CAIR-OK: JURY AWARDS $20K IN MUSLIM WOMAN'S EMPLOYMENT SUIT - TOP
David Harper, Tulsa World News, 7/21/2011

A federal jury awarded $20,000 in compensatory damages Wednesday to a Tulsa woman who was not hired to work at a local Abercrombie Kids store because she wears a headscarf, but jurors opted not to award her any punitive damages.

U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell turned down the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's request for an injunction against the company.

Still, Samantha Elauf, 20, said she was "very excited" by the outcome and that she is glad she made her situation public.

The EEOC sued Abercrombie & Fitch on Elauf's behalf in September 2009, alleging that the company practiced religious discrimination when it chose not to hire her to work at an Abercrombie Kids store at Woodland Hills Mall in June 2008.

She had worn a hijab - or religiously mandated headscarf - to her job interview. ...

Muneer Awad, executive director of the Oklahoma Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, issued a statement Wednesday that said: "This is a victory for every single American in the workforce. ... A Muslim woman has the same right to earn a living as any other individual, and this court made that message clear."

(More)

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MUSLIM LAWMAKER: HERMAN CAIN IS A 'BIGOT' - TOP
Justin Elliott, Salon, 7/20/2011

Over the past few months, former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain has carved out a place as the most prominent anti-Muslim figure in the GOP presidential field, and, arguably, the country. ...

To get a response to Cain's new comments, I spoke to Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., who is one of two Muslim members of Congress and who has emerged in recent years as a loud anti-anti-Muslim voice.

"It seems like a week doesn't go by without Cain saying something incredibly offensive, so I can only guess that he's doing it on purpose," said Ellison. "He's probably figured out that he can get headlines if he says something really ugly, so he doesn't disappoint."

Ellison said he feels moved to address these issues because when people "start whipping up hatred against a certain group over the course of years, bad things happen. History teaches us that if you continue to stir the pot, stir the cauldron, it will not be long before something awful happens." (Read the Q&A.)

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LET'S NOT KID OURSELVES: MUSLIM-BAITING HAS WORKED FOR CAIN - TOP
Steve Kornacki, Salon, 7/21/2011

In the past few months, Herman Cain has said that he'd be uneasy appointing a Muslim to his Cabinet, endorsed the idea of loyalty tests for Muslims, and argued that any community in America should be free to ban mosques if that's what its citizens want. "Islam," the Republican presidential hopeful has claimed, "is both a religion and a set of laws -- Sharia laws. That's the difference between any one of our traditional religions where it's just about religious purposes."

More than any of his GOP rivals, Cain has made demonization of Muslims his calling card. We can his pronouncements ugly and misinformed, and they certainly are. But let's not pretend that in the Republican political universe of 2011 they make for a bad political strategy. (More)

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CAIR-LA: LA MIRADA MOSQUE VANDALIZED - TOP
Venusse Navid, Whittier Daily News, 7/19/2011

LA MIRADA - The vandalism of a La Mirada mosque is not being investigated as a hate crime, Sheriff's Department officials said Tuesday.

Someone threw a rock through the mosque's newly installed rear doors between 2 and 6 p.m. Monday, according to Rezaur Rahman, the president of Muslim Community Services Inc.

"This is not being classified as a hate crime right now because there is nothing to substantiate it as one," said Lt. Pat Valdez of the sheriff's La Mirada Station. "(But) we are very concerned about it and have already notified our department's Terrorism Early Warning Group."

The congregation finished prayer at 2 p.m. Monday and Rahman did not return until before the evening's prayer session.

"Everything was fine before I left the mosque yesterday afternoon, and when I returned later that evening, I noticed shattered glass on the floor near our newly installed doors," Rahman said.

"I found a rock lying among the shattered glass and was very surprised that it could have broken through our very strong, double-layered doors," he said. ...

"It's deeply troubling to hear about the incident at the La Mirada mosque. Unfortunately mosque vandalism around the nation is not uncommon, however, we should remember those incidents are not widespread and the American Muslim community continues to live in peace and harmony with their American neighbors and citizens," Munira Syeda, a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Tuesday.

(Watch the video.)

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ATTACK ON NY MUSLIM TO BE TRIED AS HATE CRIME - TOP
Nancy Fischer, Buffalo News, 7/21/2011

NIAGARA FALLS -- District Attorney Michael Violante said Wednesday that it is likely the suspect arrested in the attack on Pakistani woman last Thursday will be charged with a felony hate crime.

To that end, the victim’s medical records are being subpoenaed, Violante said during a pretrial City Court hearing Wednesday to determine whether the alleged crime qualifies as a felony.

"The investigation is ongoing, but the issue is how hard was she hit and does this qualify as a third-degree assault (required for a hate crime); from what I’ve read, on the face of it, it appears to be a third-degree assault," Violante said.

Antoinette S. Ivey, 32, of Ninth Street, appeared in City Court with her lawyer, public defender James Faso on Wednesday. At the time of her arrest, she was charged with third-degree assault, elevated to the level of hate crime.

City police are looking into leads on a second suspect still be sought in the case, Detective Patricia McCune said.

The case was adjourned until Aug. 30. Violante noted the incident was especially disturbing because the attack occurred in front of the victim’s two young children -- including a 1-year-old being pushed in a stroller.

The victim, Quratul Ain, 26, told The Buffalo News earlier this week that she was unsure why she was attacked as she was walking to meet her husband, who is a taxi driver. (More)

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TLC REALITY SHOW TO FOLLOW THE LIVES OF MUSLIM FAMILIES - TOP
Los Angeles Times, 7/21/2011

Call it "Muslim Modern Family."

Cable channel TLC is hoping to do for Muslims what it did for polygamists and Sarah Palin — put a new spin on controversial subjects that people often make judgments about without knowing the whole story.

The reality show "All-American Muslim" will follow the lives of five Muslim American families, some of whom are related, who reside in Dearborn, Mich., a suburb of Detroitthat has a large Muslim population. The show will debut in late November.

The people participating in "All-American Muslim" seem to range from very religious to more casual, and all struggle to find a balance between their American home and their Muslim background. One cast member is a football coach and another is in law enforcement. There are even splits in the level of devotion in some families. One family features two sisters -- one of whom wears a traditional head scarf and another who has tattoos and piercings and married an Irish Catholic. (More)

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VIDEO: MUSLIM EXPERIENCE IN MINNESOTA - TOP
Zafar Siddique, Star Tribune, 7/19/2011

Over the past 150 years, Minnesota has received immigrants from various countries. While it is well-known that Germans, Swedes, and Norwegians comprised the bulk of the state's earliest immigrants, few are aware that some of the Minnesota's earliest immigrants were Muslims. In fact, historical records indicate a Muslim presence in the state going as far back as the 1880s. (Watch the video.)

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MICH. MUSLIM, JEWISH, CHRISTIAN DOCTORS TEAM UP TO OFFER SCREENINGS -TOP
The Associated Press, The Republic (Columbus, Ind.), 7/21/2011

DETROIT -- Muslim, Jewish and Chaldean health care professionals are teaming up to offer free medical screenings for Detroit residents.

The Interfaith Health Fair runs from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Muslim Center in Detroit. The goal is to provide screenings for the working poor who don't qualify for government-provided health care or other discounted programs.

Organizers say patient referrals and urgent treatment will be provided as needed. The clinic also will feature education stations and social workers will be available to help with referrals to direct service agencies. (More)