‘Mohammed Raghead’ – the name the FBI were giving to Muslim-American ‘Joe Bloggs’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Intercept Under Surveillance

The US government spied on thousands of law-abiding Muslim-Americans including top US lawyers and academics according to newly-published documents provided by NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden.

The monitoring was authorized under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a law intended to target individuals involved in international terrorism, espionage or sabotage.

The leaked documents published by The Intercept include a list of 7,485 email addresses monitored between 2002 and 2008. Five of the emails identified by journalists have been described as leading “highly public, outwardly exemplary lives”.

A document dating from 2006 from the same cache of files instructed intelligence agency staff how to properly record the identity of those under surveillance and used the fake name of “Mohammed Raghead” as an example.

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EEOC sues Shadescrest Healthcare for religious discrimination and retaliation

Posted on by Bob Pitt

ShadecrestA Jasper, Ala., nursing home violated federal law when it refused to allow a Muslim employee to wear a hijab (the traditional covering for the hair and neck that is worn by Muslim women) on the job, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a workplace discrimination lawsuit filed June 30. EEOC v. Shadescrest Health Care Center, ND Ala. Case 6:14-cv-01253-SLB (June 30, 2014). The agency also contends that Shadescrest fired the employee in retaliation for filing a complaint with the EEOC.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, in August 2012, Tracy Martin, a Muslim woman, was hired as a certified nursing assistant by Shadescrest Healthcare Center. On or about Aug. 9, 2012, Martin reported to work wearing a hijab, in accord with her sincerely held religious beliefs. According to the EEOC, Shadescrest refused Martin’s request to wear the hijab, despite its religious significance, and instead, told her to remove the head covering or be subject to termination. Subsequently, Martin filed a charge with the EEOC complaining that Shadescrest refused to accommodate her religious beliefs. Weeks after Shadescrest received notice of Martin’s charge of discrimination, Martin was summarily fired. According to the EEOC, Martin was fired in retaliation for her complaint to the EEOC and on account of her attempt to exercise her rights under Title VII’s religious accommodation provision.

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Minister vows to fight hate crime against Muslims

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A foreign office minister warned today of the need to fight Islamophobia, describing it as a “new form of hate crime”. Baroness Warsi said she had personally championed the campaign to combat anti-Muslim hatred.

“It is important we fight this new form of hate crime,” she told the Lords at question time. “But we have been here before. There have been moments in our history when we haven’t been entirely comfortable with a faith community, when we have questioned the loyalty of faith communities whether that’s been the Jewish community or the Catholic community.

“But it’s been our trust in our institutions and our values that has got us through it and we will get through it again.”

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Police investigate racist attack at Warrington mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Jamiat-ul-Muslimeen Jamia MasjidPolice are hunting for two racists thugs who smashed windows and screamed abuse at people in the mosque in Warrington town centre.

Officers from Cheshire Police were called at 11.30pm on Monday, to reports two men were shouting racist slurs and vandalising the mosque on Arpley Street. Residents were inside the address at the time of the attack, although there were no injuries, according to police.

Sgt Rob Horton, of Warrington Town Centre NPU, said, “Cheshire Police treat racially motivated crimes very seriously. Enquiries are still ongoing and we would like to speak to anybody who may have witnessed or can provide any further information with regards to this incident.”

At this stage police say it as an isolated incident, but have increased the number of officers patrolling the area.

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No-go areas in Leicester for Muslim women wearing niqab

Posted on by Bob Pitt

9781137356147.inddMuslim women who wear a full veil say there are no-go areas in Leicester which they feel frightened to visit – even in a car. They claim they are subjected to abuse every day and that it is getting increasingly difficult to avoid such incidents in the city centre.

The revelations are contained in a new book by two criminology lecturers at the University of Leicester. More than 100 Leicester-based Muslim women were interviewed over a 12-month period for the book, called Islamophobia, Victimisation and the Veil.

One woman who took part in the study told the Mercury: “People feel free to have a pop at us every day. They swear, stare, spit and tell us to go home. They call us terrorists.”

The woman, who did not want to be named, said: “There are areas in Leicester we don’t go to, even in a car. It is also becoming more difficult to wear the niqab in the city centre. I don’t go in any more unless I really have to.”

The woman added: “I am as British as anyone. We follow the football and the tennis at home. My boys try to make a joke of it calling me ‘Ninja mum’. We had thought that if we ignore it, it would go away. It hasn’t.”

The book was written by Dr Irene Zempi and Neil Chakraborti.

Dr Zempi wore a niqab for a month to understand what her interviewees experienced. “Attitudes to me changed over night,” she said. “People were abusive and threatening, and where previously shop assistants were friendly, they simply ignored me. I did not want to go out and I became depressed.”

She added: “The level of abuse that participants faced depended upon whether they were in their local community or whether they were leaving their ‘comfort zone’. Some participants referred to ‘no-go zones’ for Muslims in Leicester such as the traditionally white areas of Braunstone, Beaumont Leys, Saffron Lane, New Parks, Hamilton and even Leicester city centre.”

Many of the women interviewed said they had moved to the city in the belief that Leicester would provide a better life for them and their families. However, one woman said she had tea thrown at her and another said she was elbowed in the stomach when pregnant.

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Muslims gather to inaugurate new body to tackle Islamophobia

Posted on by Bob Pitt

MEND launchAround 1000 religious leaders, politicians, academics, journalists, social and political activists, and Muslims from around the country attended events in London, Birmingham and Greater Manchester to welcome the launch of a new British Muslim organisation, MEND (Muslim Engagement and Development) set up to tackle Islamophobia is all its varied forms.

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Lib Dem MP dismisses ‘Trojan Horse’ extremism claims

Posted on by Bob Pitt

David Ward MPA Bradford MP has called for a debate on what should be allowed in secular schools following the Trojan Horse row.

David Ward said that it was wrong to link events at schools in Birmingham and Bradford to issues of extremism and that the debate over promoting British values had become a distraction. He said that the problems which has surfaced were actually about governors wanting to pursue a more religious approach at non faith schools.

The controversy started with a “Trojan Horse letter,” now thought to have been a hoax, claiming Muslim governors were plotting take overs at some schools in Birmingham. It resulted in investigations being launched by the local council and the Department for Education and targeted Ofsted inspections which led to five schools being placed in special measures.

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Burqa ban isn’t enough says Strache

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The leader of the right-wing Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) says that a burqa ban as proposed by his party isn’t enough, and that he’d like to ban the chador as well, according to a report in the news daily Heute.

After last week’s decision by the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) which supported France’s ban on religious headgear, the Freedom Party announced that they would be introducing a similar measure into Austria’s parliament.

The rule is intended to target the burqa, a traditional garment from the Middle East which completely covers the wearer, including the hair and face.

Now Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of the Austrian Freedom Party, has stated that the proposed ban doesn’t go far enough, and should be extended to include the chador, a traditional Persian head scarf which leaves the face uncovered.

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