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 […]

Government & Politics

Muslim Americans make historic gains in 2022 midterm elections 'When Muslims run for office today, in 2022 and beyond, ... it's rewarded by voters,' said Mohammed Missouri, executive director of Jetpac, a nonprofit that works to increase Muslim representation in US government and politics.

(Religion News) Nabeela Syed made history in this year’s midterms when she defeated a Republican incumbent in Illinois’ 51st District, making her the youngest member of the Illinois General Assembly and among the first Muslims elected to the state Legislature. “It is […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

US may elect first Muslim senator. Why are few Muslims thrilled? Donald Trump-backed Mehmet Oz’s Senate bid fails to produce enthusiasm seen with previous Muslim firsts in US.

(Al-Jazeera) The United States may elect its highest-ranking Muslim official next week — a Donald Trump-backed Republican who has questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 elections. Mehmet Oz, a television personality and retired surgeon of Turkish descent, is running in Pennsylvania against […]

Government & Politics

American Muslims in the midterms aren’t long-shot candidates anymore In 2018, a Muslim blue wave emerged in response to Trump. Four years later, many Muslim American candidates are prepping for long careers.

(HuffPost) Abdelnasser Rashid was one of the dozens of American Muslims who ran for office in 2018. It was dubbed the Muslim blue wave, where more than 90 American Muslims ran for office up and down the ballot, emboldened to push back […]

Crime

Islamophobic hate crime rising as UK government tries to ‘appease far-right’: head of Muslim group Anti-Muslim hate crimes rose 42% in England, Wales for year ending March 2022: British Home Office

(Anadolu) Hate crimes in the UK are on the rise because the government “tends to try to appease the far right by adopting some of their positions,” according to a prominent Muslim scholar. Anas Altikriti, CEO of Cordoba Foundation, told Anadolu Agency […]

Immigration

Border Patrol agents nab a dozen people on terror watchlist at southern border in August Border Patrol have now encountered 78 individuals on terror watchlist this fiscal year alone

(Fox) Border Patrol stopped a dozen individuals whose names are on the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) in August, bringing the total for the fiscal year to a number that is triple the previous five fiscal years combined — as agents deal […]