Category Archives: Resisting Islamophobia

Philadelphia Muslim sues Whole Foods claiming religious discrimination

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Whole Foods MarketA Philadelphia man says his request for religious accommodations led to open hostility from his co-workers and his eventual termination from a local Whole Foods grocery store, according to a federal suit filed June 13 at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Philadelphia.

Robert Greene seeks punitive and compensatory damages for alleged violations of his civil rights, including discrimination, retaliatory practices and refusal to accommodate. The plaintiff also seeks an injunction against Whole Foods for condoning such actions.

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An open letter to Student Rights

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Following their unanimous vote on 23 May to denounce the group, Imperial College student union has published an open letter to Student Rights:

“Being a project set up by the neoconservative Henry Jackson Society … we believe that your input in discussions around campus issues have and will continue to demonise and marginalise Muslim students, and we therefore have no confidence in your judgement. We are therefore pleased that our members, students of Imperial College London, have collectively decided to denounce Student Rights and its agenda, and as of today we are instituting a no-engagement policy with your organisation.”

New Jersey mosque plan prompts usual anti-Islam backlash

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Midland Park proposed mosque

Residents in Midland Park, New Jersey took no issue with a church in their backyard, but on Friday, some neighbors were saying they do not want a mosque to replace it.

As CBS 2’s Christine Sloan reported, the building at 218 Irving St. in Midland Park now houses the Korean Han Ma Um Reformed Church. But the El-Zahra Islamic Education Foundation is closing in on a deal to turn the building into a mosque. Some residents do not like the idea at all.

Kathy Peppes told CBS 2’s Sloan she was worried her street will see more traffic. “My main concern is the safety of my family, and my son, and all his friends that play on the street,” Peppes said. Peppes’ home is next to the parking lot for the building. She said she was also concerned about “the noise this might create, because I know that they also pray and chant outdoors.”

But Henry Stapel, whose backyard faces the property, said the church was not a problem. He is not worried about the mosque either. “It doesn’t matter,” Stapel said. “They’ll be good neighbors, and that’s all we’re concerned about is that they’re good neighbors.”

But the mosque controversy has gotten ugly on the Facebook page for the Midland Park Press. “I know more about Muslims than you do. They are not nice people. They are mean and ruthless ok. And yes they should all live on an island,” wrote one woman, Ruth Smith.

The comment drew a response from another woman, Jeannie Parrish Kimball: “I would be concerned having some of you as neighbors. So much anger and hatred.”

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When is terrorism not terrorism?

Posted on by Bob Pitt

When a husband and wife allegedly murdered two police officers and a bystander in Las Vegas, the story received a lot of coverage. But it was coverage that mostly failed to call the crimes “terrorism,” despite the alleged killers leaving behind a note that said, “The revolution is beginning,” and a Revolutionary-era “Don’t Tread on Me” flag closely associated with both the Patriot and Tea Party movements (Hatewatch, 6/9/14). The couple, both white, were also associated with far-right causes and had expressed extreme hostility toward authorities.

When the Washington Post‘s Paul Farhi asked about this media omission in a trenchant report (6/10/14) headlined, “In the News Media, Are Muslims the Only ‘Terrorists’?,” he got some interesting answers . The Associated Press‘ Paul Colford told him the AP shied away from the using the “terrorist” term unless someone has been “listed or labeled as such by someone else, such as the FBI or another government entity.”

Farhi also cited the Reuters style book which, he reported, tells journalists to

use the terms “terrorism” and “terrorist” only when attributing them to a specific source. “Aim for a dispassionate use of language so that individuals, organizations and governments can make their own judgment on the basis of facts.”

It doesn’t say much for journalists making independent judgments. But as Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American Islamic Relations told the Post:

Without a doubt, if these individuals had been Muslim, it not only would be called “terrorism” but it would have made national and international headlines for weeks…. It was an act of terror, but when it’s not associated with Muslims, it’s just a day story that comes and goes.

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Hijab ban threatens basketball phenom

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Bilqis Abdul-QaadirMEMPHIS – A basketball phenomenon, Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir has always dreamed of a flourishing future as a professional basketball player who has reserved the title of the best player in the state during her high school years.

“As of right now I’m really in a holding pattern because of FIBA,” Abdul-Qaadir told MassLive.com on Thursday, June 12. “I think in many ways the key word in FIBA is international. I think that’s what upsets me most.”

The youngest of seven children in a devout Muslim family, she was always taught to practice her faith and be proud of whom she was. And basketball came naturally to her, as she shot hoops as a toddler and kept working at her skills as she grew older, emulating her older brothers. She was encouraged to put time into her studies as well and remained a top student throughout high school.

During high school, the talented Muslim player made history becoming the top scorer in Massachusetts high school history, breaking the mark of 2,710 points achieved by Women’s National Basketball Association star Rebecca Lobo 17 years ago. Later on, she joined Division I basketball team at the University of Memphis, becoming the first female athlete to play Division I sports – the highest level of sports at the US college level – in full hijab.

Those dreams no longer exist due to the rules of International Basketball Federation (FIBA). According to FIBA rules, Islamic headscarf or hijab is banned in matches. The ban was justified by FIBA as a way to remain religiously neutral.

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A Muslim reporter’s icy welcome from Texas GOP: ‘Where are you from?’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Heba SaidEven conservatives were quick to criticize a Keller school trustee’s bigotry. But while most of north Tarrant County denounced Jo Lynn Haussmann’s Muslim-bashing last week, another story unfolded in downtown Fort Worth.

UT Arlington senior Heba Said, opinion editor of The Shorthorn, wrote Wednesday about the disgusted looks and comments of “you people” and “y’all Muslims” directed her way as she covered the Republican state convention.

In one panel session, a prominent official of the Republican Party of Texas repeatedly described all Muslims as Islamists. At an autograph event for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Fort Worth police circled Said and then followed her.

Said, 22, is a star student, a Texan and a graduate of Trinity High School in Euless, one of the nation’s most diverse and successful schools. Her column answered convention delegates’ persistent question, “Where are you from?” “I am an American,” she wrote. “The question is, are you?”

Said’s appehension about the convention was borne out, she wrote: “I discovered a cult-like hatred that is simply disgusting.”

Star-Telegram, 12 June 2014

Virginia church offends Muslims with pamphlet that says they’re going to hell, need Jesus Christ

Posted on by Bob Pitt

UnforgivenA Virginia church has generated a lot of controversy over its distribution of a pamphlet that some claim wrongly stereotypes Muslims.

Bible Baptist Church of Roanoke made local news when some in the city’s Muslim community expressed concern over the distribution of a pamphlet on Islam. Titled “Unforgiven?” the pamphlet was created by Chick Publications, a fundamentalist Christian evangelism outlet.

In an interview with local media, Roanoke resident Hussain Al-Shiblawi said the messages in the pamphlet suggest that Muslims are violent and are condemned to hell. “It basically indicated that the people are violent, the religion itself is violent, and the facts in here are not true,” said Al-Shiblawi to WBDJ 7 news.

“It shows him trying to kill his grandmother, saying, ‘If you weren’t my grandma, I’d kill you where you stand, Allahu Akbar’ … Read it before you hand it out, read it. Even though you don’t write it, you still hand it out.”

Al-Shiblawi also said that Bible Baptist Church regularly distributes Christian material to the community on Sundays, which he finds inspirational, but he’s deeply offended by the “Unforgiven?” pamphlet.

“Unforgiven?” is designed as a comic story, featuring a black man who converts to Islam while in prison after being threatened with physical violence. The man proceeds to fully embrace an extreme form of Islam, while his Christian grandmother attempts to prove his beliefs wrong by showing him that Christianity, and belief in Jesus Christ, is the only way.

The grandmother fails, however, and the final images in the comic strip show the man being condemned to hell. The final page has a message about the need to accept Jesus Christ and the Bible.

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