NSA Opponents Will Picket Congress on Patriot Act’s Birthday
Organizers believe Saturday rally will be the largest ever against domestic surveillance By Steven Nelson, U.S. News and World Report A diverse group will gather near the U.S. Capitol on Saturday to denounce the government’s dragnet phone and Internet surveillance programs revealed in June by whistle-blower Edward Snowden. The date is the 12th anniversary of […]
NYC schools could close to observe Muslim holidays
by Wilson Dizard, Al Jazeera America After a new mayor takes office in New York City next year, schoolchildren could very well have an additional two days off in observance of Muslim holidays. Both mayoral candidates, Democrat Bill de Blasio and Republican Joe Lhota, say they support the idea. If such a measure were to […]
Jacob Bender Is First Jew to Lead Chapter of CAIR
By Nathan Guttman, The Forward Jacob Bender is set to be the voice of Philadelphia-area Muslims, to take on discrimination they encounter in workplace and in the public sphere, and to fight expressions of hate. And his Jewish faith, Bender believes, can only help him do the job effectively. “The Muslim community is under attack […]
CAIR-CT Speaks Out Against Racial, Religious Profiling by Police
People from the minority community spoke out at hearing in Hartford about their experiences and concerns with racial and religious profiling.
Why So Many Latinos Are Becoming Muslims
Tim Padgett, WLRN Most Latinos know the country is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month right now. What far fewer Latinos know is that next week marks Eid al-Adha, one of Islam’s most sacred holidays. And yet the two observances are more related now than most Latinos realize. Just as the U.S. Latino population is on the […]
CAIR ads on HART buses a win for tolerance
Joe O’Neill, Tampa Tribune Would that this were not a big deal. Officially, it’s now permissible for the Florida Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to advertise on local buses. This means we can soon expect to see some Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) buses wrapped with the message: “CAIR FLORIDA: Embracing Diversity at Work, Defending […]
Obama Appoints ‘Guantanamo Closer’ After Letter from Rights Groups
Carol Rosenberg, Miami Herald The Obama administration has chosen a former U.S. Marine and seasoned congressional lawyer to serve as the special envoy at the Defense Department for the closure of the Guantánamo prison, which Tuesday held 164 prisoners. Paul Lewis will fill the job that has been vacant since President Barack Obama created it […]
Man allegedly fired over beard awarded $66,000 in back pay
A SeaTac man who wears a closely cropped beard in observance of his Muslim faith has been awarded back pay and other costs after alleging that he was fired for refusing to shave his beard. By Lornet Turnbull, Seattle Times A federal judge has awarded back pay and other costs to a Muslim man who […]
Using Islamophobia to discredit Obama is shameful
By Dawud Walid, Sun and News (Hastings, Michigan), 10/5/13 To the editor: A letter printed in the September 28 edition of the Sun & News titled “Who is running America?” which was critical of President Obama is riddled with numerous fallacies about Islam. The Qur’an encourages freedom of thought and good relations with people of […]
Civil liberties groups decry Guantanamo stall
By Josh Gerstein, Politico A coalition of civil liberties, human rights and religious groups is pressing President Barack Obama to follow through on his commitments to kick start the largely stagnant process of closing down the Guantanamo Bay prison for terror suspects. The groups note that it’s been more than four months since Obama promised […]