Gadeir Abbas – Eye on Islamism

Muslim organization sues Abbott, colleges for suppressing speech The Council on American-Islamic Relations argues Abbott’s executive order addressing antisemitism is unconstitutional and targets Palestinian activists.

May 16, 2024 Marcela Rodrigues

(Dallas Morning News) A Muslim civil rights organization is suing Gov. Greg Abbott and two Texas university systems on behalf of student activists, saying Abbott and the universities violated students’ First Amendment rights. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, argues Abbott’s […]

Supreme Court unanimously rules against government in No Fly List case

March 19, 2024 Zach Schonfeld

(Hill) The Supreme Court unanimously ruled Tuesday that a man’s challenge to his former placement on the No Fly List can move forward, finding the government failed to show his lawsuit is moot. Yonas Fikre, a U.S. citizen who previously resided in […]

Muslim imam in Seattle sues over mysterious FBI watchlist

August 13, 2023 Nina Shapiro

(Seattle Times) Seattle Muslim leader Farid Sulayman said it was the usual drill for him last month when he flew to California to chaperone a youth basketball tournament. Checking in online proved impossible. At the ticket counter, he got a boarding pass […]

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

July 4, 2023 Enes Taha Ersen

(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 […]

US Muslim rights group calls on Biden to suspend use of ‘terror’ watchlist No-fly list leak reveals more than one million entries, mostly comprised of Muslim and Arab names, according to rights group

January 25, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Middle East Eye) Following a massive leak of the US government’s no-fly list, a leading Muslim rights group is calling on the Biden administration to stop the use of the “terrorist” watchlist the government has been utilising for decades, saying that the […]

Muslims suing over watch-list status say U.S. tactics block scrutiny Those challenging the constitutionality of the ‘No-Fly List’ and Terrorist Screening Database say that when they sue, they get removed, making it impossible to have their concerns heard in court

October 16, 2022 Rachel Weiner

(Washington Post) Saadiq Long was only allowed to visit his mother after FBI agents questioned her. He was strip-searched at an airport in Amsterdam and arrested when visiting Turkey. He was banned from two Persian Gulf states and fired from a trucking […]

TSA confirms controversial Amtrak passenger screening program underway

April 8, 2022 Mark Albert

(WBAL) The Transportation Security Administration has confirmed for the first time that the controversial screening of some rail passengers’ past travel records against a terrorist watchlist “has already occurred,” amid calls from Congress for greater oversight and demands from civil liberties advocates […]

Group vows to sue Amtrak over screening of rail passengers against terrorist watchlist

April 7, 2022 Mark Albert

(WBAL) The Council on American-Islamic Relations vowed on Thursday to sue America’s largest passenger rail network if Amtrak begins screening its travelers against the government’s terrorist watchlist — a program first revealed by the Hearst Television National Investigative Unit’s reporting. “If Amtrak […]

Why a Texas court ruling on Israel boycott was no victory for CAIR

February 4, 2022 Erielle Davidson

(Algemeiner) Last Friday’s decision by District Court Judge Andrew Hanen of Texas has been lauded as a landmark victory by supporters of Israel boycotts — an irony, given the opinion actually upholds the constitutionality of state laws that deem such boycotts discriminatory and […]

Lawsuit: Only Christians could apply for jail chaplain job

May 27, 2021 Michael Kunzelman

(AP) Applicants for a chaplain’s job at a Maryland county jail had to sign a statement affirming that they are Christians, a Muslim man claims Thursday in a federal lawsuit accusing the county and a contractor of religious discrimination. Lawyers from the […]

Appeals court upholds constitutionality of terror watchlist

March 30, 2021 Matthew Barakat

(AP) A federal appeals court on Tuesday overturned a challenge to the constitutionality of the government’s terrorist watchlist, ruling that the government deserves wide latitude in establishing programs designed to protect national security. A group of two dozen Muslim plaintiffs sued in […]

Muslim group sues Alabama for not allowing imam into execution chamber

February 4, 2021 Greg Garrison

(AL.com) An Islamic group has sued the Alabama Department of Corrections for not allowing an imam, a Muslim clergy, into the death row chamber to pray with an inmate at his execution. [Yusef] Maisonet, an imam who volunteers to lead Islamic prayers […]

Appeals court weighs constitutionality of terror watchlist

January 26, 2021 Matthew Barakat

(AP) A panel of federal appellate judges expressed concerns about ordering wholesale changes to a government watchlist of roughly 1 million individuals labeled as “known or suspected terrorists,” despite a lower court finding that the list was constitutionally flawed. The 4th U.S. […]

Saima Mohsin to be 1st Muslim US attorney next month

January 24, 2021 Niraj Warikoo

(Detroit Free Press) Starting next month, the new top federal prosecutor in Detroit will be Saima Mohsin, the first Muslim to be a U.S. attorney in Michigan and the country, according to federal officials and Muslim advocates. On Feb. 2, Mohsin, 52, is to become the […]

Barred from U.S. under Trump, Muslims exult in Biden’s open door Few foreigners welcomed President Biden’s election victory as enthusiastically as the tens of thousands of Muslims who have been locked out of the United States for the past four years.

January 23, 2021 Declan Walsh

(NY Times) As the results of the American presidential election rolled in on Nov. 4, a young Sudanese couple sat up through the night in their small town south of Khartoum, eyes glued to the television as state tallies were declared, watching […]

Judge refuses to block ‘No Boycott of Israel’ measure

October 26, 2020 Michael Kunzelman

(AP) A federal judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit in which a Muslim civil rights group sought to block the state of Maryland from enforcing its ban on contracting with businesses that boycott Israel. U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake didn’t reach […]

Utah man says he was fired from Cedar City car dealership ‘because I am a Muslim’

August 19, 2020 Paighten Harkins

(Salt Lake Tribune) A Utah man has filed a federal employment complaint against a Cedar City car dealership, alleging that his supervisors and colleagues harassed and discriminated against him after he converted to Islam. When Allan Goodson was hired as a mechanic […]

Barred from wearing hijabs, former youth detention center workers sue Delaware

August 6, 2020 Cris Barrish

(WHYY) Three Muslim women who formerly worked at a juvenile detention center in New Castle County filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the state of Delaware Thursday because officials barred them from wearing hijabs on the job. Madinah Brown, Shakeya Thomas and […]

Judge allows challenge to terrorist watchlist to move ahead

July 20, 2020 Matthew Barakat

(AP) A federal judge in Maryland is allowing dozens of Muslim plaintiffs to move ahead with a lawsuit against Attorney General William Barr and other federal officials challenging the constitutionality of the government’s watchlist of people identified as “known or suspected terrorists.” […]

Fifth Circuit throws out challenge to Texas ban on boycotting Israel

April 27, 2020 Cameron Langford

(Courthouse News) In litigation challenging a Texas law blocking state agencies from hiring companies boycotting Israel, the Fifth Circuit ordered dismissal of the case Monday but declined to decide if the law is constitutional. Bahia Amawi, a Palestinian U.S. citizen, had worked […]

FBI document reveals local and state police are collecting intelligence to expand terrorism watch list

February 7, 2020 Martin de Bourmont and Jana Winter

(Yahoo News) Despite a federal judge’s ruling last September that the U.S. government’s terror watch list violates constitutional rights, an FBI report obtained by Yahoo News shows local and state law enforcement agencies are being used to gather intelligence on individuals to […]

Three years later, Trump travel ban heads back to court

January 26, 2020 Denise Lavoie

(AP) After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld President Donald Trump’s ban on travelers from several predominantly Muslim countries in 2018, the ruling appeared to shut down legal challenges that claimed the policy was rooted in anti-Muslim bias. But a federal appeals court […]

Judge orders government to make changes to terror watchlist

December 27, 2019 Matthew Barakat

(AP) A federal judge is ordering the government to make changes to its watchlist of more than 1 million people whose inclusion marks them as known or suspected terrorists, but for now he’s giving the government latitude to propose the changes as […]

Virginia jail ends ‘God Pod’ after Muslim inmates sue

September 20, 2019 Matthew Barakat

(AP) A Virginia jail has ended a program which inmates dubbed the “God Pod” after a lawsuit alleged the program provided favorable treatment to Christians and discriminated against Muslims. Court documents show the Riverside Regional Jail south of Richmond ended the program […]

US judge: Terror watchlist violates constitutional rights

September 4, 2019 Matthew Barakat

(AP) The government’s watchlist of more than 1 million people identified as “known or suspected terrorists” violates the constitutional rights of those placed on it, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga grants summary judgment to […]

Judge considers whether terror watchlist is unconstitutional

April 4, 2019 Matthew Barakat

(AP) A federal judge says he will rule in the near future on the constitutionality of a government watchlist that includes more than 1 million people the FBI considers to be “known or suspected terrorists.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations sued in […]

Judge orders feds to list private groups receiving watchlist

February 22, 2019 Matthew Barakat

(AP) A federal magistrate on Friday ordered the government to disclose to him and to plaintiffs’ attorneys a list of private organizations that receive access to the government’s list of known or suspected terrorists. Judge John Anderson issued the ruling at the […]

Feds share watchlist with 1,400 private groups

February 19, 2019 Matthew Barakat

(AP) The federal government has acknowledged that it shares its terrorist watchlist with more than 1,400 private entities, including hospitals and universities, prompting concerns from civil libertarians that those mistakenly placed on the list could face a wide variety of hassles in […]