim world, saying that no amount of public relations will establish credibility if American behavior overseas is perceived as arrogant, uncaring or insulting.

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ELIZABETH MOSQUE ORGANIZES NATIONAL PRAYER GATHERING FOR MUSLIMS IN WASHINGTON, D.C. - TOP
Jeff Diamant, Star-Ledger, 8/31/09

ELIZABETH -- A mosque in Elizabeth, Dar-ul-Islam, is spearheading a national prayer gathering next month in Washington, D.C., that organizers are billing as the first event of its kind -- organized prayer for tens of thousands of Muslims outside the U.S. Capitol building.

The event will not include political speeches or placards, just prayer, said Hassen Abdellah, president of Dar-ul-Islam and a main organizer of the event, which is scheduled for Sept. 25. (More)

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CAIR SEEKS HATE CRIME CHARGES IN ASSAULT ON CALIF. TAXI DRIVER - TOP
Police say driver was called ‘Taliban’ and ‘terrorist’ by attackers

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 8/31/09) The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called for state and federal hate crime charges against two men who allegedly called a California assault victim “Taliban” and “terrorist” during the attack.

CAIR said police in Pleasanton, Calif., have arrested two men suspected of assaulting a taxi driver last Thursday. The driver, Jaswinder Bangar, suffered facial lacerations and a broken tooth after allegedly being punched in the back of the head. Local police informed CAIR of the slurs used during the assault.

SEE: Police Announce Arrest of Two Men Suspected of Beating Cab Driver

“Whenever racial, ethnic or religious slurs are used by the perpetrators, additional hate crime charges should be considered,” said Zahra Billoo, programs and outreach director for CAIR’s San Francisco Bay area chapter (CAIR-SFBA). “Without considering the additional penalties imposed by hate crime charges, we send the message that we as a society are indifferent to intolerance and bigotry.”

“Our nation’s religious, political and community leaders need to address the growing anti-Muslim rhetoric on the Internet and on talk radio that can lead to such incidents,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.

Last week, CAIR issued a similar call for civil rights charges after an apparent bias-motivated attack on Muslims in New York. The FBI now says it is monitoring that case.

SEE: Feds Monitoring Apparent Bias Case Involving Muslims (NY Newsday)

CAIR also recently reported that anti-Iranian graffiti was scrawled inside a Muslim-owned store in Philadelphia that was ransacked by vandals.

SEE: Vandalism at Penn. Business Probed as Hate Crime
SEE ALSO: Philadelphia Muslim Store Target of Apparent Hate Crime

Hooper urged American Muslim individuals and institutions to review advice on security procedures contained in its "Muslim Community Safety Kit."

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. 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-SFBA Programs and Outreach Director Zahra Billoo, 626-252-0885, E-Mail: zbilloo@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

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MUSLIM COP SUES CITY AFTER IDENTITY THEFT FLAP HAD HIM LABELED A TERRORIST -TOP
John Marzulli, New York Daily News, 8/30/09

A Muslim NYPD cop is set to sue the city and the feds after he was targeted by air marshals, triggering a year-long probe in which he was stripped of his gun and badge.

Shahin Miah, 32, was eventually cleared of wrongdoing and is back on the job - but the Bangladeshi-born officer says he's tormented by colleagues who call him "Al Qaeda."

"I'm a good citizen of this country," Miah told the Daily News in an exclusive interview.

"All my family are hardworking. We are normal. This only happened because my color is brown and I'm Muslim.

"Nobody has ever given me an answer - what made them think I was a terrorist?"

The NYPD investigated the rookie because the feds suspected him of overseas money laundering, but it turned out he was the victim of identity theft.

Miah says that's news to him - and insists that if he had not been racially profiled at Kennedy Airport, the entire mess could have been avoided. (More)

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CAIR: FEDS MONITORING APPARENT BIAS CASE INVOLVING MUSLIMS - TOP
Zachary R. Dowdy and Sumathi Reddy, Newsday, 8/28/09

Federal authorities confirmed Friday they are monitoring the case of an Islandia man who police said harassed two Muslim women at a Smithtown gas station.

"We're aware of it and we're going to monitor this," said Robert Nardoza, spokesman for U.S. Attorney Benton J. Campbell, referring to the Aug. 20 incident. "At this time it's premature to say that federal charges will be filed." …

Police said Ballance encountered a mother, 49, and her daughter, 20 - at the Hess gas station at 615 Smithtown Bypass. The women were dressed in abaya, a traditional Muslim garment that covers everything except the eyes, and began threatening them.

"Get in my car so I can . . . chop you up into little pieces and kill you," he said, according to court documents.

Police said he drove his green 1999 Mercury toward them, getting so close to their vehicle one of the women had trouble removing the gas cap. All the while, one victim said, he was "striking a match on a matchbook like if I was to start pumping the gas he would throw the match at me."

Ballance also made derogatory statements about the women, calling their garb Halloween costumes.

"They need to have some respect and stop dressing like that," he told police. "This is not Iraq. They should not be dressing like that here. Send them back to Iraq."

Det. Sgt. Robert Reecks, who heads the Suffolk Police Hate Crimes Unit, said Ballance drove the car in reverse but didn't get close enough to the woman to be charged with attempted assault, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.

But Aliya Latif, civil rights director of the New York office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the charges are insufficient. "Egregious acts such as those allegedly committed that could very easily have resulted in serious injury or death warrant more than a mere misdemeanor charge," she said. "Intimidating members of any religious community through violence is morally reprehensible and deserves the full weight of the law."

Ibrahim Hooper, the group's national spokesman, said anti-Muslim statements on the airwaves and the Internet have helped incite acts of hate across the country. "And so when we see this rising level of anti-Muslim rhetoric, you are always going to have a tiny minority who take this rage and turn it into violence," he said. He added that the reported threat is all the more unsettling since it comes as Muslim celebrate Ramadan, their holy month, which began Aug. 21. (More)

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CAIR: ADVOCATES: EEOC RULES IN MUSLIMS' NEB. PLANT ISSUE - TOP
Jean Ortiz, Associated Press, 8/31/09

The Council on American-Islamic Relations helped file some of the dozens of complaints with the EEOC that alleged discrimination based on religion, race and tradition or national origin. (Full Article)

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PRISONS - INJUNCTION - TELEVISED JUM'AH SERVICES - TOP
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, 8/31/09

Where a federal judge has issued an injunction requiring the defendant Massachusetts Commissioner of Correction to provide televised Jum'ah services (Friday group prayer services obligatory for Muslims) in any special management unit in which the plaintiff inmates are housed, the injunction was no abuse of discretion and will be upheld.

Discussion

"Although the Plaintiffs' allegations in their Amended Complaint focused on the lack of closed-circuit broadcasting in Ten Block [at MCI-Cedar Junction], their prayer for relief was not limited to Ten Block. Plaintiffs plainly sought system-wide relief. Despite being on notice of this claim for relief, the Commissioner did not present during the bench trial any of the evidence contained in the Quick Affidavit, despite having the ‘onus' to show that the burden it placed on the Plaintiffs' religious exercise ‘furthers a compelling governmental interest and ... that the burden is the least restrictive means of achieving that compelling interest. ' ... Instead, the Commissioner provided evidence that the DOC's system-wide policy banning televisions in SMUs was due to (1) the temporary nature of SMU detention; (2) the security risks associated with having a television in an inmate's cell; and (3) the DOC's desire to avoid any incentive for inmates to seek SMU detention. A witness, MCI-Cedar Junction Deputy Superintendent Lisa Mitchell, testified that there was no technical reason that prevents the broadcast of Jum'ah services by closed-circuit television to Muslim inmates in Ten Block, but the Commissioner did not provide evidence that this was not the case for other facilities. In fact, the Commissioner provided testimony, through its Acting Deputy Commissioner, John Marshall, that the DOC sought to create a universal SMU policy to alleviate any differences in SMU policies among various facilities. (More)

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CAIR: THIS MUSLIM-AMERICAN LIFE: ALLAH AND THE ARTS - TOP
Kate Shellnutt, News 21, 8/26/09

With bold, messages on contemporary religious, social and political issues, young Muslim-Americans are stepping onto the stage and into the studio.

These second-generation adults — once destined for research labs and business offices and subject to the high expectations of their foreign-born parents — now live in a 21st-century Muslim community that’s growing more open to the arts. It’s taken time for such immigrant populations to recognize how artistic expression can positively impact how a community is perceived, both by others and by its own.

“They’ve realized that arts and culture, media and journalism, are civic engagement,” said Wajahat Ali, a 29-year-old Pakistani-American playwright. “Art can serve as a potent and powerful bridge and medium. It can really push things forward about creating a dialogue about race, politics, religion and stereotyping.”

With the discrimination, blame and misunderstanding surrounding American Muslims after the September 11 attacks, some turned to music, theater and art with their frustrations. These forms of expression, they say, can showcase universal themes from a Muslim-American perspective…

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, held its first art showcase earlier this month, auctioning off pieces done by mostly young, Muslim-American graphic designers and painters.

To most eyes, they look like curls, swirls, squiggles and dots. But for those who can read Arabic calligraphy, the lines painted whimsically within colorful birds or printed as crisp, graphic patterns display Quranic verses or names for God.

“This one is ‘bismillah’ [In the Name of God]… this one is ‘alhumdulillah’ (Praise be to Allah)…,” explains Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR’s director of communications, pointing to the pieces displayed on the walls of the organization’s headquarters in southeastern Washington, D.C.

Muslim artists typically avoid depicting people, especially religious figures, a holdover from the religion’s iconoclast history and an effort to prevent the veneration of images over God. Instead, they favor patterns, script and arabesque designs. (More)

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FLORIDA DEFENDANTS FACE `DOUBLE JEOPARDY' IN IMMIGRATION COURT - TOP
Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 8/31/09

Two legal U.S. residents were acquitted of terrorism-related charges in federal court, yet both were charged again for the same offenses in immigration court. One went free, but the other faces deportation to Haiti.

A Tampa engineering student acquitted of terrorism-related charges walked out of an immigration court a free man earlier this month, after a judge rejected the U.S. government's bid to deport him to his native Egypt on identical charges.

Yet the same immigration judge sided with Department of Homeland Security lawyers last year when he ordered the removal of a Miami man to his native Haiti after he had been acquitted of terror-conspiracy charges. (More)