OFFICIALS DEFEND AIRPORT SCREENING BUT SAY CHANGES ARE COMING - TOP
By Chris Strohm, National Journal, 11/15/10

Homeland Security officials today defended airport screening procedures amid a backlash of complaints that they are too invasive, but officials said that changes to some tactics will be made soon.

[Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano] emphasized that the government has "an open ear" and is also considering changes to address issues raised by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which issued a travel advisory for airline passengers and is particularly concerned about the physical pat down of women wearing hijabs. (More)

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CAIR: GROWING BACKLASH AGAINST TSA BODY SCANNERS, PAT-DOWNS - TOP
Phil Gast, CNN, 11/13/10

(CNN) -- A growing pilot and passenger revolt over full-body scans and what many consider intrusive pat-downs couldn't have come at a worse time for the nation's air travel system.

Thanksgiving, the busiest travel time of the year, is less than two weeks away.

Grassroots groups are urging travelers to either not fly or to protest by opting out of the full-body scanners and undergo time-consuming pat-downs instead. ...

Meanwhile, the Council on American-Islamic Relations has issued its own travel advisory over pat-downs many "describe as invasive and humiliating."

Muslim women who wear a hijab and are selected for secondary screening because of a head scarf should remind TSA officers "that they are only supposed to pat down the area in question, in this scenario, your head and neck. They should not subject you to a full-body or partial-body pat-down," the group said. (More)

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CAIR VIDEO: ARIZ. CHURCH MISTAKEN FOR MOSQUE FACES BACKLASH - TOP
AZcentral.com, 11/15/10

A new Phoenix church under construction is being mistaken for a Muslim mosque.

Watch the video here.

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CAIR-OK: OKLAHOMA SURPRISE: ISLAM AS AN ELECTION ISSUE - TOP
James C. McKinley Jr., New York Times, 11/14/10

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Cory Williams, a Democratic state representative from Stillwater, expected his opponent in the recent election to label him a free-spending liberal allied with President Obama.

He did not foresee that he would be accused of trying to subject Oklahomans to Islamic law.

Mr. Williams was one of 10 Democrats who voted against putting a state constitutional amendment on the ballot that would forbid state judges from considering international or Islamic law in deciding cases. He considered the idea unnecessary, since the First Amendment already bans state-imposed religion.

His Republican challenger sent out mailers showing him next to a shadowy figure in an Arab headdress. On the other side, the flier said Mr. Williams wanted to allow "Islamic 'Shariah' law to be used by Oklahoma courts" and suggested that he was part of "an international movement, supported by militant Muslims and liberals," to establish Islamic law throughout the world.

"At the end of the day, it was just fearmongering," Mr. Williams said. ...

he day after the election, Muneer Awad, executive director of the local Council on American-Islamic Relations, filed a lawsuit. Mr. Awad argued that the amendment violated the freedom of religion clause of the United States Constitution, because it singled out Shariah law and Islam for special treatment rather than banning consideration of all religious codes. That amounts to state disapproval of Islam, he argued.

Last Monday, Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange of Federal District Court agreed that Mr. Awad's complaint had merit, finding that the amendment's "primary purpose inhibits religion." She temporarily halted the certification of the election results and scheduled a hearing for next week. (More)

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CAIR-OK: MUSLIM SUING STATE OVER SR 755 SAYS SHARIAH LAW MISUNDERSTOOD- TOP
Barbara Hoberock, Tulsa World, 11/14/10

OKLAHOMA CITY - The man behind a lawsuit seeking to overturn a ballot measure has a passion for the law and his Islamic faith.

Muneer Awad, executive director of the Oklahoma Chapter of the Council for American-Islamic Relations, filed suit in federal court last week to overturn State Question 755. The measure bans the use of Shariah and international law in deciding cases in state courts. It passed Nov. 2 with slightly more than 70 percent of the vote.

Shariah law is not used in state courts, but supporters said SQ 755 was needed as a preventive measure.

U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange granted a temporary restraining order putting its implementation on hold. A hearing for an injunction is set for Nov. 22.

Awad, who has been on the job with CAIR's Oklahoma chapter since Oct. 14, said Shariah law could never replace federal or state laws.

But adoption of a constitutional amendment referencing Shariah law voices the state's official disapproval and condemnation of Islam, he said.

"And that raises constitutional issues on its own with respect to the government being able to approve or disapprove of religion," Awad said. "It involves my standing as a Muslim in the political community." (More)

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CAIR-OK: FIGHTING A LEGAL MIRAGE - TOP
Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 11/14/10

I was happy to see President Barack Obama continue his outreach to the world's Muslims during his Asia trip last week. It's important for Muslims overseas to hear that Americans are waging war against terrorists, not Muslims, even though some Americans have a hard time telling the difference.

A good example of such bad thinking occurred in the midterm elections. Oklahoma voters decided in a 70 percent landslide to amend their constitution to ban Shariah law, Islamic law based on the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. Take that, Taliban, although I doubt they're going to react to Oklahoma's measure with anything but laughter.

In a state whose Muslim population numbers only 15,000, Oklahoma's Shariah law ban is a solution in search of a problem. Even its author, Republican Rep. Rex Duncan, acknowledged that the Sooner State has not had any cases of Shariah law and does not expect to see any, but "why wait until it's in the courts?"

Now it's in the courts anyway. Federal Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange granted a temporary restraining order to Muneer Awad, executive director of the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, who sees the measure as a threat to his rights. It sounds to me as though he has a good case. The boundaries of religious freedom are a never-ending argument in this country, but it is safe to say that the First Amendment frowns on laws that single out religions, whether for penalties or preferences.

Yet this case is nationally significant because, as its backers have said, more than a dozen states are preparing to place similar initiatives before voters in 2012. (More)

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CAIR-OH: MUSLIM LEADER: LET'S ALL GET ALONG - TOP
Cindy Kranz, Cincinnati Enquirer, 11/14/10

BLUE ASH - Nearly 10 years after 9/11, life for Muslims in Greater Cincinnati hasn't changed much.

But it could be worse, said Karen Dabdoub.

She would know. As executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Cincinnati, Dabdoub, 51, has her pulse on the Muslim community.

"We're not being run down in the streets, but at the same time, we're still experiencing increasing levels of discrimination," she said.

Some of that discrimination comes from elementary school teachers and college professors who misrepresent the Islamic faith and over-generalize the actions of Muslims according to a few extremists, Dabdoub said. (More)

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UI HOSTS PANEL ON ISLAMOPHOBIA TONIGHT - TOP
Jennifer Downing, Daily Iowan, 11/15/10

The UI will present "Intolerance and the First Amendment: Islamophobia," a discussion of Islamophobia, human rights, and religious freedom, at 7 p.m. today in the Main Library's Shambaugh Auditorium. Admission is free.

The discussion will include conversations on stereotypes, misunderstandings, and fears that contribute to the rise of Islamophobia and intolerance toward the Islamic community. Panelists will present their views on policy decisions and bans concerning Islam and specific forms of religious expression.

Panelists will include Iman Taha Atta Tawil of the Mother Mosque in Cedar Raids; UI law Professor Adrien Wing; Miriam Amer, the executive director of the Iowa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations; and Connie Ryan Terrell, the executive director of the Iowa Interfaith Alliance. (More)

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CAIR: FAS MART CHANGES POLICY AFTER WOMAN DENIED SERVICE BECAUSE OF HER RELIGIOUS HEADSCARF - TOP
Convenience Store News, 11/14/10

RICHMOND, Va. -- Fas Mart, the c-store chain based here, has terminated its store policy of asking customers to remove "hoodies" and other headgear which had been in place to deter shoplifting and other criminal activities, the company stated on its Web site.

The decision came after a Muslim woman complained of being denied service at one of Fas Marts' stores, because of her refusal to remove her headscarf, The Washington Post reported.

On Nov. 9, Tralesha Faison tried to make a purchase at a Fredericksburg Fas Mart, but was unable to complete the transaction because she did not remove her headscarf when asked by a Fast Mart employee to do so. ...

On Nov. 11 Fas Mart issued a statement of apology on the its Web site in response to the incident, saying that they had suspended the employee pending further investigation and stated that "the company intends to ask CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) to advise our training personnel about sensitivity issues in dealing with the Islamic community." (More)

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WOMAN WINS $25,000 SETTLEMENT IN NJ HEADSCARF CASE - TOP
Reuters, 11/12/10

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A woman will get a $25,000 award and the New Jersey county that fired her in a dispute over her Muslim headscarf will change its policies under a settlement agreement reached with the Department of Justice.

Essex County refused to allow corrections officer Yvette Beshier to wear a khimar, a form of religiously mandated headscarf, on duty, the Justice Department said in a statement on Friday.

She was first suspended and then dismissed over the issue. The Justice Department said the actions constituted employment discrimination on the basis of religion, violating federal law. (More)

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THE BRAVERY OF A YOUNG STATEN ISLAND HATE CRIME VICTIM - TOP
Jeff Harrell, Staten Island Live, 11/14/10

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- By the way the alleged parents talked about their little darlings in St. George Family Court on Friday morning, you would have thought they were charged with attending too much church.

"He doesn't go out after school ... he goes to church on Friday and Sunday," one mom said of her 14-year-old allegation, who is charged along with his three buddies of bullying a 16-year-old special-ed eighth-grader like he was a runt of the litter.

By bullying, court papers say they slammed the kid upside his head with a book and waited for the teacher's back to turn so they could sucker-punch him, kick him in the groin, pull his shoulder-length hair back and spit in his face.

Every day. Last year. At Markham Intermediate School.

Why?

Because the kid is Muslim -- a Muslim kid named Kristian, as if the unnecessary irony of it all should stop at Kristian's parents being from Trinidad and admitting they aren't all that religious in the first place.

And when Kristian wasn't getting smacked upside the head with a cafeteria tray or sucker-kneed in the crotch, he was getting humiliated in front of his classmates with juvenile insults that usually started with the b-word that rhymes with "rich."

"Gay!" they taunted, "(Bleeping) terrorist!" they screamed.

"(Bleeping) Muslim! You come to this country to blow up houses and buildings and people are losing their job because of you!"

It was all Kristian could do to take his lumps and keep his mouth shut. When he wasn't at the doctor's office being treated for injuries to his kidneys, Kristian prayed that his submissive silence would make the beatings go away. (More)

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