Tag: Muslim

Thank you for your editorial on IC Loves Israel Day pointing out that the name is politicized and misleading, hence inappropriate (April 18). I would have said as much had I accepted The Ithacan’s invitation to share my thoughts on the subject, but I didn’t. I feel it shouldn’t fall largely to Muslim critics of Israel’s policies to do the work of pointing out what should be obvious to anyone with a conscience: that the Israeli state has dispossessed Palestinian people, occupied their territories, and feels no compunction using disproportionate violence against them. (I distinguish between the Jewish people and the state of Israel since plenty of Jewish people are also critics of the state’s policies.) I also hesitated to say anything because Muslims who support the right of Palestinian people to their homes and homeland are invariably dubbed anti-Semitic, as I have been, and as was Ilhan Omar in a recent op-ed in The Ithacan. For that matter, Jewish critics of Israel’s policies are routinely labeled self-hating. It is terribly wearisome to be slandered in this way. Surely, loving Israel does not carry with it an obligation to support colonizing, dehumanizing and terrorizing the Palestinian people or impugning and silencing those who speak up against such practices. Asma Barlas Professor Department of Politics 328 Muller Center

Mr. Trump and his team are trying to make Ms. Omar, one of a group of progressive women Democratic House members who is relatively unknown in national politics, a household name, to be seen as the most prominent voice of the Democratic Party, regardless of her actual position. His Minnesota appearance comes after his tweet of a video interspersed with Ms. Omar speaking and the burning World Trade Center towers. Ms. Omar’s critics have claimed a portion of the remarks, in which she highlighted Islamophobia faced by Muslims after Sept. 11, were dismissive of the terrorist attacks. And Ms. Omar has become a point of contention for some members of her own party, after remarks she made about the Israel lobby were condemned as anti-Semitic by some long-serving Democrats, as well as by Republicans and Mr. Trump. “This contrast gives the president a chance to expand his support closer to 50 percent,” Mr. Nunberg insisted. Mr. Nadler said he thought Ms. Omar’s comments about the Sept. 11 attacks were being taken out of context. “I have had some problems with some of her other remarks, but not with that one,” Mr. Nadler said. The controversy arose from Ms. Omar’s remarks at an event last month sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an advocacy organization, where she focused on attacks against Muslims after Sept. 11. She said she had “lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen and, frankly, I’m tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it.” “CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties,” she said. The attack was not Mr. Trump’s first on Ms. Omar.

But this weekend's tirade came across as even more jarring given his tepid tone on Friday when he said that he didn't think white supremacy was a growing global problem after the attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, that killed 50. Mulvaney's comments did not explain why the President has often had a chance to vigorously condemn white supremacists — for instance after the far right marches in Charlottesville, Virginia — and has not done so. Mulvaney also dodged when asked on Sunday whether the President would give a speech condemning white supremacy, given that statistics suggest it is becoming an increasing problem. Trump's weekend tweet storm and obsession with personal slights seemed stunning given that the conversation on news shows the world over was focused on the attack in New Zealand. The latest examination of Trump's attitude towards far-right-wing political rhetoric — which has some resonance among a minority in his political base — was set off by his initial reactions to the terror attack on Friday. The President also did not offer public empathy to American Muslims or condemn the specific act of targeting believers in such attacks. "At the very least, he is dividing people. And he, at the very least, should be giving strong statements, public speeches defending Muslims in this world," said Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is running for president, on "State of the Union." GM responded saying in a statement that "the future of the unallocated plants will be resolved between GM and the UAW," referring to the United Automobile Workers union. Trump also defended one of his most vociferous cheerleaders on Fox, Jeanine Pirro, who did not appear in her usual spot on Saturday night after questioning whether the religious beliefs of Muslim Rep. Ilhan Omar were compatible with the US Constitution.

Accommodating Muslims and Hindus “robs Britain of its community” and risks turning the country into a “crime-riddled cesspool” as a result, the Conservative candidate for London mayor declared in a thinktank pamphlet he wrote a decade ago. Shaun Bailey voiced concerns about the marking of Muslim and Hindu festivals, claimed children were being taught more about Diwali than Christmas, and argued Britain “removing the religion that British people generally take to” had allowed immigrants to bring their countries’ cultural problems with them. But by removing the religion that British people generally take to, by removing the ethics that generally go with it, we’ve allowed people to come to Britain and bring their culture, their country and any problems they might have, with them.” A few paragraphs later, Bailey argued it was easier for the black community to integrate into British society because there were shared Christian values. “Within the black community, it is not such a bad thing, because we’ve shared a religion and in many cases a language. Despite the revelations, Theresa May endorsed Bailey in her keynote speech at the Conservative party conference. A few hours after the Guardian article about his pamphlet was first published, May, arguing her party represented equality of opportunity, cited the example of Bailey. He was a youth worker who became an adviser to David Cameron on young people and crime before being elected to the London assembly, having previously failed to win a seat at Westminster. Andy Slaughter, a London Labour MP who defeated him in the 2010 general election, said: “It is increasingly clear that he holds views that are at best divisive and at worst Islamophobic. A spokesperson for Bailey said: “As a descendant of the Windrush generation, and someone who has worked with diverse communities for over 20 years, Shaun knows full well the challenges faced by BAME communities. Bailey needs to apologise and distance himself from this divisive bigotry.” The organisation said it would write to the Tories to see if they were aware of Bailey’s remarks prior to his selection.

3 'extremist Muslim' New Mexico compound suspects released. Jeff Paul has the story. FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well as political and business news. The number one network in…

Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib is poised to become the first Muslim woman ever elected to Congress. She tells CNN's Poppy Harlow why she has joined the movement to abolish the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency.

Ramadan, the ninth month in the Muslim calendar, is observed by fasting during the day. For another Muslim working in politics, fasting isn’t actually the biggest challenge. “I am not proud about this, but it’s pretty common for me to sometimes forget to eat lunch so refraining from food and drink during Ramadan is not the most challenging aspect of fasting while at work,” said Faiza Ali, co-director of the Community Outreach Unit of the Community Engagement Division at the New York City Council. Like Mamdani, she often celebrates iftar with members of her community. New York, particularly in New York City, has a relatively high Muslim population compared to other states. New York City Councilman I. Daneek Miller, the only Muslim elected official in New York City or in the state Legislature, is not fasting Ramadan this year, as he is recovering from an injury. Like Miller, Ali said that she found Ramadan to be an extremely spiritual experience. Latif said that she will be spending as much time as possible with her family for Eid al-Fitr. Mamdani will be celebrating the holiday with the campaign, attending morning prayers near Bay Parkway in Brooklyn, which is attended by thousands of people. This is the first time that Mamdani is observing Ramadan fully in many years.

Seth Meyers' monologue from Tuesday, May 15. » Subscribe to Late Night: http://bit.ly/LateNightSeth » Get more Late Night with Seth Meyers: http://www.nbc.com/late-night-with-seth-meyers/ » Watch Late Night with Seth Meyers Weeknights 12:35/11:35c on NBC. LATE NIGHT ON SOCIAL Follow Late Night on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LateNightSeth…