John Guandolo

Group Behind Anti-Muslim Police Training Says Focus On Sharia Law!

Jillian Rayfield | February 20, 2012, 9:27AM

The group that hired an anti-Muslim training group to teach part of a seminar to police officers in Tennessee is defending itself against subsequent criticism by arguing that the media should really be focusing on Muslim groups like CAIR and ISNA that are trying to "infiltrate every phase of our society at every level" in order to "alter the mindset and agendas of our society for the overthrow of our Constitution and the implementation of Sharia Islamic Law."

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Islamic Center of Murfreesboro

Tennessee Police Training Seminar Taught By Notorious Anti-Muslim Activist

Jillian Rayfield | February 16, 2012, 6:19AM

A number of police officers in Tennessee attended a training seminar in Murfreesboro this week that was taught by a known Islamophobe who claims that Muslims should not get First Amendment rights.

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Islamophobia

Muslim Woman: School Said I Was A Terrorist In Retaliation For Sexual Harassment Complaint

Jillian Rayfield | January 19, 2012, 4:51PM

University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, CT

A Muslim woman is suing the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut for allegedly expelling her and telling the FBI that she was a terrorist, she says in retaliation for a sexual harassment complaint she made against a fellow student.

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Donny Eugene Mower

California Man Gets Five Years For Planned Parenthood Firebombing And Mosque Vandalism

Jillian Rayfield | January 10, 2012, 10:28AM

A California man was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to firebombing a Planned Parenthood clinic and vandalizing a mosque.

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Muslims

CAIR Points To Anti-Muslim Postings In Wake Of Mosque Attacks

Ryan J. Reilly | January 2, 2012, 12:10PM

Image from forest badger / Shutterstock

An Islamic group is pointing to online posts encouraging individuals to toss Molotov cocktails into mosques in the wake of a wave of attacks in New York City on Sunday night that appeared to be aimed at Muslims.

Police are probing four attacks in Queens, involving Molotov cocktails construsted with Starbucks Frappuccino bottles against four locations, including a mosque and a Hindu place of worship. About 75 people were in the mosque at the time of that attack but there were no injuries. Police say the male suspect was driving a silver sport utility vehicle.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) suggested in a press release that the attacks could have been connected to posts on an anti-Muslim blog.

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Lowe's

Right-Wing Rallies Around Lowe's For Not Giving In To 'Radical Islamists'

Jillian Rayfield | December 15, 2011, 6:01AM

If you were eagerly waiting for the cacophony of right-wing bloggers to weigh in on the Lowe's controversy, you're in luck.

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Louisiana

Florida Family Association: 'Anonymous' Hacked Us Over Lowe's Campaign

Jillian Rayfield | December 13, 2011, 10:08AM

The Florida Family Association is blaming Anonymous for taking down its website after the social conservative group pressured Lowe's to pull its advertising from the TV show All-American Muslim.

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American Family Association

Lowe's: Existence Of Muslims A Controversial 'Topic'

Jillian Rayfield | December 12, 2011, 10:42AM

Under fire for a decision to pull advertising from the TLC show All-American Muslim, Lowe's this weekend put out a backhanded apology, saying that "individuals and groups have strong political and societal views on this topic" and "we've managed to make some people very unhappy."

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FBI

FBI Tries To Reassure Muslims It's Taking Training Material Issue Seriously

Ryan J. Reilly | December 7, 2011, 3:47PM

FBI Agents

FBI representatives met once again with Muslim and Arab-American leaders at Bureau headquarters on Monday to update them on the progress they have made to rid their counterterrorism training programs of anti-Muslim material.

One participant described the meeting, organized by FBI's Community Relations Division, as "lengthy and positive."

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Pamela Geller

This Thanksgiving, Beware The Sharia Turkey

Jillian Rayfield | November 23, 2011, 5:35AM

You might think that when you buy a Butterball turkey this Thanksgiving you're as American as apple pie. But, you'd be wrong. In fact, you'd be the victim of a "stealth halal" conspiracy.

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FBI

FBI Calling In West Point To Help Crackdown On Anti-Muslim Counterterrorism Training

Ryan J. Reilly | November 3, 2011, 2:40PM

In an effort to stomp out anti-Muslim counterterrorism training at the the FBI, the bureau is calling in reinforcements.

Spencer Ackerman reports over at Wired that the FBI is turning to the Army's Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, a request that "represents a frank admission from the FBI that it requires outside help to reform."

The bureau, Ackerman reports, reached out to Bill Braniff, a retired Army captain who directs Practitioner Education at West Point. He "spent much of October in meetings at Bureau Headquarters in Washington D.C. designing what a source familiar with the process describes as 'guidelines for objectionable material' to exclude from agent training." He continues:

In its eight-year history, the CTC has built a reputation as a non-ideological haven for rigorous, data-driven counterterrorism research. It compiled perhaps the most thorough profile ever of the foreign fighters that flocked to Iraq, based on captured military documents. Its monthly newsletter, the CTC Sentinel, is widely read in counterterrorism circles. Not only does CTC teach the Army's cadets at West Point, who will have to distinguish between Muslim civilians and insurgents in warzones, it consults for state and local police -- and the FBI.

An FBI official told TPM that the Army's role in the review is a bit "overstated." In a statement provided by the bureau, the FBI said a "core review team included FBI and non-FBI personnel with academic training in areas of Islamic studies and Arab history" which "established guidelines to provide concrete enterprise-wide guidance on the training of counterterrorism and countering violent extremism topics."

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DOJ

Arab-American Leader Not Happy, But 'Optimistic' After Meeting With FBI On Anti-Muslim Training

Ryan J. Reilly | October 24, 2011, 10:15AM

An Arab-American leader who met with law enforcement officials earlier this month is optimistic that the FBI is taking the problem of anti-Muslim training materials seriously.

Abed Ayoub of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee attended a meeting that the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division hosted with other law enforcement officials on Oct. 14. The meeting was mentioned in a letter the Justice Department sent to Sens. Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins, who were concerned about federal funds flowing to local and state anti-Muslim terrorism training. Ayoub said that anti-Muslim training materials used by law enforcement were a major topic of discussion.

"I can't speak officially for the FBI, but what I can say is that I think they do understand the significance of what happend, they do understand the importance of getting this resolved and the impact on many members of the community," Ayoub told TPM. "They do understand that this needs to be resolved. I do have a sense that they understand the importance of this matter."

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Occupy Wall Street

Latest Right-Wing OWS Theory: The Muslim Brotherhood Is Behind Occupy Orlando

Jillian Rayfield | October 24, 2011, 5:15AM

In a development that should surprise no one, some on the right-wing are accusing the Occupy Wall Street movement of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.

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Joe Lieberman

DOJ To Senators: Don't Blame Us For The Anti-Muslim Training We Funded

Ryan J. Reilly | October 21, 2011, 6:00AM

The Justice Department has a message for the Senators worried that federal funds are flowing to anti-Muslim training programs: no worries, we've got this thing.

TPM obtained a copy of a letter DOJ sent to Sens. Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins nearly six months after the lawmakers first asked for answers about biased counterterrorism training sessions being funded by taxpayers.

Basically there are two ways that federal dollars from the Justice Department could potentially fund biased training. First, there's DOJ's State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training (SLATT) program, which officials say they've got a pretty good handle on.

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FBI

Documents Show FBI Targeted Communities Based On Race, Ethnicity

Ryan J. Reilly | October 20, 2011, 5:11PM

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) just released a massive trove of FBI documents indicating that anti-Muslim training materials have spread pretty far and wide within the bureau over the past several years and that analysts have been targeting areas based on racial and ethnic demographics.

It's all part of the ACLU's new "Mapping the FBI" initiative, which "aims to expose misconduct and abuse of authority by the bureau." They say the documents show that the FBI "has been targeting American communities for investigation based on race, ethnicity, national origin and religion" and that analysts "across the country are associating criminal behaviors with certain racial and ethnic groups and then using U.S. census data and other demographic information to map where those communities are located to investigate them."

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Department of Justice

Former DHS Official Calls For DOJ To Probe NYPD Spying Program

Ryan J. Reilly | October 20, 2011, 12:00PM

A former official with the Department of Homeland Security wants the Justice Department to probe the New York Police Department for their infiltration and surveillance of Muslim communities.

Sahar F. Aziz, Associate Professor of Law and Texas Wesleyan School of Law, encouraged the Justice Department to open an investigation into the NYPD during a DOJ-sponsored conference on post-Sept. 11 discrimination on Wednesday.

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Islamophobia

DOJ Official: Holder 'Firmly Committed' To Eliminating Anti-Muslim Training

Ryan J. Reilly | October 19, 2011, 2:50PM

Attorney General Eric Holder

Attorney General Eric Holder is "firmly committed" to nixing anti-Muslim material from law enforcement training, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, Dwight C. Holton said Wednesday.

Holton, who was U.S. Attorney when the FBI arrested the so-called Christmas tree bomber, said that he spoke specifically with Holder about the "egregiously false" training that took place at the FBI's training headquarters at Quantico and at a U.S. Attorney's office in Pennsylvania, which was first reported on by Wired.

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Department of Justice

Advocates Give Government 'Mixed Review' On Combatting Post-9/11 Backlash

Ryan J. Reilly | October 19, 2011, 1:05PM

Discrimination and hatred against Muslim and Sikh-Americans continues to be a legacy of the September 11 attack, even ten years on, Deputy Attorney General James Cole said Wednesday.

"We must reject any suggestion that every Muslim is a terrorist or that every terrorist is a Muslim," Cole said. "As we have seen time and again -- from Oklahoma City to the recent attacks in Oslo, Norway -- no religion or ethnicity has a monopoly on terror."

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Donny Eugene Mower

Man Pleads Guilty To Firebombing Planned Parenthood And Vandalizing Mosque

Jillian Rayfield | October 10, 2011, 12:07PM

A California man pleaded guilty to a double whammy of crimes typically associated with the right-wing, including firebombing a Planned Parenthood and vandalizing a mosque.

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Islam

Muslim Woman: Airline Booted Me After Flight Attendant Falsely Thought I Said 'It's A Go' On The Phone

Jillian Rayfield | October 10, 2011, 5:01AM

A Muslim woman is suing Southwest Airlines for being kicked off her flight after a flight attendant reported hearing her say "it's a go" into her phone -- though according to the suit, she was just saying "I've got to go" as the plane was preparing to take off.

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Hertz

Hertz Suspends 34 Muslims For Praying On the Job

Jillian Rayfield | October 10, 2011, 5:00AM

A union in Seattle has filed an unfair-labor-practices complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against the Hertz car rental company, after 34 Somali Muslim shuttle drivers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport were suspended for praying on the job.

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Bryan Fischer

Conservative Shock Jock Reels Off Islamophobia's Greatest Hits

Ryan J. Reilly | October 8, 2011, 2:37PM

Conservative shock jock Bryan Fischer whipped out his best anti-Muslim rhetoric at the Values Voter Summit on Saturday.

Some highlights:

"Christians and Muslims do not believe in the same God."

"I believe it's important that we have a president who understands that Islam is not a religion of peace, but a religion of war and violence and death."

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Intelligence

Ex-Intelligence Worker Says Agency Stripped His Clearance Because Of Wife's Ties To Muslim Charity

Jillian Rayfield | October 7, 2011, 4:07PM

A former employee of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency filed a discrimination suit against the agency this week, alleging that his security clearance was revoked because of his wife's ties to a Muslim charity.

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Robert Mueller

Mueller: FBI Training That Smears All Muslims Has Been 'Isolated' (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | October 6, 2011, 1:55PM

FBI Director Robert Mueller

FBI Director Robert Mueller told the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Thursday that the counterterrorism training sessions conducted by his bureau that claimed American-Muslims were likely to be terrorist sympathizers were isolated.

Mueller called the FBI training materials in question "inappropriate offensive content" but asserted they weren't commonplace, calling the incidents "an aberration."

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Anwar al-Awlaki

What Impact Will Anwar Al-Awlaki's Death Have In The West?

Jillian Rayfield | September 30, 2011, 12:30PM

The death of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born cleric linked to al Qaeda's operations in Yemen, is likely to impact American Arabs and Muslims in positive fashion, according to Dr. Hussein Ibish, former communications director for the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Commitee.

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Georgia

Publisher Receives 'Terroristic' Threats After Complaints That Textbook Promoted Islam

Jillian Rayfield | September 29, 2011, 10:38AM

Police are looking into a series of online threats made against a Georgia textbook publisher after a parent complained that one of the books promoted Islam and polygamy.

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Pamela Geller

Pamela Geller Planning Lawsuit Over Rejected Subway Ad Calling Israel's Enemies 'Savages'

Jillian Rayfield | September 27, 2011, 10:44AM

Conservative activist Pamela Geller

Atlas Shrugs blogger and noted Islamophobe Pamela Geller says she will file a lawsuit against New York City's MTA, after they rejected her subway ad calling Israel's enemies "savages."

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FBI

Muslim Groups Press FBI, DOJ On Anti-Islamic Training

Ryan J. Reilly | September 16, 2011, 11:10AM

FBI Director Robert Mueller

Two Muslim groups that have had generally positive relationships with the federal government have separately written the Justice Department and the FBI asking for investigations of anti-Muslim information used in FBI counterterrorism training.

Salam Al-Marayti, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), wrote FBI Director Robert Mueller asking for an immediate internal investigation and a reassessment of the vetting process of trainers.

Al-Marayti wrote that MPAC was "greatly concerned" about the training materials used by the FBI, which he said employed "highly selective use of quotes and sources from Islamic scripture; and, Dangerously false and reductive presentation of one of the most vibrant and visible faith communities in America."

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Joe Lieberman

Lieberman, Collins: If Obama Won't Do Something About Anti-Muslim Counterterrorism Training, We Will

Ryan J. Reilly | September 12, 2011, 6:05PM

Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins

Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) aren't messing around when it comes to stopping federal dollars from flowing to anti-Muslim terrorism training. In a letter to Obama on Tuesday, the duo said that if the administration can't develop criteria to keep bigoted information out of counter-terrorism training, they'll "consider drafting a legislative mandate or even imposing standards by statute."

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Pamela Geller

Report: Millions Donated To Islamophobic Groups Since 2001

Ryan J. Reilly | August 26, 2011, 10:15AM

Seven foundations and wealthy donors gave Islamophobic groups $42.6M from 2001 through 2009, according to a new report from the Center for American Progress.

"Sometimes the money flowing from these foundations and their donors is clearly designed to promote Islamophobia, but more often the support provided is for general purpose use, which the think tanks and grassroots organizations then put to use on their primary purpose -- spreading their messages of hate and fear as far and wide as they can," the report says.

"It is possible that some of these donors and foundations, who spend millions improving child health and creating a more equal society, have no knowledge of the hateful and inaccurate propaganda generated with their money," the report says.

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Cody Crawford

Mosque Arson Suspect To Cops: 'Christians Can Jihad Too'

Ryan J. Reilly | August 25, 2011, 3:41PM

A federal grand jury in Oregon indicted 24-year-old Cody Crawford on federal hate crime and arson charges for allegedly setting fire to a mosque. The fire followed the arrest of a Muslim man for allegedly plotting a terrorist attack on a Christmas tree lighting ceremony.

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Daryn J. Moran

Airman Who Said Obama's Birth Certificate Was Forged Not AWOL, Being Discharged

Ryan J. Reilly | August 17, 2011, 2:03PM

Air Force Staff Sgt. Daryn J. Moran, who's been claiming that he's AWOL from the military in Germany because he thinks President Barack Obama's birth certificate is fake, might want to check his own paperwork.

The Air Force says Moran (who wrote his opposition to Obama is "not because he's Black") isn't AWOL at all, but rather on approved leave status awaiting discharge, Scott Fontaine reports for Air Force Times.

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Pamela Geller

Pamela Geller: Rick Perry Needs To Address His Ties To Stealth Jihadists

Jillian Rayfield | August 17, 2011, 11:31AM

Pamela Geller, blogger for Atlas Shrugs

Anti-Islam blogger Pamela Geller has accused TX Gov. Rick Perry of being the pro-Sharia "Fifth Column" presidential candidate -- but still says she'd support him if she had to "with every breath of my body."

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Whole Foods

Whole Foods Tangled In Anti-Islam Flap Over Ramadan Promotion

Jillian Rayfield | August 16, 2011, 2:34PM

Whole Foods Market in Chelsea, New York

Whole Foods scrambled last week to deal with a flap over a Ramadan Halal foods promotion, in the wake of criticism by anti-Islam bloggers and subsequent accusations that the supermarket chain caved by backing away from the campaign.

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FBI

FBI Recommended 'Complete Idiot's Guide,' Anti-Muslim Books To New Agents

Ryan J. Reilly | July 28, 2011, 6:00AM

The FBI was telling new bureau recruits as recently as Jan. 2009 that Islam "transforms [a] country's culture into 7th Century Arabian ways" and recommending a book written by one of Norwegian terrorism suspect Anders Behring Breivik's favorite authors as well as the Complete Idiot's Guide To Understanding Islam.

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Muslim Brotherhood

At Allen West-Sponsored Event, Group Paints Thousands Of Muslims As Terrorists

Ryan J. Reilly | July 25, 2011, 4:15PM

Rep. Allen West (R-FL)

A Florida-based "anti-terror" group took to the Capitol on Monday to warn Americans about "fifth column" Muslims who it said are pulling the strings of mainstream Muslim organizations and trying to take over the United States.

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Islamophobia

Anti-Islam Dutch Politician Cleared Of Hate Speech Charges

Jillian Rayfield | June 24, 2011, 8:47AM

Dutch Parliamentarian Geert Wilders was cleared of all five charges in the Netherlands on Thursday, where he had faced up to a year in prison for allegedly inciting violence through his anti-Islam rhetoric.

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Sharia

Somebody Defended Sharia In The Capitol Yesterday

Ryan J. Reilly | June 21, 2011, 10:57AM

A woman in a hijab expounded on the benefits of Sharia in the basement of a Capitol office building on Monday, and somehow society has yet to collapse.

The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) held a hearing on the threat that state-level anti-Sharia bill present to American democracy in a room in the basement of the House Rayburn building at noon.

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South Carolina

SC GOPer: 99% Of Recent Terrorist Acts Were Committed By Muslims

Jillian Rayfield | May 19, 2011, 11:59AM

State Sen. Mike Fair (R-SC)

South Carolina State Sen. Michael Fair (R) doesn't quite seem to know what his proposed sharia ban bill has to do with terrorism, but he does know that "ninety nine percent probably, of the acts of terrorism around the world" have "occurred at the hands of Middle Eastern men who happen to be advocates of the Islam religion."

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Bryan Fischer

Social Conservative Bryan Fischer: Muslims Are Stupid Because Of Inbreeding

Jillian Rayfield | May 13, 2011, 5:18PM

Conservative Radio Host Bryan Fischer

Social conservative Bryan Fischer said Thursday that centuries of inbreeding has resulted in "an enormous cost in intellectual capacity" among Muslims.

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