Muslims in Swing States Turning Against Biden

Muslim Americans, some of whom live in crucial swing states, are set to launch a campaign that will officially oppose Joe Biden’s re-election bid in 2024.

Axios reports that the campaign, titled “#AbandonBiden,” launched on Saturday with a gathering in Michigan. It consists of left-wing Muslim Americans who oppose Biden’s support for Israel as the country wages war against the Islamic terrorist organization Hamas.

Read the full story

Democrats Versus Muslims: Liberal States Back School District’s Ban on Opt-Outs for LGBTQ Lessons

A wealthy suburb of Washington, D.C., doesn’t inherently object to shielding even older students from sexually mature material. It just doesn’t want to give the choice to parents.

Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools pulled a novel that celebrates a promiscuous gay teen sex columnist from high school libraries even as the district was arguing in court that parents cannot opt out their pre-kindergarten children from LGBTQ “storybooks” that portray sex workers, kink, drag, elementary-age romance and gender-identity transitions.

Read the full story

Dumping Professor for Showing Class Muhammad Art May Be ‘Religious Discrimination,’ Court Rules

A federal judge refused to dismiss religious discrimination claims against a private university that dumped an art history professor after she showed her class “Islamophobic” depictions of the Prophet Muhammad commissioned by Muslims, saying the “novelty” of Erika Lopez Prater’s argument didn’t make it implausible.

The order Friday by U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez means ongoing scrutiny of Hamline University, whose President Fayneese Miller announced her scheduled retirement two months after an overwhelming vote of no-confidence from faculty in the wake of Prater’s non-renewal.

Read the full story

Commentary: New Study Shows American Religious Divides

America is a diverse country. In most cities, you can find people from nearly every ethnic or racial background imaginable. This is becoming the case in rural areas as well. But America is host to a considerable amount of religious diversity as well. And while race relations are often the subject of considerable discussion, understanding interreligious relations is a necessary part of understanding the country as a whole.

Read the full story

Third Lawsuit Filed to Stop Ohio’s New Legislative District Map

Two more lawsuits have been filed with the Ohio Supreme Court challenging Republican drawn legislative district maps, claiming they are unconstitutional and gerrymandered.

The most-recent challenge came Monday from the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and was filed by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law and the law firm Reed Smith.

Read the full story

Tennessee DA Cleared of Wrongdoing After Condemning Islam and Homosexuality as Against God

After two years of investigations, Tennessee district attorney general Craig Northcott was cleared of wrongdoing for arguing that Islam and homosexuality are against God. Following complaints against Northcott’s outspoken religious beliefs, the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility (TBPR) Disciplinary Counsel reportedly attempted to publicly censure Northcott. The TBPR claimed that Northcott violated the rules of ethics, which Northcott denied. TBPR never claimed that Northcott mishandled a specific case purposefully based on an individual’s theological beliefs or sexual orientation. Due to a lack of evidence indicating any professional misconduct, TBPR dropped the case.

As The Tennessee Star reported when the investigation first opened in 2019, TBPR was prompted to look into Northcott following multiple complaints over his social media posts concerning Islam. Northcott had responded to other comments referencing Muslims on a Facebook post asking whether it was acceptable to stereotype an entire group with mixed beliefs versus letting individuals be judged based on their own actions. In the comments, the original poster defended that not all Muslims were evil. Northcott opined that they were due to the inherent evil of Islamic teachings and texts.

Read the full story

Commentary: What’s the Goal of New York’s Muslim Community Patrol?

by CHQ Staff   Just in case you still believe that the Muslim threat to American civilization and constitutional liberty is a conspiracy theory we have a report from New York to share with you. Sounding quite benign, Brooklyn’s “Muslim patrol” says it hopes to work with police to help make their neighborhood more “Muslim-friendly.” According to reporting by Caleb Maupin the Brooklyn-based “Muslim patrol” was founded by a Yemeni migrant and boasts at least 30 members. He says the Muslim Community Patrol’s (MCP) main aim is to be the “eyes and ears” of Brooklyn’s Muslim community. Formerly known as the Muslim Civilian Observation Patrol & Services (MCOPS, or Muslim COPS), MCP has been patrolling Brooklyn’s streets since September 2016 and leaving behind traces of the Islamist agenda which guides its growing membership. With uniforms and marked cars complete with sirens, the group could easily be mistaken for regular police – but they’re not. The patrolmen are unarmed and have no police powers. Instead, the group claims it radios to police if they encounter something that requires police action. We are quite interested in exactly what kind of “eyes and ears” the Brooklyn Muslim community might need, because the “Muslim…

Read the full story

Post Office Named for Slain Soldier Capt. Humayun Khan, Whose Father Famously Spoke at the 2016 DNC Convention

by Jason Hopkins   President Donald Trump signed a bill that names a post office after Capt. Humayun Khan, a Muslim soldier who was killed in 2004 while serving in Iraq. The law changes the name of a U.S. Postal Service facility in Charlottesville, Virginia, to the Captain Humayun Khan Post Office. Before it landed on Trump’s desk, the bill enjoyed widespread support from both parties. First introduced by Virginia Republican Rep. Tom Garrett, it received unanimous consent in both chambers. Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, both Democrats, praised the law. “With the dedication of this post office, we’re showing the Khan family that we’re forever grateful for his service and sacrifice for our country,” the two senators said in a joint statement. Humayan, a 27-year-old U.S. Army officer at the time, was killed June 8, 2004, when a vehicle containing explosives drove into his compound. He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. Twelve years later, Humayun became a household name when his parents, Khizr and Ghazala Khan, were keynote speakers at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. His father teared into then-candidate Trump for his comments about Muslims, and accused the Republican presidential nominee of “sacrificing nothing and no one.”…

Read the full story

Colorado Uses ‘Side-Door’ Tactic to Appoint Unelected Officials to State Legislature

Iman Jodeh is hoping to be selected to fill a Colorado Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Daniel Kagan, who resigned as an investigation was heating up about his repeated use of the women’s rest room in the State Capitol. Jodeh, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants who was born and raised in Colorado, is competing with two others for the seat. The appointee will be chosen in January by a Vacancy Committee, not by the governor. According to a recent analysis by The Colorado Sun, the “side-door entrance” to the Colorado Legislature has been used increasingly of late to choose lawmakers whom the voters themselves might not have wanted. The replacements won’t get picked by voters, but rather by a vacancy committee of activists from the party that holds the seat. Colorado is one of only five states to use this kind of partisan process, which gives appointment panels outsized influence in shaping the legislature and public policy. According to The Sun, one in four sitting legislators were given the seat by the Vacancy Committee. Jodeh, 36, wants the job of representing Senate District 26, which includes Littleton, Englewood, and parts of Aurora. She told Westword that her community includes…

Read the full story

Meatpacker, Muslim Workers in US Settle ‘Prayer Breaks’ Dispute

butchers

A major U.S. meatpacking company has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle charges of discrimination involving Muslim workers who walked off the job in a dispute over prayer breaks. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced the financial settlement Friday after several years of litigation between Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation and 138 Muslim workers, most of whom were Somali immigrants. The dispute began in late 2016 after the workers were fired following a three-day walkout at a meatpacking plant in Fort Morgan, Colorado. Management had changed policies allowing Muslim workers to take short prayer breaks. The EEOC said it had “reasonable cause to believe that Somali, African and Muslim employees were harassed, denied their requests for prayer breaks and fired.” Cargill disagreed but said it settled the case to avoid further litigation. The company also said it was committed to allowing “Muslim workers to take short breaks to perform their obligatory prayers.” A Teamsters union chapter representing the workers will pay them $153,000 to settle discrimination complaints related to the dispute. The EEOC said Teamsters Local 455 had failed to advocate for the workers—who were dues-paying union members—and had harassed them because of their race, religion and national origin.…

Read the full story

Philadelphia Becoming Model City in Accommodating Islamists & Illegal Aliens

Philadelphia

Earlier this month thousands viewed Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney’s “happy dance” over solidifying the city’s status as a sanctuary protecting criminal illegal aliens. Two years ago, Kenney took the lead to help the Philly Eid Coalition achieve its goal of adding two Muslim holidays to the school district calendar relying on “cultural inclusion” to justify his support even though his rationale collided with the First Amendment’s establishment of religion clause:  Our city was built on the idea that … the city welcomes all to worship and practice the faiths of our culture or our choosing[.] … We have to take into account how society sometimes ostracizes and eliminates people from the mainstream[.] At the same time Kenney announced the creation of the Mayor’s Task Force on Cultural Inclusion: The task force will study and produce recommendations regarding the expansion of religious observance days, the education of city management and employees to the religious sensitivities of their coworkers, how the courts and judicial system can better acknowledge religious days, and ways best disseminate information on religious holidays to the public including local businesses and employers. Joining the Mayor and Philly School Superintendent when the Muslim holidays school calendar change was made were representatives…

Read the full story

Muslim School Custodian Sues Georgia School District

A Muslim school custodian who was fired after asking supervisors to accommodate her prayer schedule and then accused of falsifying her job application is suing a Georgia school district, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Penny Deams, who filed her lawsuit against Gwinnett County Schools last week, had previously filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). But the commission found there wasn’t sufficient evidence to support a claim of discrimination, according to the suburban Atlanta school district. The problems began after Deams was asked to extend her work schedule from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m., her lawsuit says. She told supervisors it would interfere with her daily prayers because her mosque closed before 10 p.m. She went to the human resources office to ask about her rights after being questioned by the principal at Ferguson Elementary School in Duluth about her religious activities. Deams claims there were “significant, retaliatory changes” in the way school leaders treated her. When she said she would speak with an attorney, questions were raised about her job application references. She was asked to get an employment verification letter from a previous employer within two days, even though the process would take at least four to…

Read the full story

Islam the Main Topic at Tennessee Eagle Forum Conference Saturday

FRANKLIN, Tennessee — Islam is a “seditious ideology, not a religion,” Frank Gaffney said Saturday at a conference held by the Tennessee Eagle Forum at the Embassy Suites hotel. Gaffney is the founder and president of the Center for Security Policy in Washington, D.C. He was one of more than a dozen speakers at Saturday’s day-long event addressing a range of topics of interest to conservatives, including social engineering in the military, abortion, economic gains in the Trump administration, and the rise of the “snowflake” generation. But the topic receiving the most attention from several different speakers was the spread of fundamentalist Islam and what can be done to stop it. Gaffney said it’s critical to understand the political and totalitarian nature of Islam and the manipulative tactics used to portray it as a benign religion. “If we don’t get that right, we are doomed under our Constitution and the protections it guarantees for religion to allow them to get to the point where they can destroy us,” he said. Gaffney also said it’s essential for people to become educated about the Muslim Brotherhood, which he said is “arguably the single most dangerous” radical Islamic group because of its wide…

Read the full story

Alabama GOP Senate Candidate Roy Moore Slammed by CAIR For Calling Islam a ‘False Religion’

  A Muslim group has criticized former Alabama Supreme Court Justice and current U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore for calling Islam a “false religion.” Moore expressed his views on Islam in response to a question at a July 24 meeting of the North Jefferson County Republican Club. The question was about sharia law and whether it could become enacted in the U.S. “False religions like Islam, who teach that ‘you must worship this way,’ are completely opposite with what our First Amendment stands for,” Moore told the Republican group at Jim ‘N Nick’s BBQ in Gardendale, according to AL.com. The Alabama chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said Moore’s comments were “un-American.” The group also invited Moore to visit a mosque. Khaula Hadeed, executive director of CAIR-Alabama, released a statement in which she cited a verse from the Koran that she said called on Muslims to respond to harmful acts with kindness. “Statements that espouse Islamophobia and cast out fellow Alabamians, implying that they do not have the same rights under the law, are unAmerican,” she said. “We invite Judge Roy Moore to visit a mosque, meet with Alabamian Muslims, and learn about their Islamic faith and about the Muslim…

Read the full story

CAIR Demands Firing of Alabama McDonald’s Staff for Allegedly Putting Bacon in Chicken Sandwiches to Offend Muslims

Tennessee Star

  The Alabama chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is calling on a McDonald’s restaurant in Decatur to identify and fire the employee or employees who the group says put small pieces of bacon in chicken sandwiches ordered by a Muslim family. The restaurant denies any intentional wrongdoing. Islam prohibits Muslims from consuming pork products. CAIR-Alabama insists that what it says happened Monday was a case of intentional bigotry against Muslims and is demanding that the fast food chain provide surveillance video of the alleged incident. “Based on the evidence in this incident, as well as the unprecedented spike in anti-Muslim bigotry nationwide, we believe this was an intentional act of religious and ethnic bigotry,” Khaula Hadeed, executive director of CAIR-Alabama, said in a press release Tuesday. “McDonald’s should investigate this incident, identify and terminate the employees responsible, and take proactive steps to satisfy this American family’s concerns, starting with an apology.” Rick Walter, a McDonald’s owner operator in Decatur, issued a statement refuting CAIR’s claim. “We want to assure our customers that this was not an intentional act by our employees,” he said, according to The Decatur Daily. “We value every customer and strive to ensure all orders…

Read the full story

Nashville Metro Schools Director Reacts To President Trump’s Immigration Executive Orders

Metro Nashville Director of Schools Shawn Joseph says President Trump’s executive orders on immigrants and refugees are causing concern for foreign-born families and staff. In his two orders on border security and interior enforcement, President Trump called for allowing state and local law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal immigration officials. However, schools are likely to be unaffected, at least directly. A 1982 Supreme Court ruling prohibits school systems from denying children a free public education based on immigration status. In a 5-4 decision, the court found in Plyler v. Doe that doing so violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. A federal judge has blocked for now a third executive order temporarily barring immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries and suspending the nation’s refugee program. In a Jan. 30 statement, Director of Schools Joseph sought to reassure those troubled by the three executive orders by expressing the district’s commitment to welcoming immigrants and protecting Muslim students from hate speech. “As a public school district, it is our responsibility to ensure that our schools are safe spaces where all children are supported not only academically, but socially and emotionally as well,” Joseph said. In October, the Metro Nashville school board passed a…

Read the full story

Activists: “Get ICE Out of Nashville”

Activists want federal immigration enforcers out of Nashville, but a bill sponsored by state Senator Mark Green would impose penalties on Nashville or any other Tennessee locality that becomes a sanctuary city. At a rally Wednesday in Nashville, the Tennessee Immigration and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) slammed President Trump’s executive orders calling for stricter enforcement of immigration laws and blasted the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the city. “ICE is here in our communities today. They are working in our sheriff’s department, taking people out of our jails,” cried Stephanie Teatro, TIRRC co-executive director. She encouraged the crowd to sign up to help with efforts “to get ICE out of Nashville.” While Mayor Megan Barry has voiced support for immigrants and refugees, Nashville is not officially a sanctuary city shielding illegal immigrants. City officials have not enacted policies refusing to comply with federal immigration officials. Mayor Barry said on Twitter Jan. 25 that the city’s law department was reviewing President Trump’s executive orders. “While we cannot control border policies here in Nashville, we can pull together as a city by embracing the immigrants and refugees who are an integral part of our community,” she said. Sen. Green (R-Clarksville)…

Read the full story

Nashville Immigration Activists Strengthen Ties with Left

For immigration activists, the fight against President Trump kicked into high gear in December before he took office. That’s when Nashville was the host city for the annual National Immigrant Integration Conference, drawing groups from across the country to the Omni Hotel. Speakers at the event made repeated calls to unite with other progressive causes in the name of social justice. The list of allies they highlighted included Planned Parenthood, LGBT activists and activists for racial and ethnic minorities. The conference was co-hosted by the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) and the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA). The conference featured a screening of Forbidden, a documentary about a young undocumented gay man growing up in the rural south. Moises Serrano, the Mexican-born subject of the film, is involved in the UndocuQueer movement and his mission is “to unite the immigration and LGBTQ movements, seeing them both as a struggle for human rights.” That human rights continuum also includes a progressive version of racial justice. An activist with the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) said that African-Americans are still fighting for full citizenship in the U.S., making immigrants their natural allies. The group’s website says, “Everyday, people of color in the United States are being criminalized…

Read the full story

Baptist Pastor Resigns From Board Over Mosque Dispute

The pastor of a large church near Knoxville has resigned from the board of a Southern Baptist missionary agency because of the board’s support for the construction of a New Jersey mosque involved in a legal dispute. Dean Haun, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Morristown resigned in November from the International Mission Board (IMB), on which he had served as a trustee. Haun objected to the IMB joining a friend of the court brief last May supporting the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge, N.J., in a religious discrimination lawsuit. Haun told the Baptist Press that Southern Baptists and Muslims advocate different doctrines and that Scripture forbids “unholy alliances.” “I understand the religious liberty aspect of the entire argument. But I do not understand why the International Mission Board, with our mission to reach the world for Christ, would have to jump into the fray of a mosque being built in New Jersey,” Haun said. In December, a judge ruled that a local planning board violated federal law by requiring the mosque to include more parking than is required for churches and synagogues. The township, which is considering an appeal, maintained that more parking was needed because of the mosque’s unique…

Read the full story