ARMED GROUP TO GUARD CHURCH DURING KORAN BURNING - TOP
IndyPosted.com, 8/23/10
A group that proudly calls itself Right Wing Extreme has pledged to protect a church in Gainesville , Florida that is planning to hold a Koran burning on 9/11, according to WorldCorrespondents.com, which reports as follows.
"This Press Release entitled "Armed Christian Conservative group to protect church during burning of Quran" was shared to us by Prince Shannon Carson of Right Wing Extreme.
The Christian conservative organization Right Wing Extreme has offered its support and protection for the International Burn a Quran day.
Right Wing Extreme was founded in April of 2009 after the Department of Homeland Security's report titled Right Wing Extremism."
Unlike the infamous cross burnings of the Ku Klux Klan which were often staged on the property of opponents to intimidate them, the Koran burning will be held on the premises of Dove Ministries International, with their enthusiastic consent. (More)
-----
ANTI-MOSQUE COALITION’S WEBSITE OWNED BY NEO-CONSERVATIVE ISLAMAPHOBE FRANK GAFFNEY - TOP
Think Progress, 8/24/10
Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called for "transparency" about who is funding the ugly attacks against the construction of a proposed Islamic community center near Ground Zero in New York City. "There is no question there is a concerted effort to make this a political issue by some. And I join those who have called for looking into how is this opposition to the mosque being funded," she told KCBS radio.
Naturally, right-wing opponents of the mosque blasted Pelosi for the comments, claiming the opposition is an organic, spontaneous uprising of concerned Americans. However, the coalition leading the charge against the mosque, the Coalition to Honor Ground Zero, appears to be funded by a major neo-conservative advocacy group, with deep-pocketed donors, and extensive connections to the conservative establishment.
As Glenn Greenwald noted, the coalition’s website StopThe911Mosque.com is registered to the Center for Security Policy, a neo-conservative think tank and advocacy group run by Reagan defense official and far-right hawk Frank Gaffney. (More)
-----
VIDEO: CAIR REP DEBATES NY ISLAMIC CENTER ON O'REILLY - TOP
View the video.
SEE ALSO:
COMMENTARY: NO COMPROMISE ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM - TOP
Richard Cohen, Washington Post, 8/24/10
When it comes to the mosque that's neither too close to Ground Zero for its proponents nor far enough away for its opponents, the disturbing word "compromise" is now being tossed around. It has been suggested by New York Gov. David Paterson, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan and, in Sunday's Post, Karen Hughes, once an important adviser to George W. Bush. These are all well-meaning people, but they do not understand that in this case, the difference between compromise and defeat is nonexistent.
This is not a complicated matter. If you believe that an entire religion of upward of a billion followers attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, then it is understandable that locating a mosque near the fallen World Trade Center might be upsetting. But the facts are otherwise. Islam was not in on the attack -- just a sliver of believers. That being the case, those people with legitimate hurt feelings are mistaken. They need our understanding, not our indulgence. (More)
-----
CAIR-OH: ISLAMIC GROUP CALLS BOEHNER'S MOSQUE STANCE 'UN-AMERICAN' - TOP
By Jordan Fabian, The Hill, 8/23/10
An Islamic organization is urging its supporters to contact House Minority Leader John Boehner's office to object to his stance on the Lower Manhattan mosque, calling his stance "un-American."
The Cincinnati chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said that Boehner's (R-Ohio) opposition of the planned Islamic center two blocks from the site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks is "offensive and deeply disturbing," Cincinnati.com reported.
"By stating that building a mosque to accommodate American Muslim worshipers a few blocks away from the site of the 9/11 attacks is somehow wrong Congressman Boehner is implying that American Muslims bear collective guilt for those attacks," the group said in a statement. "This is offensive and disturbing especially in a nation that places so much importance in the rule of law.
"To imply collective guilt on whole groups of people when one or a few members of that group commit crimes is entirely un-American," it added. (More)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-OH: MUSLIMS CHASTISE BOEHNER FOR STANCE ON NY ISLAMIC CENTER - TOP
Cincinnati.com, 8/23/10
House Republican Leader John Boehner has raised the ire of local Muslims.
A local Muslim group is encouraging people to write or call his office to let him know that they don't like the comments he made about the proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero, which we wrote about last week.
The Cincinnati chapter of CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) says Boehner's comments are "disappointing" considering that his district includes "the largest mosque and the largest Muslim community in the tri-state." (More)
-----
CAIR: MAN MISTAKEN FOR MUSLIM DRAWS CONFRONTATION AT MOSQUE PROTEST - TOP
By Devlin Barrett, Wall Street Journal, 8/23/10
A man wearing a white athletic skull cap at a weekend rally against the planned mosque and Islamic community center near Ground Zero this weekend prompted a tense confrontation with some of the protesters, until he was finally led away from the rally by police. . .
At one point, the man can be heard saying he is not Muslim, but has opinions about the mosque.
As he is escorted away from the center of the protest, someone yells "Mohammed is a pig,'' prompting criticism from others in the crowd.
In the video, another protester complains that the man is "trying to make us look like a bunch of racists. It ain't happening.''
Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the incident "exposes the hate-filled agenda of those behind the opposition to the Islamic community center in lower Manhattan. It demonstrates clearly that their opposition to the center is just a smoke screen for Islamophobia.'' (More)
-----
CAIR-OK: STATE BALLOT QUESTION TO BAN USE OF SHARIA LAW - TOP
KOSU, 8/23/10
One of the eleven ballot questions going before voters this November would ban Oklahoma courts from using the Islamic-based Sharia Law or any other International law in making a ruling.
Right-wing activists have recently criticized judges for using non-US law in coming to a decision.
But, opponents say State Question 755 is simply another in a long series of attacks against the Muslim community. . .
Several Oklahoma Muslim organizations are coming out against State Question 755 including the Council on American-Islamic Relations or CAIR.
Executive Director Razi Hashmi calls it just another attack on Islam.
"This really speaks to a climate of bigotry and Islamaphobia that has kind of been sweeping the nation. We've seen a lot of opposition to mosques, a lot of opposition to first amendment rights. And, I think that this is just one of those fear tactics that is being used in the November elections."
Hashmi says he's not surprised by the bill by Representative Duncan who also authored legislation banning religious headgear in drivers' license photos and rejected CAIR's gift of the Koran to lawmakers.
He feels State Question 755 isn't just anti-Muslim it's anti-American.
"What it really does is it singles out an entire community. It basically says that the Muslim community should be feared and it shouldn't be respected, whereas that's not the case."
Hashmi argues that Muslim's in Oklahoma are contributing as doctors, lawyers, professors, students and business people. (More)
-----
MI: MUSLIMS DONATE $20,000 TO THE CENTER FOR FAMILY HEALTH'S BUILDING FUND - TOP
By Aaron Aupperlee, mlive.com, 8/24/10
During Ramadan, Dr. Shahzad Shaikh, his family and Muslims around the world mark the holy month with daily fasts.
This year, along with the sunrise-to-sunset fasting, Shaikh and Muslims around Jackson added an act of charity to the 30-day celebration.
Members of the Islamic Center of Jackson raised $20,000 to donate to the Center for Family Health's building fund. The 30-family community collected the money in about three months, Shaikh said.
"This place (the Center for Family Health) has been serving in the community for so many years, and this is the opportunity to make it even better by helping the center get this new place," Shaikh said. (More)
SEE ALSO:
TRIANGLE MUSLIMS DEVOTE EFFORTS TO DISASTER RELIEF - TOP
By Mark Hensch, News Observer, 8/24/10
For Pakistani Muslims in the Triangle, this year's observance of Ramadan is especially poignant, as they watch their homeland try to recover from massive floods that have killed 1,500 and left 6 million homeless.
During the monthlong Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food and drink sunrise to sunset, focusing on their faith and charity over the body's basic needs.
"Helping people in need is critical to our faith," said Imran Aukhil, spokesman for the Islamic Association of Raleigh.
Aukhil said his congregation has collected relief donations since the Indus River began flooding in late July during the monsoon season. All proceeds have gone to Virginia-based Islamic Relief USA, the largest Muslim charity in the country.
Rabiah Ahmed, a spokeswoman for Islam Relief, said the group has raised $2 million in cash for Pakistan since July 30. That total joins $23million in collections of food, medicine and clothing, enough to help 102,550 people. Ahmed said her group delivers cash and goods into four Pakistani provinces, though often with mixed results. It is rough going in a nation where floods have washed away transportation routes. (More)
---
MUSLIMS SPEND RAMADAN WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS - TOP
By Allan Appel, New Haven Independent, 8/24/10
At precisely 7:58 p.m. Adrian Ashir Kirk took his first sip of water since before sunrise. The cupful of Polar Arctic was so delicious, it made him raise his eyebrows in appreciation.
Then he feasted on a single large Medjool date and offered a brief evening prayer before laying into some more serious food for iftar, the full fast-ending meal.
Kirk joined about two dozen fellow Muslims Saturday night at the Masjid Al-Islam on George Street, where he and others will continue to break their rigorous fasts communally during the month-long celebration of Ramadan, with prayers and the iftar evening meal, for 27 more days. (More)
-----
RAMADAN AT GUANTÁNAMO: NIGHTLY FORCE-FEEDINGS - TOP
By Carol Rosenberg, Miami Herald, 8/24/10
At Guantánamo during Ramadan, the guards strap hunger striker detainees into the force-feeding chair at night.
Here's a new twist in the U.S. military's Islamic sensitivity effort in the prison camps for suspected terrorists at the Guantánamo Bay Navy base:
Military medical staff are force-feeding a secret number of prisoners on hunger strike between dusk and dawn during the Muslim fasting holiday of Ramadan.
The prison camps spokesman, Navy Cmdr. Bradley Fagan, says it is U.S. Southern Command policy to no longer reveal the exact number of detainees being shackled by guards into restraint chairs for twice daily feedings.
Instead, he said, ``less than 10'' captives among the 176 held for years at Guantánamo were last week counted as hunger strikers.
"Detainees who are fasting get their meals before dawn," he said Wednesday, disclosing only the hours of that day's feeding "in observance of the Ramadan schedule" -- before 5:26 a.m. and after 7:28 p.m. (More)