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SearchToday in Islamophobia: Muslim immigrants sue ICE for obstructing religious observance. In the UK, shooting ranges use Shamima Begum’s image as a target, even as senior politicians accuse its press regulatory body of turning a blind eye to racism in the media. An op-ed explores the moral outrage over “sports hijab” in France, where headscarves are legal. Our recommended read of the day is by Wilson Dizard titled “The greatest Trump ever pulled was making the people forget the Muslim Ban”. This, and more, below:
United States
Opinion | The greatest trick Trump pulled was making people forget the Muslim ban | Recommended Read
“And we will possibly get a bad ruling, and then we’ll get another bad ruling. And then we’ll end up in the Supreme Court, and hopefully, we’ll get a fair shake. And we’ll win in the Supreme Court, just like the ban. They sued us in the Ninth Circuit, and we lost, and then we lost in the appellate division, and then we went to the Supreme Court, and we won,” Trump continued. Trump was referring, it seems, to his previous executive order to halt people from coming from six majority Muslim countries. Those countries either have ongoing civil wars and/or are under sanction by the United States, but none of them contains Trump-branded hotels or the president’s extremely wealthy pals, or his son-in-law’s. That was the first fake “emergency” Trump conjured, and that was now two years ago, based on an interpretation of any Muslim immigration into the United States as being dangerous. read the complete article
Muslim Immigrants sue ICE for getting in the way of religious observance
Muslim immigrants detained at a Florida jail made more than 20 requests — orally and in writing — for religious accommodation throughout last year. Their asks were simple: They wanted their meals to be religiously compliant, to be able to make their five daily prayers without obstruction, and to have access to basic items like prayer rugs and copies of the Quran. The officials at the Glades County Detention Center, which doubles as an immigration detention center, ignored or denied those requests, according to five Muslim men at the facility. Now, they’re suing. On Wednesday, the men, all of whom came to the United States as refugees from Somalia, sued the Glades County sheriff and other county employees, as well as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for denying their ability to freely practice their faith, in violation of the U.S. Constitution and federal and state law. The lawsuit, which has not been previously reported, was brought by Muslim Advocates, a national civil rights group, and Americans for Immigrant Justice, a Florida-based immigrant rights group. read the complete article
Hometown hate: Haywood Republicans welcome anti-Muslim speaker
Security consultant and law enforcement trainer — and former member of Southern Poverty Law Center-labeled hate group Understanding the Threat — Chris Gaubatz told a packed room in Waynesville Feb. 19. “They’re suit-wearing jihadis, and they work with our legislators on Capitol Hill,” Gaubatz said, as about 80 people who braved torrential rains and booming peals of thunder looked on with rapt attention. “If we don’t get the next six years right, we lose our country.” Gaubatz came to these conclusions after undergoing what he said was a “fake conversion” to Islam in a northern Virginia Mosque sometime around 2008 and securing an internship with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, at the behest of his father, a retired U.S. Air Force special investigator. read the complete article
Mark Meadows to Cohen: If Trump Is Racist, Why Did He Employ This Black Woman?
On Wednesday, Donald Trump’s former lawyer informed Congress that the president believes black people are innately less intelligent and capable of self-rule than white people are. Republican congressman Mark Meadows couldn’t believe his ears. The notion that Donald Trump — of all people — could harbor prejudicial views about minorities struck the Freedom Caucus chair as plainly impossible. In truth, Cohen’s claims are neither shocking nor revelations. He related all of these private conversations, and more, in an interview with Vanity Fairlast November. But the idea that we can’t know whether Trump is a bigot without learning what he says in private — whether from Cohen, or the holy grail of the “N-word tape” — is itself offensive. read the complete article
State Department rejects more than 37,000 visas due to travel ban
The data released on Tuesday was the first comprehensive look at the human effect of Republican President Donald Trump's ban, imposed shortly after he took office and initially blocked by federal courts. The ban has especially affected people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, countries where the number of visas issued slid 80 percent in 2018 from 2016, the last year without a travel ban. The State Department refused more than 37,000 visa applications in 2018 due to the Trump administration's travel ban, up from less than 1,000 the previous year when the ban had not fully taken effect. The figures released on Tuesday show the government denied 15,384 applications for immigrant visas - given to those who want to live permanently in the US - due to the "2017 Executive Order on Immigration". A State Department spokeswoman confirmed that term referred to the travel ban policy. read the complete article
United Kingdom
UK shooting range uses Shamima Begum image for targets
A shooting range in The Wirral has defended its use of targets with an image of Shamima Begum, the teenager who travelled from the UK to Syria to join Islamic State, saying it had received a high number of requests from customers. Children as young as six can visit the Wallasey site, which also reportedly features targets of high-profile figures, such as Donald Trump and Margaret Thatcher. read the complete article
Far-right anti-Muslim stickers found covering street in town
Slogans including 'Reject multiculturalism' and 'Stop building Mosques in Britain' have been seen on road signs, lamp posts and bus stops in Heanor, Derbyshire. Derbyshire Live reports several of the small blue stickers - which include the England flag - were on display in Loscoe Road. They appear to be from a group called "British Movement" and a website for them is stated below the slogan. One woman, who did not wish to give her name, said: "I wasn't aware of the stickers. I think they are shocking and upsetting. "There are people who live here who come from multi-cultural backgrounds so it is shocking to know that they are here and could cause offence." Another resident added: "People will protest about anything these days. It's disgusting, what are they hoping to achieve? "It's not a surprise to be honest because there is a big BNP (British National Party) group here." read the complete article
Police chief slams Muslim fitness class death threats
Bianca Jade said she has had death threats since putting up posters showing a woman in a hijab holding a pair of weights. Ms Jade, who is not a Muslim, said she has also been sent racist slurs and been told to "watch her back." Ms Jade, who believes her car tyres were slashed as part of a campaign against her, said she has received abuse via social media, texts and e-mails. "I've had messages calling me racist names... telling me to go back to my own country, telling me to watch my back... saying they're going to kill me," she said. read the complete article
France
Opinion | Muslim headscarves are legal in France, so why the moral panic about a sports hijab?
France’s biggest sports retailer was forced to abandon the plans on Tuesday after protests which came from both government ministers and foul-mouthed racists. Can Muslim women – or any other women – cover their hair when they walk down the street? Yes. Why should it be controversial for a French sports shop to sell a “hijab de running” (forgetting the ugly Franglais of the name)? Is running legally or morally different from walking? No. Much of the confusion arises – or is deliberately manipulated – because the commonly used word in French fora hijab or headscarf is “voile” or veil. The word veil, in French as in English, implies a face covering. Since 2010, it has been illegal to wear full face-coverings in public in France, including burkas and niqabs. Since 2004, it has been illegal to wear conspicuous religious symbols, including headscarves but also kippas and crucifixes, in French state schools. Both of those bans were controversial in their time. Good arguments can be deployed for and against. Both have been more or less accepted without problem. read the complete article
Netherlands
Dutch court rules against Muslim man who refused to shave beard for job
The unnamed man had been offered a job as an asbestos removal officer but was subsequently told he would need to be clean shaven in order to undergo the training course. When he refused on the basis of his religious convictions, Amersfoort city council suspended payments to both him and his wife for a month under the Participatiewet, which provides a minimum income for every legal resident in the Netherlands. The man appealed the decision at the court of central Netherlands, where he claimed that the removal of his benefits was an infringement of article nine of the European convention on human rights which protects the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. read the complete article