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Mosques vandalised as US states reject Syria refugees

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Suspected hate crimes targeting Muslims carried out as anti-Islam rhetoric swells in the US following Paris attacks.

More than 4.2 million Syrians have fled their country as the civil war continues [Santi Palacios/AP]

More than 4.2 million Syrians have fled their country as the civil war continues [Santi Palacios/AP]

by Patrick Strickland, Al Jazeera

Several mosques have been vandalised and a number of suspected hate crimes targeting Muslims carried out after dozens of United States governors announced they would not accept Syrian refugees in their states.

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), a civil rights organisation, said on Monday that it has documented recent “vandalism, threats and hate [incidents]” in Massachusetts, Florida, Texas, Kentucky, Virginia, Nebraska, Tennessee, Ohio and New York, among other states.

The wave of incidents follows declarations by at least 27 state governors – 26 from the right-wing Republican party and a Democrat – saying they will block Syrian refugees, citing last Friday’s deadly attacks in Paris, claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

In one incident, officials at the Islamic Centre in Omaha, Nebraska, said that an image of the Eiffel Tower was spray-painted on the wall of a local mosque overnight on Monday, CAIR said.

In Pflugerville, Texas, worshippers arrived at their local mosque on Monday morning to find faeces smeared on the door and a torn-up copy of the Quran on the doorstep.

The Islamic Center of St Petersburg, Florida, received threatening voicemails just hours after news of the Paris attacks broke.

The caller said that they have “a militia that is going to come down to your Islamic Society of Pinellas County and firebomb you and shoot whoever is there in the head”.

According to CAIR, another Florida mosque, the location of which has not been made public, received similar threats. A caller vowed to “bomb” the mosque and “shoot people at will”.

In Portland, Oregon, protesters gathered outside a local and taunted worshippers as they arrived for prayer. They called members of the local Ahmadiyya Muslim community “cowards” and told them they are “going to hell”.

On Tuesday, an Uber driver in Charlotte, North Carolina, said he was punched and threatened with death by a passenger who mistook him as a Muslim, according to local media.

And a Muslim family in Orlando, Florida, said their family home was shot at by an unknown assailant on Monday. Speaking to local media, the Elmasri family and their neighbours said they were targeted because of their faith.

‘Clear uptick in anti-Islam rhetoric’

Corey Saylor, spokesperson at CAIR, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that the governors’ refusal to accept Syrian refugees has encouraged Islamophobic sentiment.

“It gives people a license to put into action the uglier things they may be thinking” about Muslims, he said.

“After any incident like the Paris attack, we see a clear uptick in anti-Islam rhetoric.”

The Syrian uprising started in March 2011 and quickly devolved into a full-scale civil war. More than 250,000 people have been killed throughout the conflict, according to United Nations estimates.

More than 4.2 million Syrians have become refugees, while about 7.6 million are internally displaced within the country’s borders.

“Closing the doors on people fleeing war zones is not a message that America should send to the world,” Saylor said. “Rather than values, the [governors] are projecting fear.”

Some legislators called for US President Barack Obama’s administration to accept Christian refugees and reject Muslims.

Saylor says such calls are misinformed because ” ISIL’s number one victims are Muslims.”

Human rights groups have slammed the governors’ anti-refugee measures.

While governors are not able to ban Syrian refugees from residing in their states, they can suspend cooperation between state programmes and the federal government.

The federal government is the sole authority for refugee resettlement. But states can cut their own funding to local refugee programmes, placing the full weight the financial burden on the federal government.

“That can make it more difficult,” Angelita Baeyens, programmes director for the Robert F Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, told Al Jazeera. “But it also sends a message of extreme intolerance and Islamophobia.”

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said on Monday that the US should not allow any Syrian refugees, including orphaned children, into the country.

“I don’t think orphans under five are being, you know, should be admitted into the United States at this point,” Christie said.

Baeyens said that Christie’s comments and others like it “create a climate of fear and suspicion”.

“In the face of the worst refugee crisis in recent history, this rhetoric is really appalling,” she added. “It is collective hysteria.”

Presidential candidates have also chimed in. Writing on Twitter, Republican Donald Trump claimed that “some” Syrian refugees may be ISIL members.

Mike Huckabee, presidential candidate and former Arkansas governor, made similar anti-refugee comments during an interview with Fox News on Monday.

“Can you imagine bringing in a bunch of Syrian refugees who’ve lived in the desert their whole lives that are suddenly thrown into an English speaking community? Where it’s maybe in Minnesota where it is 20 degrees below zero?”

According to CAIR, Trump and Huckabee are among more than a dozen presidential hopefuls for the 2016 elections who have employed Islamophobic rhetoric during their campaigns.

While only 1,500 Syrians have been resettled in the US to date, the Obama administration announced earlier this year that 10,000 more will be accepted throughout a one-year span.

Speaking of the governors’ declarations, Human Rights Watch said Syrian refugees were being used as a “scapegoat”.

“Resettled refugees from Syria have fled persecution and violence, and undergone rigorous security screening by the US government,” Alison Parker, codirector of HRW’s US programme, said in a statement.

“The governors’ announcements amount to fearmongering attempts to block Syrians from joining the generous religious groups and communities who step forward to welcome them.”

US anti-Islam rallies ‘fizzle’ nationwide

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Interfaith support quashes anti-Muslim rallies

A grand total of zero anti-Muslim activists attended today's rally in Huntsville, Alabama #HateUnchecked

A grand total of zero anti-Muslim activists attended today’s rally in Huntsville, Alabama #HateUnchecked

by Common Dreams

A series of planned anti-Islam rallies targeting more than 20 U.S. cities Saturday fizzled out despite extensive social media promotion; morphing instead into a welcomed show of support and tolerance.

In Armarillo, Texas, police department Cpl. Cody Lavery told the Amarillo Globe News “All of these people are supporters of the center. Everything’s been very peaceful so far, and the protestors haven’t shown up yet.” At the Khursheed Unissa Memorial Community Center in Amarillo,  more than 100 people opposing the anti-Islam rally came out in an impromptu show of support.

In Dearborn, Michigan, the media and police reportedly out-numbered all protesters at the anti-Islam rally. As media reports began to preview the protest, Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly told citizens Friday to go about their business and ignore the visitors, who billed their event a Global Rally For Humanity. Counter-protesters and others saw it as an unwarranted attack on an entire religious group holding up signs that read, “No to Anti-Islam Bigots” and “Unity Yes! Racism No!” while chanting “Stop Terrorizing Muslims at Home and America!” and “Hey hey, ho ho, racist fascists got to go!” Fewer than 10 anti-Islam protestors reportedly showed up, four carrying weapons.

The protests were billed as “open carry” events and participants were encouraged to come armed with guns.

The United Church of Christ (UCC) also issued a call on Friday for local congregations to show support and solidarity with Muslims across the country over the weekend.

“I want to say as clearly as I can, and in no uncertain terms, that the United Church of Christ stands in full solidarity with people of the Muslim faith,” wrote UCC president Rev. John C. Dorhauer.

“Their contribution to religion, to peace, to humanity, and to the goodness of all is to be celebrated. The United Church of Christ deplores the narrow-mindedness that fails to see this and seeks instead to engender fear, hatred, and anxiety.”

Meanwhile, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, said Sunday that the anti-Islam hate rallies planned at mosques nationwide on Saturday “fizzled” and that interfaith partners turned out at a number of mosques to show their support for the Muslim community. CAIR noted that one hate rally in Phoenix included apparent neo-Nazis wearing swastika symbols. “We are pleased that what was planned as a campaign of hate and marginalization turned instead into a show of support for the American Muslim community and for religious inclusion,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.   CAIR listed a number of images and media reports contrasting non-existent or poor turnout for the hate rallies with enthusiastic support for Muslims by interfaith partners: CAIR Photo: 25 People of Other Faiths Turn Out at Maryland Mosque to Show Support Against Haters CAIR-OK Photo: Interfaith Partners Show Support for Muslims in Oklahoma CAIR-OK: Islam Haters ‘Few and Far Between’ in Oklahoma Photo: Lone, Possibly Illiterate Anti-Islam Protester in Oklahoma City Video: Sad and Lonely Hater Outside Plano, Texas, Mosque at Jummah TX: Anti-Islam Protester Outnumbered 100 to 1 TX: People Show Support for Local Mosque After Concerns Over Rumored Anti-Islam Rally TX: Handful of Islamophobes Show Up at Richardson Mosque – Given Water by Congregation AL: Planned Protest Outside Huntsville Islamic Center Falls Flat TN: Supporters Outnumber Protesters at Mosque WA: Interfaith Celebration Counter Anti-Islam Protests CAIR-WA: No Anti-Islam Protesters, But Interfaith partners Show Support for Muslim Community WA: Other Faiths Stand with Spokane Muslims WA: Friends of Muslim community in Kitsap County Gather MI: Rally Against Islam Outnumbered by Counter Protesters Oregon Anti-Muslim Rally “Re-Branded” as Pro-Police MA: Mayor Walsh Stands with Hub’s Muslims Video: CAIR-SFBA Director Zahra Billoo Says Anti-Islam Hate Rallies Will Expose Islamophobia

UK Muslims decry move to host Prophet Muhammad exhibit

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UK-based anti-Sharia campaign group will host an exhibition featuring cartoons of the prophet of Islam in September.

Prophet Muhammad

by Azad Essa, Al Jazeera

Muslim organisations in the UK have condemned a move by an anti-Sharia campaign group to host an exhibition featuring cartoons of Prophet Muhammad in London in September.

Azad Ali, chair of the Muslim Safety Forum based in London, told Al Jazeera on Friday the proposed “Muhammad Cartoon Exhibit” by UK-based Sharia Watch was an attempt to taunt the tolerance levels of British Muslims, and described the move as a cheap attempt to create disharmony in the UK.

“They keep on pushing the boundary, testing the levels and always upping the ante … this is what this is about: getting a reaction from Muslims and looking for a justification to demonise us,” Ali said.

“We are looking to find ways for a positive discussion to come out of this, but no one thinks the planned event is anything but racist,” he said.

The exhibit is set to feature controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders as a speaker. Wilders is known to be vehemently anti-Islam.

Talking to Al Jazeera, Miqdaad Versi, assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said the proposed event illustrated that Islamophobia had now become socially acceptable in Britain.

“It [Islamophobia] has become mainstream, and acceptable, and this has provided a platform for more extreme views to surface,” Versi said.

Depictions of Prophet Muhammad are banned in Islam and many Muslims say they are being continuously provoked and taunted with demeaning depictions of the prophet that are often seen as “vile and racist”.

In 2006, violent protests erupted in parts of the Arab world and South Asia as Muslims took to the streets to demonstrate against the publication of cartoons of Prophet Muhammad by the Jyllands-Posten newspaper in Denmark.

The same cartoons were published by French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, prompting an arson attack on the newspaper in 2011.

Climate of fear’

Charlie Hebdo was brutally attacked in January by two gunmen, resulting in the murder of 12 people.

In May, two gunmen attacked an art exhibition in Garland, Texas where caricatures of Prophet Muhammad were being exhibited.

UK-based Sharia Watch said on Tuesday the event had been organised to honour those who “risk their lives in defence of free expression, and of those who have been murdered in this cause”.

Anne Marie Waters, director of Sharia Watch, said in the statement that the event was about freedom of expression.

“The outlook for our democracy depends on the actions we take today. We owe it to future generations to pass on the freedom we have enjoyed,” Waters said.

But many commentators say the cartoons of Prophet Muhammad have little to do with free speech.

In June, Jordan Denari, a research fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, said that sharing cartoons of the prophet contributed “to an existing climate of fear in which Muslims are seen as a threat – a climate that endangers Muslims in the West”.

“These cartoons play into the worst stereotypes about Muslims. Almost all of the cartoons displayed at the Garland contest portrayed Muhammad in a negative light, showing the prophet as violent, backward, sexually perverted, and intolerant of non-Muslims,” Denari wrote.

Earlier in June, Geert Wilders said he wanted to showcase cartoons of Prophet Muhammad on Dutch television on airtime usually reserved for political parties. This was in response to a decision by the Dutch parliament not to display the toons.

Muslim woman claims United Airlines attendant refused her an unopened can of Diet Coke saying it could be used as weapon

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Tahera Ahmad, 31, director of interfaith engagement and associate chaplain at Northwestern University was travelling Friday from Chicago to Washington when the incident occurred. (Photo courtesy: Facebook)

Tahera Ahmad, 31, director of interfaith engagement and associate chaplain at Northwestern University was travelling Friday from Chicago to Washington when the incident occurred. (Photo courtesy: Facebook)

by David Harding & Joel Landau, New York Daily News

United Airlines has been accused of discrimination after refusing to give an unopened can of Diet Coke to a female Muslim passenger.

Tahera Ahmad, 31, said in a post on her Facebook page that the flight attendant was “clearly discriminating against me” after giving the male passenger seated next to her an unopened can of beer.

She did not respond to the Daily News’ request for comment.

Ahmad, who is the Muslim chaplain at Northwestern University, said that in the ensuing argument, one of her fellow passengers told her: “You (are) Moslem, you need to shut the f–k up.”

The alleged incident happened as she asked for the can of pop on a flight from Chicago to Washington on Friday. Ahmad was traveling to attend an interfaith event for KIDS4PEACE to promote peaceful conversations between Israelis and Palestinians.

Ahmad was given one can that had already been opened, but said she wanted an unopened can for hygienic reasons.

But she said she was told by the flight attendant: “Well, I’m sorry. I just can’t give you an unopened can, so no Diet Coke for you.”

Ahmad said she then pointed out that the man next to her had just been handed an unopened beer and told the attendant she was being discriminated against. The employee then quickly opened her neighbor’s beer can.

The flight attendant then told the passenger: “We are unauthorized to give unopened cans to people, because they may use it as a weapon on the plane.”

Asking other passengers for help, she was then told to “shut the f–k up,” Ahmad claimed.

“I can’t help but cry on this plane because I thought people would defend me and say something,” she wrote in the post. “Some people just shook their heads in dismay. “#IslamophobiaISREAL”

But people on the Internet have supported her and the post had received nearly 7,000 shares as of Sunday morning. Some Twitter users pledged to boycott the airline and are sharing a picture of a can of Diet Coke with the hashtag #unitedfortahera.

United said in a statement issued Saturday night that the flight attendant on Shuttle America flight 3504 attempted “several times” to accommodate Ahmad’s request and there was an initial misunderstanding.

They also said the flight’s crew talked to her when they arrived and the company further reached out Saturday afternoon to apologize to her.

“We look forward to having the opportunity to welcome Ms. Ahmad back,” United said.

A United spokesman declined additional comment to the Daily News.

But Ahmad said in another post early Sunday morning that she was “truly disappointed” by the company’s response, which she said labeled the incident as a can of soda-specific issue and did not addressed the bias she said she encountered.

“It is ridiculing to my integrity to dismiss the discriminatory behavior towards me,” she said. “It is truly disheartening when the discrimination of Americans as myself who are working hard every day to promote dialogue and understanding is disregarded and trivialized.”

 

Ahmad said she was still waiting for a “written sincere apology for the pain and hurt I experienced as a result of the discrimination and hateful words towards me.

“This is not about a can of soda,” she said. “I was really hoping that after speaking with me they would have publicly acknowledged their lack of consistency in following procedure, the flight attendant’s rude and discriminatory behavior and accusations which led to hateful words, and the unfortunate lack of bystander intervention nor the flight attendants attempt to intervene and prevent further disrespect which created an unsafe space for me.”

Woman denied home for being a Muslim

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Misbah Quadri

Mumbai: A 25-year-old woman professional was allegedly refused a flat by a builder as she belongs to the minority community, days after an MBA graduate was denied job by a diamond export firm on similar ground here.

An activist has taken up the matter with the National Commission for Minorities seeking a probe into the builder’s “discriminatory policy.”

Misbah Quadri, who works with a Public Relations agency, had been living in an apartment at Kandivali in the western suburbs of Mumbai since the time she shifted to the city from Gujarat a year back.

Recently, she tried to move to a flat in Wadala area but met with the shocking response from the builder of the apartment.

“After a lot of searching, I finally found a house at Wadala and paid a deposit of Rs 24,000 through a broker. A night before I was to move in, I got a call from the broker, warning me not to shift there as it is the builder’s policy to not have Muslim tenants. I tried to reason with him but he did not oblige,” Quadri told PTI.

She claimed that the broker asked her to sign a “no-objection certificate” declaring that if she faced any harassment from her neighbours because of her religion, the builder, the owner and the broker “would not be legally responsible.”

“I had to move into the flat though I did not agree with the terms because the notice period with my previous flat had expired and there was nowhere I could go. After a week, the broker called me again and asked me to leave. I had no option then but to leave the flat. Presently I am staying at a paying guest accommodation in Bandra,” she said.

Quadri claimed that when she approached the representative of the builder who has an office in the same building, she was told that it was a policy of theirs to not give homes on rent to Muslims.

“He also said that maybe 5-6 years down the line they may start renting flats to Muslims,” she said.

Meanwhile, activist Shehzad Poonawala, in a petition filed before the National Minorities Commission, has prayed that an inquiry be conducted into the allegation to ascertain whether the builder has a discriminatory policy against a religious community, which involves violation of the constitutional provisions.

He also sought legal action against the builder and the broker and urged the Commission to direct the Central government to call for a meeting of all stake-holders including real estate brokers, developers, state governments, activists, Home Ministry, Social Justice Ministry, Urban Housing Ministry and so on and issue strict legislative and statutory guidelines against discrimination of minorities.

Poonawala also suggested promulgation of a “Fair Housing Law” or guidelines on illegal discrimination against any community in matters concerning housing.

(PTI)

Four arrested in Germany over 'plot against Muslims'

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Three men and a woman held for possession of explosives and for planning attacks on mosques and leading Muslim figures.

A report links the increase in anti-immigrant attacks to the rise of right-wing groups in the country [Reuters]

A report links the increase in anti-immigrant attacks to the rise of right-wing groups in the country [Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

German authorities have conducted raids across the country, seizing explosives and arresting four people accused of founding a right-wing group to attack mosques and housing for asylum seekers.

Police arrested three men and a woman accused of leading the group during raids by some 250 investigators on homes in Saxony and four other states, the federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

Prosecutors allege the four helped found the “Oldschool Society” (OSS) group and were planning to attack asylum-seeker housing, mosques and well-known members of the Islamic community in Germany.

The four arrested, identified only as Andreas H, 56, Markus W, 39, Denise Vanessa G, 22, and Olaf O, 47, in line with German privacy laws, are being held on terrorism charges and are also accused of having procured explosives.

The statement identified Andreas H and Markus W as the group’s president and vice president.

The North Rhine-Westphalia state interior ministry said Olaf O was from the western city of Bochum and had been under observation since November as “a leading member of the OSS”.

“According to current investigations, it was the group’s goal to conduct attacks in smaller groups inside Germany on well-known Salafists, mosques and asylum-seeker centres,” the statement said.

“For this purpose the four arrested procured explosives for possible terror attacks by the group.”

Inquiries made by the Associated Press news agency to an apparent cell phone number and email address for the group were not immediately returned.

Attack plans

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the Oldschool Society appeared to be a newly formed group.

Rhineland-Palatinate interior minister Roger Lewentz, at the same news conference, held up what appeared to be the group’s logo – a white skull on black background framed by bloody butcher’s cleavers with lightning bolts resembling the runes of the Nazi SS.

“The SS rune is in there – that’s not for nothing,” Lewentz said.

Prosecutors said they are still trying to determine whether the group had concrete attack plans and refused to comment beyond their written statement.

There have been conflicts in recent years between far right groups and the Muslim community in North Rhine-Westphalia that have escalated into violent street fights.

In 2013, authorities said they foiled a plot to assassinate a high-ranking member of a far-right party in the state.

Right-wing groups have been a renewed focus for German intelligence agencies after it came to light that a neo-Nazi group calling itself National Socialist Underground, or NSU, allegedly killed eight Turks, a Greek and a policewoman between 2000 and 2007. It is also believed to be behind two bombings and 15 bank robberies.

De Maiziere said statistics released Wednesday showed a sharp increase of 22.9 percent in violent crimes by right-wing extremists in 2014 to 1,029, three times the number in 2013.

Anti-Semitic attacks have also reportedly increased.

The report suggested the rise could be linked to months of non-violent anti-Islam protests by a group calling itself Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the West, or PEGIDA.

Anti-Islam demonstrations held across Australia

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Police intervene in Melbourne to prevent clashes when rival, anti-racism protesters held event at same location.

Between 500-800 Reclaim Australia protesters turned up for the anti-Islam protest in Sydney [EPA]

Between 500-800 Reclaim Australia protesters turned up for the anti-Islam protest in Sydney [EPA]

by Al Jazeera

A series of small anti-Islam rallies have been held across Australia, with police reportedly forced to intervene to separate protesters from rival, anti-racism demonstrators in the city of Melbourne.

Between 500-800 people gathered in the pouring rain in Martin Square in Sydney’s central business district on Saturday for one of the largest demonstrations, which were held in a number of state capitals and regional centres.

A speaker, who called himself “the great Aussie patriot”, addressed the Sydney crowd, saying: “Out of the world’s 1.5 billion muslims that live on this planet, only 15-20 percent of them are extremists, yet 15-20 percent is around 300 million extremist muslims who are dedicated to the takeover and downfall of western civilisation.”

“Now Muslims have an average of five to eight children per family. So the number of extremists raising all their kids with this point of view…”

One protester, who identified himself as Greg, told Al Jazeera “we’re just fighting for our way of life”.

“[Muslims] come here to live in Australia and they want to change our values, our way of life, to suit them. They come here for a new life – and they want their old life. So why stay here if they don’t want it? They can leave -simple as that.”

In Melbourne, the Herald Sun newspaper reported that 100 police had to physically stand between anti-Islam demonstrators and counter-protesters in the city’s Federation Square top prevent clashes.

‘Implicating good people’

Anti-racist rally organiser Mel Gregson told the ABC that Reclaim Australia was spreading “conspiracy theories”.

“It’s basically implicating good Muslim people in the political movements of a tiny minority,” she said.

“What we’re trying to say is that it is dangerous to allow hate speech to occur on the streets of Melbourne.”

Reclaim Australia, the group that organised the protests, says on its website that it wants to make Islamic law illegal in Australia, ban Halal certification, ban the teaching of Islam in public schools and ban “the burqa or any variant thereof”.

“This peaceful rally … is being used to show the people of Australia we have had enough of minorities not fitting in and trying to change our Australian cultural identity,” the group said.

The group also says it wants to keep Australia’s “traditional values” and “introduce pride in the Australian flag and anthem at all levels of schooling”.

In gesture of solidarity, Norwegian Muslims form 'Ring of Peace' around Oslo synagogue

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‘There are many more peace mongers than war mongers,’ an organizer said.

Muslims and Jews in Norway formed a 'ring of peace' around Oslo's one functioning synagogue in a show of solidarity. (Photo: EPA)

Muslims and Jews in Norway formed a ‘ring of peace’ around Oslo’s one functioning synagogue in a show of solidarity. (Photo: EPA)

by Nadia Prupis, Common Dreams

More than 1,000 Muslims in Norway joined together in sub-zero temperatures on Saturday to form a protective circle around Oslo’s sole functioning synagogue as a gesture of solidarity with the city’s Jewish community following last week’s attacks on a synagogue in neighboring Denmark.

Chanting “No to anti-Semitism, no to Islamophobia,” the group, made up of both Muslim and Jewish participants, stood in what they called a “ring of peace” around the building. The gesture comes shortly after the attacks on Charlie Hebdo magazine headquarters in Paris, which left 17 people dead, as well as the more recent shooting at a free speech event at a Copenhagen synagogue.

“There are many more peace mongers than war mongers,” Zeeshan Abdullah, one of the organizers of the event, said on Saturday. “There’s still hope for humanity, for peace and love, across religious differences and backgrounds.”

Another organizer, Hajrah Arshad, said the gathering also shows that “Islam is about love and unity.”

Ervin Kohn, one of the leaders of the country’s small Jewish community, said the vigil “fills us with hope… particularly as it’s a grassroots movement of young Muslims.” He added, “Working against fear alone is difficult and it is good that we are so many here together.”

Abdullah continued, “We want to demonstrate that Jews and Muslims do not hate each other. We do not want individuals to define what Islam is for the rest of us.”

US: Houston Muslim school burned down in what investigators say is likely an arson attack

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The arson attack was the third incident of Islamaphobic violence this week.

by Zaid Jilani, AlterNet

Unfortunately, the execution of three Muslim students in Chapel Hill was not the only Islamophobic violence that happened this week. The same week, an Arab American family was assaulted in Dearborn, and now in Houston comes a horrible story of what appears to be an arson attack on an Islamic school for young children.

The Quba Islamic Institute opened in January of 2013 with the goal of doing Sunday school, summer school, and after-school programs for young children as well as host other Muslim events. Here’s a photo from children there shooting hoops they posted yesterday on their Facebook:

And here’s what happened to the school overnight:

Quba Islamic Institute

Early this morning Houston firefighters responded to this blaze which was part of a fire taking place in one of the buildings of the school campus. After an investigation, they determined an accelerant was used to cause the fire, most likely an incendiary device.

I spoke to Ahsan Zahid, the son of the imam at the institution. Zahid described the scene early this morning when they arrived at the school to find it on fire. As the investigation was ongoing, the firefighters asked them if they “had thrown around a desk in a parking lot” – it soon became clear that school property had been smashed overnight, most likely intentionally.

Zahid also described a suspicious person they saw last night, “We had a person in a white pickup truck..who had just last night drove by our mosque as we were playing basketball outside at night getting ready to leave…chanting Arabic phrases, mocking us in a way.”

“I would like for my community…not to reach for hate, not to point fingers at anyone, not to criticize anyone,” said Zahid about how they plan to move forward. “I believe that since we have been wronged it is not necessary to be angry at the one who has wronged us…everybody has united nobody has said a single word of anger or hatred towards anyone.”

Elsewhere in Houston, Abdullah Shakur, a Muslim Vietnam veteran, was at a car stereo shop on Tuesday night when masked gunmen decided to attack it. Its unclear what the gunmen wanted, although it is possible it was a routine robbery. Shakur left the others he was with and tackled one of the men. “He knew they had guns. He was trying to defend us,” said one witness to the incident. The gunmen then shot him. “It was execution-style. And the fact that they executed Shakur, they need to be brought to justice. He was a Vietnam War veteran. He was lovable, always smiling. He was trying to protect us,” said the witness.

Despite the hate Muslim Americans have endured, the case of Shakur and the graciousness of Zahid shows that they continue to love the country they live in – and want to work to make it better.

Erdogan chides Obama's silence on Chapel Hill killings

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Turkish leader criticises US President for his silence after the killings of three Muslim students in North Carolina.

Students with lit candles attended a vigil on the campus of the University of North Carolina after the Chapel Hill killings [Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticised US President Barack Obama for his silence after the killings of three young Muslims in North Carolina this week.

Speaking alongside Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto during a state visit to Mexico on Thursday, Erdogan said the silence of Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry was “telling” and they should take a position following such acts.

“If you stay silent when faced with an incident like this, and don’t make a statement, the world will stay silent towards you,” Erdogan said, in the latest sign relations between him and the White House have become strained.

The three Muslims were shot dead on Tuesday near the University of North Carolina campus in an incident police said was possibly a hate crime.

Police investigation

The White House said on Wednesday it would await the results of the police investigation before commenting.

Newlywed Deah Barakat, 23, a University of North Carolina dental student, his wife Yusor Mohammad, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, a student at North Carolina State University, were gunned down on Tuesday in a condominium about three kilometres from the UNC campus in Chapel Hill.

Police charged the couple’s neighbour, Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, with murder.

Investigators said initial findings indicated a dispute over parking prompted the shooting but they were looking into whether Hicks was motivated by hatred towards the victims because they were Muslim.

Turkey, a European Union candidate nation and member of the NATO military alliance, is a key US ally in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

But Erdogan has become increasingly outspoken about what he sees as rising Islamophobia in the West.

Last year, Erdogan said his relations with Obama had become strained and that he no longer spoke directly with him as he was disappointed by a lack of US action over the war in neighbouring Syria.

Erdogan said he instead spoke with Biden over issues such as Iraq.

Despite working together to combat ISIL, differences have arisen between the US and Turkey over how best to tackle the rebels.

Turkey has been an opponent of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, backing rebels fighting to oust him and allowing the political opposition to organise on Turkish soil.

It long lobbied for international intervention in the war.

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