Category Archives: USA

Palm Beach County public information officer says Qur’an is ‘a book that preaches hate’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

John JamasonAt around the same time the nation paused to remember those lost on 9/11, John Jamason, a Public Information Officer with Palm Beach County, posted on his personal Facebook page:

“Never forget. There is no such thing as radical Islam. All Islam is radical. There may be Muslims who don’t practice their religion, much like others. The Quran is a book that preaches hate.”

“It was just my opinion on this day about that specific event and that religion,” said Jamason. “There weren’t any fundamentalist Christians on planes, flying into buildings on this particular day. Have Christians committed atrocities? Of course.”

Jameson says his comments are OK because he didn’t post them to a public Facebook page. “The point is, the people that are attacking our embassy in Libya, and attacking our soldiers, and doing things to us all around the world, are Muslims,” said Jamason.

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Canadian Muslims call for action against Geller and Spencer

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Geller Spencer JDL meeting

Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer (recently banned from the UK because of their record of inciting hatred) are due to visit Toronto next week to address a meeting organised by the far-right Kahanists of the Jewish Defence League.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims has issued an action alert calling on concerned citizens to contact the federal Minister of Public Safety Steven Blaney to urge him to review whether these anti-Muslim extremists should be allowed into the country.

Update:  See “Canadian Muslim leaders worried U.S. speakers will spread ‘hate’ about Islam”, Canadian Press, 13 September 2013

Abercrombie and Fitch ‘wrongly fired’ Muslim over headscarf

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Hani KhanUS clothing retailer Abercrombie and Fitch wrongly fired a Muslim worker for wearing a headscarf, a judge has ruled. Federal Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled the firm violated anti-discrimination laws when it sacked Hani Khan from a Hollister brand store.

Ms Khan was initially allowed to wear a scarf in the Hollister brand’s colours at the San Mateo, California store, but was later fired. The retailer had argued deviation from its “look policy” would affect sales.

But Judge Rogers of the Northern District of California said Abercrombie had not proven it faced undue hardship to accommodate employees who wear headscarves for religious reasons.

The lawsuit, brought by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, now goes to a trial on 30 September where a jury will determine damages.

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California: Presbyterian church invites pastor to separate Islamic fact and fiction

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Ben Daniel and Maha ElGenaidiThrough research, traveling and writing, a local Christian pastor is hoping to debunk stereotypes about Islam.

Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church invited Pastor Ben Daniel of San Jose’s Foothill Presbyterian Church to speak to the community last month after the release of his book earlier this year. His book, The Search for Truth about Islam: A Christian Pastor Separates Fact from Fiction, discusses Islamophobia in American society.

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CAIR-NY asks Walmart to discipline manager over anti-Muslim Facebook post

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Walmart manager's Facebook postThe New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today called on Walmart to discipline an assistant manager at a store in Hamburg, N.Y., who reportedly posted a photo of Muslim customers on Facebook accompanied with derogatory comments.

In his posting, the assistant manager wrote: “Halloween came early this year … do they really have to f**kin dress like that … your [sic] in my country … get that f**kin s*** off!!!!!!”

In a letter to Walmart, CAIR-NY asked that “appropriate disciplinary action” be taken against the manager.

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New York: GOP mayoral candidate says campaign commercial star’s anti-Muslim rants ‘wrong’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

John KassimatisCBS News reports that John Catsimatidis, the Republican candidate in the New York City mayoral election, has now dissociated himself from the views of a retired police officer, John Kassimatis, who featured in one of his TV commercials.

Earlier this week the New York Post revealed that Kassimatis had posted a series of anti-Muslim rants on his Facebook page. One claimed that “All terrorists are Muslims.”  Kassimatis added: “There’s gratitude for you. You bring them here from their 3rd world shithole give them refuse [sic] and education and then they kill us. Wake Up America.” When some of his Facebook friends disagreed, he retorted: “So stop telling me about peaceful ones and kumbaya these animals must be put down.”

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McCain blasts Fox’s Islamophobia: Would you have a problem with an American saying ‘Thank God?’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) blasted Fox News host Brian Kilmeade for linking a commonly-used Arabic phrase to terrorism, during an appearance to bolster his case for a strong military response to Syria President Bashar Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons. The Arizona senator has long called on the Obama administration to arm the rebels fighting the Assad regime and is pressing Congress to adopt an broad-based use of force resolution.

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Jewish New Year call for justice for Muslim community: ‘Stop NYPD surveillance!’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“The Jews Against Islamophobia Coalition strongly condemns the policies and activities of the New York City Police Department (NYPD), which, the Associated Press has just revealed, designates mosques as ‘terrorism enterprises’ in order to more easily spy on them and infiltrates Muslim community organizations. For years, the NYPD has targeted the Muslim community on the basis of religion. As we approach the Jewish High Holy Days season, we urge all Jews and Jewish institutions – and all New Yorkers – to join us in publicly and unequivocally opposing the NYPD’s unlawful surveillance program.”

Jews Against Islamophobia Coalition press release, 2 September 2013