Clerics & Preachers

GOP reps raise alarm bells over Iran’s influence in ‘American religious institutions’ GOP reps demand to know if Biden administration has strategy to counter Iranian regime activities in US

(Fox) Republicans in Congress have issued a tough letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines warning about the influence of Iran’s terror ideology in at least four U.S.-based mosques and centers. The GOP letter, exclusively obtained […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Muslims body in US shocked over FBI’s secret surveillance since 9/11 attacks FBI's filing practices have impact on Muslims' daily lives, says senior lawyer at Council on American-Islamic Relations

(Anadolu) The largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the US has expressed shock at the recent disclosure of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s secret surveillance and listing of Muslims in the country since the 9/11 attacks. Gadeir Abbas, a […]

Government & Politics

Terrorist financier released under First Step Act, says he ‘would be proud’ to fund terrorists again Mohamad Youssef Hammoud was convicted in 2002 of providing material support to Hezbollah, among other charges

(Fox) A convicted terrorist financier serving a 30-year sentence in U.S. federal prison was recently released under the First Step Act after serving only 23 years, and said he “would be proud” to send money again to the same terrorist organization he […]

Government & Politics

Prominent anti-Semites launch campaign to stop Republican from becoming Kentucky’s first black governor After Women's March ousting, Linda Sarsour and Tamika Mallory set their sights on Cameron

(Free Beacon) After they were deemed too anti-Semitic for the Women’s March, controversial activists Linda Sarsour and Tamika Mallory have their sights set on a new mission: stopping Republican Daniel Cameron from becoming Kentucky’s first black governor. Sarsour and Mallory announced the […]

Government & Politics

Comer says the rising number of terrorism suspects at the border is a ‘clear national security risk’ GOP launches probe of terrorism suspects crossing the border

(Washington Times) House Republicans have launched a probe into the soaring number of terrorism suspects who’ve been detected trying to sneak into the U.S. under President Biden, calling it a “clear national security risk” and demanding Homeland Security cough up its plan […]

Government & Politics

New research: $2 million in federal grants went to domestic Islamist groups 'The good news: That’s way down from the $16 million Trump sent them in 2018,' wrote Daniel Pipes, president of the Middle East Forum.

(JNS) Of 60 federal grants, worth $15 million, given to Muslim organizations in 2022, $2 million went to groups “controlled by Islamists or involved in Islamist networks.” That’s according to a May 3 article by Sam Westrop in Focus on Western Islamism. […]

Moderation & Reform

‘A real force of nature’: Pakistani-Canadian journalist Tarek Fatah dead from cancer at 73 Tarek Fatah, a self-described secular Muslim, was known for criticizing religious extremists and Pakistan nationalists

(National Post) Tarek Fatah, the Toronto Sun columnist, has died at the age of 73, his family has said. In more than a decade writing columns for the Sun, Fatah, who identified as a secular Muslim, distinguished himself with his acidic opinions […]

Government & Politics

EU lawmakers break ranks to endorse controversial funding for border protection The amendment’s approval killed a broader budget bill as EU lawmakers squabbled over the subject.

(Politico) The EU’s brawl over whether to pay for border fencing has spilled into the European Parliament. On Wednesday, EU lawmakers approved a controversial amendment endorsing the use of EU funds to help support border barriers, although it stopped short of explicitly […]

Legal

NYC bike path attacker spared death penalty in rare trial The same jurors who convicted Sayfullo Saipov of eight murder counts eligible for the death penalty needed to agree on the penalty unanimously for him to face capital punishment.

(Courthouse News) The Uzbek immigrant who carried out a truck attack on a lower Manhattan bike path in 2017, killing eight, will spend the rest of his life in a U.S. federal prison after a federal jury was divided on whether he […]

Legal

Family of truck terrorist testify in his defense at NYC death penalty trial The penalty phase of a trial underway since January hurtled toward its end with emotional testimony from the mother and the youngest sister of the Uzbek man convicted of a deadly 2017 truck attack in Manhattan.

(Courthouse News) Two family members of Sayfullo Saipov spoke in his defense Wednesday, giving jurors a tearful composite of the man they knew before he became radicalized by the Islamic State group and went on to kill eight people as they spent […]

Government & Politics

Justices parse Twitter’s role in Islamic State attacks The case is the second one before the high court in as many days that concerns the extent to which the tech industry is shielded for the content their users publish.

(Courthouse News) The Supreme Court spent nearly three hours Wednesday on the question of whether the ability of the Islamic State group to post on Twitter amounts to aiding and abetting. Spending most of the arguments waffling through various hypotheticals, the justices […]

Context

Rep. Ilhan Omar pressed on old comments: ‘Wasn’t aware’ there were ‘tropes about Jews and money’ Omar told CNN's Dana Bash that she's learned 'a lot' about antisemitic tropes

(Fox) Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said Sunday during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” that she “wasn’t aware” there were “tropes about Jews and money” in response to questions about previous antisemitic comments. CNN’s Dana Bash asked Omar what she […]

Government & Politics

Far-right terrorism rise in UK ‘masks threat of Islamist extremism’ Security expert concerned risk is being misjudged and warns of possible ISIS resurgence

(National-UAE) Britain cannot afford to underestimate the threat Islamist terrorism continues to pose to its security, an expert has warned, amid growing emphasis on the rise of far-right ideology among prisoners. Dr Paul Stott, head of security and extremism at Policy Exchange, […]

Academics & Education

New House Homeland Security Committee chair has history of anti-Muslim comments During a 2016 tea party meeting, Mark Green told an audience that he didn’t want public school students in Tennessee to learn about the Islamic faith.

(HuffPost) Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) is set to lead the House Committee on Homeland Security, which Muslim civil rights groups say is alarming because he has a history of making Islamophobic remarks. Green — a physician, Iraq War veteran and former GOP […]

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, […]

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 […]

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'

(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 […]

Government & Politics

‘Just a matter of time’ before a terrorist gets through border and kills Americans, Lindsey Graham warns Senator tells Harris Faulkner the Biden admin has 'surrendered the border'

(Fox) Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., warned Friday that “it’s just a matter of time” before a terrorist comes into the United States through the southern border and kills Americans. Graham joined “Faulkner Focus” to discuss the national security risk facing Americans and […]