ACLU

Demonstrations

When does free speech cross the line into breaking U.S. anti-terrorism laws? Former federal officials say the FBI should open a criminal investigation into a New Jersey native who leads a pro-Hamas nonprofit group. Civil rights advocates say she’s engaged in political speech.

November 1, 2024 and   

(NBC) Charlotte Kates, a New Jersey native and Rutgers Law School graduate who co-founded the pro-Hamas organization Samidoun, has become the focus of an ongoing legal debate: When does free speech cross the line into breaking federal anti-terrorism laws? Over the last […]

Academics & Education

Harris appoints Muslim outreach chief with contentious views on Israel Nasrina Bargzie previously served as a policy adviser in Vice President Kamala Harris’s White House office and is best known for her contentious views on issues related to Israel and Palestine.

August 15, 2024   

(Jerusalem Post) The Harris 2024 campaign has appointed Nasrina Bargzie as a new outreach leader to engage Muslim and Arab voters, according to NBC News on Tuesday. This move has already sparked controversy due to her past statements about Israel and Jewish […]

Banks & Banking

US lawmakers demand banking regulators address discrimination against Muslims Congressman Ilhan Omar and Senator Elizabeth Warren urge Treasury to adopt corrective measures to promote equal access to banking institutions

December 6, 2022   

(Middle East Eye) US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and Senator Elizabeth Warren are leading an effort to urge American banking regulators to reassess policies that discriminate against Muslim Americans and immigrant communities. The two lawmakers, along with Senator Ed Markey and Congresswomen Rashida […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Ron DeSantis: Republican rising star alarms Muslim, Palestinian communities As the Florida governor positions himself for a possible presidential bid, activists and organisers say DeSantis reminds them of bigoted rhetoric birthed in US-led 'war on terror'

December 5, 2022   

(Middle East Eye) In 2006, then-Navy officer Ron DeSantis was an appointed attorney supporting the US military’s mission at Guantanamo Bay. Not much is officially known about his months-long stint at the prison, which at its peak held nearly 800 Muslim men […]

Legal

Holy Land Five: Rights groups, families demand release over ‘miscarriage of justice’ Advocacy groups launch awareness campaign marking 14 years since the conviction of the Holy Land Five

November 24, 2022 and   

(Middle East Eye) A coalition of advocacy groups have called for the release of the Holy Land Five, a group of Palestinian-American men who were convicted of funding terrorism in a case civil liberties groups say highlights the disproportionate targeting of Muslim charities […]

Academics & Education

US state Maryland gives Muslim students the legal right to wear hijab in sport The Inclusive Attire Act, which took effect earlier this month, gives legal protection to student athletes of all faiths who choose to dress modestly or wear their religious coverings while participating in sports.

July 8, 2022   

(New Arab) The US state of Maryland has passed a law that will protect the rights of hijab-wearing female athletes and others with faith-related head coverings to play sports, without concerns of exclusion. The bill, called the Inclusive Attire Act, which took […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Americans on FBI watchlist face detention, extra screenings when flying The ACLU estimates 1.6 million people are currently on the federal watchlist.

April 5, 2022 , , and   

(ABC) Already missing their flight to Canada, Zainab Merchant held her then-6-month-old baby inside a cold room in an airport in September of 2016 while she waited for her husband’s screening to be over after her family was detained for a random […]

Clerics & Preachers

Muslim men grilled by US customs agents about their faith sue feds On numerous occasions, customs and border patrol agents asked the men — all U.S. citizens — unnecessarily probing questions about their Muslim faith.

March 24, 2022   

(Courthouse News) In 2017, Imam Abdirahman Aden Kariye returned to the United States from Saudi Arabia after participating in the hajj — the sacred pilgrimage to Mecca. When he entered the United States at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Customs and Border Protection agents […]

Government & Politics

US Muslims react to Biden’s nomination of first Muslim woman to be federal judge Nusrat Choudhury has been praised for her commitment to defending marginalised communities and fighting for civil rights

February 7, 2022   

(Middle East Eye) Muslims across the United States are celebrating President Joe Biden’s judicial nomination of Nusrat Choudhury, who, if confirmed by the Senate, will be the first Muslim woman to be appointed as a US federal judge. Choudhury, a Bangladeshi American among […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

US Muslims call for action as ‘spying’ incidents shake community Council on American-Islamic Relations says it uncovered a ‘mole’ within its organisation and a ‘spy’ at a US mosque.

December 30, 2021   

(Al-Jazeera) First, the major Muslim-American advocacy group reported that a “mole” had infiltrated the leadership of one of its state branches. Then, only days later, the organisation said a “spy” at a US mosque had passed information on to an “anti-Muslim” group. […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Democrats introduce resolution condemning racism in government 20 years after 9/11 attacks The government 'unfairly profiled and targeted Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Sikh communities'

September 11, 2021   

(Fox) A group of four Democratic congresswomen on Friday introduced a resolution condemning racism in the U.S. government and outlining relief for victims of racism 20 years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Democratic Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Ilhan Omar [of] […]

Law Enforcement

Mosque sting operation will get Supreme Court treatment The FBI had to pull the plug on the operation when someone called the police on its informant disguised as a Muslim advocating violence against the United States.

June 7, 2021   

(Courthouse News) Wading into a decade-old class action, the Supreme Court agreed Monday to look at the FBI’s use of an informant to collect information from several Los Angeles and Orange County mosques for more than a year. The FBI petitioned the […]

Government & Politics

Supreme Court receptive to damages battle over no-fly list Forecasting a win for four men whom the FBI put on the no-fly list after they refused to spy on fellow Muslims, several U.S. Supreme Court justices saw an implication of private damages in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

October 6, 2020   

(Courthouse News) Several justices with the U.S. Supreme Court hinted Tuesday that a law protecting religious freedoms includes a subtext that would allow individuals to sue government agents for money damages. In the underlying 2013 suit, Muhammad Tanvir accused FBI agents of violating […]

Government & Politics

9/11 conspirator imprisoned in Colorado’s Supermax sues Trump and top U.S. officials, alleging ‘cover up’ Zacarias Moussaoui is serving a life sentence at the federal Supermax prison in Florence

October 5, 2020   

(Denver Post) A man who conspired with the 9/11 hijackers has filed lawsuits from his Colorado prison cell against President Donald Trump, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, U.S. Attorney General William Barr and more than a dozen other people in […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

After an inmate reported discrimination, the Waukesha County Jail made religious texts and halal foods more accessible, ACLU says

August 21, 2020   

(Journal Sentinel) The Waukesha County Jail has made religious texts more accessible, and contracted a new food service to meet constitutional standards that protect religious freedom, following a Muslim inmate’s report of religious discrimination, said an attorney with the American Civil Liberties […]

Government & Politics

New name, same game: American Muslims vow to fight new ‘counter-terror’ initiative Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention programme is just an extension of CVE, advocacy groups say

June 5, 2020   

(Middle East Eye) Ahmed Mohamed made headlines five years ago when he brought a homemade clock to his US public high school. A robotics enthusiast, Mohamed loved engineering and had dreams of studying at the world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Still, when […]

Christians

‘Divisive’: Rights groups accuse Trump of stoking Islamophobia ahead of Ramadan US president suggests Muslims could get preferential treatment during the Muslim holy month, echoing a theme circulating on right-wing Twitter circles

April 20, 2020   

(Middle East Eye) Muslim rights groups have accused US President Donald Trump of stoking Islamophobia after he said there “could be a difference” in how local authorities and politicians enforce coronavirus lockdown measures during the month of Ramadan. During his daily coronavirus news conference on Saturday, Trump referred […]

Government & Politics

Trump administration expands travel ban The White House placed restrictions on immigration from half a dozen additional countries, including Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country.

January 31, 2020 , and   

(Politico) President Donald Trump will expand his contentious travel ban, placing new restrictions on six additional countries, just as he embarks on a tough reelection campaign where he will tout his hard-line stance on immigration. Immigrant visas will be suspended for citizens […]

Government & Politics

Border stops for people of Iranian descent spark outrage The reaction to the detentions at a Canadian crossing and a New York airport came after the U.S. killing of an Iranian military commander.

January 5, 2020 , and   

(Politico) Reports of Iranians and Iranian-Americans being detained for questioning upon entering the U.S. kicked off a furor on Sunday from Washington state to Washington, D.C., marking a new domestic blowback to the Trump administration’s targeted killing of a key Iranian leader. […]