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TurnTo23.com – Sept. 13, 2006
MD: Teacher arrested, accused of anti-Islam tirade
A Maryland substitute teacher was arrested after an alleged anti-Islamic tirade in front of high school students. Carol Joan McVey, 49, was charged with resisting arrest, trespassing, disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace.
Police said McVey became upset when she heard some students at Gaithersburg High School, who were being assisted by another teacher, practicing a speech and using some Arabic words.
The Washington Post said she reacted after overhearing the group utter an Islamic greeting of peace.
Charging documents allege McVey shouted, "Islam doesn't mean peace, it means killing everyone for peace" and "Because of you, our families died in New York!"
Authorities said McVey went to the school office to express her displeasure about the speech and the assisting teacher and was told by the principal that her services were no longer needed at the school
Police said she refused to leave and was escorted from the school by the educational facilities officer.
While being escorted from the building, McVey allegedly yelled at a Hispanic teacher about the inappropriateness of speaking to students in languages other than English…..
http://www.turnto23.com/education/9839832/detail.html
CAIR Bulletin – September 13, 2006
California Muslims seek meeting to
discuss mayor's Islamophobic remarks
Sept. 11: The Islamic Educational Center (IEC) of Orange County in Southern California and the Sacramento Valley chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SV) today expressed concern about recent anti-Muslim remarks made by Redding, Calif., Mayor Ken Murray, who he referred to Shia Muslims as "wing nuts."
In an article published September 8 in the Redding Record Searchlight newspaper, Murray also claimed Shia Muslims "believe it's acceptable to lie, cheat, steal and kill as long as it ultimately glorifies Allah." "Either the Judeo-Christian philosophy will survive or the Islamic philosophy will survive," added Murray.
In a joint statement, CAIR-SV and the IEC said:
"All Muslims reject lying, cheating, stealing, or killing. Islam abhors such actions and calls on Muslims to maintain honesty, truth, and respect for property and human life.
The Quran states, "and do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden except for the requirements of justice. The next verse states, "and when you speak, then be just though it be (against) a relative (See: Quran Chapter 6, verses 151 & 152)."
"Instead of seeking to deflect criticism by changing the target of his attack from Shia Muslims to so called "Wahabi Muslims," Mayor Murray should address the underlying ignorance of Islam that led to these remarks."
"We call upon Mayor Ken Murray to publicly retract his inaccurate and offensive remarks and to meet with leaders of the California Muslim community so that he may gain a better understanding of Islam and the reality of the American Muslim experience."
Morning Call – September 13, 2006
PA: Hatfield man sentenced for
shooting cars at mosque
By Kathleen Parrish
A Hatfield Township, Pennsylvania, man who said his son is serving in Iraq has pleaded guilty but mentally ill to firing 52 shots at two cars in the parking lot of a Lansdale mosque last year.
Robert Blackburn, 54, of 199 W. Vine St., was sentenced Monday to nine to 23 months in Montgomery County Prison, where he has been since the night of his arrest, and five years probation on charges of ethnic intimidation and possession of an instrument of crime.
"We're glad he took responsibility for his actions," Assistant District Attorney Carolyn Flannery said of the plea agreement, which was accepted by Montgomery County Judge William Carpenter.
"He knew what he was doing and what he was doing was wrong. But he was acting in part [because] of his mental illness and that's why we didn't push for state time," she said.
During the early hours of Nov. 8, police discovered two cars had been riddled with bullets outside the North Penn Mosque at 600 Maple Ave. One car was hit 37 times and the other 15. Police found a .22-caliber rifle in Blackburn's car and ammunition in his pockets.
Flannery said Blackburn told police the night of the shooting that he had been in the Army, his father had been in the Army and his son was on a third tour of duty in Iraq.
''He had it twisted in his mind that this was a symbol of what his son was fighting in Iraq,'' she said. ''Because of his mental illness, he thought it was justified to act out his anger toward these innocent people,'' she said.
Officials at the mosque did not immediately return phone calls for comment.
Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington, D.C., said he is satisfied with Blackburn's sentence, but more needs to be done to discourage this type of crime from occurring.
"We're obviously encouraged that he's going to pay a price for his actions," Hooper said. "This will probably send a message to the local Muslim community that their safety is of concern to local law officials. Hopefully we can move on, but unfortunately this is just one incident in a fairly regular pattern of incidents [in the country]. We had a shooting at a mosque in Indiana and a guy rolled a pig head into a mosque in Maine. It's a disturbing trend that needs to be addressed." …..
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b1_2mosquesep13,0,2455938.story
Tampa Bay's 10 News – September 12, 2006
FL: Issue of religious holidays back before
Hillsborough county school district
By Preston Rudie
An issue which put the Hillsborough County School District (Florida) in the national spotlight, is once again back. This week the district sent out 4,000 surveys, asking parents what religious holidays they'd like students to have off next school year.
Traditionally, classes have been off during Christian holidays like Christmas. But what about holidays for other religious groups? For example, Muslims would like classes canceled during Eid Al-Fitr, which usually falls in October.
Last year, the subject of canceling classes for other non-Christian holidays drew a firestorm of criticism.
The surveys are the first step in determining the calendar for the 07-08 school year.
Ahmed Bedier, Council on American-Islamic Relations: "We don't think the request to include one day is unreasonable." ….
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=39403
Toronto Star – September 13, 2006
Prof says security officials flagged his `name'
Surya Bhattacharya
An Arabic language professor from the United States has been left stranded in Canada for more than two months, unable to return to his San Francisco job after his visa was abruptly cancelled.
On June 20, Mohammad Ramadan Salama, 38, arrived in Canada hoping to upgrade his student visa to one given to non-immigrants who have demonstrated achievement in business, arts or sciences - called an O-1. A journey he expected to complete in a week has turned into a distressing wait of more than 70 days.
Salama, an Egyptian citizen, has been living in the U.S. for seven years and counts among his past students U.S. troops being deployed to the Middle East. He is married to an American and has two young children. Because his name is common in the Muslim world, he suspects officials have him confused with someone else, perhaps even a man involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
"I have been a studious student all my life. I like literature and culture studies and film," he said.
"I am not the person. The U.S. government is wasting its time. Once you have a name like Mohammad and Salama, you're from Egypt and you're under the age of 45, you're considered dangerous," he said in a phone interview from London, Ont., where he is staying with a former professor.
Salama holds a PhD in comparative literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has taught at San Francisco State University for the past year. He was expected to start teaching three Arabic courses this fall, including a seminar on the modern Arabic novel.
His wife, Carrie, who is finishing a nursing program in Wisconsin before joining him in San Francisco, said the delay "has taken a toll on everybody."
She contemplated dropping out to support the family financially, but instead has moved with her children into her father's home.
"My husband is stuck in a foreign country and paying bills there," she said. "I understand the system is trying to be protective of the country, but it's tearing apart our family." …..
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1158097812424
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