THE INFORMANTS - TOP
Trevor Aaronson, Mother Jones, September/October 2011 Issue

James Cromitie was a man of bluster and bigotry. He made up wild stories about his supposed exploits, like the one about firing gas bombs into police precincts using a flare gun, and he ranted about Jews. "The worst brother in the whole Islamic world is better than 10 billion Yahudi," he once said.

A 45-year-old Walmart stocker who'd adopted the name Abdul Rahman after converting to Islam during a prison stint for selling cocaine, Cromitie had lots of worries--convincing his wife he wasn't sleeping around, keeping up with the rent, finding a decent job despite his felony record. But he dreamed of making his mark. He confided as much in a middle-aged Pakistani he knew as Maqsood. (More)

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CAIR: LOCKED UP ABROAD -- FOR THE FBI - TOP
Nick Baumann, Mother Jones, September/October 2011 Issue

When Gulet Mohamed finally returned home on a chilly Virginia morning in January, the 19-year-old from Fairfax was wearing the same outfit he had on when he disappeared a month earlier in Kuwait. Clad in a fleece hat and a gray Real Madrid sweatshirt, the straggly-bearded, wide-eyed teenager stepped out of arrivals at Dulles Airport and into a phalanx of television cameras. He wore a bewildered smile--as if he was still unsure of what had happened to him but was just grateful it was over.

For more than a year, Mohamed had been living in Kuwait City with an uncle. (More)

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FBI USES IMMIGRATION PROBLEMS TO RECRUIT MOSQUE INFORMANTS - TOP
NPR, 8/21/11

In today's post 9/11 America, there are 15,000 informants working with the FBI. That's nearly three times as many as there were 25 years ago.
Over the years, when there has been a surge in the number of informants the FBI recruits and uses, there's a specific target in the FBI's sights -- first organized crime, then drug smuggling, and now counterterrorism. (More)

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IOWA SIKH SAYS FBI TOLD HIM TO SPY ON MOSQUES - TOP
First Post, 8/19/11

Singh is sikh, and after he was arrested, he was allegedly approached by federal agents. "It was right after 9/11 and he was approached and they said, 'We are looking for people who look like you in the War against Terror,'" according to attorney Said. "They created this persona for him, gave him checkbooks and checking accounts and they said, 'Go to these mosques and claim to be Muslim, and pray, and give them money so we can trace the money." (More)

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ATTORNEY WHO REFUSED TO BETRAY MUSLIM SPEAKS ON CIVIL LIBERTIES - TOP
Arab American News, 8/21/11

The attorney-client privilege assuring confidentiality between the two parties is one of the most cherished rights of the American law system, but according to internationally recognized lawyer, author and professor Francis A. Boyle of the the University of Illinois-Champaign, government agents violated that privilege in a jarring summer 2004 visit.

Speaking to The Arab American News, Boyle confirmed recent reports that he was visited by two agents from a joint FBI-CIA anti-terrorist fusion center located about a 90-minute drive away in Springfield, Ill. in his office in Champaign, who attempted to persuade him to become an informant on his Arab American and American Muslim clients. (More)

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TN: PANEL SET TO DISCUSS SHARIA LAW TONIGHT - TOP
Daily News Journal, 8/22/11

ASHVILLE -- A discussion of the potential application of Islamic law in the United States, and proposals to limit or prevent that possibility, will be held at 7:30 p.m. today at the First Amendment Center, 1207 18th Ave. S., Nashville.

Earlier this year, at least 13 states -- including Tennessee -- had legislative measures filed that would bar judges from considering Sharia law in legal decisions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. (More)

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ISLAM IN THE BIBLE BELT - TOP
Murfreesboro Post, 8/21/11

Islam in Middle Tennessee is being cussed and discussed, but do we really understand what we're saying?

To make things clearer for the news media, and, ultimately, for the public, the MTSU School of Journalism will sponsor "Covering Islam in the Bible Belt," a conference for journalists, Aug. 21-23 at the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center, 1201 Eighth Ave. S. in Nashville.

Its purpose is to help journalists who report on issues involving Muslims with access to experts and resources they can use to give their work new breadth and depth. (More)

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A RAMADAN STORY OF TWO FAITHS BOUND IN FRIENDSHIP - TOP
NPR, 8/21/11

It's Ramadan, the month-long holiday when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk as a way to cleanse the soul and reflect on their relationship with God. The faithful usually flock to their local mosques for prayer during the holiday, but last year, the Muslims of Cordova, Tenn., just outside Memphis, didn't have a place to go.

That's when Pastor Steve Stone put an unusual sign outside his church.

"It said, 'Welcome to the neighborhood, Memphis Islamic Center,'" he laughs. "It's been seen all over the world, now." (More)

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MORMON, MUSLIM TEENS TEAM UP FOR FOOD DRIVE - TOP
Deseret News, 8/21/11

LAKE FOREST, Calif. -- Teenagers from the Mission Viejo and Santa Margarita, Calif., stakes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and from the Islamic Shura Council joined together on Aug. 13 for a food drive to benefit local families, collecting an estimated 5,300 pounds of food.

The food was delivered to South County Outreach, which serves families in the California cities of Irvine through San Clemente. Three years ago, SCO served 33,000 people, and this year the organization is on track to help nearly double that amount. (More)

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LATINO AND MUSLIM: A GROWING MINORITY - TOP
The Venture, 8/22/11

Latino and Muslim are two words that come charged with various sentiments in American society. Being a Latino Muslim comes with the challenge of facing both religious and ethnic ostracism.

Juan Alvarado was raised Catholic by his Dominican parents but converted to Islam at the end of his college years.

"My father was the one that didn't like the idea," Alvarado said.

Alvarado, one of the first in his family to go to college, felt a new sense of independence when he came back home. (More)