FBI CALLS IN THE ARMY TO FIX ITS COUNTERTERRORISM TRAINING - TOP
By Spencer Ackerman, wired, 11/3/11

To fix its troubled counterterrorism training, the FBI is calling in the cavalry.

The Bureau has turned to the Army's Combating Terrorism Center at West Point to scour the FBI's training materials, after Danger Room revealed that Bureau specialists were teaching agents that "mainstream" Muslims were likely to be "violent" and radical." The West Point request represents a frank admission from the FBI that it requires outside help to reform. (More)

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VIDEO: PRAYER EVENT BY ANTI-ISLAM EXTREMISTS WORRIES MICH. MUSLIMS (CAIR) - TOP

DETROIT (WXYZ) - It is called "The Call' and it's scheduled for 11-11-11 at Ford Field, but at least one local Muslim leader is worried enough about it to send out alerts to local mosques.

Dawud Walid of the Council on American-Islamic Relations says the promoters of the event are sending out anti-Islamic messages, talking about driving stakes into the ground at local Mosques to send the demons away and Walid says that is disturbing and ridiculous.

Watch the video.

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CAIR-MI: MOSQUES WARNED TO UP SECURITY AHEAD OF EVENT - TOP
Oralandar Brand-Williams and Shawn D. Lewis, The Detroit News, 11/3/11

Dearborn -- The local head of a national Muslim civil rights group says a Christian prayer summit to be held at Ford Field next week promotes anti-Muslim sentiment and is warning local mosques to step up their security.

Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations -- Michigan, met Wednesday with Muslim activists to voice his concern over the rhetoric he fears could be at the center of the event Nov. 11.

"There's a bigger force or movement behind this prayer summit and how they're literally demonizing Muslims," he said.

But Metro Detroit pastors involved in the event say the gathering is merely meant to help Detroit, not target Muslims. (More)

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CAIR: MICHIGAN ISLAMIC GROUP CONCERNED ABOUT MOSQUE SECURITY - TOP
ClickOnDetroit.com, 11/2/11

DETROIT -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Michigan chapter, said it is concerned about Metro Detroit mosques' security during a Nov. 11 and 12 vigil at Ford Field in Detroit.

CAIR said a group known as The Call plans for thousands of Christians to attend the vigil during which they will pray for the conversion of Muslims.

According to the group's website, The Call Detroit vigil is expected to unite thousands from across the nation for fasting, prayer and worship.

However, Dawud Walid, of CAIR, said The Call has anti-Muslim views that overshadow its message of peace.

The Islamic group said it is concerned that the group is fighting Islam and presents a threat to schools and mosques in Metro Detroit.

CAIR said the group views Muslims as "demonic," and is concerned that some participants at the Ford Field vigil will go to mosques to "harass or provoke" Muslim worshipers, especially during Friday prayers. (More)

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EDITORIAL RESPONSE TO BURNED KAN. MOSQUE: RESPECT, PROTECT RIGHTS - TOP
Wichita Eagle, 11/3/11

Until local and federal investigators have finished their work, it will be premature to conclude that the burning of a mosque in west Wichita was an act of religious hatred. But the mere possibility of it should alarm a community that so highly values faith and liberty.

It's bad enough that earlier this year, according to a leader of the Islamic Association of Mid Kansas at 3406 W. Taft, the mosque received about eight letters variously criticizing Islam, mocking the Prophet Muhammad and blaming Islam for the Sept. 11 attacks. And that in the past month, someone had been harassing the mosque by turning on an outside water faucet at night.

If that hate and intolerance led to a torching of the mosque early Monday, causing an estimated $130,000 in damage, Kansas will join Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Michigan on the list of places where arsonists have targeted mosques or mosque construction sites in the past year.

And those responsible will deserve the very worst that the justice system can deliver to them. (More)

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OFFERS OF AID POUR IN AFTER FIRE AT MOSQUE - TOP
STAN FINGER, The Wichita Eagle, 11/2/11

When the Rev. Jackie Carter learned of the fire that heavily damaged a mosque in west Wichita early Monday morning, she knew what she needed to do.

"They are welcome to use the worship space at our building," said Carter, pastor of First Metropolitan Community Church at 156 S. Kansas. "We believe it's important for everyone to have sacred space, and now they don't."

It's just one of numerous offers of assistance for the mosque and those who pray there, said Hussam Madi, a spokesman for the Islamic Society of Wichita. (More)

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CAIR-FL: COMMISSIONER BLOCKS MUSLIM RELIGIOUS CEREMONY - TOP
Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 11/2/11

SUNRISE-- Disturbed by the prospect of lambs and goats being slaughtered in her city, Sunrise Commissioner Sheila Alu single-handedly blocked a Muslim religious ceremony set to take place on Sunday.

"Yes, I was trying to stop it," Alu said on Wednesday. "It's shut down. I'm trying to protect innocent animals. This is not an appropriate setting for the slaughtering of animals in an open field in a city that's as populated as Sunrise. Usually these religious ceremonies take place in a rural area."

The news did not sit well with Nezar Hamze, executive director of the South FloridaCouncil on American-Islamic Relations based in Pembroke Pines.

VIDEO: Driver killed after car crashes into Pompano Beach gas station

"Wow," Hamze said. "That is very upsetting. We'll find another venue. But that's very disturbing. I'm very disappointed in that. We asked for permission and went through the proper channels and now it's off because a commissioner has a problem with it."

Muslims from local mosques had planned to gather at a 45-acre farm on Hiatus Road in Sunrise to celebrate the Eid ul-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, Hamze said. The holiday honors Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, before God provided a sacrificial lamb instead.

The day also marks the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims are urged to make at least once in their lifetime.

"The meat is sacrificed according to state and Islamic law," Hamze said. "There is no bloodbath. It's very humane. It's a slit on the throat real quick. And they bleed out in a couple seconds. The animals do not suffer." (More)

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CAIR-FL: FLORIDA TEA PARTY CONVENTION HOSTS EXTREME ANTI-MUSLIM GUEST SPEAKER - TOP
Sunshine Slate, 11/3/11

... When asked about Pamela Geller and her campaign of misinformation and conspiracy theories about Muslims, Islam, President Obama and liberals, Dahl's response was, "What things aren't true?"

Dahl then launched into a series of anti-Muslim talking points straight out of Geller's script. No doubt, Dahl is a fan of Geller. No wonder she was booked.

A religious extremist by most measures, Geller has been dubbed as a member of the "anti-Muslim inner circle" by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). In fact, there is a chorus of respected people and organizations who label Geller as "loony," a "hate-monger" and a spreader of lies.

The progressive checks and balances website Media Matters for America - the arch-nemesis of the conservative mediasphere - summarized Geller as a "demagogue" and her viewpoints as "outrageous, inflammatory." Chris McGreal of The Guardian, called her "extreme." The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) considers Geller an "anti-Islam" extremist and "Islamophobe." (More)

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CAIR-FL: TEA PARTY, MUSLIMS CLASH BEFORE DAYTONA BEACH CONVENTION -TOP
Kenric Ward, Sunshine State News, 11/3/11

Controversy over an on-again, off-again speaking invitation to a Muslim group has spiced a tea party convention set for this weekend in Daytona Beach.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations complained to convention planners when it learned that Pam Geller, a prolific critic of radical Islam, was on the speaker list. One of the organizers then proffered an invitation to give CAIR equal time.

"We accepted only after guaranteeing we would receive (the) same treatment and respect as other speakers and that 'Muslim-bashing would not be tolerated,'" said Hassan Shibly, Tampa executive director of CAIR Florida. (More)

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CALIF. PARENTS OBJECT TO TEACHING STUDENTS ABOUT ISLAM - TOP
Meredith J. Graham, News Review, 11/3/11

When Dawn Kingsley's seventh-grade daughter came home from school last week with a class project to diorama the five pillars of the Muslim faith, Kingsley was speechless. Religion has no place in public schools, she thought. A former educator herself, she remembered being forbidden from discussing religion with her students--so how is it OK to teach about Islam in seventh-grade history?

"What happened to the separation of church and state?" she asked.

Teaching religion in public schools is always a sensitive issue. But there's a difference between teaching students to favor one religion over another or teaching them solely about certain religions and not others and teaching about how religion fits in with history.

"Teaching about the different types of religion isn't against the law. You just can't teach to favor one religion over another," explained John Bohannon, director of alternative education at Chico Unified School District and a former middle-school principal. (More)

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IL: MECCA-BOUND MUSLIMS JILTED BY TRAVEL AGENCY - TOP
Chuck Goudie, WLS, 11/2/11

November 2, 2011 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Hundreds of Muslims hoping to go on a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca have been left stranded by a Chicago travel agency that had promised to deliver the proper visas for travel.

The faithful make their way to Mecca, a procession that millions of Muslims have walked in a ritual of shared sacrifice dating back thousands of years.

Rukhsana Imtiaz, of Brownstown, Mich., was supposed to be in the middle of the pilgrimage Wednesday night with her husband.

"Going for Hajj is a lifetime decision," Imtiaz said. "We searched the internet and we found this website and everything was very promising, very nice, so we just went ahead and booked our package through this agent."

They and several hundred other Islamic faithful from across the country, had made arrangements with VIP Travel Services, whose website has Hajj-2011 on the front page and proclaims it is "a company you can trust."

VIP packages offered at almost $4,000 per person. Economy travel at almost $3,000 listed as sold out.

Imtiaz said she and her husband paid $5,000 each and set up care for their three children.

"We try to teach them that we're Muslims and we live in a free country and now they're looking at their mom and dad and their fellow Muslims have been cheated by their own fellow Muslim," Imtiaz said. "It's embarrassing." (More)

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STUDY: NEW MOSQUES CROPPING UP IN CHICAGO (NPR) - TOP
Monique Parsons, NPR, 11/3/11

Protests against new mosque construction have made headlines from New York City and Chicago to Los Angeles and Nashville.

But despite the push-back in some communities, one new academic study shows the number of mosques in the U.S. continues to grow -- especially in the Chicago area.

New Mosques Cropping Up

It's not easy to build a mosque in America these days. Media executive Malik Ali saw this firsthand back in 2004, when he sought approval to build a mosque in his hometown near Chicago. At a raucous three-hour public hearing in Orland Park's Village Hall, Ali heard incendiary comments. (More)

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OWNER OF CAR DEALERSHIP LABELED 'TALIBAN TOYOTA' WINS MILLIONS - TOP
Kelli Dugan, Reuters, 11/3/11

(Reuters) - The owner of a large southwest Alabama car dealership derided as "Taliban Toyota" by a competitor has been awarded $7.5 million in damages after a jury trial for his slander claim.

Iranian-born Shawn Esfahani, owner of Eastern Shore Toyota in Daphne, Alabama, sought $28 million in compensatory and punitive damages from Bob Tyler Toyota, claiming employees at that Pensacola, Florida-based dealership falsely portrayed him as an Islamist militant to customers.

"The feeling I received in the courtroom for the truth to come out was worth a lot more than any money anybody can give me," Esfahani told Reuters on Tuesday.

Esfahani's lawsuit said that Bob Tyler sales manager Fred Kenner told at least one couple considering buying from Eastern Shore Toyota in 2009 that Esfahani was of Middle Eastern descent and was "helping fund the insurgents there and is also laundering money for them." ...

A Bob Tyler salesman was accused of telling the same couple that Esfahani was from Iraq and calling him a "terrorist" who put soldiers including the salesman's brother in harm's way.

"(Esfahani) is funneling money back to his family and other terrorists. I have a brother over there and what you're doing is helping kill my brother," the salesman told the couple when he called them on the Eastern Shore sales floor, according to the suit. (More)