Browsing All Posts filed under »Discrimination«

Regulating Diversity in Europe

September 26, 2007

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Islam and the European Project Kathleen Cavanaugh, National University of Ireland, Galway There exists a limited pluralist model of regulating or `managing’ religious diversity in contemporary Europe. This pluralist model, however, is in contrast to the limitations that appear at the state level, which reflect an increasingly illiberal, secular Europe. Such contrast stems historically from […]

Your face is being watched at the airport

September 25, 2007

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The TSA is hiring special screeners to screen facial expressions and passenger behavior in the US. Affiliate WBAY reports. Please click here to watch the video clip from CNN.

Please sign the petition on behalf of Professor Nadia Abu al-Haj’s Tenure.

September 14, 2007

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BIO of Nadia Abu El-Haj, assistant professor, recently published Facts on the Ground: Archaeological Practice and Territorial Self-Fashioning in Israeli Society (University of Chicago Press, 2002). She spent the past academic year at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and has received numerous fellowships. Her research focuses on the Middle East. At Barnard, she […]

Islamophobia on rise, especially in Europe: U.N. envoy

September 14, 2007

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By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) – The United Nations investigator on racism on Friday condemned a rising trend of Islamophobia, especially in Europe, where he said it was being exploited by some right-wing political parties. Doudou Diene, U.N. special rapporteur on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, also accused Switzerland’s most popular […]

Palos mosque controversy: A Harvard case study

September 10, 2007

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Harvard University students are going to be studying Palos Heights this fall. A case study titled “A Mosque in Palos Heights,” based on real events in that city in 2000, has been developed by Harvard’s Pluralism Project, which studies America’s changing religious diversity to better understand its impact on society. In 2000, the Al Salam […]

Saudi Arabia: Migrant Domestics Killed by Employers (Saudi Arabia: PRT Migran Dibunuh Majikan)

September 9, 2007

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Human Rights Watch (www.hrw.org) Brutal Beatings and Killings Symptomatic of Wider Abuse (New York, August 17, 2007) – The killing of two Indonesian domestic workers by their employers in Saudi Arabia highlights the Saudi government’s ongoing failure to hold employers accountable for serious abuses, Human Rights Watch said today. The brutal beatings by these employers […]

Abandon Stereotypes, Muslims in America Say

September 7, 2007

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By NEIL MacFARQUHAR, New York Times. ROSEMONT, Ill., Sept 3 — It is time for the United States to stop treating every American Muslim as somehow suspect, leaders of the faith said at their largest annual convention, which ended here on Monday. Six years after the Sept. 11 attacks, Americans should distinguish between mainstream Muslims […]

New York public school accused of radical Islamist agenda

September 4, 2007

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NEW YORK (CNN) — A public school in New York that will teach Arabic language and culture opened Tuesday amid accusations that it will impose a radical Islamist agenda in its classrooms. Please click here to view CNN video on the Khalil Gibran Academy. Carmen Colon enrolled her son in Khalil Gibran Academy, but pulled […]

Islamophobia 101: Episode 19–Group Targets Middle Eastern Textbooks

September 4, 2007

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By Special to the Sun September 4, 2007 As schools citywide open their doors today, a group critical of a new Arabic-language public school is stepping up its opposition efforts, broadening its campaign to target national school curricula. The group, a coalition of community members, parents, and organizations called Citizens for American Values in Public […]

Islam, the American way

September 3, 2007

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The Economist Aug 30th 2007 Why the United States is fairer to Muslims than “Eurabia” is IN PITTSBURGH, a Turkish group, pious but peaceful, decides to rethink its plans for an Islamic centre after an angry public hearing. In Clitheroe, a town in northern England, a plan to turn an ex-church into a mosque wins […]

Tajik MPs urge president to prevent demolition of mosques in capital

September 3, 2007

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BBC Monitoring Central Asia Unit Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring Three Tajik MPs have appealed to President Emomali Rahmon to prevent demolition and closure of mosques in Dushanbe. In their appeal Akbar Turajonzoda, Muhammadsharif Himmatzoda and Muhiddin Kabiri – former United Tajik Opposition leaders – condemn what they term “anti-Islamic and anti-constitutional” acts of the […]

Indonesian housemaids assaulted by their Saudi employers: Two beaten to death

September 1, 2007

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Mohammed Rasooldeen, Arab News RIYADH, 1 September 2007 — The Kingdom has sought more time from the Indonesian government to resolve the case of four Indonesian housemaids who were assaulted in Aflaj, a town 320 kilometers south of the Saudi capital Riyadh. Two of the maids died from the attack when a family member beat […]

ARABIC SPOKEN? PLANE GROUNDED

August 31, 2007

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Norman Parish, Chicago Sun-Times, 8/30/07 http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/534860,CST-NWS-air30.article A woman who complained that some fellow passengers spoke Arabic and “had odd behavior” prevented a Chicago-bound American Airlines flight from departing San Diego, police said Wednesday. Flight 590, scheduled to depart at 11 p.m. Tuesday, left its gate about 11:15 but returned to the boarding area after the […]

Religious Profiling: New TSA Policy on Head Covering

August 29, 2007

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CAIR News Release August 28, 2007 Civil rights and community organizations are urging their constituents to take note of revised screening procedures at airports for all head coverings and to know their rights as travelers. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) released a statement today confirming reports of new head covering screening procedures as of August […]

Smearing the Accomplishments of a Muslim School Principal

August 29, 2007

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By SAMUEL G. FREEDMAN New York Times Last Feb. 12, you may recall, New York education officials announced plans to open a minischool in September that would teach half its classes in Arabic and include study of Arab culture. The principal was to be a veteran teacher who was also a Muslim immigrant from Yemen, […]

Casting Suspicion on All American Muslims

August 24, 2007

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 Rafik Beekun Please click here to download the report, “Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat,” from the New York City Police Department’s website. It alledges to describe ‘how ordinary people in the West can become radicalized and followers of what the report calls a jihadist ideology.’ This report is worrisome because it casts suspicion […]

European Union Losing Turkey

August 21, 2007

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by HUGH POPE, Wall Street Journal August 20, 2007 Istanbul When a half-century of convergence between Turkey and the European Union last floundered a decade ago, the Turks regrouped and forged forward and the EU met them halfway. The result was a revolutionary period of reform in Turkey. Last month, grateful for their most fruitful […]

Death threats allegedly issued against Middle Eastern Scholar at Barnard College

August 18, 2007

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In an email from President Judy Shapiro of Barnard College to Phil Orenstein of Democracy Project, she allegedly states that Assistant Professor Nadia Abu El-Haj has received death threats. “To clarify and provide some additional information: I do not myself believe that the people who are getting in touch with me anonymously truly need to […]

Alumni Group Seeks to Deny Tenure to Middle Eastern Scholar at Barnard College

August 18, 2007

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Daily news reported by The Chronicle of Higher Education newsfeed. August 15, 2007 Controversial research on Israel and the Palestinian territories has become the basis of yet another campaign to prevent a professor from winning tenure. A group of Barnard College alumni has drafted an online petition asking their alma mater to deny tenure to […]

Muslims adopt Hindu IDs to escape discrimination in India

August 15, 2007

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Shaikh Azizur Rahman, SPECIAL TO THE STAR Toronto Star On a busy street in Calcutta’s business district, he runs a food stall called “Rajib’s Paratha” and is known as Rajib Mallick. Using the popular Hindu name, no one suspects he is Rajab Ali Mollah, a Muslim who has adopted a fictitious identity to blend in […]

Muslim Meat Packing Plant Workers Want Accommodation For Prayer Time

August 13, 2007

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Source: cair.com O’REILLY: “Personal story” segment tonight, more accommodations requested for American Muslims. The Council on American Islamic Relations, CAIR, wants a meat packing plant in Nebraska to give Muslim workers time to pray around sundown. The plan says that would interrupt the assembly line. Joining us now from Chicago, Ahmed Rehab, head of CAIR’s […]

Sowing the sociological seeds of discontent

August 1, 2007

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Source: Hagai Segal in South China Morning Post, Aug 1, 2007, p. 13 Indian doctor Mohammed Haneef has flown home, leaving behind him a growing scandal in Australia in the wake of an astonishing legal and political soap opera that followed the attempted terror attacks in London and Glasgow in late June. The long-term legacy […]

Is flushing the Qur’an down the toilet a hate crime?

August 1, 2007

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CAIR Debates Hate Vandalism of Quran with Chris Hitchens

Islamophobia 101: Episode 17-China’s ‘war on terror’ hides brutal crackdown on Muslims

July 22, 2007

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Michael Sheridan in Kashgar, China Sunday Times (London) THE CHINESE executioners came for Ismail Semed before 9am. They led him out of his cell as the sun climbed over the Tien Shan mountains in the land he called East Turkestan. The day before, he had seen his wife, Buhejer, his son, 7, and his daughter, […]

Diverse Muslim identity must replace the stereotypes

July 21, 2007

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Niall Crowley, The Irish Times, Opinion Section, July 21, 2007, p. 15 Reducing all Muslim people to a singular, all-encompassing unit justifies inequality and discrimination and does not serve the emergence of an integrated society, writes Niall Crowley. A man stands up in a Dublin bus, points at an Irish Muslim girl and shouts “terrorist”. […]

Islamophobia 101–Episode 16: Eradicate Muslims like Beetles from the Face of this Earth

July 19, 2007

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Please click here to listen to a threat from radio host Neal Boortz to eradicate Muslims like beetles from the face of this earth. Press the play button to start the audio clip. For more information on Neal Boortz, please click here. Please do not contact him directly because Mr. Boortz can and will use […]

Illegal Undercover FBI Sales Sting Fails

July 19, 2007

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Associated Press, 7/18/07 A Butte County judge has dismissed the case against a Chico market owner who was accused of purchasing stolen cigarettes, saying it appeared the charges were a way for the FBI to question the owner about terrorism. “A reasonable person could draw the conclusion that this ABC undercover operation was a subterfuge […]

Australian Visa Laws Unfair to Muslims

July 18, 2007

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Mark Dunn, Herald TImes (Australia) 07/18/2007, p 13. NEW laws that demand Arabs seeking visa entry into Australia provide the names of their parents and grandfather hint at racial and religious profiling, according to a leading Islamic group. ”It would be pretty naive to think there is no religious profiling going on (with visa applicants), […]

Drivers accuse FEDEX bosses of discrimination

July 18, 2007

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David Abel, Boston Globe, 7/17/07 Four Arab-American drivers who said they were harassed by their supervisors at a FedEx Corp. facility in Wilmington have filed a lawsuit alleging they were subjected to a steady flow of vitriol and discrimination. In a lawsuit the plaintiffs’ lawyer said was served on FedEx yesterday, the drivers said managers […]

Indian Muslims oppose fatwa against co-education

July 17, 2007

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By Shaikh Azizur Rahman, THE WASHINGTON TIMES Indian Muslim leaders are uniting with female students in opposition to a “fatwa” or Islamic edict demanding that Muslim girls stay away from academic institutions where boys are studying. The order, issued by the influential theological school of Darul Uloom Deoband in northern India last week, said coeducation […]

The Six Imams File Lawsuit Alleging Racial and Religious Discrimination

July 13, 2007

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Source:  Aisha Aziz, Southern California Infocus WASHINGTON – Six imams, who were removed from a U.S. Airways flight last year, have filed a lawsuit for racial and religious discrimination, unleashing a fresh outcry from right-wing bloggers, columnists, and media, who commented extensively against the imams when they were first de-planed in November. Headlines such as […]

Good Samaritan 101: Dr. Jessica Stern’s Speech on Double Standards Among Terror Critics

July 12, 2007

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 Source: Heather Robinson from the New York Sun A lecturer in public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government claims there is a double standard by which Muslim clerics are criticized for not condemning Islamist terrorism when “rabbis are not condemning the violent settlers’ movement.” Jessica Stern‘s lecture and those of other participants sought to […]

Muslim Dunkin’ Donuts Owner Can Sue Over Pork, U.S. Court says

July 11, 2007

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LOS ANGELES – A discrimination lawsuit filed by a Muslim Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee who was not allowed to renew his contract with the chain because of a refusal to sell pork products can proceed, a U.S. appeals court ruled Tuesday. The decision reversed an Illinois federal court judge’s 2004 ruling that rejected Walid Elkhatib’s argument […]

Media Misusing Statistics When Reporting on Muslims

June 26, 2007

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Sources: The Pew Research Org and Abiya Ahmed The first-ever, nationwide, random sample survey of Muslim Americans finds them to be largely assimilated, happy with their lives, and moderate with respect to many of the issues that have divided Muslims and Westerners around the world. The Pew Research Center conducted more than 55,000 interviews to […]

Caring for People with Special Needs in Islam

June 14, 2007

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by Muhammad Mus`ad Yaqut The civilized world has recently paid attention to people with special needs. This started after it had cast aside corrupt, racist theories calling for neglecting them on the false grounds that people with special needs are not of any benefit to the society. A report issued by the United Nations International […]

Balancing the Prophet (s)

June 5, 2007

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By Karen Armstrong Published: April 27, 2007, Financial Times Ever since the Crusades, people in the west have seen the prophet Muhammad as a sinister figure. During the 12th century, Christians were fighting brutal holy wars against Muslims, even though Jesus had told his followers to love their enemies, not to exterminate them. The scholar […]

Muslim Scholars Look at Conflict Between Islamic Tenets and Job Duties

May 6, 2007

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May 05, 2007 By Omar Sacirbey When the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America convenes later this year, the few dozen Islamic scholars will try to hammer out an answer to a question vexing the North American Muslim community: How do Muslims reconcile the mandates of their faith with jobs that may require actions prohibited […]

Muslims in the European Union: Discrimination and Islamophobia

March 28, 2007

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“What happened on 11 September was like a catalyst, you know. Things which they never thought of saying publicly, from one day to another, they say it publicly now. Before, there was a lot of ‘political correctness’ but after 11 September all political correctness went within seconds.” (Male, Germany) “I have heard it many times […]

Migrant Workers in Saudi Arabia: Similarities Between Sponsorship and Slavery

March 22, 2007

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Source: Arab News Abeer Mishkhas A SAUDI teacher in Samta Governorate has confessed to the police that she tortured an Indonesian house cleaner who was hospitalized and later died due to the severity of her injuries. The woman torched the cleaner and also struck her a number of times on the head; the cleaner suffered […]

Canadians Interact Least with Muslims and Favor Hijab Ban

March 21, 2007

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by  JEFF HEINRICH Source: The Gazette (Montreal), p. A3, News [In an Environics poll conducted recently], Canadians said they interact with blacks most – 69 per cent said they’re in contact with them often or occasionally. Chinese were next (65 per cent), then East Indians and Pakistanis (54 per cent), aboriginals (54 per cent), Jews […]

Profiling At US-Canadian Border Hampers Livelihood of Muslims

March 20, 2007

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Source: The Globe and Mail (Canada) March 20, 2007 Tuesday The federal government must pressure U.S. border authorities to stop racial and religious profiling of Canadian Muslims and Arabs, the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations said yesterday. [more] “The livelihood and future of Canadian citizens cannot be halted without just cause.” Mahmoud Zeitoun, a student […]

For Muslim Women, Education and Economic Empowerment Are Keys to a Better Life

March 11, 2007

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By Margaret Besheer, VOA Washington 05 March 2007 International Women’s Day Thursday highlights women’s struggle for equality, justice, peace and development. For many it is a day to celebrate progress. For others, it is a reminder of just how far they still must travel. (Note from Rafik Beekun: As an example of how far our […]

Report: FBI Has Repeatedly Misused the Patriot Act

March 9, 2007

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By Declan McCullagh Staff Writer, CNET News.com The FBI has repeatedly misused the Patriot Act’s extraordinary surveillance powers by obtaining information on Americans unlawfully, the Justice Department’s inspector general said Friday in a report that already has drawn promises of a congressional investigation. The 199-page report, which found “serious misuse” of the surveillance power (please […]

Islamophobia 101: Episode 12–Hate crimes against Mosques and Muslims On The Rise Post 9-11

February 23, 2007

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Below, I have included only a sample of the hate crime incidents for which video clips are available.  It is important to note that these incidents have occured over the last two years, and across several states in the USA.  My intent is not to suggest that these incidents are connected; I simply aim to demonstrate that […]

Good Samaritan 101: Mr. Aguilar, Spanish Minister of Justice

February 17, 2007

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Congratulations to  the Spanish Minister of Justice, Mr. Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar, for taking a stand against gender discrimination in Saudi Arabia. During an official visit to Saudi Arabia last month, Mr. Aguilar was invited to speak at Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud Islamic University. When the Minister learned that female journalists traveling with him would […]

New Measures to Help Expatriate Workers in Saudi Arabia

February 9, 2007

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Source: Arab News JEDDAH, 1 February 2007 — […] Saudi Arabia Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi has taken two important decisions in order to safeguard the rights of about seven million expatriates working in the Kingdom. According to the first decision, any company or institution that delays payment of salaries of its employees for two consecutive […]

Anti-Muslim Mindset Unnecessarily Draining US Financially

February 1, 2007

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by ABUKAR ARMANA A recent public opinion survey conducted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) reveals that Muslims are still perceived negatively in the U.S. […] An open-ended question, “When you hear the word ‘Muslim,’ what is the first thought that comes to your mind?” indicates that Muslims still carry the 9/11 burden.  Only […]

Women and Career Obstacles in Saudi Media

January 29, 2007

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Source: “Empowering Women in Saudi Media.” by Maha Akeel, Arab News. Islam has guaranteed women’s right to participate in making decisions concerning her life, her money and her community and therefore she has the right to be represented in every organization and institution that affects her directly or indirectly. [A]fter […] years of working in […]

Palestinian students beaten up at Guilford College

January 24, 2007

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 Source: News-Record.com On Monday, Jan 22, 2007, three Guilford College students, Michael Bates, Michael Robert Six, and Christopher Barnette, were arrested in connection with a group assault that occurred on campus, according to court documents. Police said Faris Khadar, Osama Sabbah and Omar Awartani (2 Muslim and 1 Christian Palestinian students) were victims of this attack. […]

Islamophobia 101: Episode 11–Restrict immigration so more Muslims do not get elected.

January 24, 2007

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Besides taking issue with Congressman Ellison about his use of the Qur’an for the swearing in ceremony, Senator Virgil Goode wants the diversity visa program to end. His rationale: immigration needs to be restricted so that more Muslims do not get elected to the US Congress. Way to go, Goode!!! Do you still believe in […]