Anti-Sharia /Anti-muslim marches in USA

airtel

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Marches against Islamic law to be held in many US cities

The Associated Press

by AP10 Jun 20170

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Marches against Islamic law were planned Saturday in more than two dozen cities across the United States, but scholars and others say the protesters are stoking unfounded fears and promoting a distorted and prejudiced view of the religion.

The group organizing the rallies, ACT for America, claims Shariah “is incompatible with Western democracy and the freedoms it affords.”

But most Muslims don’t want to replace U.S. law with Islamic law, known as Shariah, and only “radical extremist groups” would call for that, said Liyakat Takim, a professor of Islamic studies at McMaster University in the Canadian city of Hamilton, Ontario.

Shariah, Takim said, refers to guidelines or principles — how Muslims should live. “Fiqh” refers to jurisprudence, or specific laws. The values embedded in Shariah do not change and are shared among Muslims, he said, while fiqh is open to interpretation and change, and in fact differs among Islamic sects and communities.

“In the public domain, Muslims are not required or expected to impose their laws on the country in which they live as the minority,” Takim said, adding there has never been an understanding “that the same laws would be applicable at all times in all places.”

“The Quran allows slavery, so does the Old Testament. That doesn’t mean we allow it today, too,” he said. “Laws are amenable to change.”

The marches come amid a rise in reports of anti-Muslim incidents in the U.S., including arson attacks and vandalism at mosques, harassment of women wearing Muslim head coverings and bullying of Muslim schoolchildren.

But while there is little likelihood that Shariah would ever supplant U.S. law, some states have already moved to insulate themselves against the possibility.

Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Louisiana, Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Tennessee have enacted laws prohibiting the use of foreign law in state courts, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In Idaho a Republican lawmaker earlier this year introduced a measure aimed at preventing Shariah from being applied, though an Idaho judge has never based a ruling on Islamic law.

Two far-right groups, the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters, are to provide security at some of the anti-Shariah demonstrations, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups.

ACT for America has chapters around the country and says it is focused on fighting terrorism and promoting national security. It says it condemns bias against religious groups and is “proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with peaceful Western Muslims as well as peaceful Muslims worldwide.”

On Saturday counter-demonstrations were planned by opponents who called the events anti-Muslim.

Rep. Debbie Dingell?, a Michigan Democrat who says her district has the largest population of Muslims in the U.S., said the marchers “will be total failures on Saturday because we will be united against them.”

Freedom of speech has already become a contentious issue surrounding the marches, apparently the first simultaneous anti-Shariah rallies held across the U.S.

A march had been planned for Portland, but an organizer moved it to Seattle after Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler called on the federal government to deny a permit. Wheeler said the rally would exacerbate tensions after two men were stabbed to death in May on a commuter train while protecting two teenage girls from a man casting anti-Muslim slurs.

The organizer said “inflammatory comments” by Wheeler put participants at risk of violence. The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon scolded Wheeler, saying trying to deny a permit without imminent threat of violence amounted to unconstitutional government censorship.

Seattle was one of the cities where a counter-march was planned. Aneelah Afzali, who heads a Seattle-area group that works against discrimination and hate crimes, said she will also be putting up an “ask a Muslim booth” so people can ask questions directly about Islam, and dispel any misconceptions.

“We want to counter (the anti-Shariah march) and keep it as positive as possible, and educate people about what Islam teaches,” Afzali said in a phone interview.

___

Karoub reported from Detroit. Kimberlee Kruesi contributed to this report from Boise, Idaho.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/marches-against-islamic-law-to-be-held-in-many-us-cities/
 

airtel

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NewsUnited States
Anti-Muslim marches under way in several US cities
ACT for America is spearheading National March Against Sharia rallies in at least 28 cities across the country.
Patrick Strickland


The SPLC has described ACT for America as an “extremist” organisation [Reuters]
Right-wing marchers have taken to the streets in several cities across the United States for the National March Against Sharia, an anti-Muslim campaign that has been roundly criticised by rights groups and watchdogs.

ACT for America called for Saturday's marches in at least 28 cities in some 20 states.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has described ACT for America as an "extremist" organisation and the largest grassroots anti-Muslim group in the country.


Islamophobia in the USA
Counterprotesters amassed in several cities to oppose the nationwide marches.

Speaking to Al Jazeera ahead of the marches, Corey Saylor of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) described the marches as "Islamophobic" and part of a phenomenon that leads to the "creation of an environment in which violence [against Muslims] feels permissible".

Alia Salem, a Dallas-based Muslim-American and social justice activist, argued that anti-Muslim xenophobia long predates the presidency of Donald Trump.

"Islamophobia wasn’t created by Donald Trump," Salem told Al Jazeera.

"It was empowered to a certain extent. More than anything, the idea of white supremacy within segments of our population have been empowered through his presidency."

READ MORE: How US groups spread hate via the Islamophobia industry

ACT for America did not reply to Al Jazeera’s request for a comment. A statement on the group’s website claimed that sharia - or Islamic law - runs contrary to human rights and the US Constitution.

Clashes reportedly broke out between anti-fascists - known colloquially as Antifa - and march participants in a handful of cities, including Seattle, Washington.

Freelance journalist Mike Bivins, reporting from Seattle, published on Twitter videos of a brawl between the two sides and police subsequently firing pepper spray into the crowds

During a rally and counterprotest in New York City, images posted on social media showed skirmishes between Antifa protesters and far-rightists, who had their 'Make America Great Again' hats ripped off during confrontations.

Discriminatory history
Founded in 2007 and boasting of more than 500,000 members, the group is one of many that support US President Donald Trump. Its members have campaigned for strict legislation that targets Muslims and refugees in recent years.

In an executive order that has been frozen by courts, Trump has attempted to ban travellers from six Muslim-majority countries from entering the US. The order is slated to be considered by the Supreme Court.

In a report published last year, CAIR examined what it calls the "Islamophobia industry".

Between 2008 and 2013, the report found, ACT for America was one of 33 anti-Muslim groups that had access to more than $204m in revenue.

Brigitte Gabriel, ACT for America's founder, is a Lebanese American who has in the past accused the Muslim Brotherhood political movement of conspiring to conquer the US. She has also referred to Arabs as "barbarians" and claimed they have "no soul".

Nathan Lean, author of The Islamophobia Industry, described ACT for America as part of “a network of bigots” that has promoted anti-Muslim sentiment in recent years.



"That sense of fear has not only led to the adoption of legislation that discriminates against Muslims, but has, in my opinion, spurred a smattering of hate crimes and other acts of violence and intimidation online and in the public that create a very dangerous situation for American Muslims," he told Al Jazeera.

Between 2013 and 2015, at least 10 anti-Muslim laws were enacted by state legislatures, according to CAIR.

An addition 81 bills or amendments targeting Muslims were introduced during the same time period.

Last year alone, CAIR documented 260 anti-Muslim hate crimes and 2,213 bias incidents aimed at Muslims.

Increasing clashes
Members of the alt-right - a loosely knit movement that includes white supremacists, neo-Nazis and other far-right groups - participated in many of Saturday’s marches.

With counterprotests in more than a dozen cities hosting the National March Against Sharia, there were reports of clashes between far-right activists and militant anti-fascists in several places.

In New York City, the pro-Trump nationalist group The Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers militia movement took part in the local march and in favour of what they deem “free speech”.

In New York, the Metropolitan Anarchists Coordinating Council (MACC) staged a noise demonstrations with hopes of drowning out anti-Muslim chants.

"They have no intention of encouraging free speech," Marisa Holmes, a spokesperson for MACC, told Al Jazeera by telephone.

The marches come just weeks after Jeremy Christian, a 35-year-old white supremacist, allegedly stabbed to death Ricky Best, 53, and Taliesin Namkai-Meche, 23, when they tried to stop him from harassing a pair of girls, one of whom wore an Islamic head scarf, on a light rail in Portland, Oregon.

A third man, 21-year-old Micah Fletcher, intervened and was severely injured with a stab wound to his neck.


Counter-protesters hold signs and shout slogans during an anti-Sharia rally in Seattle, Washington, on June 10, 2017 [REUTERS/David Ryder]
"They are encouraging violence against the most oppressed and marginalised groups in our society, and the threat is real," Holmes added.

"As we’ve seen in Portland and elsewhere, people are being physically attacked - and there have been fatalities."

In La Porte, Texas, the Houston Socialist Movement and other anti-fascist groups counterprotested the local ACT for America march on Saturday.

"We need collective political action to oppose the fascists and do whatever we can to deny them a platform when they come out to spread their filth," David Michael Smith of the Houston Socialist Movement told Al Jazeera.

"We need to make very clear that most people in this society oppose them and do not want them around."

Alluding to the recent killings in Portland, Alia Salem concluded: "The more people of conscience start waking up and realising what is happening - like the three men who stood up in Portland - the more it shows that this is an issue that doesn’t just affect Muslims. It affects all of us."

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/anti-muslim-marches-underway-cities-170610172259016.html
 

airtel

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Anti-Sharia protesters plan to stage rally and march at site of San Bernardino terrorist attack


Protestors march near the site of the San Bernardino terrorist attack as part of a "March Against Sharia." (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Carlos Lozano
The site of the San Bernardino terrorist attack is one of many locations where demonstrators planned to stage rallies Saturday as part of the nationwide “March Against Sharia,” sponsored by the conservative group Act for America, which calls itself “the NRA of national security.”

Protesters planned to march near the county’s Inland Regional Center where a Pakistani American couple fatally shot 14 people in 2015. The incident was cited by President Trump as one reason for his controversial travel restriction policy that temporarily bans refugees and immigrants from six Muslim-majority nations.

The rally and march in opposition to Islamic law was scheduled to take place between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., organizers said. It is one of several demonstrations planned in more than 20 cities, including New York, Chicago, Boston, Dallas and Atlanta.

“This is a march against Sharia law and for human rights,” according to a statement posted on Act for America’s website. “Our nation is built on the freedom of religion — a pillar of our democracy — which we must always respect, protect, and honor. However, many aspects of Sharia law run contrary to basic human rights and are completely incompatible with our laws and our democratic values.”

Act for America member Denise Zamora told CBS2 News, “There are radicals out there. People are saying that we’re against Muslims. No, Muslims are attacking other Muslims, and we’re bringing in these refugees that have the same ideologies.”

But the Southern Poverty Law Center has called Act for America an anti-Muslim hate group. The center noted that the organization’s protests are attracting a host of anti-government and far-right extremists.

This week, the group canceled its Batesville, Ark., rally after the law center revealed that neo-Nazi Billy Roper was the main organizer.

“Any event held by this individual is not sanctioned by Act for America, and is not supported or endorsed by Act for America in any manner,” the group said in a statement. “We regret any confusion that this individual’s actions may cause, and are working with our counsel to demand he cease and desist promotion of his event in a way that will confuse it as being sanction or approved by us.”

In response to Saturday’s rallies, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s Los Angeles East Chapter, the largest organized Muslim community in San Bernardino County, is holding an interfaith event later in the day.

The event is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Baitul Hameed Mosque and is expected to be attended by over 700 guests. Rep. Norma Torres (D-Pomona) is the scheduled guest speaker.

“We seek to build bridges and educate our community about true Islam, and even invite those who will be attending the anti-Muslim rallies to visit us and understand our message of peace and tolerance,” said Ahsan M. Khan, a spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-anti-sharia-protest-20170610-story.html
 

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