CAIR VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS BIAS IN REP. KING'S ANTI-MUSLIM HEARINGS - TOP

(ANAHEIM, CA, 6/17/11) -- The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today released a video following Rep. Peter King's (R-NY) second McCarthyesque hearing targeting American Muslims.

The video, "The Good, the Bad, and the King," highlights the Congressman's false allegations against American Muslims and the manufacturing of the "sharia threat" by some to stoke fear of Muslims and their faith. The video also features voices that have denounced the broad-brush indictment of American Muslims.

SEE: The Good, the Bad, & the King

"Elected officials must be commended for standing by the principles of equality and inclusivity and rejecting Rep. King's efforts to sow fear of an entire religious minority through his biased hearings," said CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush.

Americans are encouraged to share the video with family and friends, and through social media.

The second hearing, "The Threat of Muslim-American Radicalization in U.S. Prisons," held Wednesday, was described by Chairwoman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Rep. Judy Chu (D-32) as "contributing to a climate of fear and prejudice."

Rep. Mike Honda (D-15) stated the hearings reminded him of his time in internments camps.

Moreover, the National Jewish Democratic Council released a statement saying the hearings were "a manifestation of an upsetting GOP obsession with American Muslims."

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,info@losangeles.cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, or 202-488-8787, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

-----

CAIR-FL: SHARIA IS NOT A THREAT (MIAMI HERALD) - TOP
Nezar Hamze, Miami Herald, 6/17/2011

[Nezar Hamze is executive director of the South Florida Council on American-Islamic Relations.]

You can't turn on the news these days or pick up a newspaper without seeing or reading about Islam, Muslims or Sharia law. Unfortunately, most of what you hear is from politicians with a religious viewpoint or media outlets creating an illusion of an enemy.

They sensationalize Arabic words to feed on society's fear. The hottest topic these days is the Sharia. They claim that "Moozlims" are trying to replace the U.S. Constitution with the Sharia. Before we all run out with pitchforks and protest signs, let's understand what Islam is, and then we can understand the Sharia. (More)

-----

CAIR: COMBATING ISLAMOPHOBIA IN FLORIDA - TOP
Eleni Towns, Center for American Progress, 6/16/2011

Muhammed Malik is a 28-year-old Kashmiri-American human rights advocate, social commentator, and nonprofit consultant who was born and raised in Miami, FL. A former executive director of council on American-Islamic Relations (South Florida), Muhammed also worked at the ACLU Florida, coordinating its work through the Racial Justice and Voting Rights Projects.

Muhammed is a founding partner of the Black Mangrove Collective, co-producer of Miami's acclaimed "Let's Talk About It" weekly radio show (880 AM), and serves as a board member of South Florida Interfaith Workers Justice, No More Tears, and the City of North Miami Beach's Multicultural Affairs Commission. He speaks regularly at universities, places of worship, and conferences, and he's been featured by various media outlets including Al Jazeera, CNN, NPR, Democracy Now, The Miami Herald, and The Sun Sentinel. (More)

SEE ALSO:

TEA PARTY WALLOWS IN MUSLIM-BASHING GUTTER WITH GELLER - TOP
Leah Nelson, Southern Poverty Law Center, 6/15/2011

The Tea Party Patriots has already gained notoriety as the Tea Party group that's most willing to fraternize with some of the most extreme elements of the right. The group further cemented that reputation last weekend by hosting an address by Pam Geller, the shrill co-head of the New York-based Stop Islamization of America and a major force in turning Manhattan's "Ground Zero Mosque" into a national controversy.

The Patriots received a heavy dose of Muslim-bashing and circle-the-wagons paranoia. A video of her speech is posted on her Atlas Shrugs website.

"The stealth jihad is very real," the heavily made-up queen of Islamophobia told her Fort Lauderdale, Fla. audience. "I'm talking about the academic, the economic, the legal, the social, and the cultural jihad in this country. It is a covert operation, although increasingly more brazen under Obama."

Using a strategy she described as "the mosquing of the workplace," Geller claimed that Muslims everywhere are conspiring to "impose Islam," demanding time to pray and the right to wear religious garb. "They get special privileges. It's Islamic supremacism," and "the American people are like Helen Keller and someone moved the furniture. Something is wrong and they don't known what." (More)

---

CAIN'S MESSAGE -- MUSLIMS NEED NOT APPLY (CNN) - TOP
Dean Obeidallah, CNN, 6/16/2011

Herman Cain, Republican presidential candidate and winner of this year's Arizona and Georgia Tea Party straw polls, has a campaign slogan: "Lets Get Real."

So I guess he was just keeping it real when he recently declared that he was not "comfortable" appointing an American-Muslim to his Cabinet or to a federal judgeship.

I guess it was just another mark of this realness when he announced last week that he would require a loyalty oath from any Muslim seeking a job in his administration, but would not require the same for Christians or Jews. Cain added that he has never personally met a Muslim who would take an oath disavowing sharia law--laws based on the Quran -- so it would appear that none could be qualified for a job in the Cain administration.

Inspired by Cain's keeping-it-real mantra, I am going to keep it real: Herman Cain is either a bigot, ignorant or simply a politician using fear mongering for political gain. (More)

---

ARABIC FOR RIGHT-WINGERS (Salon) - TOP
Justin Elliott, Salon, 6/16/2011

In ominous tones, Islamophobes toss around terms like "taqiyya" and "Shariah." Do they even know what they mean?

In a now infamous column, the writer Eliana Benador argued this week that Anthony Weiner (who is a Jew) may have converted to Islam but was hiding it from the world in accordance with the practice of "taqiyya."

"It is also important, when looking at this situation, to remember that observant Muslims practice taqiyya, an element of sharia that states there is a legal right and duty to distort the truth to promote the cause of Islam," Benador wrote.

In invoking the Arabic term "taqiyya," Benador exemplified a practice we've noticed in the past few years. It's become common for right-wing writers and even politicians to matter-of-factly toss around Arabic terminology when warning of the Muslim threat to America. These references, often made in ominous tones, are almost always without context.

So we thought it would be useful to hear explanations of terms like "taqiyya" from an expert. John Esposito, university professor at Georgetown and author of "What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam," was kind enough to explain six of the more common Islamic terms we've been hearing. (More)

---

GINGRICH'S STEALTH ISLAMOPHOBIA - TOP
Julie Ingersoll, Religion Dispatches, 6/16/2011

Neither Herman Cain nor Newt Gingrich will win the Republican primary, but the manner in which both jumped on the anti-Muslim bandwagon in Monday's New Hampshire debate is instructive. Cain waffled on what he had said, what he hadn't said, and what he meant.

But Gingrich's more troubling comments arose from the systematic, orchestrated effort to foster widespread suspicion and hatred toward Muslims that Sarah has called "a cottage industry." (More)

-----

CAIR: MUSLIM WEIGHTLIFTER'S REQUEST FOR MODESTY - TOP
Eman El-Shenawi, Al Arabiya, 6/16/2011

A Muslim woman's passion for weightlifting has put her at the center of a debate that could affect athletic competitions worldwide, potentially stretching as far as the Olympics.

Kulsoom Abdullah, a 35-year-old living in Atlanta, is a weightlifter with a dream of one day making it to the Olympics. She has chosen to dress according to Islamic custom while lifting; keeping her entire body covered, aside from her hands and face.

But her decision has sparked a controversial backlash from the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). Later this month, the group will decide whether Ms. Abdullah may take part in officially sanctioned tournaments while she is covered. ...

Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which has taken up Ms. Abdullah's cause told the Daily Mail: "What we hear all the time is, 'You've got to empower Muslim women around the world.'" (More)

-----

OKLA. ABERCROMBIE & FITCH HIJAB LAWSUIT NEARS TRIAL - TOP
Jennifer Palmer, NewsOK, 6/16/2011

TULSA -- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's discrimination lawsuit against Abercrombie & Fitch on behalf of a Muslim teen is nearing trial.

The case, filed Sept. 16, 2009, in federal court in Tulsa, accuses Abercrombie & Fitch of refusing to hire Samantha Elauf, then 17, because her hijab, or head scarf, violates the company's "Look Policy." Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects workers from discrimination based upon religion in hiring and in the terms and conditions of their employment.

Trial is set for July 18. (More)

-----

CAIR-NY: CANADIAN WANTS TO BE TAKEN OFF UN WATCH LIST - TOP
Catherine Solyom, Montreal Gazette, 6/16/2011

UNITED NATIONS -- Twenty-two floors up, in the German mission overlooking UN plaza, Abousfian Abdelrazik finally got a hearing of sorts with representatives of the United Nations sanctions committee that has kept him on a terror watch list for five years.

Unable to travel, work or receive government benefits because of the sanctions, a delegation of Canadian supporters travelled from Montreal to New York in his place to plead his case and show a video of Abdelrazik urging them to take him off its list of suspected al-Qaida and Taliban operatives.

"I invite you and the rest of the committee to walk in my shoes," says Abdelrazik, a single father of two and the lone Canadian citizen on the UN blacklist. "I invite you to come to live with me for one day and to see the suffering. Then, when you go back to New York, I am sure -- because you are human beings -- I am sure you are going to change your mind."

While visiting his mother in Sudan in 2003, Abdelrazik was twice arrested and detained, for a total of 20 months, during which he says he was repeatedly beaten and tortured. Though subsequently cleared of any links to terrorism by both CSIS and the RCMP, he was added to the UN sanctions list in 2006, he believes at the United States' request. And because he was on the list, Canada refused to repatriate him for more than a year while he lived in the Canadian Embassy. (More)