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Blog — Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Thursday September 15, 2011
Wired.com has obtained documents with some pretty disturbing revelations about internal FBI counterterrorism training. According to the documents, the FBI teaches its agents that “main stream [sic]” American Muslims are likely to be terrorist sympathizers. Read More »
Posted by Omar Baddar at 12:35 pm / / Leave a comment
Monday September 12, 2011
Turner’s Park 51-related sensationalist tactics are the basest form of disrespect. Bob Turner’s campaign diminishes our nation’s grief. It disregards our common determination to move forward. It disrespects the memory of those who fell on 9/11 by using their deaths as a political maneuver. And it shows the deepest contempt for the very freedoms and rights on which this country was founded. Read More »
Posted by AAI at 10:52 am / / Leave a comment
Friday September 09, 2011
The coming days will feature a host of events across the country that are looking back – and looking forward – from that tragic day, and Arab Americans are playing a role in many of these activities, from sharing their own experiences to participating in community service. Read More »
Posted by AAI at 1:33 pm / / Leave a comment
Thursday September 08, 2011
The approaching tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001 warrants reflection on our reaction to the worst terrorist attack in our nation’s history on American soil. This is a time to consider whether or not we are in fact safer than ten years ago, to determine which steps taken after 9/11 were appropriate, and to reevaluate those steps that have done more harm than good. Of all the radical changes in our country, however, few are as misguided as the increased level of suspicion and scrutiny cast on American mosques. Read More »
Posted by Frank Matt at 3:25 pm / / Leave a comment
Wednesday September 07, 2011
On Thursday, September 8 at 10:00 a.m., the House Committee on Homeland Security will hold a hearing that, according to Chairman Peter King (R-NY), will help them “get a better picture of the progress that we have made as a nation in securing our homeland since the horrific attacks of 9/11.” Read More »
Posted by AAI at 3:00 pm / / Leave a comment
Friday September 02, 2011
Ultimately, if we want to truly protect national security we will need the help of all Americans, including law-abiding American Muslims whose faith should not be treated as dangerous by our political leaders. Phrasing as it turns out is important, but not in the way senator Lieberman meant. The issue where is political ideologies that are dangerous because they may turn violent, not because they’re “Islamic.” Read More »
Posted by John Olivieri at 3:49 pm / / Leave a comment
Tuesday August 30, 2011
By Frank Matt and Omar Tewfik
Texas Governor Rick Perry’s entrance into the race for the GOP presidential nomination has the Arab American and American Muslim communities questioning his stance on a number of pertinent issues. His strategy of coming out guns blazing has got Arab Americans and American Muslims wondering how Perry will relate to – or distance himself from – their communities. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 1:20 pm / / Leave a comment
Friday August 19, 2011
By Frank Matt
The vitriol Cain faced for his heartfelt apology, as well as the attacks Pawlenty faced about his mortgage plan, raise important questions about the Republican field and the political climate they face. Is it possible for a Republican with warm relations with American Muslims to win the nomination? Will any and all overtures toward better relations with the Muslim American community basically amount to political suicide? Read More »
Posted by Guest at 4:47 pm / / Leave a comment
Thursday August 18, 2011
Arab American comedian Dean Obeidallah was among several American Muslim comedians who traveled to the deep south on a comedy tour entitled “The Muslims are Coming” where they performed free shows in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Tennessee. The purpose behind the tour, and the “free admission” part, was an attempt to go beyond their typical audience and reach communities that are not too familiar with Islam and American Muslims. Read More »
Posted by Omar Baddar at 2:15 pm / / Leave a comment
Monday August 15, 2011
Jim Zogby, President of the Arab American Institute, helped organize a meeting of ethnic American leaders at the White House last week to discuss the urgent need for immigration reform. The leaders represented a great number of ethnic American communities, including Arab, Polish, Macedonian and Irish, Italian and many more. On their website, the White House Office of Public Engagement posted a blog about the meeting with White House Liaison to Ethnic Americans, Kyle Lierman reiterating the President’s dedication to reform the immigration system: Read More »
Posted by AAI at 4:30 pm / / Leave a comment
Friday August 12, 2011
By Frank Matt
The TSA’s recent announcement of new software and practices that enhance passenger privacy deserve our praise. TSA Administrator John Pistole announced the implementation of new software that eliminates passenger-specific images from the screening process. What is truly reassuring about this latest TSA announcement is that it marks an advance in our security that does not come at a cost to our privacy. Read More »
Posted by Guest at 9:08 am / / Leave a comment
Thursday August 11, 2011
When a run-of-the-mill anti-Muslim bigot tweeted insults about Muhammad to Hussein Ibish a few days ago, Ibish responded with “Just got the hourly Islamophobic tweet from the loony right. So, everything normal in Nuttsville, USA, aka, the social media world.” Robert Spencer, founder of the paranoid Islamophobic website Jihad Watch, got wind of Ibish’s tweet, and replied to him with “I am glad SOMEONE is talking some sense in your world!” This kicked off an extremely amusing fight on twitter, which is worth highlighting below. Read More »
Posted by Omar Baddar at 3:53 pm / / Leave a comment
Friday August 05, 2011
By Ed Gaier
In the wake of the tragic terrorist attacks committed by Anders Behring Breivik in Norway, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stotleberg has responded by advocating more dialogue and political participation in Norway. Stotleberg’s refusal to abandon values and encouragement of “more democracy, more openness” is courageous and thoughtful. Sacrificing democratic values for discriminatory policies in hopes of more security is not only a betrayal of principles, but also bad policy. Read More »
Posted by Guest at 3:00 pm / / Leave a comment
Thursday August 04, 2011
Last week, while most of the public was focusing its attention on the looming debt ceiling debate, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence was quietly holding hearings on “Preventing Violent Radicalization.” While the hearing garnered few of the news headlines or public outcry drawn by Rep. Peter King (R-NY) earlier in the year, it is nevertheless worthy of our attention. Read More »
Posted by John Olivieri at 8:26 am / / Leave a comment
Wednesday August 03, 2011
It’s more of the same for the TSA – they just can’t seem to get it right. Yesterday the Boston TSA, never far from scandal, began training on an Israeli-style screening process which, the Boston Herald reports, “requires screeners to make quick reads of whether passengers pose a danger or a terror threat based on their reactions to a set of routine questions.” The $1 billion national initiative has been underway for a few years now, and a number of airports throughout the country have adopted the Israeli method called Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques or SPOT. The intent is to implement SPOT within two weeks’ time, by August 15. SPOT uses Behavior Detection Officers or BDOs to monitor passengers and gauge their responses to questions and determine their level of suspicion. See the Department of Homeland Security website to review a more in-depth explanation of screening methodology. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 1:11 pm / / Leave a comment
Monday August 01, 2011
This weekend, Andrea Elliot of The New York Times profiled David Yerushalmi, the man quietly behind the nationwide anti-shariah movement that has sparked national debate and infiltrated state and federal campaigns. According to Eliot, Mr. Yerushalmi has had a profound influence in the drafting of legislation in several states that “recently swept through the country — all with the effect of casting Shariah as one of the greatest threats to American freedom since the cold war.” Read More »
Posted by Adam Abosedra at 12:33 pm / / Leave a comment
Tuesday July 26, 2011
California Governor Jerry Brown (D-CA) signed into law Assembly Bill 130, the California DREAM Act yesterday. The Los Angeles Times reports that AB 130 will provide “access to privately funded financial aid for undocumented college students.” Regarding the political implications of California’s Dream Act, the Times explains that the Governor’s signature on Bill 130 is a “gesture of goodwill toward Latino voters, who helped elect him in large numbers last fall. Legislation providing education funding to undocumented students has been a top priority for many Latino groups, which have found many of their efforts thwarted so far at the federal level.” Read More »
Posted by Adam Abosedra at 1:52 pm / / Leave a comment
Monday July 25, 2011
Tucked away in the basement of Rayburn House Office Building, a controversial private citizens group - Citizens for National Security (CFNS) addressed a packed briefing room in the nation’s capital. In front of a group of Capitol Hill staffers, press, and interested outside human rights groups, Congressmen Allen West quickly introduced his invited guest. In remarks that were surprisingly defensive the Congressmen thanked them for their research, and concluded that his obligation as an elected official to give voice to his constituents’ work and then made a quick exit for the door. Read More »
Posted by John Olivieri at 3:30 pm / / Leave a comment
Monday July 25, 2011
The tragic Oslo attacks which left nearly 80 people dead and more than 100 injured have raised serious concerns over how potent a force anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S. and European media really is. Over-zealous and irresponsible reporting and speculation immediately following the attacks incorrectly attributed the killings to Muslim terrorists with headlines like, "Jihad in Norway?" Going further than baseless reporting, it is now clear that some of these sites may have actually informed the motives of Anders Behring Breivik. Scott Shane of The New York Times, highlights how much Breivik, the man accused of carrying out the Oslo killings, may have been influenced by anti-Muslim right-wing bloggers here in the United Sates. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 11:13 am / / Leave a comment
Friday July 22, 2011
Possible redistricting in Michigan may have a profoundly negative affect on Rep. John Conyers’s (D-MI) chances retaining his office, according to a recent POLITICO article. Conyers represents the 14th district of Michigan, which includes parts of Dearborn, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Southgate, Trenton and Allen Park. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 10:50 am / / Leave a comment
Looking at Iran by James Zogby
Kahlil Gibran Awards Gala - April 16, 2013
