California

Segregationist's Stationery Spells Trouble For Anti-Muslim California Republican

Nick R. Martin | May 24, 2012, 12:35PM

Former Alabama Gov. George Wallace

Update: May 24, 2012, 5:35 PM

The ghost of Alabama's segregationist former Gov. George Wallace brought trouble to the conservative stronghold of Orange County, Calif., this month and an anti-Muslim Republican is paying a political price for it.

It started last week when people complained about letters a local businessman sent out in support of Deborah Pauly, a local councilwoman and a leader in the Orange County GOP who drew nationwide attention last year when she helped lead an angry protest against Muslims with chants like "terrorists go home." Pauly is now running for a seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

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FBI

Republicans To FBI: Put Those Anti-Muslim Materials Back!

Ryan J. Reilly | May 10, 2012, 6:23AM

Rep. Allen West (R-FL) delivers the keynote address at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C. on February 12, 2011.

A few Republican members of Congress would really like the FBI to stop coddling Muslims.

Right-wing blogs have been complaining for months about the FBI's decision to purge less than one percent of their counterterrorism training materials which a review found contained inaccurate, and often inflammatory information about Islam. On Wednesday, a few members of Congress joined the fight to get that biased information reinstated.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) demanded that FBI Director Robert Mueller turn over the names of the subject experts the FBI used to review their counterterrorism training materials. Rep. Howard Cobel (R-NC) also suggested the Obama administration was forcing the FBI to get rid of materials because of political correctness.

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NYPD

Poll: New Yorkers Approve Of NYPD's Treatment Of Muslims

David Taintor | March 13, 2012, 4:10PM

A majority of New York City voters approve of the NYPD's job performance and how it deals with Muslims, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

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New York Police Department

Did the NYPD's Spying on Muslims Violate the Law?

February 29, 2012, 4:23PM

by Justin Elliott ProPublica

Last August, the Associated Press launched a series detailing how the New York Police Department has extensively investigated Muslims in New York and other states, including preparing reports on mosques and Muslim-owned businesses, apparently without any suspicion of crimes being committed.

The propriety and legality of the NYPD's activities is under dispute. Mayor Michael Bloomberg - who claimed last year that the NYPD does not focus on religion and only follows threats or leads - is now arguing that, as he said last week, "Everything the NYPD has done is legal, it is appropriate, it is constitutional." Others disagree. In fact, Bloomberg himself signed a law in 2004 prohibiting profiling by law enforcement based on religion.

This week, Attorney General Eric Holder told a congressional committee the Justice Department is reviewing whether to investigate potential civil rights violations by the NYPD.

To get a better understanding of the rules governing the NYPD - and whether the department has followed them in its surveillance of Muslims - we spoke to Faiza Patel, co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center at NYU Law School.

The NYPD did not respond to our request for comment about allegations it has violated the law.

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Muslims

GOP Unwittingly Sticks Up For Sharia

Sahil Kapur | February 28, 2012, 5:00PM

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), sponsor of the 'Stop Online Piracy Act.'

In their ongoing attempt to portray the Obama administration's birth control rule as infringing on religious freedom, House Republicans invited a Muslim witness to a hearing who pointed out that such a precedent could permit the government to make laws that violate Islamic code.

Asma Uddin, editor-in-chief of the Muslim-American website altmuslimah.com and an attorney at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, argued in her testimony Tuesday that the contraception mandate is a violation of the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment. Later, under questioning from House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX), Uddin explained how the regulation's precedent could infringe upon the rights of Muslims.

"If the government mandated everything that had positive health benefits, it could possibly mandate that everyone drink red wine for heart health even though it violates the religious beliefs of Muslims," Uddin said.

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Michael Bloomberg

Bloomberg Defends Legality Of NYPD Spying On Muslims

David Taintor | February 24, 2012, 2:09PM

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday defended the legality of the NYPD's covert monitoring of Muslims in New York and New Jersey.

"Everything the NYPD has done is legal, it is appropriate, it is constitutional," Bloomberg said on WOR radio.

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Sue Myrick

Sue Myrick Retires: So Long, And Thanks For All The Muslim-Baiting

Eric Kleefeld | February 8, 2012, 12:07PM

Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC) announced on Tuesday that after 18 years in Congress she will retire.

With a safe Republican seat in Congress, it really does seem plausible that this was simply a retirement based on a desire to move on in life, after such a lengthy time of service.

But in the process, Myrick leaves behind a lengthy record -- of some amazing comments about alleged Muslim infiltration of the United States. So before we lose the chance, let's relive the memories.

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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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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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FBI

Muslim Officials Want Answers From FBI Over Data Collection During Outreach Efforts

Ryan J. Reilly | December 1, 2011, 5:45PM

The American Civil Liberties Union charged Thursday that the FBI is using the "guise" of "community outreach" to the Muslim community to "collect and illegally store intelligence information on Americans' political and religious beliefs" in violation of the Privacy Act.

Bureau officials counter that the latest batch of documents obtained by the ACLU through the Freedom of Information Act are just standard internal reports intended to help manage the FBI's resources and make sure agents are following protocol.

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FBI

Holder: Anti-Muslim Training At FBI, DOJ Can 'Undermine' Outreach Efforts

Ryan J. Reilly | November 8, 2011, 1:20PM

Anti-Muslim training materials used by FBI and Justice Department personnel are "inconsistent" with DOJ's Muslim outreach efforts and can undermine such relationships, Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday.

Positions expressed in the materials -- including that all Muslims are likely terrorist sympathizers and that the Prophet Muhammad was a "cult leader" -- "do not reflect the views of the Justice Department and the FBI," Holder said.

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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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Henry Clay Glaspell

Vandalizing Mosque Gets Texas Man 14 Months

Ryan J. Reilly | October 25, 2011, 6:00AM

Henry Cray Glaspell, a 34-year-old Texas man who admitted to burning down a playground at an Islamic center, throwing cat litter at the mosque's door and yelling racial and ethnic slurs at people entering the building, just landed in prison for 14 months.

Glaspell, who had been out on bond, surrendered to federal authorities on Nov. 21 and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means, the Justice Department announced Monday.

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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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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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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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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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NYPD

Secret NYPD Program Reportedly Surveilled Americans Based On Ethnicity

Jillian Rayfield | September 22, 2011, 1:33PM

A secret program in the NYPD surveilled and documented the day-to-day lives American citizens in Moroccan communities, the Associated Press reports.

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FBI

FBI: Anti-Muslim Counterterror Training Wouldn't Happen Again

Ryan J. Reilly | September 19, 2011, 9:52AM

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is assuring the public that anti-Muslim counterterrorism training is a thing of the past.

"The FBI is committed to protecting Americans' rights under the U.S. Constitution, including a person's right to live, work, and worship as they wish. Strong religious beliefs should never be confused with violent extremism," the Bureau said in a statement Friday. "Views that are contrary should not and will not be taught to FBI employees."

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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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Muslims

WND's Terrorism Expert Now Training FBI Agents

Ryan J. Reilly | September 15, 2011, 11:01AM

Graph from FBI "Militancy Consideration" Presentation

Former TPMer Spencer Ackerman has a big scoop for Wired on several of the FBI's counterterrorism briefings, which instruct agents that mainstream American-Muslims are likely to be terrorist sympathizers and that the Prophet Muhammad was a "cult leader."

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CIA

CIA Probing Ties To NYPD's 'Mosque Crawlers' Investigations

Jillian Rayfield | September 13, 2011, 2:00PM

The CIA has launched an internal investigation into whether the agency broke any laws by closely cooperating with the NYPD's antiterrorism operations in Muslim communities after September 11.

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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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New York

Fifteen Arrested After Police Altercation With Muslims Over Amusement Park Head Scarf Ban

Jillian Rayfield | August 31, 2011, 11:28AM

Rye Playland in Westchester, NY

Fifteen people were arrested at Rye Playland in New York on Tuesday, after a scuffle broke out between police and members of a Muslim-American tour group who had been barred from the rides because of the park's "no head scarf" policy.

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Muslim-Americans

Inspector General, Bureau Of Prisons Probe More Alleged Abuse Of Muslim Inmates

Ryan J. Reilly | August 24, 2011, 1:50PM

The Justice Department Inspector General and Bureau of Prisons officials are investigating several new allegations that employees of federal prisons mistreated Muslim inmates, according to a new report.

As required by the PATRIOT Act, the report discloses several complaints by Muslim inmates who say they were discriminated against by BOP employees. In all, the Inspector General processed 1,065 new civil rights or civil liberties complaints between Jan. 1 and June 30 and found 155 of the complaints required further review. That's down from the previous six month period, when 1,293 new complaints were processed.

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Counterterrorism

CIA Helped NYPD 'Mosque Crawlers' Investigate Muslim Communities

Ryan J. Reilly | August 24, 2011, 11:15AM

The New York Police Department, with help from the CIA, is running antiterrorism operations outside of their jurisdiction that target ethnic communities in a way the federal government can't, Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo report for the Associated Press.

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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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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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Bryan Fischer

Bryan Fischer: Muslim Immigration To The U.S. Is A 'Toxic Cancer'

Jillian Rayfield | April 7, 2011, 8:49AM

Bryan Fischer

Conservative radio host Bryan Fischer on Wednesday doubled down on his "Muslims have no first amendment rights" comments from last month, this time arguing that the United States should "restrict immigration from Islamic countries."

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Jon Kyl

Jon Kyl To Muslim Group: Why Doesn't Your Website Condemn Violent Rhetoric? (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | March 29, 2011, 3:25PM

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) asked a representative of the group Muslim Advocates on Tuesday why the organization's website didn't specifically condemn violent rhetoric.

At the first Senate panel on the civil rights of Muslim-Americans, Kyl asked a representative of the group Muslim Advocates why their website didn't condemn rhetoric aimed at other religious groups.

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Muslim-Americans

Durbin: King, Gingrich Statements On Muslims Create 'Fertile Climate For Discrimination'

Ryan J. Reilly | March 29, 2011, 11:12AM

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)

Sen. Dick Durbin said Tuesday that statements from a "chorus of harsh voices" -- specifically Rep. Peter King (R-NY), former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Rev. Franklin Graham -- create "a fertile climate for discrimination" against American Muslims.

Durbin is chairing the first-ever congressional hearing on the civil rights of American Muslims, which the Illinois Democrat's office said was held in response to the "rise in anti-Muslim bigotry over the last year including Quran burnings, restrictions on mosque construction, hate crimes, hate speech, and other forms of discrimination."

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FBI

GOPer to Mueller: Why Doesn't FBI Have To Reach Out To Baptists or Catholics Like It Does Muslims?

Ryan J. Reilly | March 16, 2011, 1:10PM

FBI Director Robert Mueller and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX)

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) asked FBI Director Robert Mueller on Wednesday whether the bureau had any outreach programs specifically for the Baptist or Catholic communities like it did with the Muslim community.

"How is your outreach going with the Baptists or the Catholics?" Gohmert inquired.

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Bernard Melekian

Federal Funds For Counterterrorism Training Pay For Anti-Muslim Instructors

Ryan J. Reilly | March 15, 2011, 9:35AM

Muslim Mafia Co-Author David Gaubatz

There's been an explosion of both state and federal money flowing into counterterrorism training for law enforcement in the years since Sept. 11. But it is becoming increasingly clear that some of the experts who are providing counterterrorism training for local law enforcement officers are sometimes not well vetted and have provided training which is based on bias against all Muslims and relies on falsehoods and exaggerations.

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Keith Ellison

Conservatives Mock Ellison For Emotional Testimony On Muslim 9/11 First Responder

Ryan J. Reilly | March 11, 2011, 1:05PM

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN)

Rep. Keith Ellison's emotional testimony before the House Homeland Security Committee's hearing on Muslim radicalization as he recounted the tale of a 9/11 first responder who died in the attack was powerful stuff. But some conservatives had a different reaction -- suggesting Ellison was putting on a show and even that there were not false rumors about the 9/11 first responder in the heated period after the attacks.

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Muslim Radicalization Hearings

Peter King Hearing Focuses On Whether Peter King Hearing Was A Good Idea

Ryan J. Reilly and Melissa Jeltsen | March 10, 2011, 4:15PM

Constitutions were waved. Tears were shed. Off-color analogies were made. And, of course, Randall Terry, Code Pink and a massive pack of cameras were there for the highly-publicized, intensely debated hearings on the "Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community's Response" held by Rep. Peter King (R-NY) on Thursday.

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Peter King

Love Boat Actor's Wife: Muslim Brotherhood Conducting 24/7 'Civilization Jihad' In U.S.

Ryan J. Reilly | March 9, 2011, 8:00AM

Didn't get your fill of radio scandals yesterday? Here's a different one that involves an actor from "The Love Boat" (who went on to represent Iowa as a member of Congress), his wife, and their campaign against radical Islam that they say got them fired from the morning radio program they hosted on a conservative Washington, D.C., radio station.

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Peter King

Official: Peter King Represents 'Majority Perspective' Of Federal Law Enforcement

Ryan J. Reilly | March 9, 2011, 7:58AM

Rep. Peter King (R-NY)

There are basically two schools of thought on the hearings on Muslim radicalization that Rep. Peter King (R-NY) is holding tomorrow. One side sees the hearing as a witchhunt akin to Sen. Joseph McCarthy's anti-Communist campaign of the 1950s that will result in the "demonization and scapegoating" of Muslim-Americans because of their religion. The other side sees King as an American hero who refuses to let political correctness get in the way of protecting national security.

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