(Pioneer Press) The adjunct professor accused of Islamophobia for showing artwork in class that depicted the Prophet Muhammad filed a lawsuit against Hamline University on Tuesday as Hamline’s president conceded the school mishandled the controversy. Professor Erika Lopez Prater is suing the […]
(Religion News) The Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement Friday (Jan. 13), saying an art history instructor at Hamline University did not act with bigoted intent when she showed a 14th-century painting of the Prophet Muhammad in a class last semester. […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(Minnesota Reformer) Minneapolis City Council Member Jamal Osman has apologized for making antisemitic and anti-gay comments on Facebook from 2011 to 2013, calling Israelis “dogs” and speaking approvingly of Hitler. The Reformer reviewed the posts before they were deleted in October. Osman, […]
(VOA) From refugees to elected office, 14 Somali Americans have won legislative seats across the U.S. this year. Some also have been elected to city councils, school boards and the boards of parks and recreation in their respective cities. The U.S. midterm […]
(Arab News) For President Joe Biden, a Democrat, the midterm elections are crucial and challenging. Traditionally, the party that controls the White House at this stage usually loses control of the House and the Senate. Now the Republicans are perched to take […]
(VOA) From the streets of Minneapolis in Minnesota, home to the largest Somali community in the United States, to the northeast side of Columbus, Ohio, home to the second-largest Somali population, to Maine and the state of Washington, the mindset of the […]
(AP) It’s a busy Friday afternoon at a Somali restaurant on the northeast side of Columbus, home to [the] second-largest Somali population in the United States. The smell of spices is just as robust as the loud conversation, and the East African […]
(KSTP) With its newly opened facility in Woodbury, Amazon can now deliver packages more efficiently in the east metro. The location is also the company’s most accommodating to date for its employees from Minnesota’s Somali community. The brand new “sortation center” sits […]
(KARE) This year, there’s a new way students can proudly show their school spirit at William Byrne Elementary. For the first time, hijabs featuring the school mascot are being sold alongside t-shirts, ensuring everyone at the school is able to wear something […]
(AP) A Pakistani doctor and former Mayo Clinic research coordinator pleaded guilty Tuesday to a terrorism charge, more than two years after he was arrested for telling paid FBI informants that he pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State group and that […]
(MPR) For the first time since 2018, over 35,000 people are expected to gather Saturday to celebrate Eid al-Adha, the second Muslim holiday of the year, at U.S. Bank Stadium. The first holiday, Eid al-Fitr, occurs after Ramadan whereas Eid al-Adha is […]
(Daily Wire) Far-left Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) was booed at a concert in Minneapolis over the weekend in front of a predominantly Somali crowd, with some in the audience telling her to “go home” and “get the f*** out of here.” The […]
(Star Tribune) For years, Shukri Ali has called her son Yusuf’s school every time she had to organize her family’s Eid al-Fitr celebrations to make sure he’s excused from classes. It’s another mental stressor each spring on a busy day for Muslim […]
(AP) The chant in Arabic blasted from rooftop loudspeakers, drowning out both the growl of traffic from nearby interstates and the chatter and clinking glasses on the patio of the dive bar that shares a wall with Minneapolis’ oldest Somali mosque. Dozens […]
(Star Tribune) The Muslim call to prayer will soon be heard regularly in parts of Minneapolis. Minneapolis mosques can now publicly broadcast the adhan, or call to prayer, over loudspeakers without acquiring a permit and so long as they abide by the […]
(New Arab) Even with its growing Muslim community, Minnesota’s district schools have until now not officially observed Muslim holidays. That will change starting next school year, when several school districts will recognise Eid El-Fitr and Eid El-Adha as official school holidays. “Muslims are […]
(Mediaite) Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) dodged a question during a friendly interview with Chris Hayes when the MSNBC anchor asked what the Jewish community thinks of her comments that have been criticized as anti-Semitic. During a Tuesday episode of Hayes’s podcast, Why […]
(Religion News) In Dearborn, Michigan, where the mayor once promised to do something about the city’s “Arab problem,” Abdullah Hammoud, a Lebanese American Muslim, was elected this month to fill that post. In New York, Bangladeshi American Shahana Hanif became the first […]
(NY Post) Only hours after Minnesota GOP operative Anton Lazarro posted online DNA evidence that allegedly shows Rep. Ilhan Omar was once married to her brother, the FBI busted him. The test results stated there is a 99.999998 percent chance that Omar […]
(MPR) A New Brighton, Minn., man who admitted being part of the far-right Boogaloo Bois militia group on Tuesday pleaded guilty to a federal terrorism charge. Michael Robert Solomon, 31, got on the FBI’s radar last year, when he was seen carrying […]
(MPR) A St. Louis Park, Minn., man pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to fighting with ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Abdelhamid Al-Madioum, 24, is due to be sentenced May 26 on a single count of providing material support to a designated […]
(Religion News) Mauree Turner, a 27-year-old member of Oklahoma City’s Muslim community, became Muslim after learning about the faith from her father, who converted while incarcerated. Black and nonbinary, Turner is also a community organizer who’s long been involved in criminal justice […]
(Hill) Rep. Ilhan Omar (D) is project[ed] to win reelection to her House seat in Minnesota, brushing aside a challenge from a Republican tech entrepreneur in securing a second term on Capitol Hill. A member of “the Squad,” four progressive women of […]
(JTA) Many people have gaps in their understanding of what anti-Semitism is and how it works, according to Rep. Ilhan Omar, who has been accused of fomenting anti-Semitism. Omar, D-Minn., offered her perspective on the anti-Semitism experience in an interview published Sunday […]
(Politico) President Donald Trump said his Democratic rival Joe Biden would “turn Minnesota into a refugee camp” and bragged about deporting Somali nationals, sharpening his play for the battleground state during a Friday rally. “I’m your wall between the American dream and […]
(AP) A Minnesota man accused of joining the Islamic State group has been returned to the United States and faces a terrorism charge after spending more than a year in Syrian custody with alleged IS fighters, according to documents unsealed Wednesday. Abdelhamid […]
(Washington Examiner) Rep. Ilhan Omar criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Saturday over the agency’s potential deportation of illegal immigrants back to Somalia, citing coronavirus fears as a reason to halt the deportations. “ICE is set to deport dozens of individuals from […]
(Pioneer Press) The Minneapolis woman who authorities say tried to set multiple fires at St. Catherine University in 2018 and join al-Qaida pleaded guilty to federal terrorism charges Wednesday. Tnuza Jamal Hassan, 22, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of attempting to […]
(AP) Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota survived a stiff Democratic primary challenge Tuesday from a well-funded opponent who tried to make an issue of her national celebrity, the latest in a string of victories by a new generation of emboldened progressive lawmakers. […]
(JTA) No matter what happens in Ilhan Omar’s primary today, one thing is clear: Some Jewish voters in Minnesota and across the country will be deeply disappointed. Omar has the support of some local and progressive Jews who are excited about supporting […]
(Hill) The Minneapolis Star Tribune is endorsing Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-Minn.) challenger ahead of next week’s primary, saying the first-term lawmaker “wants to lead a movement” instead of serving her constituents. The editorial board on Wednesday backed Antone Melton-Meaux, praising his “strong progressive […]
(Politico) Rep. Ilhan Omar is one of the best-known Democrats from the class of 2018, a lightning-rod member of the Squad whose outspoken liberal politics have made her an enemy of Donald Trump. Back home in Minneapolis, however, her polarizing national profile […]
(Vice) Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-Minn.) campaign recently sent out a mail piece ripping her primary opponent, attorney Antone Melton-Meaux, for the large donations he’s gotten from wealthy and moderate donors. The only donors to her opponent identified by name in the mailer […]
(Pioneer Press) While ordering a drink Wednesday in St. Paul, a 19-year-old Muslim woman gave the barista her name — Aishah — and repeated it for clarity. The Minneapolis woman was shocked when she saw what the barista then wrote on her […]
(WCCO) A south Minneapolis bakery is apologizing after a customer wearing a face-covering hijab posted a video showing a worker refusing to serve her for not wearing the proper face mask. Zahur Abdiaziz posted the video to her Facebook page on Monday, […]
(JNS) The Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) has affirmed that it will not support Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) in her upcoming primary, but did not provide [an] endorsement to her chief primary opponent, progressive Antone Melton-Meaux. Omar is set to face […]
(Jerusalem Post) Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) slammed Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar in a Twitter battle between the Republican and the Democrat on Thursday, claiming that if she would like to discuss a genocide, she should discuss the Holocaust and her lack of […]
(Middle East Eye) “Please, please, I can’t breathe,” George Floyd pleaded, gasping for air as a police officer’s knee pressed into his neck for several minutes until his life was lost. Floyd’s death in Minneapolis on Monday has touched the conscience of […]
(WZTV) The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is calling on Twitter to suspend President Donald Trump’s Twitter account and for the Minnesota National Guard to ignore any orders of violence against protesters. CAIR is the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy […]
(AP) A Lebanese man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Minnesota to conspiring to export drone parts and technology from the U.S. to Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. U.S. Attorney Erica H. MacDonald said Monday that Usama Hamade, 55, pleaded guilty […]
(KMSP) Thursday night marked the first publicly broadcast call to prayer, or “Adhan,” in Minnesota. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey approved a permit for Dar [Al-Hijrah] mosque in Minneapolis to play the call to prayer publicly five times a day during the month […]
(KMSP) To allow Minneapolis residents to pray together during Ramadan while maintaining social distance during the coronavirus pandemic, Adhan — the call to prayer — will be played over a loudspeaker in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood five times per day for the duration […]
(AP) A Pakistani doctor and former Mayo Clinic research coordinator was arrested Thursday in Minnesota on a terrorism charge, after prosecutors say he told paid FBI informants that he had pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State group and wanted to carry […]
(AP) A Lebanese national charged with conspiring to export drone parts and technology from the U.S. to Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate U.S. export laws. Issam Hamade pleaded guilty Monday in federal […]
(AP) A Minnesota Roman Catholic priest apologized Wednesday for saying in a sermon that Islam was “the greatest threat in the world” to the United States and Christianity. The Rev. Nick VanDenBroeke apologized in a statement issued by the St. Paul-Minnesota Catholic […]
(AP) Rep. Ilhan Omar’s congressional career got off to a rocky start just a year ago, with her provocative remarks on Israel and Jews stirring anger across the country and raising speculation that some other Minnesota Democrat might step forward to challenge […]
(MPR) The families of four Somali teenagers detained by Minneapolis park police in 2018 are splitting a $160,000 settlement after lodging a human rights complaint over the officers’ handling of the incident. Bystanders recorded part of the incident, showing the boys being […]
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