NY: Of Islam and Inventions
The story of aviation often begins with Leonardo da Vinci’s designs for flying machines, which would later inspire the Wright brothers and their famous sustained flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903. Yet centuries before Leonardo, in A.D. 875, Abbas bin Firnas, a Muslim inventor in Spain, cloaked himself in bird feathers, strapped himself to a […]
FL: Hebrew Charter School Draws Critics
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) – A school opening this month is named for a Jewish high priest, is directed by a rabbi, will have kosher food and will teach Hebrew. It’s also a public school, funded by public tax dollars and following state curriculum guidelines. Ben Gamla Charter School, billed as the nation’s first publicly funded […]
Incitement: Idaho Rep Objects to Muslim in Congress
U.S. Rep. Bill Sali is making waves on the blogosphere (oh, here we are!) for comments regarding Muslims in Congress. SEE: http://sali.house.gov/ Muslim Congressmen and Hindu prayers, he said, don’t belong in the House built by the Founding Fathers. He’s got Bryan Fischer at his side, who agrees that anyone who worships “cows, monkeys and […]
TX: Holy Land Trial Turns to Israeli Agent
The federal judge presiding over the Holy Land Foundation terror finance trial ordered his courtroom cleared of spectators Thursday as a secret agent for the Israeli Defense Forces took the stand. The agent, referred to only by the pseudonym Major Lior, testified through a translator about a cache of documents, videos and posters that his […]
Commentary: Israel’s Embarrassing History
The Palestinians call Israel’s 1948 war of independence their nakba, or catastrophic ethnic cleansing, or forced exile. The Israelis, for their part, have steadfastly rejected any suggestion of ethnic cleansing as calumny in all its anti-Semitic horror. Historic revisionism is now under way. Without fanfare, just below the media radar screen, the Israeli Education Ministry […]
CA: Thousands of Muslims Expected at Unity Day
Muslims of all backgrounds, whether Shia or Sunni, born in San Jose or Afghanistan, recent immigrants or recent converts, will put aside their differences to share the thrill of a good roller-coaster ride on Saturday. More than 4,000 people are expected at the Great America amusement park for Muslim Unity Day, organizers said. “There are […]
DC Exhibit: America’s Extensive Islamic Heritage
Some years ago, Amir Muhammad began researching his family’s roots without any thought that it might lead him to America’s little-known Islamic heritage. Until then, he assumed that most American Muslims arrived in the 20th century, and he was unaware of any Islamic connection in his own family prior to his personal acceptance of Islam […]
FL: Parents of Detained Muslim Student Speak Out
The parents of Youssef Megahed, one of two University of South Florida students being held on an explosives charge in South Carolina, say their son is a dedicated student who works with mental health patients and would not be involved in any terrorist acts. The parents, Samir and Ahlam Megahed, spoke for the first time […]
NY: Arabic T-Shirt Incident Prompts Lawsuit
The Department of Homeland Security is facing a legal challenge from the American Civil Liberties Union over the treatment of a passenger at John F. Kennedy International Airport in the days after a major terrorism alert. The passenger, who was born in Iraq, was forced to cover up Arabic script on his T-shirt before he […]
CA: Use of Taser on UCLA Student Criticizes
Even with use of force policies that are “unduly permissive,” a UCLA police officer violated department rules when he repeatedly shocked a student with an electric Taser gun last fall during a confrontation captured on video and posted on the Internet, according to a report released Wednesday. Los Angeles police accountability expert Merrick Bobb found […]