Oralandar Brand-Williams, The Detroit News, 4/14/11

Detroit -- Federal authorities are investigating today a recent fire at the Islamic Center mosque of North Detroit on the city's east side.

An insurance investigator called in the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives after determining the April 1 blaze was deliberately set.

"This is definitely a deliberately set fire in my opinion," said Michael Roarty, a senior fire investigator for Unified Investigations & Sciences, Inc. in Clinton Township. ...

Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations of Michigan, said it would be "disturbing" if the mosque was targeted.

"We've had good relations with our neighbors in this community," said Walid today. "We sincerely hope that (FBI and ATF) determine it to be an accident." (More)

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CITY, FEDERAL AUTHORITIES PROBING MOSQUE FIRE - TOP
Associated Press, 4/14/11

Dawud Walid of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations was there to speak with authorities. (More)

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CAIR-CAN CONDEMNS THEFT AND ONGOING VANDALISM AT MONTREAL MOSQUE -TOP

(Ottawa, Canada – April 14th, 2010) - The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) condemns the theft and vandalism of a Montreal mosque this past Monday and calls on police to investigate the incident as a possible hate crime. According to a news report the perpetrators broke in through a fire exit door, stole a computer, and also used a slingshot-like device to fire steel bolts through two windows, including a large picture window. In 2009, the mosque was vandalized four times.

"CAIR-CAN stands with all Canadians in denouncing the repeated vandalism, which now includes theft, at the Dorval mosque. It is saddening to see the continuous targeting of this mosque in such a manner," said Ihsaan Gardee, Executive Director of CAIR-CAN.
"CAIR-CAN calls on local politicians and security officials in Montreal as well as provincial and federal governments to treat this as a possible hate crime and to work together to combat all forms of hate. We further call on the authorities, if warranted, to consider prosecuting the perpetrators of these acts under hate crime legislation to send an unambiguous message against those who would promote intolerance."

"We urge mosque leaders and officials to remain vigilant and to immediately report suspicious behaviour to the proper authorities and to CAIR-CAN, in order to establish a clear record of such incidents."

CAIR-CAN is a national, non-profit, grassroots organization striving to be a leading voice that enriches Canadian society through Muslim civic engagement and the promotion of human rights.

CONTACT: Ihsaan Gardee, CAIR-CAN Executive Director, 613.254.9704; 613.853.4111

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CAIR: PRISONER ALLEGES QURAN 'DEFILED' AT MINN. PRISON - TOP
Matt Russell, The Post-Bulletin, 4/8/11

A 31-year-old Federal Medical Center Rochester inmate who leads Muslims in prayer says a prison officer "defiled and defamed" another detainee's Quran last month.

Prison officials are investigating the allegations, said FMC spokesman Dan Cansino.

"We take matters like this very seriously," he said.

Inmate Dwayne Travoy Dillard sent letters to officials at the prison, as well as U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison of Minneapolis, saying the allegation against the officer is the culmination of a recently deteriorating relationship between prison officials and Muslim inmates. ...

Dillard said in his letter to prison officials that the officer's alleged act was a conscious abuse of her position and authority in order to "intentionally defile and defame" the holy book and Islam.

Council on American-Islamic Relations spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said he hasn't heard about Dillard's allegations. CAIR gets "quite a number" of prison-related cases, he said, and it isn't possible to comment on Dillard's complaint without having details about what allegedly happened.

"In these kinds of things I think intent is the key," Hooper said. "You wouldn't expect a corrections officer to have a full understanding of how Muslims treat the Quran, and regard it in terms of handling."

Muslims tend to place the Quran on a high shelf or a high point in the room when they are not reading it, for example, Hooper said, and a prisoner could take it as a sign of disrespect if an officer searches a room and unintentionally places the Quran at a lower point than it was originally shelved.

It's a different story, however, if the guard does something such as tearing the holy book in half, throwing it on the ground, and stomping on it, Hooper said. (More)

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SHARIA LAW THREAT: RIGHT-WING BOOGEYMAN - TOP
Andrew Reinbach, Huffington Post, 4/14/11

Frank Gaffney and his friends can relax: Sneaky Muslims aren't going to impose Sharia Law on the US and take away their bacon cheeseburgers. It's impossible.

But you'd never know that from what's pouring out of outfits like Gaffney's Center for Security Policy, from Fox News or from right-wing bloggers across the land, all of whom say the threat is real -- real enough to spawn 15 proposed state and federal laws against it.

Here's how Gaffney described what he calls the threat to the New York Senate's Homeland Security and Military Affairs Committee on April 8th: ."The threat...is best described, I believe, as a politico-legal-military threat whose express purpose is to have it imposed world-wide, subject to a theocratic ruler called a Caliph. That is of course a program that is completely at odds with our Constitution, our form of government, our way of life, our freedoms."

I'll admit that sounds pretty grim. Even if it does seem a lot like the threat of Global Communism I used to hear about as a kid.

The truth? Sharia is religious law, and no religious law can be imposed on the US without amending the Constitution -- twice -- to repeal both the opening clause of the First Amendment, and the Supremacy Clause in Article 6. (More)

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DEARBORN CITED IN EFFORT TO PASS ANTI-SHARIA LAW IN TEXAS - TOP
J. Patrick Pepper, Press and Guide, 4/14/11

DEARBORN -- More than 1,000 miles away in a state where it's Longhorns over car horns and everything's bigger, this modest suburb of Detroit is a big topic of discussion.

During testimony last week on a bill to explicitly ban Texas courts from considering any foreign cultural or religious law, lawmakers and proponents referenced Dearborn several times as a cautionary tale of what happens when such matters are considered.

The bill's author, Rep. Leo Berman, began his testimony on it by saying it was a response to spreading Sharia, or Islamic, law.

"This is now happening all over Europe ... It's being done in Dearborn, Mich., right now. It's being done in Dearborn, Mich., because of a large population of Middle Easterners. And the judges in Dearborn are using and allowing to be used Sharia law," Berman said to a panel of Texas legislators.

Pressed to provide specifics, Berman went on to say, "It's starting in Europe because large populations of Middle Easterners (unintelligible).

"And now it's starting in Dearborn, Mich., and it could spread throughout the United States."

Berman mentioned Dearborn six times throughout the course of his testimony.

Also testifying in favor of the bill was an associate of attorney David Yerushalmi. Yerushalmi, a self-proclaimed Sharia expert, is known nationally for his outspoken criticism of Islam and currently represents a group of evangelists in a lawsuit against Dearborn that alleges the city enacts and enforces policies that favor Muslims over non Muslims.

Pat Carlson, another proponent of the bill and the president of the conservative, Phyllis Schlafly-founded Texas Eagle Forum, testified that there have been several instances where judges in family courts across the country have deferred to Sharia to settle cases involving Muslim couples.

"It's not just happening in Dearborn," she said. ...

Dearborn Mayor Jack O'Reilly, who has appeared on national news to refute the idea, said all the comments are due to "ignorance" and political gamesmanship.

"These people know nothing of Dearborn and they just seek to provoke and enflame their base for political gain," he said. (More)

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CAIR BANQUETS IN CHICAGO, NEW YORK THIS WEEKEND - TOP

CAIR-Chicago:

WHAT: CAIR-Chicago's 7th Annual Banquet
Beyond the Comfort Zone: Crossing the Divide

WHO:
Keynote: Rev. Jesse Jackson
Awardees: Dr. Robert Pape, NPR's Jerome McDonnell, Habeeb Quadri

WHERE: Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Grand Ballroom, 5555 N. River Road, Rosemont, IL

WHEN: Saturday, April 16, 2011, 6 p.m

RSVP HERE: https://www.cairchicago.org/rsvp-2011/
DETAILS: https://www.cairchicago.org/cair-chicago-2011-annual-banquet-general-info-post-cards/

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CAIR-New York: (TOP)

WHAT: CAIR-NY's Annual Banquet and Leadership Conference
Defending our Democracy

WHO: Tariq Ramadan & Imam Siraj Wahhaj

WHERE: New York LaGuardia Airport Marriott, 102-05 Ditmars Boulevard, East Elmhurst, NY

WHEN: Saturday, April 16 2011, 6 p.m.

RSVP HERE: https://www.cair-ny.org/tickets
DETAILS: http://www.defending-democracy.com/

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