Academics & Education

‘Only one solution: Intifada’: Pro-Palestinian activists protest Kamala Harris at University of Michigan

(Algemeiner) Pro-Palestinian student protestors at University of Michigan accused Vice President Kamala Harris of “genocide” for supporting Israel on Thursday. “Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide, you’re committing genocide,” the students, members of the pro-Palestinian campus group Students Allied for Freedom and Equality […]

Interfaith

911 recordings reveal terror during tense hostage situation at Colleyville synagogue WFAA obtained 911 recordings and bodycam footage from Colleyville PD, days before the one-year mark since the hostage situation at Congregation Beth Israel.

(WFAA) The 911 calls poured in on the morning of Jan. 15, 2022. A British citizen who traveled to the U.S. and across the country entered Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville while a Sabbath service was being livestreamed. Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, the […]

Academics & Education

CAIR MN backs student who says she was hurt by instructor showing image of Muhammad At a press conference held by the Minneapolis chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the student said she was shocked and pained by an art history instructor.

(Religion News) Hamline University senior Aram Wedatalla held back tears as she described how hurt she felt when her art history instructor informed the class she would briefly show a painting of the Prophet Muhammad last semester. Speaking at a news conference held […]

Legal

Suspect in bike path killing faces first death penalty trial under Biden Though President Biden campaigned against capital punishment, Attorney General Merrick Garland is charting his own course in pursuing the death penalty in the trial of Sayfullo Saipov.

(NY Times) On Halloween 2017, Sayfullo Saipov plowed a rented pickup truck down Manhattan’s crowded West Side bicycle path, smashing into pedestrians and cyclists, killing eight people and injuring more than a dozen, the authorities said. Soon after Mr. Saipov was charged, […]

Academics & Education

Academic freedom vs. rights of Muslim students An instructor at Hamline U showed an image of Muhammad in an art history class. The president criticized the instructor for doing so. Another professor, who tried to explain the situation with an essay in the student paper, had his piece removed.

(Inside Higher Ed) This fall, an instructor at Hamline University, in Minnesota, was teaching global art history. For one class, the instructor (who has not been named) was discussing Islamic art and included for a brief period (under 10 minutes) a screen […]

Government & Politics

Biden renominates board member at anti-Israel group to Small Business Administration Senate Republicans blocked Dilawar Syed's nomination in 2021 over affiliation with anti-Israel group Emgage

(Free Beacon) The Biden administration will renominate a board member at an anti-Israel group to help lead the Small Business Administration, one year after the nominee was blocked by Republicans, according to the Wall Street Journal. Dilawar Syed served on the board […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Favourable view of Muslims in the US ticks up, even as Islamophobic incidents rise Number of Americans holding Islamophobic and antisemitic views has flatlined, and may actually be shrinking, even as hate crimes increase

(Middle East Eye) The number of US residents holding Islamophobic and antisemitic views has flatlined, and may actually be shrinking, even as hate crimes increase, according to a 2022 poll conducted by Brookings Institute. Favourable views of Muslims in the US have […]

Academics & Education

An academic is fired over a medieval painting of the Prophet Muhammad The dismissal of an instructor at Hamline University on baseless charges of 'Islamophobia' raises concerns about freedom on campus

(New Lines) On Nov. 18, Hamline University’s student newspaper, the Oracle, published an article notifying its community members of two recent incidents on its campus in Saint Paul, Minnesota, one indubitably homophobic and the other supposedly Islamophobic. Both occurrences were placed under […]

Banks & Banking

Interest-free, but not without charges: Islamic mortgages hit the Canadian housing market Financial products are being adapted to match the unique needs of many Muslims

(CBC) For Abdullah Mohiuddin, getting into the housing market involves more than just locating the right home for the right price. Like many other Muslims, Mohiuddin’s religious beliefs include restrictions on paying and receiving interest. Given that a typical Canadian mortgage includes interest […]

Crime

Woman admits to unwittingly funding effort to kidnap Iranian dissident Niloufar Bahadorifar was the conduit for money used to hire a private detective who shadowed the Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad.

(NY Times) Four Iranians who plotted to kidnap a prominent Iranian American journalist in Brooklyn paid a private investigator to watch their target, using a woman in California as a go-between, the authorities said. That woman, Niloufar Bahadorifar, pleaded guilty in Manhattan […]

Law Enforcement

North York man arrested on U.S. charges of using bitcoin, GoFundMe to raise money for ISIS Khalilullah Yousuf, 34, allegedly raised and transferred money to a 'facilitator' for the Islamic State and was arrested by Canadian police Wednesday.

(Toronto Star) Using aliases and social-media fronts, Khalilullah Yousuf was allegedly the driving force behind fundraising efforts to help the desperate and downtrodden Palestinians of the Gaza Strip. But FBI investigators allege the 34-year-old North York man, who was arrested Wednesday, used […]