Politics

CHRGJ at NYU Law: Racial Profiling and Counter-Terrorism

CHRGJ at NYU Law: Racial Profiling and Counter-Terrorism. CHRGJ announced the release of our latest report Targeted and Entrapped: Manufacturing the “Homegrown Threat” in the United States. The U.S. government must stop its discriminatory targeting of Muslim communities in counter-terrorism investigations said the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) at NYU School of Law today, as it released a report on the issue. The government’s use of intrusive surveillance, untrained paid informants, and manufactured terrorism plots raise serious human rights concerns that must immediately be addressed, said the group.

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Politics

Nothing to Fear: Debunking the Mythical “Sharia Threat” to Our Judicial System | American Civil Liberties Union

Nothing to Fear: Debunking the Mythical “Sharia Threat” to Our Judicial System | American Civil Liberties Union. There is no evidence that Islamic law is encroaching on our courts. On the contrary, the court cases cited by anti-Muslim groups as purportedly illustrative of this problem actually show the opposite: Courts treat lawsuits that are brought by Muslims or that address the Islamic faith in the same way that they deal with similar claims brought by people of other faiths or that involve no religion at all. These cases also show that sufficient protections already exist in our legal system to…

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Art

Muslim playwright returns to high school stage – chicagotribune.com

Muslim playwright returns to high school stage – chicagotribune.com. As a teenager, Rohina Malik went to great lengths to hide her Muslim heritage.  While some girls her age chose to wear the traditional headscarf, she opted against it. And when teachers read “Rohina” at roll call on the first day of school, she asked them to call her Mariam, her less Muslim-sounding middle name.  Unable to hide her caramel skin or overcome her shyness, the aspiring actress and playwright didn’t audition for a role until her senior year at Niles North High School. She was astounded when she landed the…

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Inter-faith

Full: Muslim activist puts his faith to work in troubled Chicago – The National

I have a lot of respect for IMAN. This is a good article. Full: Muslim activist puts his faith to work in troubled Chicago – The National. Nashashibi has been cultivating Iman for nearly 15 years. Today the organisation provides just about everything to those in need in Chicago Lawn, a predominantly African-American neighbourhood with a mix of Latinos and Palestinians. Its free clinic serves the sick from across the city. A computer lab offers technical training. Tens of thousands of people go to its annual concert benefit, Takin’ It to the Streets, while its bimonthly music and arts gatherings…

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Politics

Tenn. bill criticized for targeting Muslims splits Tea Party – USATODAY.com

Tenn. bill criticized for targeting Muslims splits Tea Party – USATODAY.com. The Kingsport man is a conservative Christian who wants the government to keep its hands off his wallet and his personal life. And that’s why, he said, a bill in the Tennessee Legislature that originally targeted supporters of Islamic law is a bad idea for Tennessee. State officials could have used the bill to punish unpopular groups, he said.  Today, that’s Muslims, he said. Tomorrow, that could be the Tea Party. He pointed to a 2009 report by the Missouri Information Analysis Center, funded in part by the Department…

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Politics

This is What Democracy Looks Like?Making Sense of the Pew Poll on Egypt « The Revealer

This is What Democracy Looks Like?Making Sense of the Pew Poll on Egypt « The Revealer. The latest Pew Research Center poll results on Egypt are in, as Egyptians continue to debate what form the country’s nascent democracy should take in the wake of the January 25th Revolution. I was one of the millions of Egyptians participating in the 18-day uprising that toppled the Mubarak regime last February. I’m also a graduate student conducting research in Egypt.  So for multiple reasons, I hoped the poll would provide concrete answers on what Egyptians think at this critical juncture of our country’s…

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