LOCH SHELDRAKE SEVENTH-GRADER VICTIM OF ANTI-MUSLIM ACTS - TOP
Leonard Sparks, Times Herald-Record, 4/24/10

GRAHAMSVILLE — The insults first came in fifth grade, pursuing Xelina Encarnacion in hallways, classrooms and the school bus that carried her between her Loch Sheldrake home and Tri-Valley Elementary School.

The taunts of "bomb baby," "terrorist" and "towel head" followed her into the seventh grade at Tri-Valley Secondary School as she began wearing a hijab, a traditional head covering that Muslim women begin wearing at puberty.

When a boy pulled her hijab Wednesday, Xelina retaliated, landing in detention after chasing him down and hitting him. "I felt violated," she said. "I felt like I didn't deserve it, because I was protecting myself."

The Tri-Valley Central School District said two students accused of taunting Xelina were harshly punished this week. Her parents say the call telling them their daughter was serving detention was the latest insult after repeated complaints to school officials. (More)

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17-MONTH SENTENCE FOR MAN WHO THREATENED MUSLIM WOMAN, CHILD - TOP
Mike Carter, Seattle Times, 4/23/10

An Auburn man was sentenced to a maximum 17 months in prison for malicious harassment and second-degree assault after threatening a Muslim woman and her 6-month-old child with a knife at the Seattle Indian Health Board in July 2009.

Eric Lee Garner made anti-Muslim remarks and threatened to cut the woman and her baby during the incident, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. (More)

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ANTI-ISLAM HATE MONGERS HUNTED IN PICKERING - TOP
Karen Mullins, Vancouverite, 4/24/10

PICKERING, Ontario – Cops are looking for hate mongers who spray painted offensive graffiti in front of an Islamic centre.

Investigators from the DRPS West Division are asking for public assistance in determining finding the culprits who spray painted the sidewalk in front of the mosque.

A couple walking in the area on Wednesday evening discovered the offensive language spray painted in red letters on the sidewalk across the road from the Pickering Islamic Centre on Brock Road North.

The vulgar comments involved the Islam faith, police said. (More)

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MANY PROTESTANT MINISTERS SEE ISLAM AS EVIL, POLL FINDS - TOP
Protestant poll finds support for Franklin Graham
Bob Smietana, The Tennessean, 4/25/10

Last week, the Pentagon dumped Franklin Graham from a May 6 National Day of Prayer event for insulting Muslims. Graham has called Islam a dangerous and evil religion.

Many of Graham's fellow preachers agree with him.

That's according to a new poll from Nashville-based LifeWay Research. The poll, conducted by Zogby, surveyed 1,000 Protestant ministers in early March.

They were read a negative statement from Graham about Islam, followed by a statement from former President George W. Bush saying Islam is a religion of peace and charity.

Forty-seven percent agreed with Graham. Twelve percent agreed with both. About a quarter of pastors agreed with Bush alone.

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WRESTLING-SHOW SKIT PROMPTS AN APOLOGY - TOP
Sarah Lemagie, Star Tribune, 4/23/10

A skit that some decried as racist will be dropped from future shows run by the American Wrestling Federation, according to a Muslim civil liberties group that objected to accounts of the performance.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations of Minnesota (CAIR-MN) said it accepted an apology this week from the Elk River-based federation, which has run a series of wrestling shows at metro-area high schools this year.

In the controversial skit, performed last month during a booster club fundraiser in the gym of St. Michael-Albertville High School, a wrestler billed as an Iranian made a show of unrolling a rug and kneeling to pray, then insulted Americans as the crowd booed. (More)

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HEARING SET IN ANTI-ISLAM CARTOON INCIDENT - TOP
David Unze, St. Cloud times, 4/24/10

A June 1 hearing has been scheduled for the Waite Park man who admitted posting anti-Islam drawings at various locations in St. Cloud.

The hearing is an opportunity for Sidney Allen Elyea to dispute a civil charge that he violated a city ordinance prohibiting the posting of materials on fixtures. Elyea faces two civil charges that each carry a maximum fine of $250. (More)

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OUR VALUES AS IF WE MEANT THEM - TOP
Neil Steinberg, Chicago Sun-Times, 4/23/10

My column on the Council on American-Islamic Relations drew the expected range of response. There was much castigating me as a "useful idiot" blind to the gathering Islamic peril (one reader recommended a book by Brigitte Gabriel that's actually called They Must Be Stopped, which sounds like the title of a 1950s B-movie about giant ants).

But there were a surprising number of thoughtful, warm, humane responses, and not just from Muslims grateful to seeing themselves depicted as human beings. (More)

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PUNDIT'S TAKE ON 'DEARBORNISTAN' ANGERS MUSLIMS - TOP
Christopher Behnan, Daily Press & Argus, 4/25/10

If referring to the city of Dearborn as "Dearbornistan" is any indication, Michael Reagan — eldest son of former President Ronald Reagan — will have no shortage of incendiary comments when he visits Livingston County next month.

Michael Reagan, a recognized conservative firebrand, will speak May 12 at Cleary University in Genoa Township as part of the Livingston Economic Club Luncheon series.

He's perhaps best known for hosting a conservative radio program for 26-plus years, and is an author of multiple books on politics and his life experiences as the adopted son of the former president and the president's first wife, actress Jane Wyman.

In an interview with the Daily Press & Argus, Michael Reagan asserted that the highly Muslim-populated city of Dearborn is home to many people connected to the terrorist organization Hamas, as well as actual terrorists.

Reagan said he had no proof of that, but nonetheless maintained there are ties to the terrorist organization within Dearborn. (More)

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VIDEO: MUSLIM HOME SCHOOLING - TOP
Bob Faw, PBS, 4/2/310

BOB FAW, correspondent: In the heart of mainstream America, a Cub Scout derby where each of the home-designed cars is carefully weighed and measured before roaring off at breakneck speed. Here enterprise, ingenuity, and patience are justly rewarded.

ISRAFEEL JAKA: My favorite part was when I got in first.

FAW: It's a mainstream event passionately embraced not only by the Jaka brothers, but also by nine- year-old Bilal Khan, whose education and upbringing is anything but mainstream. In his Loudoun County, Virginia home, Bilal is being taught math by his mother Zakia.

ZAKIA KHAN (speaking to Bilal): So 5 is closer to 7, or 10 is closer to 7?

FAW: In another home nearby, Priscilla Martinez is teaching her six children, ages two to 12, about condensation.

PRISCILLA MARTINEZ (speaking to children): We're going to learn about clouds, evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.

FAW: They are part of a growing movement—no one knows the exact number—of Muslims who home-school their children because they want them to get a more holistic education than a public school can provide. (More)