CLEVELAND: As Ramadan ends, Muslim students seek school holiday parity with other faiths
NEW YORK -- For Nikhat Choudhury, the Muslim holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha mean picking out new clothes, getting together with her cousins and feasting on homemade samosas and other traditional South Asian dishes.
In recent years, these joyous occasions have come with a struggle: Can she afford to stay home? New York City public schools allow absences for religious reasons, but Choudhury, 15, says it's much harder to catch up on the work now that she's in high school.
CBS: Obama: Recent Violence Won’t Derail Mideast Peace Talks
NEW YORK (CBS 2) – President Barack Obama is condemning fresh violence by the Palestinian terror group Hamas as a new round of peace talks gets underway in Washington.
SILIVE: Gov. David Paterson isn't apologizing for 'almost westernized' Muslim comment
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Gov. David Paterson said today that he doesn't need to apologize to Muslim groups who criticized him for comments last week in which he described developers of an Islamic center and mosque planned near Ground Zero as peaceful and "almost westernized" Muslims.
YNN: 5 Teens Arrested After Shot Fired Outside NY Mosque
5 Teens Arrested After Shot Fired Outside NY Mosque
AOL: Good Muslim, Bad Muslim? Gov. Paterson Inserts Foot -- Again
New York Gov. David Paterson has sought to be a peacemaker in the viral dispute over building an Islamic center near ground zero, suggesting the mosque be moved a few blocks farther away and even offering state land for a new site.
DEMOCRACY NOW: Victim of Anti-Muslim Stabbing Speaks Out
The New York City taxi driver stabbed by a drunken passenger in an anti-Muslim attack has spoken out for the first time since the attack earlier this week. The victim, Ahmed Sharif, was slashed across his face, neck and hands after the suspect, Michael Enright, asked him several questions about his religion, including whether he’s a Muslim and observing Ramadan. Speaking Thursday at City Hall, Sharif described the moment his neck was slashed.
TIME: The Mosque Rage Boils Over: Anti-Muslim Attacks Increasing Across US
As protests in downtown Manhattan over the "Ground Zero" Mosque have escalated, violent incidents involving Muslims have increased. Forget simmering debate; this is closer to a full boil.
Last night, a drunk man barged into a Queens mosque and shouted anti-Muslim slurs at the congregation during the nightly Tarawee prayers. He then proceeded to urinate on the prayer rugs and gave congregants the finger. Two men managed to subdue him and call 911.
THE EPOCH TIMES: Muslim Cabdrivers Protected in NYC Hate Crime Law
NEW YORK—The government was urged to take measures to protect Islamic taxi drivers from hate crimes on Thursday at City Hall, where assaulted taxi driver Ahmed Sharif again met Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
ABC: Taxi stabbing victim meets with Mayor Bloomberg
Taxi stabbing victim meets with Mayor Bloomberg
AOL NEWS: NYC Mayor Meets With Stabbed Muslim Cab Driver
(Aug. 26) -- A Muslim cab driver who was stabbed in an apparent hate crime met with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg at City Hall today and told reporters afterward that he's haunted by the terrifying attack.
MSNBC: Drunk shouts 'terrorists,' urinates on mosque rugs
NEW YORK — In the latest in a spate of anti-Muslim incidents over the last two days, an intoxicated man entered a mosque in Queens on Wednesday evening and proceeded to urinate on prayer rugs, New York police officials said.
NYC cab driver stabbed for being a Muslim
Zead Ramadan of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, discusses the attack and the domino effect of the hatred spreading of right wing stoked mosque controversy.
DNA INFO: Muslim Cab Driver Stabbed in Hate Crime, Film Student Arraigned on Attempted Murder Charge
GRAMERCY — A 21-year-old man was charged with attempted murder and assault in a hate crime after he allegedly stabbed a taxi driver after asking him if he was Muslim on Tuesday evening.
NY1: Mosque Supporter Sees Familiar Battle Brewing
At a rally Wednesday backing the planned Islamic center and mosque near the World Trade Center, there was praise for its most prominent champion -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
AOL NEWS: Is It Too Late for the Pro-Mosque Movement?
(Aug 25) -- Groups supporting the Park51 Islamic Cultural Center, which most Americans say shouldn't be built as planned some 300 yards from ground zero, announced today an initiative to better make their case, but admitted they face an uphill battle to eclipse the mosque opponents who dominate the debate.
NEWSTIMES: 9/11 families, others rally in favor of NYC mosque
NEW YORK (AP) — The planned mosque and Islamic center blocks from ground zero got a new boost Wednesday from a coalition of supporters that includes families of Sept. 11 victims.
New York Neighbors for American Values rallied for the first time at a municipal building near ground zero.
NY Daily News: Ground Zero mosque not alone in furor
Every Friday, Hussain Hussain wakes up and travels to his mosque in Bensonhurst for prayer services. On a good day, it will take about 45 minutes by train.
"It gets really packed in the mosque," said Hussain, 17, of Sheepshead Bay. "Many of the mosques we have are very far away."
ABC: Obama on Ground Zero Mosque: What Did He Mean?
Obama sparks debate with comments on the "wisdom" of building Islamic center.
RECORD ONLINE: Mid-Hudson's Muslims reaching out to neighbors
MIDDLETOWN — As anti-Islam sentiment has exploded across the country, some local Muslims say the way to defuse distrust is to reach out across religious lines and to become a part of the community.
"The general public has an inaccurate idea of what Islam is," said Samuel Encarnacion, president, or emir, of the Masjid Ahlis Sunnah Islamic Information Center in Liberty. "We do not appease, support or agree with any of these terrorist attacks."
LO HUD: Muslims fear backlash over NYC fight
The intensifying opposition to a proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero has suburban Muslims fearing that it is increasingly acceptable to blame all Muslims for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
THE HUFFINGTON POST: Islamophobia -- Weapon of Choice for the Midterms
It's that time of year again. Congress is on its lengthy August recess, and candidates have only a few months until the November elections. Just shy of the coveted midterms, both Republican and Democratic politicians will undoubtedly up the ante during these few weeks of downtime. But as we all clearly witnessed last year, it's the GOP and Tea Party that readily pull out the age-old guaranteed weapon of choice: fear mongering. In the past, it's been everything from homophobia to health care to socialism to abortion rights and all in between. The one subject however that consistently delivers without fail is the right's wedge issue of this 2010 election: Islamophobia.
CAIRTV: Radical Right Group Sponsors NY Anti-Islam Bus Ads
Radical Right Group Sponsors NY Anti-Islam Bus Ads
CAIRTV: CAIR-NY Rep Debates Islam-Basher on MSNBC
CAIR-NY Rep Debates Islam-Basher on MSNBC
MSNBC: Should Ground Zero mosque be Built?
Zead Ramadan, president of the board for the N.Y. chapter of the Council of American Islamic Relations, joins Morning Joe to discuss the controversial plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero.
WPIX: Zead Ramadan and Bill Owens Talk About Mosques In SI and WTC
Zead Ramadan and Bill Owens Talk About Mosques In SI and WTC
EXAMINER: Building of Mosque Near Ground Zero Clears Final Hurdle
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." – First Amendment of the United States Constitution
WPIX: Zead Ramadan of NY Council of Islamic Relations Talks About WTC Mosque
Building an Islamic center and Muslim prayer room in Lower Manhattan seems to be coming together. An unanimous vote by the Landmark’s Preservation Commission rejected a proposal to grant protected status to two adjoining 19th-century buildings that a Muslim group wants to transform into a community center. Many family members who lost loved ones in the 9/11 terrorist attacks feel that the proposed mosque center will be just too close to where the World Trade Centers were. Today, Zead Ramadan of the NY Council of Islamic Relations spoke to PIX 11 Morning News about the issue.
AP: Panel's landmark denial frees NYC mosque site
NEW YORK — Ignoring jeers and cries of "Shame on you," a city commission on Tuesday denied landmark status to a building near the World Trade Center site that can now be demolished to make way for an Islamic community center and mosque.
THE NEW YORK OBSERVER: When the Light Changed from Yellow to Green for Ground Zero Mosque
The media crowd outnumbered the Landmarks Preservation Commission 10 to one at the Tuesday morning vote for 45-47 Park Place.
CBS NY: Mosque Opponents Zero In On Bloomberg
NEW YORK (CBS 2/1010 WINS) ― With support from Mayor Michael Bloomberg the path was paved Tuesday for a mosque and community center near ground zero.
But opponents said the fight isn’t over.
CAMPUS PROGRESS: How One Muslim American Uses Hip-Hop to Heal Wounds
When Cyrus McGoldrick takes the stage, he’s not himself. McGoldrick raps as The Raskol Khan, often with the Freddy Fuego Sextet, an evolving group of musicians based in Harlem. The name Raskol is based on the main character in Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov. McGoldrick describes the first part of his pseudonym as “a rebellious force in society who’s trying to do the right thing but struggles with his environment and self.” Khan, Arabic for King or Chief, “channels a vestige of an imperial mindset, a long history of conquest,” he says. It is a history McGoldrick hopes to cleanse himself of.
CNN: Ground Zero mosque ad stirs emotions
(CNN) – The fight over plans to build an Islamic center near the site of the World Trade Center continues to escalate. A new advertisement titled “The audacity of Jihad” aims to prevent the mosque from being built by using graphic footage of 9/11 and militant Muslims. CNN's Allan Chernoff talks to the man behind the controversial new ad. Watch 
DOWNTOWN EXPRESS: Landmarks hearing on Cordoba House site takes angry turn
Hunter College's Assembly Hall played host on Tuesday to yet another media circus concerning the planned community center and prayer space slated to built at 45 Park Place, home of the old Burlington coat Factory.
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission held a three-hour hearing on whether or not to landmark the building. The Commission, currently in the public comment phase, will deliver a decision before summer ends.
CBS: Landmark Status At Issue In Ground Zero Mosque War
It was an emotional and raucous meeting of the Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday.
At issue: whether to grant landmark status to a building near ground zero, where a Muslim group wants to build a mosque.
"It's called Islama-phobia pure and simple and do not allow ... Now, you see, if this is the voice, if this is the voice of reason then we've got a lot to contend with," said Zead Ramadan of the Council on Islamic-American Relations New York.
WIKIPEERS: A Community Divided Over Plans to Build a Mosque
The Muslim community would like to build a mosque at the site by tearing down the current structure and rebuilding an ultra modern facility that would serve as a place of worship and community center. City residents are passionate about this issue. There are those who are adamantly against and there are those who are passionately for the project going ahead as planned, believing that the renovation will be good for the community.
ABC: Hearing on mosque near WTC site
NEW YORK -- Dozens of opponents and some supporters of a mosque planned near ground zero attended a raucous hearing Tuesday about whether the building where the Muslim place of worship would be created warrants designation as a city landmark and should be protected from development.
NBC NY: Landmarks Hearing for "Ground Zero Mosque" Building Turns Raucous
Emotions ran high Tuesday afternoon at Hunter College, where people were boiling mad at the possibility of a mosque and Islamic cultural center being built near Ground Zero.
The city's Landmark Preservation Commission is considering landmark designation for the building on Park Place where the mosque is to be built, so held a open hearing Tuesday at Hunter to hear from the public.
REUTERS: Muslims seek to add holidays on NY school calendar
(Reuters) - Muslim parents, students and civic groups are campaigning to add two of their religious holidays to the New York City public school calendar, pinning their hopes on state lawmakers after failing to win over Mayor Michael Bloomberg to the idea.
NY1: Landmarks Commission Hears Testimony About Proposed Mosque Near WTC Site
A public hearing was held Tuesday at Hunter College on whether to landmark a building that could be turned into a mosque near the World Trade Center site.
The Cordoba Institute has proposed a brand-new 13-story mosque at 45 Park Place, which cannot be torn down if the city Landmarks Commission gives it landmark status.
AFP: US schools ponder Muslim holidays
School may be out for summer in New York, but the Muslim community is studiously focused on the next academic year, when it hopes to see its own religious holidays added to the calendar. Some US cities -- in Michigan and New Jersey, for example -- have incorporated Islam onto the roster of accepted holidays. But despite some political backing, it has yet to take hold in New York where, nine years after the September 11 attacks, Muslim integration remains a delicate subject.
THE BROOKLYN PAPER: Mosque ‘bomber,’ under investigation by cops, changes story
A would-be bomber's threats to blow up a mosque slated for Voorhies Avenue have fizzled like a wet firecracker after an apparent investigation by anti-terror cops.
ELAN: Rally and a Rap Song for Muslim Holidays in NYC
Well this is one creative way to get attention! CAIR-NY has been working with Muslim artists Baraka Blue and Anas Canon to produce "Celebrate Eid" - a song written to further mobilize the New York City community to include Muslim holidays in the school calendar.
Yesterday, hundreds rallied at the steps of Manhattan's City Hall for this cause. The Coalition for Muslim School Holidays is a broad-based coalition of over 80 faith-based, civil rights, community and labor organizations that have come together to call on the New York City Department of Education to recognize Muslim population in New York City and include the two Muslim holidays in the school calendar - Eid Ul-Fitr and Eid Ul-Adha.
WPIX: NYC Muslims Push For School Holidays
Nearly two hundred Muslim parents, students and supporters rallied on the steps of City Hall, to call on Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Department of Education to include Eid-ul Adha and Eid-ul Fitr in the New York City public school calendar.
PIX 11 News contacted Faiza Ali, CAIR-NY Community Affairs Director and Steering Committee Member of the Coalition for Muslim School Holidays.
"This is important for the Muslim students because currently they are forced to choose between going to school or observing one of the holiest holidays in their religion. So, it puts an unfair burden on Muslim children," said Ali.
NY1: Group Makes Push for Muslim School Holidays
A group of Muslim parents and their supporters gathered Wednesday on the steps of City Hall where they called on Mayor Michael Bloomberg to recognize Islamic holidays on the school calendar.
The coalition of religious, immigrant and labor groups is asking the mayor to honor a City Council resolution calling for two Muslim holy days -- Eid-ul Adha and Eid-ul Fitr -- to be added to the school calendar.
The resolution passed last year, however Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein say there is not room for more time off during the academic year.
WABC: Muslim holiday Eid proposed as day off from school
Muslim holiday Eid proposed as day off from school. ABC's Art McFarland reports.
Asia Pacific Forum: 3 Boroughs, 3 Mosques: Resistance to Mosques in NYC
Plans to build mosques in downtown Manhattan near the World Trade Center site, in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, and in Midland Beach, trudge forward, meeting resistance at every step. This past Sunday, there was yet another protest against the building of the proposed Staten Island mosque in an empty convent. Those against the mosque-building raise various objections, from the threat of terrorism to parking congestion. Muslim community members have been organizing in response. We'll talk to ZEAD RAMADAN of the Council of American Islamic Relations New York, LANA SAFAH of Muslim American Society, and HESHAM EL-MELIGY, a Staten Island community organizer.
Peace Reporter: Una moschea vicino a Ground Zero
La costruzione di un centro islamico nel cuore finanziario di New York inizierà l'anno prossimo tra le polemiche dei familiari delle vittime dell'attentato dell'11 settembre
NEEM Magazine: Waiting to Exhale: The Obama Administration
Fairness. Energy. Hope. On June 4, 2009, NY Muslim leaders had this to say after hearing President Barack Obama's historic speech in Cairo. The discussion was filled with a reinstated sense of optimism stemming from his commitment to eradicate misperceptions surrounding the Muslim community and to reconnect and forge "a new beginning" with Muslim majority countries.
Fast forward one year later, much of that hope was clouded with disappointment. At a roundtable hosted by CAIR-NY on the one year anniversary of the speech, the mantra was that his heavy words and ambitious goals were not put into action. Case in point was the administration's failure to join the resounding condemnation from the international community following the Israeli massacre on the Flotilla that was carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Elan: We asked, you answered: What's the best advice your father ever gave you?
Father's Day in the United States is this Sunday, June 20th, and many around the country are going to commemorate the occasion with gifts, cards and maybe just a special loving phone call. To celebrate the wisdom, brilliance, and downright quirkiness that define so many of our fathers, we at elan decided to ask our bloggers, prominent leaders in the Muslim community, and you, our readers, the following question: "What's the best advice your father ever gave you?"
The responses ran the gamut from good solid life advice, to touching anecdotes, to quotes that just make you want to go "huh?" Check out 16 of the best below - and feel free to leave your own pearls of wisdom from your dads in the comments section!
American Spectator: PayPal.com Targets Conservative Blog as 'Hate' Site
Conservative blogger Pamela Geller says she has been threatened with discontinuation of her online payment account by PayPal, the most widely used service of its kind.
On her popular Web site, Atlas Shrugs, Geller posted the text of an e-mail notice she received Saturday morning from PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy Department.
"[A]fter a recent review of your account, it has been determined that you are currently in violation of PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy," the PayPal e-mail said. "Under the Acceptable Use Policy, PayPal may not be used to send or receive payments for items that promote hate, violence, racial intolerance or the financial exploitation of a crime."
NYC Independent Media Center: Muslim-Americans Discuss Progress of Obama's Cairo Speech
June 4, 2010 marked the one-year anniversary of President Obama’s speech made in Cairo, Egypt regarding relations between Muslims and Americans. Obama made statements like, “American Muslims have enriched the United States.” And “Islam is a part of America.” He touched upon violent extremism, the Israeli/Palestine conflict, and democracy, among other topics. He ended his speech quoting both the Koran and the Bible.
The Council on American Islamic Relations - NY (CAIR-NY) gathered in a round table discussion on June 4, 2010 with a group of prominent members of the New York Muslim community to discuss whether they believe there is evident progress made by the
Obama Administration thus far.
CAIR-NY is one division of CAIR, which is spread throughout the US in 19 states. It is a nonprofit organization and the biggest Muslim civil rights group, “dedicated to empowering the NY Muslim community through relentless advocacy, media engagement, coalition building and grassroots mobilization,” cair-ny.org.
PRI's The World: Arab-Americans reflect on Obama
Reporter Lily Jamali speaks with Arab-Americans in New York about whether President Obama's speech in Cairo one year ago has made a difference to them.
NBC: Bus Ads Target Muslims "Leaving Islam"
The questions on the ads aren't subtle: Leaving Islam? Fatwa on your head? Is your family threatening you?
A conservative activist and the organizations she leads have paid several thousand dollars for the ads to run on at least 30 city buses for a month. The ads point to a website called RefugefromIslam.com, which offers information to those wishing to leave Islam, but some Muslims are calling the ads a smoke screen for an anti-Muslim agenda.
Pamela Geller, who leads an organization called Stop Islamization of America, said the ads were meant to help provide resources for Muslims who are fearful of leaving the faith.
"It's not offensive to Muslims, it's religious freedom," she said. "It's not targeted at practicing Muslims. It doesn't say 'leave,' it says 'leaving' with a question mark."
AP: NYC bus ads asking 'Leaving Islam?' cause a stir
The questions on the ads aren't subtle: Leaving Islam? Fatwa on your head? Is your family threatening you?
A conservative activist and the organizations she leads have paid several thousand dollars for the ads to run on at least 30 city buses for a month. The ads point to a website called RefugefromIslam.com, which offers information to those wishing to leave Islam, but some Muslims are calling the ads a smoke screen for an anti-Muslim agenda.
Pamela Geller, who leads an organization called Stop Islamization of America, said the ads were meant to help provide resources for Muslims who are fearful of leaving the faith.
"It's not offensive to Muslims, it's religious freedom," she said. "It's not targeted at practicing Muslims. It doesn't say 'leave,' it says 'leaving' with a question mark."
CNN: Ads on NYC buses target those wanting to leave Islam
"Fatwa on your head?" a new series of provocative ads on New York City buses asks. "Is your community or family threatening you? Leaving Islam?"
The ads, sponsored by an organization called Stop the Islamization of America (SIOA), direct viewers to refugefromislam.com, a website designed "for people who are thinking of leaving Islam or are leaving Islam and need resources" to protect them from harm.
Practicing Muslims who find the ads offensive should "ignore it," SIOA leader Pamela Geller told CNN. "It's not directed to them."
Speaking on conservative Sean Hannity's radio show recently, Geller said, "it's time for Americans to stand up against the evil of Islamic jihadi terrorism and Islamic supremacism." The SIOA, which is funded by its online readership, is currently lobbying to block a mosque proposed near the World Trade Center site.
CBS: NYC Woman's Ad Crusade: Say No To Islam
They're controversial bus ads some say are flagrantly anti-Muslim.
An activist Manhattan woman is paying for the campaign detractors believe is bent on encouraging Muslims to abandon their religion.
CBS 2 HD took a look at the woman behind the controversy and the backlash it's generating.
"It's about the violent ideology of Islam. Yes, yes!" Pamela Geller said.
Geller is a woman on a mission.
With websites, blogs, and now bus ads she is campaigning against what she calls the poisonous ideology of one of the world's three monotheistic religions. On Tuesday night she was speaking out against the proposed lower Manhattan mosque near ground zero. On Wednesday she is defending the ad campaign offering help to Muslims who want to leave the Islamic faith.
Is it offensive? Is it intolerant? She says no.
ELAN: Focus on Muslims in America at CAIR NY Annual Banquet
Last Saturday, CAIR NY celebrated its 13 years of service with its annual banquet and fundraiser, titled "I am Muslim, I am American." The event featured a packed house and guest speakers from New York's Muslim community, including comedian Preacher Moss, Imam Shamsi Ali and various CAIR members and volunteers.
Emcee Haroon Moghul began the night by reflecting on the evening's theme, outlining the long history of Muslim-American presence in the United States. He was followed by Zead Ramadan, President of CAIR NY's board. Ramadan stressed the importance of CAIR's work in the larger context of the American community. "We are here to defend the interests of our community, and our country, for years to come," he said.
One of the evening's most significant moments was its community awards ceremony. Ibrahim Abdul-Matin received the "Steward of Progress Award," for his work in advancing environmental initiatives as they relate to Islam. The "Civic Excellence Award' went to the La Fuente’s New York Civic Participation Project, an advocate for immigrant nights.
But it was Alioune Niass, winner of the "Good Samaritan Award," who stole the thunder. CAIR NY recognized Niass, a street vendor in Times Square, for being the first to notice and speak up about the smoke rising from the parked vehicle used in the recently foiled Times Square bombing plot. The crowd stood when Niass accepted his award.
THE NATIONAL: US commission rules Yemeni-American teacher was ‘victim of prejudice’
A Yemeni-American schoolteacher forced to resign as principal of New York City's first Arabic-language public school three years ago has said she feels vindicated by a federal commission that ruled she was a victim of discrimination.
Debbie Almontaser, who has given few interviews during her legal fight, said she had been shocked by people's ready acceptance of right-wing claims she was a "jihadist" and "extremist".
“What I experienced was very dramatic,” she told the New York One local television station. “It was something that shook my core, that people I worked with and trusted were easily influenced with right-wing propaganda, and for them to second-guess and have a knee-jerk reaction was quite devastating.”
NYT: Back to School, and Right Back on Vacation
The dawn of the new school year means all kinds of traditions — freshly sharpened pencils, new backpacks, tales of summer camp and road trips. This year, it also means two extra days of vacation.
The 2010-11 school year will start on the Wednesday after Labor Day, only to stop for the end of the week — every school will be closed on Thursday and Friday.
Because of the quirks of the lunar calendar meshing with its Gregorian counterpart, Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, falls earlier than usual this year. In most years, the holiday falls in late September.
But scheduling just one day back at school in a week has some wondering — why bother?
THE NATIONAL: Manhattan vigil for Muslim held prisoner for three years
Far from Guantanamo Bay or anywhere else the United States might hold prisoners, a Muslim-American man has been held for almost three years in solitary confinement in a Manhattan jail. But he is not forgotten.
About 100 supporters gathered on Monday night outside the federal facility where Syed Fahad Hashmi awaits trial. They were marking the 1,371st day since he was incarcerated and the 871st day since the implementation of the Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) under which he has been held in pretrial, 23-hour lockdown.
NEEM MAGAZINE: Let our name not be ‘Mudd’
Awakened in the middle of the night, a Maryland doctor is startled to find two men at his front door. One has a broken leg and needs immediate attention. Letting them in, he sets the leg and allows them to stay the night. The following morning, the doctor travels to town, only to learn that the president has been shot. In the hysterical witch hunt that follows, Dr. Samuel Mudd is arrested, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison for conspiring to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. The man whose leg he set was John Wilkes Booth. In a 2005 Newsweek article, Mudd is referred to as a "folk hero who was wronged by the government." Most historians agree.
In the wake of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, a new search began for enemies of the United States. In 2006, Syed "Fahad" Hashmi, a 26-year-old American citizen and Brooklyn College graduate who had earned his masters degree in International Relations at London Metropolitan University only a month earlier, was arrested boarding a plane in London and charged with a number of crimes related to providing "material support" to a terrorist organization
GOTHAM GAZETTE: City's Muslims Report Harassment by Police
Coming from a family with members who work in law enforcement, Yasmin Nasser used to look at police officers as honest, upstanding and there to protect all members of society. Today, though, Nasser said, she feels uneasy when she walks by cops and, for a brief period, tried staying away from them altogether.
CITY LIMITS: 'Suspects' Talk Back: Muslims Complain to FBI
Almost two months after a suspected terrorist visited New York, setting off a chain of law enforcement activities including police raids of homes in Queens, activists are methodically collecting and recording complaints from Queens residents who allege a spectrum of harassment by law enforcement from verbal abuse to home entry without a warrant. The complaints will be logged by CUNY School of Law and given to Joseph M. Demarest Jr., the assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York City office.
AP: Anti-Islamic Dutch Lawmaker's N.Y. Speech Goes Unprotested
Dutch right-wing lawmaker Geert Wilders warned of the growing threat of Islamization to America in an address before a low-key audience at Columbia University.
Wilders, who has outraged Muslims by comparing the Koran to Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" and calling for an end to Muslim immigration to the Netherlands, spoke Wednesday to around 150 students and invited guests at a campus event sponsored by the Columbia College Republicans. He decried the spread of Islam throughout Europe and warned that "it's already rearing its head in America."
QUEENS TRIBUNE: Queens Man Arrested In Alleged Hate Crime
On the evening of Sept. 7, on her way to break fast at an Astoria mosque in light of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Long Island resident Shareena Rahat said she was verbally attacked with racial slurs and physically confronted by a man on a Queens parkway, in front of her two young children, ages 8 and 11.
ELAN: Addition of Eid to School Calendars - Is Bloomberg About to Budge?
In January 2006, a statewide examination scheduled on Eid ul-Adha motivated more than eighty diverse community, faith, labor and civil rights groups to join forces to ensure that Muslim students in New York City no longer had to choose between attending school and celebrating Eid with their families. The groups, which together form the Coalition of Muslim School Holidays, are working tirelessly to convince a hesitant Mayor Bloomberg to adopt Resolution 1281, which would add Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha to New York City’s public school calendar. Although Mayor Bloomberg was adamantly opposed to the resolution at first, he has recently expressed that he is considering it.
Bloomberg’s main concern seems to be that adding the Eid holidays to the public school calendar will lead to a flood of similar requests from other religious groups and thus, too many school days off. However, as Aliya Latif, Civil Rights Director of CAIR-NY, points out, that is not necessarily true.
CS MONITOR: Zazi case: How far should FBI go in tracking Muslims?
Muslim groups say the surveillance techniques authorized by the Patriot Act and credited with helping nab alleged New York bomb plotter Najibullah Zazi are alienating potential allies against terrorism.
Three arrests in three separate terror cases last week bolster the Obama administration's call to renew the most far reaching provisions of the USA Patriot Act, which give federal agents great latitude when spying on potential suspects.
WCBS: President Obama Pushes For Mideast Peace At UN; President Meets With Benjamin Netanyahu, Mahmoud Abbas
President Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, on Sept. 22, 2009, amid the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.
For the first time since taking office, President Obama took part in a tri-lateral meeting with Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the United Nations on Tuesday.
USA TODAY: NYPD 'clarifies' report on radical Islam
The New York City Police Department has issued a "clarification" to a 2007 report about Islamic radicalism that critics said cast broad swaths of the Muslim population as potential terrorists.
Muslim-American advocacy groups welcomed the two-page clarification, but worried the new statement would go largely unnoticed, and remain concerned that the original report remains intact.
"There was a lot of publicity surrounding the first report," said Faiza Ali, the community affairs director for the New York City chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "But when it comes to the clarification, there wasn't any attention brought to it."
CNS NEWS: Support for Suicide Bombings and Bin Laden Still High Among Some Muslims
A new survey gauging Muslim attitudes indicates that backing for suicide bombings against civilians, while generally down from earlier years, remains significant in some Islamic countries – challenging the assertion that Muslims supporting terrorism constitute a "tiny minority."
In the Pew Global Attitudes Project poll released on Thursday, 68 percent of Palestinian Muslim respondents said suicide bombings against civilians were justifiable "to defend Islam from its enemies."
SI LIVE: NYPD rewords report that some say insulted Muslims
The New York Police Department has revised a highly touted report on the threat of homegrown terrorism in response to complaints that it was an insult to law-abiding, observant Muslims.
A coalition of Muslim groups on Wednesday applauded the two-page clarification tucked into "Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat" -- a study first circulated in law enforcement circles and on the Internet in 2007. The new wording says the NYPD "understands that it is a tiny minority of Muslims who subscribe to al-Qaida's ideology of war and terror."
NYPD Clarification of Radicalization Report A 'Welcome First Step'
A coalition of Muslim advocates, lawyers and community leaders has called the NYPD decision to add a "Statement of Clarification" to its 2007 report, "Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat" a "welcome first step." They urged the NYPD to publicize the Clarification and engage in deeper dialogue with the group to ensure effective security policy.
NY1: NYPD Reworks Terrorism Report After Stereotyping Accusations
The New York City Police Department has reworked a report on homegrown terrorism, after the department received complaints that it insulted law-abiding Muslims.
The new wording clarifies that the NYPD "understands that it is a tiny minority of Muslims who subscribe to al-Qaida's ideology of war and terror."
The department has been accused of stereotyping Muslims in the report, which police officials deny.
The Muslim American Civil Liberties Coalition is applauding the changes, but still says the department does not do enough to publicize them.
AP: NYPD clarifies terrorism report
The New York Police Department has reworked a report on homegrown terrorism in response to complaints that it insulted Muslims.
A coalition of Muslim groups on Tuesday applauded the two-page clarification tucked into "Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat" - a study first circulated in law enforcement circles and on the Internet in 2007.
The new wording says the NYPD "understands that it is a tiny minority of Muslims who subscribe to al-Qaida's ideology of war and terror."
Despite welcoming the changes, the New York-based Muslim American Civil Liberties Coalition accused the NYPD of not doing enough to publicize them. Police officials deny the report ever stereotyped Muslims.
ABC: NYPD Rewords Report That Some Say Insulted Muslims
Muslim group welcomes NYPD clarification on homegrown terrorism report but urges more change
The New York Police Department has revised a highly touted report on the threat of homegrown terrorism in response to complaints that it was an insult to law-abiding, observant Muslims.
A coalition of Muslim groups on Wednesday applauded the two-page clarification tucked into "Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat" — a study first circulated in law enforcement circles and on the Internet in 2007. The new wording says the NYPD "understands that it is a tiny minority of Muslims who subscribe to al-Qaida's ideology of war and terror."
FOX NEWS: NYPD Rewords Report That Some Say Insulted Muslims
The New York Police Department revised a highly touted report on the threat of homegrown terrorism in response to complaints that it was an insult to law-abiding, observant Muslims.
A coalition of Muslim groups on Wednesday applauded the two-page clarification tucked into "Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat" — a study first circulated in law enforcement circles and on the Internet in 2007. The new wording says the NYPD "understands that it is a tiny minority of Muslims who subscribe to al-Qaida's ideology of war and terror."
NEEM: Muslims Serving God, Community and Country
"This summer, people across America have served in their communities – educating children, caring for the sick, and extending a hand to those who have fallen on hard times. Faith-based organizations, including many Islamic organizations, have been at the forefront in participating in this summer of service."
NEEM: A CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION: EID
Religious freedom triumphed as an extraordinarily diverse group of organizations and community members came together to support a historic resolution for New York City.
On June 30, 2009, the New York City Council overwhelmingly passed Resolution 1281, calling on the NYC Department of Education to incorporate two Muslim holidays in the New York City Public School calendar. The resolution also asks the state legislature to pass, and Governor David Paterson to sign an act, amending the education law to include the holiest days for Muslims, Eid Ul-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan, and Eid Ul-Adha, celebrating the pilgrimage to Mecca.
