Muslims win majority in City Council of Hamtramck, US

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The U.S. city of Hamtramck has recently elected a Muslim-majority City Council for the first time in the country.

The town of Hamtramck, in the state of Michigan, was a long-time Polish-Catholic enclave, but it has been demographically changing recently, and the election has shown how far the city had come. The three people who received the most votes were Muslim, two were incumbents – Anam Miah and Abu Musa – and the third, newcomer Saad Almasmari. They had the highest number of votes overall in last week’s election.

The 28-year old Almasmari is a student, who moved to the United States in 2009 and became a citizen two years later.

In a statement, community leader Bill Meyer said: “Hamtramck has made history. The election was far from close, with the three Muslim winners each gaining over 1,000 votes while the other three candidates garnered less than 700 votes each”.

Although the percentage of Muslims who reside in the town is unknown, a recent U.S. estimate describe the city as currently 24 percent Arab, 19 percent African, 15 percent Bangladeshi, 12 percent Polish and 6 percent Yugoslavian. Estimates of Hamtramck’s Muslim population are between 30 to 50 percent.

According to Meyer, the City Council’s incumbent Muslim council members have proven themselves to the city, saying that they have “helped bring stability, security and sobriety while lessening the amount of drugs and crime in the city”.

Mosques in Canada, Florida fear Islamophobia after Paris attack

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Amid growing concerns that Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris could spark a wave of Islamophobic retaliation, a Muslim congregation in Canada said a fire that burnt down its mosque over the weekend appears to be a hate crime, and two Florida mosques reportedly received phone threats over the weekend.

The fire at the Kawartha Muslim Religious Association’s mosque in Peterborough, Ontario, broke out Saturday evening and caused up $80,000 in damage; no one was inside at the time.

Officials confirmed on Sunday that the fire was deliberately set. The mosque is the only one in Peterborough, a city of 135,000, and association President Kenzu Abdella said the Muslim community has traditionally had a good relationship with the rest of the city. But after learning the fire was intentional, he said he was certain the arson was a hate crime.

In Florida, too, officials were investigating phone threats made against mosques on Sunday, the Tampa Bay Times reported. FBI spokesman David Couvertier confirmed the bureau is looking into voice mails that threatened to firebomb and shoot members of a Muslim congregation in St. Petersburg, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in a news release that a second Florida mosque had received similar threats, although it did not identify the mosque or location. The threats prompted the St. Petersburg mosque to cancel its Sunday school.

“This act in France is the last straw,” a caller reportedly said in a voicemail to the Islamic Society of Pinellas County.

Some communities have stepped up to show support for Muslim congregations and decry Islamophobic reactions to the Paris attacks. In Peterborough, a resident started a crowd funding campaign to help the congregation cover the damage. By Monday morning, it had garnered $58,000 — nearly 75 percent of the estimated damages. Maryam Monsef, Canada’s minister of democratic institutions in the new Liberal government said, the city has a proud history as a welcoming and friendly place to live, but she is waiting for the police and fire officials’ investigations to uncover more about the nature of the crime.

“I am deeply concerned about the fire that took place at the Kawartha Muslim Religious Association’s mosque,” she said. “Together we will continue to demonstrate that these sorts of incidents are in no way reflective of our community as a whole.”

There is nothing that resembles Islam

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Muslim organizations in Milwaukee hope the Paris terror attacks do not spark anti-Islamic threats.

“We still hear people say, ‘Why don’t Muslims condemn this?’ But Muslims are always condemning this,'” said Janan Najeeb, president of the Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition.

Najeeb says besides the ongoing grief over innocent people dying, it saddens the Muslim community that a terrorist group like ISIS claims to be an Islamic organization. “There is nothing that resembles Islam in their actions,” said Najeeb.

Najeeb continues to educate the public about Islam and how terrorists are killing Muslims regularly.

“We also want people to understand that Muslims are suffering the most at the hands of these violent terrorist groups,” said Najeeb.

For instance, just a day before the Paris attacks, more than 40 people were killed in a double suicide bombing in Beirut, Lebanon.

“It think it’s important to recognize whether it’s lives in Europe or lives in the United States or lives in the Middle East or lives in Africa, that all lives are sacred,” said Najeeb.

To that point, Najeeb was grateful when Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers denounced a fan’s disparaging remark made toward Muslims during a moment of silence Sunday for the victims of the Paris attacks.

Mosques in Canada, Florida fear Islamophobia after Paris attack

/in /by

Amid growing concerns that Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris could spark a wave of Islamophobic retaliation, a Muslim congregation in Canada said a fire that burnt down its mosque over the weekend appears to be a hate crime, and two Florida mosques reportedly received phone threats over the weekend.

The fire at the Kawartha Muslim Religious Association’s mosque in Peterborough, Ontario, broke out Saturday evening and caused up $80,000 in damage; no one was inside at the time.

Officials confirmed on Sunday that the fire was deliberately set. The mosque is the only one in Peterborough, a city of 135,000, and association President Kenzu Abdella said the Muslim community has traditionally had a good relationship with the rest of the city. But after learning the fire was intentional, he said he was certain the arson was a hate crime.

In Florida, too, officials were investigating phone threats made against mosques on Sunday, the Tampa Bay Times reported. FBI spokesman David Couvertier confirmed the bureau is looking into voice mails that threatened to firebomb and shoot members of a Muslim congregation in St. Petersburg, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in a news release that a second Florida mosque had received similar threats, although it did not identify the mosque or location. The threats prompted the St. Petersburg mosque to cancel its Sunday school.

“This act in France is the last straw,” a caller reportedly said in a voicemail to the Islamic Society of Pinellas County.

Some communities have stepped up to show support for Muslim congregations and decry Islamophobic reactions to the Paris attacks. In Peterborough, a resident started a crowd funding campaign to help the congregation cover the damage. By Monday morning, it had garnered $58,000 — nearly 75 percent of the estimated damages. Maryam Monsef, Canada’s minister of democratic institutions in the new Liberal government said, the city has a proud history as a welcoming and friendly place to live, but she is waiting for the police and fire officials’ investigations to uncover more about the nature of the crime.

“I am deeply concerned about the fire that took place at the Kawartha Muslim Religious Association’s mosque,” she said. “Together we will continue to demonstrate that these sorts of incidents are in no way reflective of our community as a whole.”

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ISIS a blot on Islam: Indian Muslim leader

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Indian Muslim parliamentarian and President of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday said that terror group ISIS is a blot on Islam and everybody needs to condemn its activities.

The Lok Sabha member from Hyderabad said ISIS should not be linked with religion and the world should unite to fight it. Owaisi said Islamic scholars belonging to all schools of thought have given a fatwa against the ISIS.

“We all need to condemn ISIS activities and world should understand that it has nothing to do with Islam,” Owaisi said when reporters sought his reaction to a controversial statement by Uttar Pradesh Minister Azam Khan on Paris terror attacks.

“Azam Khan may be an expert on terrorism but I am not. I only believe that ISIS are a blot on Islam. All scholars have condemned them and I also condemn,” Owaisi said.

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There is nothing that resembles Islam, Muslim organizations try to educate public

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Muslim organizations in Milwaukee hope the Paris terror attacks do not spark anti-Islamic threats.

“We still hear people say, ‘Why don’t Muslims condemn this?’ But Muslims are always condemning this,'” said Janan Najeeb, president of the Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition.

Najeeb says besides the ongoing grief over innocent people dying, it saddens the Muslim community that a terrorist group like ISIS claims to be an Islamic organization. “There is nothing that resembles Islam in their actions,” said Najeeb.

Najeeb continues to educate the public about Islam and how terrorists are killing Muslims regularly.

“We also want people to understand that Muslims are suffering the most at the hands of these violent terrorist groups,” said Najeeb.

For instance, just a day before the Paris attacks, more than 40 people were killed in a double suicide bombing in Beirut, Lebanon.

“It think it’s important to recognize whether it’s lives in Europe or lives in the United States or lives in the Middle East or lives in Africa, that all lives are sacred,” said Najeeb.

To that point, Najeeb was grateful when Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers denounced a fan’s disparaging remark made toward Muslims during a moment of silence Sunday for the victims of the Paris attacks.

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ISIS has nothing to do with Islam: Australian Muslim leader

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In the wake of another act perpetrated by extremists claiming to represent Islam, prominent Australian Muslim leader Jamal Rifi says his community is “drowning in a sea of hate,” noting that those extremists who were behind the attacks in Paris, and other acts of terror, are “the enemy of Islam.”

Dr Rifi says the ISIS deadly attacks in Paris will test Australia, but that it’s time to come together “united in our condemnation, standing together to defeat this global terrorist organization”.

“It’s like we are drowning in a sea of hate and every time we get our heads above water, something else happens to pull us down,” he said.

He also said the extremists behind the attacks in Paris, and other acts of terror, “are only Islamic by name”.

The comments came as Attorney-General George Brandis warned against alienating the Muslim community following the deadly assault on Paris, which has left at least 130 people dead, and amid calls from some for Australia to stop accepting Middle Eastern refugees.

“They (ISIS) have nothing to do with Islam – as a matter of fact they are the enemy of Islam and they have killed more Muslims than non-Muslim civilians,” Rifi said.

“(I am) angry for the fact that there has been a failure to prevent this terrible event from happening.”

From his side, Australia’s Grand Mufti Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed focused instead on what he labelled causative factors such as racism, Islamophobia and “duplicitous” foreign policy.

In a statement, he said “These recent incidents highlight the fact that current strategies to deal with the threat of terrorism are not working.”

Hussain Nadim, a PhD candidate at the Department of Government and International Relations agreed the only way to defeat ISIS is through its internal mechanisms.

“The only way that such groups could be tackled and Islam could have its own enlightenment is through its internal mechanisms.

“The solution to the problem that we see today in the form of the Paris or Sydney attacks is allowing Muslims to take the lead against ISIS and other extremism.”

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Iran Ready to Continue Assistance to Syria: DM

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Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan reiterated the country’s continued assistance and support for the Syrian government and people.

General Dehqan, in a telephone conversation with his Syrian counterpart, Fahd Jasem al-Freij, congratulated the recent victories of Syria’s army and popular forces over terrorists.

He said the Islamic Republic is prepared to continue aiding the government and nation of the Arab country against terrorism.

The Iranian minister also predicted a bright future for Syria and the ultimate victory of the “heroic Syrian nation”.

Al-Freij, for his part, appreciated Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei’s stances and the Islamic Republic’s supports for Syria.

The two sides also discussed the status of bilateral cooperation between Tehran and Damascus as well as regional and international issues.

Syria has been in a civil war since 2011, with opposition factions and terrorist groups such as ISIL and the Nusra Front fighting the Syrian Army.

More than 250,000 people have been killed in the Arab country so far due to the violence perpetrated by the terrorists.

Iran, a close ally of Syria, meanwhile, has been supporting the legitimate Syrian government in the fight against terrorists.

Tehran has already made it clear that its assistance to Syria is confined to consultation and advisory help.

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Iran destroys ISIS team recently in Kermanshah province

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Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and the forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, during the last two years, have arrested a large number of ISIL-affiliated terrorist teams in the western province, says the IRGC commander.

‘In particular, teams who have been trying to recruit for the ISIL terrorists and sending them to foreign countries have been destroyed,’ IRGC Brigadier General Bahman Reyhani said in a news briefing meeting on Tuesday.

Enemies are looking for inflicting damage to the Islamic Republic, Reyhani said.

‘A terrorist team destroyed recently was combat-ready with military equipments, military vests and time bombs,’ he said.

The IRGC commander emphasized that the force is maintaining its intelligence superiority and there is no specific problem in this regard.

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Tunisia Foils Terror Attack after Discovering ISIS Cell

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Tunisian intelligence has dismantled an ISIL cell, avoiding a major terror attack planned on hotels and against security forces.

Seventeen ISIL terrorists were arrested, many of whom were trained in Syria and Libya.

“We have foiled a major attack this month that the terrorist cell was preparing against vital installations, hotels, security centers and against politicians to bring chaos to the country,” Interior Ministry Security Chief Rafik Chelli said.

Tunisia suffered two major terror attacks this year, both of which were claimed by ISIL. Gunmen killed 21 tourists in an attack at the Bardo Museum in Tunis in March. Later in June, a gunman shot and killed 38 foreigners at a beach hotel in Sousse.

The ISIL Takfiri terrorists currently control shrinking swathes of Syria and Iraq. They have threatened all communities, including Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians, Ezadi Kurds and others, as they continue their atrocities in Iraq.

Senior Iraqi officials have blamed Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and some Persian Gulf Arab states for the growing terrorism in their country.

The ISIL has links with Saudi intelligence and is believed to be indirectly supported by the Israeli regime.

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