Group Blames U.S. for Anti-Muslim Actions

AP ^ | 7/16/03 | By JENNIFER C. KERR

[logic101.net]

Group Blames U.S. for Anti-Muslim Actions Tue Jul 15, 5:29 PM ET

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By JENNIFER C. KERR, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Government efforts to crack down on terrorism contributed to an increase in reports of discrimination and harassment of Muslims in the United States last year, an Islamic advocacy group says. The Justice Department (news - web sites) called the allegations "unfair."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said Tuesday that post-Sept. 11 government actions have broadly targeted Arabs and Muslims.

"The government has employed and is employing policies and practices based on religion and ethnicity," said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Washington-based group.

Of particular concern were special registration requirements that single out students and visitors from Muslim nations as well as raids on Muslim homes and businesses that ended with no charges being filed.

Justice Department spokesman Jorge Martinez called the council's accusations irresponsible. "We're talking about unfair criticism based on a lot of misinformation and propaganda," Martinez said.

He said law enforcement measures taken after the terror attacks were meant to ensure the safety of all Americans and do so within the bounds of the Constitution.

CAIR Research director Mohamed Nimer said the government's actions have encouraged other citizens to target Muslims.

In Florida, the report said, there have been a number of attacks against Islamic institutions. In one case, a man drove his truck into a mosque in Tallahassee. No one was hurt.

Martinez countered that the agency has made prosecuting "backlash crimes" against Muslims a priority. Those crimes include harassment and vandalism based on religion.

"We take any form of discrimination very seriously and we will do everything possible to make sure that these types of crimes never happen again," Martinez said.

The department has opened approximately 500 cases involving backlash crimes, Martinez said.

The council's annual study found a 15 percent increase last year in the number of incidents and experiences of anti-Muslim violence, discrimination and harassment.

The report was based on complaints received by the council, but when comparing the data to 2001, the researchers did not include an abnormal spike seen in complaints in the days following the attacks on New York and Washington. Nimer explained that some complaints seen in the spike were deemed untrue or unsubstantiated.

For 2002, the council said it received 602 complaints of discrimination and harassment, compared to 525 valid complaints for the previous year.

Job discrimination, employee harassment and other workplace claims were the most frequent, accounting for nearly a quarter of the total, the report said. Complaints that charged local and federal government agencies with civil liberties violations came in second, at 23 percent.

The report also cited what it called a disturbing new trend of police profiling incidents in which Muslims were stopped and questioned while engaged in mundane activities such as walking down the street or in shopping malls.

Besides government actions, the council's Nimer also laid some of the blame for the overall increase on "high profile religious and political leaders making crude anti-Muslim statements, people like Jerry Falwell calling the Prophet Muhammad on national TV a terrorist." Falwell later apologized for the remark.

___

On the Net:

Council on American-Islamic Relations: http://www.cair-net.org

[Guillermo]

I read this article yesterday, and I agree with you 100%. I was just too outraged to post it.

Are these Muslims truly so dense as to think that actions of their own people aren't contributing factors to "increased hate crimes?"

Also, they consider a "dirty look" given to a woman in a hijab a "hate crime."

[concerned about politics]

"The government has employed and is employing policies and practices based on religion and ethnicity,"

They've been after Christians for years. Christians didn't even attack and kill 3,000 American people either! They're pro-life
Nah. In America, goverment is God, and social programs are it's blessed manna. Get used to it.

[philosofy123]

There is a good illustration for the readers to examine the entire BS from CAIR, and other Moslem group. Ask yourselves: Is there a ground swell from Moslem immigrants in the West who have experience tolerance, and equal treatment by the Christians and Jews to organize against their home lands in defense of the intolerance of Islamic regimes against non-Moslems? The answer is OF COURSENO, and NEVER! They want to oppress the non-Moslems in Moslem lands, and be treated as equal in other foreign lands. If that is not first rate hypocrisy, I don’t know what else to call it?

[philosofy123]

A guy wearing a red wig kills hundreds of by standers in a small town America, they cannot catch him, the next day, a lot of stupid teenagers starts to wear red wigs, how do you think the angry/suffering town is going to look at these kids with red wigs? The simple fact that these kids chose to wear red wigs is to rub salt into the wounds of this town. Innocent or not, you are simply rejoicing in my misery, and I am not going to like it. If Americans give Moslem-dressed people a dirty look, they should consider themselves lucky; if a Christian gunman killed a bunch of Moslems in a Moslem country, all Christians would be KILLED!!!! NOT GIVEN A DIRTY LOOK!!!

[hang 'em]

You know, I bet there were one or two "good Nazis".

[ladyinred]

I can hardly wait to see what Hillary and company come up with next to blame the Bush administration for.

[logic101.net]

Great point about what happens to Jews and Christians in their homelands! Damn, wish I'd have thought of that one!

I do have to warn you to prepare for a tirade from the "spelling nazis" here though; you mis-spelled muslum. The spelling nazis don't care what you write; but if you mis-
spell something watch out!

Kind of like muslums in a twised way.

Mark A Sity

[logic101.net]

10-4 to that!

[logic101.net]

You were waiting for this post, weren't you?

Good research!

Mark A Sity

[logic101.net]

Sorry, I have to correct you here. It was 4 planes; one got taken back. However; the pilots were already dead and no one (alive) on board knew how to fly the blasted thing. We all owe a huge debt of gratitude to those guys!

Sorry, but I don't want them to be forgotten!

Mark A Sity
Let's Roll!

[Mark17]

Duh, silly me, we should be looking more closely at the Swedes.

Or possibly the Swedish international bikini team.

[zip]

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said Tuesday that post-Sept. 11 government actions have broadly targeted Arabs and Muslims.

How ridiculous, everyone knows we should have targeted the Quakers and Mormans. Geeeeesh

[mtbopfuyn]

Actually, it was the Pentagon plane that I forgot. But thanks for setting it right.

[Susannah]

At least we didn't send them off to camps like we did with the Japanese-Americans during WWII.

If the government had not set up a program to question Muslims in the USA, how would the rest of Americans really been treating them? I think they are under less attack because of the governments actions.

[McGavin999]

If there is any backlash or discrimination, it's probably a direct result of the irresponsible actions of CAIR. So if I were a Muslim who was being mistreated, I file suit against them and live out my life in total luxury.

[logic101.net]

You know, you made a great point here! But this goes back to what so many of us said on 9-11 over and over again (my wife included); "THANK GOD THAT AL WHORE DIDN'T WIN THE ELECTION!" Heck, even hard core libs were saying that!

Mark A Sity

[logic101.net]

Any time. Odd, you forgot one of the ones that struck it's target though. I am not trying to give you a hard time here, I just think it is odd. Although... no I take that back. That was the attack that got the least press now that I think about it. I think you watch too much CNN - try Fox News in the future :-) Sorry, couldn't help that!

Mark