Interfaith

Conference in Baltimore features Islamist speakers with antisemitic histories Hatem Bazian, who was on a panel at the three-day event, said at a 2004 San Francisco rally: 'It’s about time that we have an intifada in this country.'

(JNS) The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) and the Muslim American Society (MAS) concluded their three-day annual conference late last month at the Baltimore Convention Center. A number of activists and clerics with histories of antisemitism and anti-Israel statements were listed […]

Legal

Canadian Muslim charity wins ‘milestone’ settlement after being falsely accused of funding terrorism Islamic Relief Canada reached settlement in suit against Thomas Quiggin, others who admit claims 'unfounded'

(CBC) One of Canada’s largest faith-based charities has won a settlement over a set of publications that falsely claimed it was a “front” to fund terror groups abroad. Islamic Relief Canada reached the out-of-court settlement earlier this month in a lawsuit against Thomas […]

Christians

Germany: Syrian Islamists arrested for bomb plot against Swedish church During the searches of the brothers’ residences, German authorities discovered bomb-making chemicals, including a package of urea fertilizer and hydrogen peroxide.

(European Conservative) Authorities in Germany have arrested two brothers, both Syrian nationals, on suspicion of planning to carry out an Islamist terror attack on a packed church in Sweden, a joint press release by state and federal police and the public prosecutor’s […]

Legal

Soccer star tied to al-Qaida begins terror trial in US Jailed since 2001, Nizar Trabelsi goes to trial here on charges related to ones he faced abroad: the plot to attack a NATO airbase in Belgium.

(Courthouse News) A former professional European soccer player convicted in Belgium 20 years ago of planning a suicide bombing attack on Americans in Europe appeared in U.S. federal court on Monday to begin his jury trial. Opening arguments began with the prosecution […]

Academics & Education

Va. board member brags about using taxpayers’ $3B for ‘Muslim power,’ pushing Palestinian agenda in schools Fairfax County school board member, Abrar Omeish, previously refused to vote on a motion that would commemorate Sept. 11 victims

(Fox) A controversial Fairfax, Virginia, school board member, Abrar Omeish, who previously refused to vote on a motion that would commemorate Sept. 11 victims, shared plans to use $3 billion available in the district’s budget for a Palestinian agenda before she was […]

Academics & Education

Controversial school board member endorsed curriculum that removes ‘Islamic terror’ from 9/11 history lessons School board member Abrar Omeish has previously been accused of 'cruel' and 'callous' rhetoric relating to 9/11

(Fox) A Fairfax, Virginia, school board member recommended curriculum materials for teachers to use for their lesson plans which opposed using terms such as “radical Islamic terror,” “Islamic terrorists” and “jihadists” when discussing the history of the Sept. 11 attacks. Abrar Omeish […]

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 […]

Clothing

Does the EU have hijab bans? As women around the world mark World Hijab Day, people are calling on the European Union to create safer spaces for conversations about the Muslim headscarf.

(Deutsche Welle) Across the European Union, the headscarves worn by some Muslim women have been hotly contested for years. Some nations claim hijab bans would tackle religious oppression and terrorism, while others argue bans would discriminate against women’s rights and hamper integration. Some EU countries have already imposed […]

Clerics & Preachers

Cleric is convicted in New York of supporting ISIS while in Jamaica Abdullah el-Faisal, a Jamaican who was an outspoken supporter of the Islamic State, was the first person to face trial under New York State terror laws passed after Sept. 11.

(NY Times) For years, Abdullah el-Faisal, a Jamaican-born cleric, promoted an extreme form of Islam that advocated killing nonbelievers. In Britain, his incitements sent him to prison in 2003. He was kicked out of Kenya in 2010. At home in Jamaica, he […]

Government & Politics

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

(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 […]

Government & Politics

Dems mobilize to defend Omar in face of GOP defections McCarthy plans to hold a House vote to remove her from the Foreign Affairs panel, but it’s unclear that he’ll have enough support in his conference.

(Politico) House Republicans are already facing defections over a leadership push to oust Rep. Ilhan Omar from her committees. Democrats plan to make the vote even more painful. The Minnesota Democrat and her caucus allies have begun to mount a robust defense […]

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, […]

Academics & Education

An academic is fired over a medieval painting of the Prophet Muhammad The dismissal of an instructor at Hamline University on baseless charges of 'Islamophobia' raises concerns about freedom on campus

(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 […]

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

(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'

(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

(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 […]