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Michael Ward, agent in charge of the FBI’s Newark division, said that Muslims have become less cooperative in investigations, which “creates additional risks, it creates blind spots.”

“It hinders our ability to have our finger on the pulse of what’s going on around the state, and thus it causes problems and makes the job of the Joint Terrorism Task force much, much harder,” Ward said at a news conference.

Ward said he knew less about the NYPD’s intelligence division operations in the state, which he said he’s not fully briefed on, and which have come under criticism after a series of reports by The Associated Press detailing the department’s monitoring of mosques, Muslim-owned businesses and college campuses across the Northeast. Ward said it was those types of activities that risk undermining a key aspect of law enforcement: the ability to enlist the trust and cooperation of the public.

“We’re starting to see cooperation pulled back,” Ward said. “People are concerned that they’re being followed, they’re concerned that they can’t trust law enforcement and it’s having a negative impact.”

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne criticized Ward’s comments, pointing to several cases that his department had worked in conjunction with New Jersey law enforcement on, such as the arrest of Mohamed Alessa and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, who pleaded guilty to conspiring to join an al-Qaida-affiliated group

“The NYPD has established strong ongoing relations in the Muslim community, and our intelligence gathering has led to the capture of the radical converts Almonte and Alessa in New Jersey” and cited several other terror cases.

Ward also cited the Almonte and Alessa cases Wednesday as an example of the positive relationship he said his agency has long had with the NYPD, but said his concerns were that not knowing the scope of the NYPD intelligence division’s activities in New Jersey could undermine the work of the task force.

“One of the issues is when you have someone that’s conducting a unilateral investigation and it’s not being coordinated with the JTTF, you run the risk of missing something, of not connecting the dots,” Ward said. “I don’t know anyone who works in counter-terrorism who doesn’t think information sharing could be better or could be faster.”

The escalating war of words between law enforcement officials and politicians on both sides of the Hudson River is one that Ward said has undermined the public’s trust in New Jersey law enforcement agencies, especially among Muslims.

“That’s a problem; these are people that are our friends;” Ward said, speaking of New Jersey Muslim leaders who have been telling him their reluctant to trust law enforcement because of the allegations against the NYPD. “These are people that have embraced law enforcement, embraced the mission that we have in counter-terrorism, and you can see that the relationships are strained.”

Ward told reporters he was aware that officers from the NYPD’s intelligence division were working in the state, adding that it was known to most New Jersey law enforcement officials who work on counterterrorism issues. But Ward said that although he met with NYPD intelligence officials on a bimonthly basis, he wasn’t briefed on the extent of the NYPD’s operations outside the task force.

“The key point is we don’t have awareness of everything that NYPD intelligence does in New Jersey. We have meetings with them, we get together with them almost twice a month in which we share information, but we don’t have insight into what they are doing. They bring information forward that they think is worthy of sharing and we’re kind of at the mercy of what they decide to tell us and when they decide to tell us.”

Muslim leaders in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and elsewhere have requested investigations into the NYPD’s activities.

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Franklin Graham

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On the show, Graham vaguely stated his opinion of Obama’s faith, just falling of short of saying the President isn’t a true Christian.

“I think you have to ask President Obama,”  said Graham of the president’s religious beliefs. “He has said he’s a Christian, so I just have to assume that he is.”

Graham sneakily injected some of the same divisive and xenophobic language that plagued Obama during his initial bid for presidency and mentioned Obama’s father as the impetus of another accusatory claim, including saying Obama is too fair to Muslims.

“Under Islamic law, the Muslim world sees Barack Obama as a Muslim. That’s just the way it works,” said Graham, forming his thoughts around Obama’s father and his religious background. “That’s the way they see him. But, of course, he says he didn’t grow up that way, he doesn’t believe in that, he believes in Jesus Christ, so I accept that.”

Graham went on to say that Obama is “more concerned” about Muslims than he is about Christians in other countries. Graham stood behind his unsubstantiated statements, further alleging that Obama may not be a faithful churchgoer.

But Graham didn’t just have suspect commentary for the President.

Graham also found time to criticize Romney’s Mormon faith, saying that Mormonism is not theologically in line with his own Christian beliefs.

The real question is, who cares and why is Graham being given any TV time on MSNBC? Racist much?

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The ACLU would like to expose the use of the FBI’s Domestic Intelligence Operations Guide, which they believe may have been used to map people and businesses in Michigan considered “ethnic oriented.”
Mark Fancher, an attorney with the ACLU, says that if any unconstitutional practices are found, the FBI may see more lawsuits against them in the future.

“When you presume that because of someone’s race or ethnicity that they are inherently criminal or inherently prone to engage in criminal activity, and therefore subject to special surveillance or harassment or arrest, then you have violated their rights,” says Mark Fancher “That is not what America was intended to be and in the minds of many not what it is.”

Read more at Interlochen.org

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The former Godfather’s Pizza CEO has said communities have a right to ban Islamic mosques because Muslims are trying to inject sharia law into the U.S. He’s also said he would not want a Muslim bent on killing Americans in his administration.

On Wednesday, Cain met with four Muslim leaders in Sterling, Va. He said in a statement later he was “truly sorry” for comments that may have “betrayed” his commitment to the Constitution and the religious freedom it guarantees.

He also acknowledged that Muslims, “like all Americans,” have the right to practice freely their faith and that most Muslim Americans are peaceful and patriotic.

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The anti-Muslim sentiment seen across the nation in opposition to mosque building and even a Florida pastor’s threat to burn the holy book of Islam, the Quran, increasingly is showing up at the workplace.

Claims of discrimination against Muslim workers — which spiked immediately after 9/11 and then dissipated — are showing signs of resurgence.

“There is a hatred, an open hatred, and a lack of tolerance for people who are Muslim,” said Mary Jo O’Neill, regional attorney for the Phoenix district office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She said she has seen an uptick in discrimination complaints among Muslim workers in her region, which includes Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico.

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“I think the mosque in Manhattan seems to be a flashpoint, but it taps into feelings that preceded it,” she said. “The feeling among people in the workplace,” she added, is “not only are we not going to accommodate your practices and beliefs, we’re also going to ridicule you and call you names.”

Claims of bias against Muslims in the workplace rose to 1,490 last year from 1,304 in 2008 and just 697 in 2004, according to EEOC figures. Last year’s total was even higher than in the year after the 9/11 attacks, when bias claims hit 1,463. Figures from this year are not yet available.

Read entire article at MSNBC.com

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Public opposition to the proposed mosque and community center near Ground Zero is growing dramatically, a new Quinnipiac University poll of New York voters found.
Now more than two-thirds of local voters want developers to move the project, up significantly from the narrow majority who wanted to the mosque relocated last month.

The same number of voters – 71% – want Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to probe the funding of the project.

Read more at NYDailyNews

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A majority of Republicans believe that President Barack Obama “sympathizes with the goals of Islamic fundamentalists who want to impose Islamic law around the world,” according to a survey released on Monday.

That figure, buried at the very end of a newly released Newsweek public opinion poll, reflects the extent to which a shocking bit of smear and misinformation has managed to become nearly commonplace within the GOP tent.

A full 14 percent of Republicans said that it was “definitely true” that Obama sympathized with the fundamentalists and wanted to impose Islamic law across the globe. An additional 38 percent said that it was probably true — bringing the total percentage of believers to 52 percent. Only 33 percent of Republicans said that the “allegation” (as Newsweek put it) was “probably not true.” Seven percent said it was “definitely not true.” The rest (eight percent) either didn’t know the answer or didn’t read the question.

Read more at HuffingtonPost

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Michael Enright, is accused of attempted murder as a hate crime in the stabbing of Ahmed Sharif, a New York City taxi driver.

Michael Enright once volunteered with a group that promotes interfaith tolerance and has supported a proposal for a mosque near ground zero — an experience distinctly at odds with what authorities say happened inside a city taxi.

The baby-faced college student was charged Wednesday with using a folding knife to slash the neck and face of the taxi’s Bangladeshi driver after the driver said he’s Muslim. Police say Enright was drunk at the time.

A taxi drivers’ labor group quickly used the attack to denounce “bigotry” over plans to build an Islamic center and mosque two blocks north of ground zero. While supporters of the mosque say religious freedom should be protected, opponents say the mosque should be moved farther away from where Islamic extremists destroyed the World Trade Center and killed nearly 2,800 people on Sept. 11, 2001.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a staunch supporter of the mosque project, invited the taxi driver to visit City Hall on Thursday.

“This attack runs counter to everything that New Yorkers believe no matter what god we pray to,” the mayor said in a statement.

A criminal complaint alleges Enright uttered an Arabic greeting and told the driver, “Consider this a checkpoint,” before attacking him Tuesday night inside the yellow cab in Manhattan.

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A judge ordered Enright, 21, held without bail on charges of attempted murder and assault as hate crimes and weapon possession. The handcuffed defendant, wearing a polo shirt and cargo shorts, did not enter a plea during the brief court appearance.

Besides a serious neck wound, cabbie Ahmed H. Sharif, 43, suffered cuts to his forearms, his face and one hand while trying to fend off Enright, prosecutor James Zeleta said while arguing against bail.

Defense attorney Jason Martin told the judge his client was an honors student at the School of Visual Arts, had volunteered in Afghanistan and lives with his parents in suburban Brewster, N.Y.

To deny bail, given his background, “I don’t think is warranted,” Martin argued.

A representative for the volunteer group, Intersections International, called the situation “tragic.”

“We’ve been working very hard to build bridges between folks from different religions and cultures,” said the Rev. Robert Chase. “This is really shocking and sad for us.”

The group, founded in 2007, says it’s dedicated to promoting justice, reconciliation and peace among people of different faiths, cultures, ideologies, races and classes.

Sharif, who’s driven a cab for 15 years, was quoted in a news release from the New York Taxi Workers Alliance as saying the attack left him shaken.

“I feel very sad,” he said. With the tension over the mosque, he added, “All drivers should be more careful.”

Read entire article at FoxNews.com

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“Has Muslim Become The M-Word?”

Like a clear majority of Americans, I too oppose the building of the proposed Cordoba Mosque near the former World Trade Center in New York City.

But for me this is not an issue of religious tolerance as much as it is one of compassion, community, and respect for the 3,000 Americans who lost their lives that day at the hands of Muslim extremists. And let’s not forget thousands more were injured physically and emotionally on that dark day of September 11, 2001.

Intellectually, we all know that all Muslims are not terrorists bent on killing Americans, Christians, and Jews. Intellectually, we all know that Muslims go to work, pay their taxes, love their families, and embrace the notion of being an American. The problem, however, as I see it, is much bigger than this–the problem is that the word “Muslim” has become synonymous with all that is wrong in the world — right or wrong — deserved or not.

Read more at TheGrio

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Pres. Obama Refines Comments About Muslim Mosque At Ground Zero

The good news for President Obama is that this week is likely to be better for him than last week was. The bad news? Last week! A week so bad, as we observed Friday, that the president ended it by clinging to his religion as the media revived the stupid-people-think-he’s-Muslim trope. This, of course, was the result of his decision at the end of the previous week to weigh in on, then run away from, the debate over the Ground Zero mosque.

All week, the professional left hurled accusations of bigotry at the two-thirds or so of Americans who take offense at the idea of a fancy new mosque near the site of the 9/11 attack. But one familiar claim was notable for its absence. Hardly anybody asserted that the growing anti-Obama sentiment was the result of racism against a black president.

Instead, the charges of bigotry tended toward the esoteric, sometimes the downright freakish.Peter “I Pine” Beinart in The Daily Beast:

The GOP’s new heroes are former Muslims like Nonie Darwish and Ayaan Hirsi Ali. That’s one way to escape the new Republican bigotry. Maybe the folks the GOP wants to harass in Arizona should try becoming former Hispanics.

So Israel’s Jewish scourge is now also Islam’s defender against apostasy. We don’t know what Beinart is trying to say about Hispanics; probably his point got lost in the translation to English. But we’ll take this opportunity to point out that in a July Quinnipiac poll, Hispanic New York City residents opposed the Ground Zero mosque, 60% to 19%.

Read more at Wall Street Journal

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Reverend Franklin Graham, son of renowned Christian evangelist Billy Graham, said Thursday that the reason a growing number of peoplebelieve President Obama to be a Muslim is because he was, in fact, born into that religion due to the “seed of Islam” that was passed to him through his father, Barack Hussein Obama, Sr.

“I think the president’s problem is that he was born a Muslim, his father was a Muslim. The seed of Islam is passed through the father like the seed of Judaism is passed through the mother. He was born a Muslim, his father gave him an Islamic name,” Graham told CNN’s John King.

“Now it’s obvious that the president has renounced the prophet Mohammed and he has renounced Islam and he has accepted Jesus Christ,” Graham went on to clarify. “That’s what he says he has done, I cannot say that he hasn’t. So I just have to believe that the president is what he has said.”

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With the recent poll released that 1 in 5 Americans feel President Obama is Muslim; and the various signs and racial epithets we’ve heard directed at him at Tea Party rallies; have you ever heard anything racial from your co-workers or just walking around from people in regards to President Obama?

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From MediaPost.com:

When it comes to wooing Muslim Americans, U.S. marketers are pretty oblivious, leaving potential customers to scramble for product information on their own. Are Halal meals at Kentucky Fried Chicken Halal enough? How about Oreos? What’s new at Forever 21 that is hot and modest? Is that mutual fund compliant with Shariah investment principles?

But while the universe of advertisers reaching out to these estimated 6 to 8 million Americans has remained pretty small, there are signs of new awareness of this growing demographic. National marketers like Ann Taylor, ESPN, Verizon and U.S. Healthcare are popping up on Web sites like hijabtrendz.com or chillyoislamyou.com, as well as in niche publications. And Hallmark sells Eid cards, to help celebrate the holiday marking the end of Ramadan.

Click here to read more.

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Famous Black Muslims

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“We could charge you with being the most deceitful so-called friend, while your history with us shows you have been our worst enemy,” he wrote.

Farrakhan has long accused Jews of wrongdoing in speeches, but he has rarely addressed Jewish groups so directly in writing.

The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights group which distributed copies of the letter, said in a statement Tuesday that Farrakhan’s “anti-Semitism is obsessive, diabolical and unrestrained. He has opened a new chapter in his ministry where scapegoating Jews is not just part of a message, but the message.”

In the letter, dated last Thursday, the Chicago-based Nation of Islam leader said he sought a dialogue with Jews. He sent the letter to groups including the Orthodox and Reform movements, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and the American Jewish Committee, a New York-based advocacy and humanitarian nonprofit that spearheads inter-religious dialogue.
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“This is an offer asking you and the gentiles whom you influence to help me in the repair of my people from the damage that has been done by your ancestors to mine,” he writes. “Your present reality is sitting on top of the world in power, with riches and influences, while the masses of my people … are in the worst condition of any member of the human family.”

In the past, Farrakhan’s most inflammatory comments have included referring to Judaism as a “gutter religion” and calling Adolf Hitler “wickedly great.” Recently, he has railed against the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which he claims is conspiring to trap the U.S. in a war with Iran.

Farrakhan echoed similar comments last Saturday in an Atlanta speech titled, “Who Are the Real Children of Israel?”

He did not respond to several messages seeking comment Tuesday. Farrakhan has over the years denied claims of anti-Semitism, arguing his remarks are often taken out of context and that criticism of Jews in any light automatically earns the “anti-Semite” label.

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“We have received 16 dead bodies since yesterday. Eleven of them were buried yesterday and we are conducting a funeral for the remaining five. So far we have over 300 injured people, most of them from gun shots,” the head of Jos’s central mosque, Balarabe Dawud, told AFP.

He said the 16 bodies were recovered from the scene of Sunday’s fighting in the Nassarawa Gwom area of the city, which erupted when Christians protested at the building of a mosque in the Christian-dominated district.

“So far these 16 bodies were brought from the scene of the fighting to the mosque,” he said, adding that these were in addition to the ones counted at a hospital morgue on Sunday.

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“If some bodies were taken to the hospital, they should be counted separately from this 16,” Dawud explained.

The Red Cross said over 3,000 people have been displaced as a result of the fighting, but declined to give any casualty toll.

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“So far we are still compiling list of casualties and displaced people. Therefore, we don’t have an exhaustive figure to give out,” the head of the Red Cross in Jos, Awwalu Mohammed, told AFP.

“However, from our records so far, we have over 3,000 displaced people, sheltering in mosques, churches and police barracks. We have also taken the injured to various hospitals in the city for treatment,” he added.

There is no official confirmation of any death toll.

Police and troops were deployed on Monday and a 12-hour dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed in the Nassarawa Gwom district after the clashes.

Security forces searched cars and people on the street for weapons, residents said.

“Security personnel have succeeded in quelling the unrest and restoring calm in the affected area of the city,” Plateau State police spokesman Mohammed Lerema told AFP.

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“We have cordoned the Nassarawa Gwom district as a strategy to prevent the violence from spilling over to other parts of the city,” he said.

Jos has fast become the focus of sectarian tensions in central Nigeria, but State Information commissioner Gregory Yenlong said the disturbances had ended.

“I am happy to announce that peace has returned to the city following the restoration of law and order in Nassarawa Gwom by security agents,” he said.

He said the curfew would remain in force “to ensure that no security breach happens. The government calls on the people to go about their normal business without fear.”

The clashes began when Christian youths protested the building of a mosque in the Christian-dominated Nassarawa Gwom district. Houses and vehicles were set alight.

Under the curfew, University of Jos authorities told students to go home.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with some 150 million people, is evenly divided between the mainly Muslim north and mainly Christian south.

Jos and other central and northern areas have been plagued by religious violence.

In November 2008, hundreds of people were killed in Jos in two days of fighting triggered by a rumour that the mainly Muslim All Nigerian Peoples Party had lost a local election to the Christian dominated Peoples Democratic Party.

State officials put the death toll at about 200 but other sources gave a toll twice that figure.

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Last month, at least 70 people were killed in clashes between security forces and members of a radical Islamist sect in the northern Bauchi State.

Another sect, Boko Haram, which means “Western education is a sin”, staged an insurrection in July in nearby Borno State when at least 800 people were killed as security forces crushed the unrest.

With some wanting to call the Ft. Hood shooting a terrorist act, Roland asks the question “are we at war with Islam?” Watch what his panel has to say here:

Catch this week’s episode at 5 p.m. ET on TV One!

Have a question or comment for an upcoming show? SUBMIT your videos here!

President Obama has a message for Muslims in the United States and abroad for the Muslim holiday of Ramadan.

Watch The Video

Barack Obama, making his first visit to a Muslim nation as president, declared Monday the United States “is not and will never be at war with Islam.”

Calling for a greater partnership with the Islamic world in an address to the Turkish parliament, Obama called the country an important U.S. ally in many areas, including the fight against terrorism. He devoted much of his speech to urging a greater bond between Americans and Muslims, portraying terrorist groups such as al Qaida as extremists who did not represent the vast majority of Muslims.

“Let me say this as clearly as I can,” Obama said. “The United States is not and never will be at war with Islam. In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical … in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject.”

The U.S. president is trying to mend fences with a Muslim world that felt it had been blamed by America for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

For instance, at a news conference earlier with Prime Minister Abdullah Gul, he dealt gingerly with the issue of alleged genocide committed by Turks against Armenians during World War I, urging Turks and Armenians to continue a process “that works through the past in a way that is honest, open and constructive.”

Al Jazeera and Al Arabiyia, two of the biggest Arabic satellite channels, carried Obama’s speech live.

“America’s relationship with the Muslim world cannot and will not be based on opposition to al Qaida,” he said. “We seek broad engagement based upon mutual interests and mutual respect.”

“We will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over so many centuries to shape the world for the better, including my own country,” Obama said.

The president spoke for about 25 minutes from a small white-marble-and-teak rostrum in the well of a vast, airy chamber packed with Turkish lawmakers who filled the sea of orange leather chairs.

Except for a couple instances of polite applause, the room was almost completely silent throughout his speech. There was a more hearty ovation toward the end when Obama said the U.S. supports the Turkish government’s battle against PKK, which both consider a terrorist group, and again when he declared that America was not at war with Islam.

Obama also heard applause in response to his statement that the U.S. supports Turkey becoming a member of the European Union.

Earlier, Obama said he stood by his 2008 assertion that Ottoman Turks had carried out widespread killings of Armenians early in the 20th century, but he stopped short of repeating the word “genocide.”

Gul said many Turkish Muslims were killed during the same period. Historians, not politicians, Gul said, should decide how to label the events of those times.

In his 2008 campaign, Obama said “the Armenian genocide is not an allegation,” but rather “a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence.”

Now that he is president, the genocide question may not be Obama’s best issue for taking a tough stand that antagonizes a key ally. It is important in U.S. communities with large numbers of Armenian-Americans, but it has a low profile elsewhere.

In his speech to the parliament Monday, Obama said the United States strongly supports the full normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia.

Obama’s visit is being closely watched by an Islamic world that harbored deep distrust of his predecessor, George W. Bush.

In talks with Gul, and Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Obama hoped to sell his strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. He hoped to find welcoming ears given the new U.S. focus on melding troop increases with civilian efforts to better the lives of people in both countries.

Obama recognized past tensions in the U.S.-Turkey relationship, but said things were on the right track now because both countries share common interests and are diverse nations. “We don’t consider ourselves Christian, Jewish, Muslim. We consider ourselves a nation bound by a set of ideals and values,” Obama said of the United States. “Turkey has similar principals.”

Obama’s trip to Turkey, his final scheduled country visit, ties together themes of earlier stops. He attended the Group of 20 economic summit in London, celebrated NATO’s 60th anniversary in Strasbourg, France, and on Saturday visited the Czech Republic, which included a summit of European Union leaders in Prague.

Turkey is a member of both the G-20 and NATO and is trying to get into the EU with the help of the U.S.

Turkey has the largest army in NATO after the United States. It and tiny Albania, recently admitted, are the only predominantly Muslim members of NATO.

Turkey opposed the war in Iraq in 2003 and U.S. forces were not allowed to go through Turkey to attack Iraq. Now, however, since Obama is withdrawing troops, Turkey has become more cooperative. It is going to be a key country after the U.S. withdrawal in maintaining stability, although it has long had problems with Kurdish militants in north Iraq.

Turkey maintains a small military force in Afghanistan, part of the NATO contingent working with U.S. troops to beat back the resurgent Taliban and deny al-Qaida a safe haven along the largely lawless territory that straddles Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan. Turkey’s participation carries enormous symbolic importance to the Muslim world because of its presence in the fight against Islamic extremism. Albania, one of the poorest nations in Europe, has a small contingent in Afghanistan.

Turkey has diplomatic leverage with both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

If any of us were looking intensely for the moment that President Obama differentiated himself from the Eurocentric, Western apologist presidents of the past, he had it in his first official interview. Al-Arabiya broadcast the newly minted head of state speaking in realistic terms about the potential for renewed mutual respect between the Arab world and the U.S. When the events of 9/11 tested our understanding of enemy extremists lurking abroad, that confusion awakened anew an anti-foreign sentiment that America scarcely needed. For all of our years of domestic racism against American Indians and enslaved Africans, we had similar spells of distrust for Europe’s first immigrants, Catholics, Asians, Latinos and every possible shade and creed in between. The problem with distrust in our melting pot is that it impedes our ability to work and to welcome new workers to our cause as a nation.

Islamic fundamentalists have espoused the separatist ideologies of violence and calculated terror as a response to the financial exclusivity of Western powers. That’s not to say that violence is ever warranted, but it does explain, in part, the continued animosity in that region. Barack Obama wears his mixed heritage on his sleeve, the man of multiple races and of multiple nationalities. His boyhood schooling in Indonesia was cause for speculative fear during the campaign, but now he can use it as a strength. Turning so-called weaknesses into strengths has been his prime asset as Americans come face to face with the demons of a divided past. Still, who could have thought that he would be so willing to state his position on Muslim affairs a week into the presidency? If he’s demonstrated anything thus far, it’s that our reputation of tolerance has given us more leverage in the battle for world peace than our defensiveness. Few presidents, even the scholars among them, would admit to reading the Qu’ran or having the openness to sort through its lessons. President Obama has changed the trend for power-grabbing nations, extending the olive branch of humility and respect where there was only vitriol and paranoia before.

The United States remains tethered indefinitely to Israeli interest, and acts as a moral enforcer on the behalf of several other nations who back the nation-state. The politics of choosing sides in complex international struggle belies our usually moderate stance here at home. Indeed the imperatives of a peacekeeping stance since World War II has made America a timely interloper and a vicious ally to single-minded dictators. We proceed with caution when millions suffer, afraid to undo the sovereign institutions that sanctioned their oppression. We act with bold reprise when there is a money interest attached to the moral dilemma. We cannot give justice over to a sliding scale, or make our judgments skew only toward historic friends. 

The parallel destinies of Christian and Muslim faiths demand we give respect to the billions of Muslim followers who have no intention of harming innocents. However, in our fear complex — fueled in part by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Pakistan’s militance — we have alienated the entire Muslim world for the sins of their brothers. As the Taliban weakens, and their internal disagreements grow after years of perfunctory hostile attacks, we might do better to win the hearts and minds of the young Muslims who have not formed an unforgiving opinion of the United States. The Muslim Americans who attend college, work in our economy, strive for similar marks of achievement represent a group of invaluable citizens who will soon make the call for equal rights to match their contributions. In fact, Muslim American population growth rivals that of the Black and Latino communities in the making of a new darker nation. The Muslim nations with a doctrine of peace and tolerance will not hesitate to join the United States if our motto echoes those feelings. In his language about the ongoing relationship with the Muslim world, the President has emphasized respect and common ground where fearful verbs had once dominated. The more we attempt to force the concerns of Palestine, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq out of our shared conversation of cooperative existence, the more likely it is that we’ll miss out on the unimaginable resources those countries have to offer.  

Sadly, we live in a disjointed America of religious factions, gender teams and apprehensive admixture. The election season typified the still furious schisms between the progressive (if naive) parts of our nation who prefer an end to social division, and the conservative wary parts who look to distinguish between “real” American values and false ones. At a base level, Muslims are still largely a brown people. Although the slim majority of whites in America is a fading reality, its population has all the powerful initiatives of a ruling class and the attendant traditions of a transitioning empire. As with any empire in flux, we will see the threat of fascist tendencies and the wounds of oppression come out through talking heads and dubious news networks. President Barack Obama might be deemed a Muslim sympathizer the way that Lincoln was deemed a Negro sympathizer. Neither connotation was positive. For his efforts to ring universal, our populace has to engender not simply tolerance to Muslim Americans, but outreach on a grand scale. George Bush and his son played the impressive ruse of defending Judeo-Christian values in a Judeo-Christian nation while taking the oil money from Muslim nations like Saudi Arabia behind closed doors. It’s that kind of fork-tongued modus operandi that has us in a bind with a growing slice of the human population. To make good on the ideals of democracy, we must unlink it from religious dogma and Eurocentric fraternity. A true democracy recognizes the right of other nations to practice other forms of government. A true democracy thrives on dissent and difference. President Obama has a Christian background and a Muslim background, even though he is a practicing Christian. We should not press him to exclude one because he chooses the other. He balances.

BP Member Mitch924

Mitch924 says, “WHAT IS IT WITH THESE PEOPLE, DO THEY THINK THEY HAVE THE COUNTRY CORNERED WHEN IT COMES 2 RELIGION OR LACK THEREOF?”

In the shared article “SOME CHRISTIANS UP IN ARMS OVER OBAMA’S ACKNOWLEGDEMENT OF NON BELIEVERS…” Obama takes some heat for acknowledging atheists as well as other religions. What do you think? Join the discussion here.

President-elect Barack Obama says he will try to “reboot America’s image” among the world’s Muslims and will follow tradition by using his entire name — Barack Hussein Obama — in his swearing-in ceremony.

The U.S. image globally has taken a deep hit during President George W. Bush’s two terms in office, primarily because of opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, harsh interrogation of prisoners, the indefinite detention of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and mistreatment of inmates at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Obama promised during his campaign that one of his top priorities would be to work to repair America’s reputation worldwide, and that one element of that effort would be a speech delivered in a Muslim capital.

He pledged anew to give such a speech, though he declined to say whether it would happen during his first year in office.

“It’s something I intend to follow through on,” Obama said in an interview published Wednesday in the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. “We’ve got a unique opportunity to reboot America’s image around the world and also in the Muslim world in particular. So we need to take advantage of that.”

Obama said his message would be twofold: that his administration will be unyielding in stamping out terrorist extremism but also “unrelenting in our desire to create a relationship of mutual respect and partnership with countries.”

“I think the world is ready for that message,” he said in the interview, conducted Tuesday.

During the campaign, Obama repeatedly faced questions about whether he is a Muslim, particularly in whisper campaigns that noted his middle name, that his father is Kenyan, and that he lived for a time as a child in Indonesia. Obama is a practicing Christian.

Asked if he would drop his middle name during his inauguration on Jan. 20, the president-elect said he would not.

“The tradition is that they use all three names and I will follow the tradition, not trying to make a statement on way or another,” he said.

Obama also talked about the spiritual support he sought during his White House bid, particularly since he and his family left Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ after inflammatory comments by its pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, became a campaign issue.

Obama said he set up a “sort of prayer circle across the country” of pastors who would pray for him every morning on a conference call. Obama said he sometimes joined the call, which involved leaders from various Christian denominations and other religious faiths.

“I’m not even sure that all of them voted for me,” Obama said. “But they were willing to pray for me, and that’s something that was wonderful.”

On other topics:

_Obama would not put a timetable on issues important to organized labor, what he called his promise to “put an end to the kinds of barriers and roadblocks that are in the way of workers legitimately coming together in order to form a union and bargain collectively.” Among other things, he has promised support for a card-check system for unions trying to organize a new workplace and for adding labor and environmental protections to the North American Free Trade Agreement. “I don’t want to anticipate right now what sequences will be on these issues,” Obama said.

_The man about to be the nation’s first black president said he will make enforcing civil rights laws and making the criminal justice system color-blind top priorities for his administration. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division “over the last eight years has had a lot of problems and really declining morale,” he said.

_Obama said he, his wife Michelle and their two young daughters will make frequent visits during his presidency back to their home in Chicago, perhaps as often as every six weeks. “My Kennebunkport is on the South Side of Chicago,” he said. “Our friends are here. Our family is here. And so we are going to try to come back here as often as possible.”

From The Telegraph:

“The message I want to send is that we will be unyielding in stamping out the terrorist extremism we saw in Mumbai,” said Mr Obama, who gave the interview from his transition team’s offices in Chicago.

There have been several reports that Michael Jackson has converted to Islam. The Sun reports that he  wore traditional Islamic dress as he pledged his allegiance to the Koran at a friend’s home in Los Angeles.

Reports also say that Michael Jackson has changed his name to Mikaeel and that singer Kat Stevens, who has been a Muslim for many years and changed his name to Yusef Islam also attended the ceremony.

Jackson is currently involved with a lawsuit from a former friend, Sheikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who is suing him for not following up on a deal to give him an album and a musical.

There have been a number of videos circulating around the internet showing the ignorance, fear and hatred of McCain/Palin supporters. Many are disturbing and show the deep rooted ignorance of McCain’s supporters as well as what McCain and Palin are doing to to incite this anger. Here are our Top 5 McCain Palin Hate-Mob videos.

Number 1: McCain/Palin Ohio Hate Fest

In this video, Obama is referred to as a nigger and woman calls him a Muslim and fears that if he was elected the ‘blacks will take over.’

Number 2: McCain/Palin Hate Talk Express

This video is a compilation of several other videos of  McCain and Palin supporters spewing their right wing talk radio fueled hatred and fear as well as the statements McCain and Palin made to encourage their behavior.

Number 3: The Hate Talk Express Hits Pennsylvania

In this video a protester confronts McCain and Palin supporters on Palin charging victims for rape-kits, asking if his friend should have to pay for her rape kit, a McCain/Palin supporter says that she shoud die. The McCain/Palin supporters call Obama a terrorist and a Muslim and call protesters commie-faggots.

Number 4: The Hate Talk Express Comes back to Ohio

In this video there’s more of the McCain/Palin mob calling Obama a terrorist and questioning his patriotism and praising Sarah Palin without knowing anything about her. A young boy with his parents says of Obama, ‘You need gloves to touch him’

Part 2

Number 5: Man with Obama Monkey. I don’t know what is more disturbing, the fact that he is comparing Obama to a monkey, or the creepy pedophile smile he has.

Damn, these videos keep popping up. This is the first one that I’ve seen where Obama has been called the N-Word. Who is fueling their anger and ideas? McCain and Palin? Right wing talk radio? Is McCain now openly courting the racist vote?

Watch the Video Here