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SearchToday in Islamophobia: New York pushes for justice after foiled Islameberg attack, Wilmington settles lawsuit over anti- Muslim bias in public pools. In Chicago, the Rohingya find new lives and a sense of community. Elsewhere, Pakistan stands by China’s internment of Uighurs. Our recommended read for today is Scoop’s article on the history of Islam in Australia. This, and more, below:
Australia
Boundless Plains: An exhibit of how Islam came to Australia | Recommended Read
The Australian High Commission in collaboration with the Melbourne-based Islamic Museum of Australia will be unearthing Australia’s rich Islamic history through a photographic exhibition set to open Monday. With more than 600,000 Muslims calling Australia home, Muslim Australians make up an important part of the country’s diverse social fabric — from politicians and sporting starts to media personalities, the high commission said in a statement. The exhibition will tell stories of how Islam first came to the coastal shores of Australia, stretching back to the early 1700s when Muslim fishermen from Makasar, Indonesia made annual visits to the country. Their visits were recorded through rock-art that are still visible until today, and the most prominent aspects to their visits were to the northern shores of Australia where the fishermen traded and interacted with the country’s indigenous population. read the complete article
United States
Commissioner's Comments About Muslim Congresswoman Condemned
Commissioners voted 3-2 to condemn Anabelle Lima-Taub's comments in a meeting Wednesday night as critics and supporters of the Hallandale Beach commissioner held demonstrations outside City Hall ahead of the vote. Lima-Taub, who was elected to the Hallandale Beach commission in 2016, posted a petition calling for the removal of Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib – saying she proudly signed it and called Tlaib an anti-Semite with “no place in government." read the complete article
Rohingya refugees rebuilding their lives in Chicago
Chicago has one of the largest number of Rohingya refugees to have been resettled in the United States. More than 1,600 Rohingya are based in Chicago, having spent years in Malaysia after fleeing persecution and violence in Myanmar in the 1990s and 2000s. The Rohingya Cultural Center of Chicago was founded in 2016 by Nasir Zakaria, a Rohingya refugee who settled in the US in 2013. The centre provides English lessons and Quran classes, as well as computer training, translation services and assistance with resettlement paperwork. read the complete article
Greece bomb plot suspect expressed anti-Muslim sentiments on Twitter account
A social media account for bomb plot suspect Vincent Vetromile shows the suspect espoused anti-Muslim sentiments online before police say he was involved with a plot to attack a Muslim community in upstate New York. A Twitter account, that contains photos of Vetromile along with other documents, espoused extremist views about Muslims online, years before police say the plot began. Responding to a tweet from a conservative blog site, that referenced a statement by an imam, Vetromile wrote that the comment was a "good reason to get rid of all the Muslims." In another tweet, as part of a thread on terrorism in 2016, Vetromile writes, "We have a cease fire and what's happened? More terrorist attacks. KILL THEM ALL and nobody will be left to attack us." read the complete article
After police foil terrorist attack on Islamberg, New York Muslims push for justice
According to police, the plot to attack Islamberg unraveled when a 16-year-old high school student showed a photo on his phone to friends at Odyssey Academy in Greece, N.Y. Greece is about 200 miles northwest of Islamberg. Greece police say it was part of a “serious plot” to attack Islamberg, which has been home to about 200 African-American Muslims for nearly 40 years. The 70-acre gated homesteading community, tucked in the western Catskill Mountains, is also the headquarters of The Muslims of America organization. read the complete article
Wilmington Settles Lawsuit Over Anti-Muslim Bias at Public Pools
The city of Wilmington has agreed to revise its dress-code policy at public pools and pay $50,000 to resolve claims that employees had discriminated against Muslim children, who were asked to leave for wearing cotton clothes while swimming last summer. A Delaware federal judge Thursday approved the settlement, which requires the city to train workers on new regulations that would specifically accommodate clothing worn at the pools for religious reasons. Under the agreement, the city will also pay $20,000 to the Muslim academy that filed the suit in August, as well as nearly $4,300 to the families of seven children named as plaintiffs in the case. The city did not admit any wrongdoing as a part of the settlement, but said Wednesday it regrets “that unclear swimwear policies and the lack of specific training on such policies fueled a misunderstanding which left the plaintiffs feeling excluded from a city pool.” read the complete article
3 Militia Members Face Sentencing in Kansas Bomb Plot
Three militia members face the possibility of life in prison for a foiled plot to massacre Muslims in southwest Kansas by blowing up a mosque and apartments housing Somali immigrants. At separate sentencing hearings for the men on Friday, the government plans to play video clips of the intended victims talking about the impact the case has had on their community. Patrick Stein , Curtis Allen and Gavin Wright , all of whom are white, were convicted last year of plotting an attack in Garden City for the day after the 2016 presidential election. The meatpacking town is about 220 miles (354 kilometers) west of Wichita. Prosecutors are seeking life terms for the three men, while defense attorneys are variously pleading for shorter terms of 15, 10 or even time served. The men have been imprisoned since their October 2016 arrests. read the complete article
Oklahoma Judge Dismisses Case Over Muslim Woman's Headscarf
U.S. District Judge Claire Eagan on Tuesday dismissed claims that the Tulsa County Sherriff's Office and four deputies violated the First Amendment and the Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act. Suha Elqutt said she was refused entry to the courthouse last April when metal detectors were set off by a hairpin under her hijab. The suit alleges officers insisted Elqutt remove her headscarf in front of male sheriff's deputies in violation of her religious beliefs. Elqutt entered the courthouse after two female deputies inspected her hair in a parking garage. read the complete article
China
No cultural, religious repression of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang: Pak diplomat
A senior Pakistani diplomat on Thursday put up a staunch defence of the controversial education camps in China's volatile Xinjiang province where thousands of Uyghur Muslims have been reportedly detained, saying there is no forced labour or cultural and religious repression in the region. China recently took diplomats from 12 countries with large Muslim populations, including India and Pakistan, to its Xinjiang province where tens of thousands of members of the minority Uyghur Muslims have been interned in education camps. "During this visit, I did not find any instance of forced labour or cultural and religious repression," Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the Charge d'affaires, Pakistan's Embassy in China, told the state-run Global Times on Thursday. read the complete article