NUMBER OF U.S. MUSLIMS TO DOUBLE - TOP
Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA Today, 1/27/11

Muslims will be more than one-quarter of the Earth's population by 2030, according to a study released today.

The number of U.S. Muslims will more than double, so you are as likely to know a Muslim here in 20 years as you are to know someone Jewish or Episcopalian today.

Those are among key findings in "The Future of the Global Muslim Population," the first comprehensive examination of Muslims, whose numbers have been growing at a faster rate than all other groups combined. . .

Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, says, "We Muslims need to redouble our outreach efforts because of growing challenges from the vocal minority who see us as suspect."

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JURY AWARDS $1.7M TO FAMILY OF CALIF. MUSLIM KILLED BY POLICE - TOP

(LOS ANGELES, CA, 1/27/11) – The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today announced that a federal jury awarded $1.7 million to the family of a 21-year-old autistic Muslim man for his fatal shooting by a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer in 2008.

CAIR-LA Staff Attorney Ameena M. Qazi, with attorney Olu Orange, Mann and Cook Law Offices and the Disability Rights Legal Center, filed a lawsuit in 2009 on behalf of the family of the victim, Mohammad Usman Chaudhry. The suit was filed against former LAPD officer Joseph Cruz and the LAPD for claims including wrongful death and excessive use of force, and against Los Angeles County for the failure to notify the Chaudhry family of their son's death for three weeks. Tenets of the Islamic faith require burying a body within three days of death.

This week, the jury found that the officer used excessive force, acted with malice, and that the City of Los Angeles was liable as the officer's employer. Damages were awarded on Wednesday.

In March 2008, Chaudhry was shot four times by Cruz after Chaudhry was discovered lying on the ground of an apartment complex in Hollywood. Three of the bullets hit Chaudhry in the chest. Cruz was later fired for giving inaccurate accounts about a detainee who fled from his custody, and had previously been caught striking a man in his custody in the head

Qazi met with LAPD representatives some months after the shooting, and followed up closely with them and the Office of the Inspector General during the course of the internal investigation. The investigation found no fault in the actions of Cruz and his partner.

SEE: Family of Victim Killed by since-fired LAPD Officer Awarded $1.7 million
SEE: Family of Autistic Man Shot by Police Wins Case
SEE: LA Defends Officer who was Fired for Dishonesty

The Islamic Shura Council of Southern California and Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace had joined the suit as plaintiffs.

"This is a victory for the Chaudhry family who lost an innocent young son to police brutality and whose rights were callously discarded," Qazi said. "But the road to full justice on this case has just begun."

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-LA Communications Manager Munira Syeda, (714) 776-1847, E-mail: info@losangeles.cair.com

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CAIR-MI REP JOINS IMAMS MEETING WITH FBI - TOP

(SOUTHFIELD, MI, 1/27/11) –- A representative from the Michigan chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) yesterday joined members of the Imams Committee of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan (CIOM) in a meeting with the FBI to discuss concerns of the Michigan Muslim community.

Imams from some 20 mosques and Islamic organizations raised concerns and received answers on issues ranging from radicalization and surveillance of American Muslims over the Internet to controversial cases involving the FBI's usage of confidential informants and agent provocateurs.

CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid, who is also the assistant imam of Masjid Wali Muhammad in Detroit, also raised concerns about the FBI using anti-Muslim bigots during training sessions on Islam at other field offices around the country.

SEE: Anti-Muslim Bigot and Fanatic Explains Islam to the FBI and Tidewater Joint Terrorism Task Force (The Nation)

The Imams Committee was assured that trainings about Islam and American Muslims given to the field officers in Metro Detroit, including a recent training, will continue to be facilitated by local persons who are respected by mainstream Michigan Muslims.

"Though we continue to have serious concerns regarding the current usage of confidential informants and agent provocateurs in mosques and over the Internet, we welcome such opportunities to engage the FBI to discuss legitimate concerns of the Muslim community," said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid.

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-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid, 248-559-2247, E-Mail: dwalid@cair.com; CAIR-MI Staff Attorney Lena Masri, 248-559-2247, E-Mail: lmasri@cair.com

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CAIR: NEW ANTI-IRAN PROPAGANDA FILM TO BE RELEASED - TOP
Larry Luxner, Washington Jewish Week, 1/27/11

From the Jewish creators of The Third Jihad and Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West now comes another film sure to stir up controversy: Iranium.

Billed as "the movie Tehran doesn't want you to see," Iranium is a 60-minute documentary chronicling Iran's relentless efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction.

It will premier Feb. 8 at a Capitol Hill event sponsored by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), though a pre-launch screening will take place Tuesday at the Heritage Foundation in D.C., in conjunction with EMET, the Endowment for Middle East Truth. . .

Among Clarion's loudest critics is the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which Shore said launched a campaign against Obsession several years ago, in an attempt to discredit his organization as a group of hate mongers.

"We've gone out of our way to make clear that -- despite CAIR's desire to paint us as Islamophobes -- we're not against Muslims," he explained. "We're talking about radical Islam, a small percentage of the Muslim world."

Ibrahim Hooper, communications director at CAIR, says that's nonsense.

"These are the same people who brought us Obsession and The Third Jihad," Hooper said. "I've seen enough of these films to see them for what they are. These guys are hard-core bigots who get money from mysterious sources to crank out this anti-Muslim propaganda."

In fact, Shore was vague on the film's funding sources.

Obsession and Clarion came under scrutiny during the 2008 presidential election when a DVD of the film was folded inside newspapers in pivotal swing states in an effort to influence the election.

In November, Salon.com reported that "just as Clarion is gearing up to release a new film hyping the threat of Iran, the money mystery has deepened. According to a document submitted to the IRS by Clarion and obtained by Salon, a donor listed as Barry Seid gave Clarion nearly $17 million in 2008, which would have paid for virtually the entire Obsession DVD campaign."

During that 2008 campaign, Rabbi Jack Moline of Agudas Achim in Alexandria, criticized the film, telling an Interfaith Alliance press conference that the distributors of the DVD "have attempted by inference and innuendo to limit the rights of Muslims to enjoy the free exercise of their faith."

As for Shore's complaints that CAIR has refused invitations to attend debates and other events sponsored by his organization, Hooper laughed. "That's like the KKK sending a letter to the Anti-Defamation League inviting them to a tea party," he said. (More)

SEE ALSO:

CPAC'S ANTI-MUSLIM FILM FESTIVAL - TOP
By Justin Elliott, Salon.com, 1/27/11

Movie poster for Pamela Geller's "The Ground Zero Mosque"The Conservative Political Action Conference, a high-profile annual gathering that will be held in Washington next month, recently came in for some criticism from the anti-Muslim right for allegedly being "penetrated" by radical, sharia-pushing Islamists.

But the newly released CPAC theater schedule, posted online by the group Citizens United and noted by LobeLog's Eli Clifton, suggests that CPAC will still be safe for all stripes of Islamophobia.

According to the list of scheduled film screenings, at least two movies focusing on the threat of radical Islam will be shown. (More)

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CAIR: FLA. REP. WEST'S ANTI-ISLAM COMMENTS RUFFLES FEATHERS - TOP
AFRO Staff, 1/27/11

Tea-Party backed Congressman Allen West, R.-Fla., has stirred a bees nest with negative comments about Islam. West, appearing on the "Shalom Show," told producer Richard Peritz that Islam was the "antithesis" of America's founding principles.

At the outset of the 11-minute interview, Peritz asked West how he was going to deal with members of Congress he disagreed with, especially Rep. Keith Ellison, D.-Minn., who is a Muslim.

"Well I think it's most important that I stand upon the principles [of the] people that elected me to go to Washington, D.C., and represent them on Capitol Hill," West responded. "So that when you run into someone that is counter, or someone that really does represent the antithesis of the principles upon which this country was established, you've got to be able to defeat them intellectually in debate and discourse, and you just have to be able to challenge each and every one of their assertions very wisely and very forthright."

According to various media reports, Ellison released a response to West's comments; saying he was surprised as West had never expressed those views to him directly. Ellison disagreed with West's assertion that his religion precluded him from representing the principles of America.

"Contrary to the views expressed by Congressman West, I work to represent the highest ideals of our great nation – ideals like freedom of worship and respect for all faiths, equal protection under the law as well as a civil and open public discourse," Ellison said.

"Americans across the country want their public servants to reject the toxic and corrosive chatter that yields more heat than light," he continued. "I hope to have a productive and respectful dialogue with all of my colleagues, including Allen West." (More)

SEE ALSO:

FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY CHAIR: 'TERRORIST ACTIVITY KNOWS NO RELIGION' - TOP
By Rep. Bennie Thompson, Politico, 1/27/11

The Sept. 11 commissioners had it right when they said, "The U.S. has to help defeat an ideology, not just a group of people."

Americans have almost been conditioned to believe that the majority of people who seek to do us harm are those of Muslim descent. Capitalizing on this fear, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King (R-N.Y.) wants to hold narrowly focused hearings — only on the threat posed by foreign jihadist groups.

If law enforcement officials have told King that the Muslim community has been systematically uncooperative and wholly prone to radicalization, as he has repeatedly stated, I invite those officials to step forward.

In fact, tips from the Muslim community have directly led to foiling numerous plots — including the case of the Northern Virginia Five and the Times Square bomb plot.

When I served as the committee chairman in the 111th Congress, the panel regularly heard testimony from top law enforcement and intelligence officials. None of these officials has backed King's assertions that the Muslim community has not been helpful in thwarting terrorist attacks.

While I agree that homegrown terrorism and the jihadist threat deserve continuing attention, a single-minded approach ignores all other threats.

Today's terrorists do not share a particular ethnic, educational or socioeconomic background. Recently, when state law enforcement agencies were asked to identify terror groups in their states, Muslim extremist groups ranked 11th on a list of 18. (More)

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CAIR-CHICAGO: SUPPORTERS URGE APPROVAL OF MOSQUE - TOP
Sandy Illian Bosch, Pioneer Local, 1/27/11

Leaders from Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths gathered Jan. 19 to support the Muslim Educational Cultural Center of America in its effort to build a new place of worship in unincorporated DuPage County.

Among supporters were Scott Alexander, associate professor of Islamic Studies and director of Catholic-Muslim Studies at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and Jane Ramsey of the Jewish Council of Urban Affairs.

They encouraged members of the DuPage County Development Committee to reject the county Zoning Board's recommendation that the project be rejected.

"As a Jew, I am especially troubled by the pattern across the Chicago metropolitan area, consistent with a pattern occurring across the country, to deny Muslim houses of worship and community centers," Ramsey said at Wednesday's press conference, held at the Chicago Office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Chicago. (More)

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CAIR: BATMAN'S NEW MUSLIM SIDE-KICK ATTRACTS SNIDE COMMENTS - TOP
ABigMessage.com, 1/27/11

Interest In Batman's Nightrunner

Batman, the comics detective superhero, is attracting attention in some quarters in the USA. Or rather, it is his new side-kick who is. But not because of any heroic deeds. It is because Nightrunner, as this Algerian side-kick is called, is a Muslim. So who are so interested in him? Right-wing bloggers, it seems. But why? After all, Nightrunner is a crimefighter, not a criminal. His keen sense of justice was instilled in him by his devout mother. Ironically, it is this upright side of him that is said to fuelling comments about him.

Comments About Nightrunner

Avi Green, writing on the Astute Bloggers website, which features advertisements for right-wing US causes, says, "How about that. Bruce Wayne goes to France where he hires not a genuine French boy or girl with a real sense of justice, but rather, a 'oppressed' minority".

The Angry White Dude blog comments that "Nightrunner the Muslim sidekick will have strange new powers to bury women to their waists and bash their heads in with large rocks".

Significance Of Comments

Describing such comments as being part of a right-wing hate machine, Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) explained, "This is part of a phenomenon in which any time something to do with Islam or Muslims is viewed in a positive light or even just a way that seems to portray Muslims as part of normal society, it is attacked by these right-wing bloggers and hate-mongers on the internet". Andy Khouri, associate editor at Comics Alliance, a comic book blog owned by AOL, agrees that it is a racist reaction, though he thinks it might be a reaction of more than the fringe. (More)