Islamophobia is made up by hateful politicians

Dalia Mogahed is Chairman and CEO of Mogahed Consulting and former Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies. She has written a well researched article, which is worth reading. Click here to read her piece.
In her brilliant piece, she writes "anti-Muslim sentiment is almost entirely independent of the events of international conflicts, or even terrorist acts on U.S. soil, and much more tightly linked to election cycles and building domestic consent.
As horrific as the attacks of September 11^th 2001 were, the rise and fall (mostly rise) of negative sentiment toward Muslims and Islam in America does not coincide with this or any other Al-Qaeda act of violence.  Instead, levels of anti-Muslim sentiment follow trends in domestic U.S. politics, not international terrorism."
She argues, leaders matter. And she is absolutely right on the spot. She concludes, "Most importantly, Islamophobia is the result of deliberate public manipulation, not organic cultural difference or a response to discrete acts of violence.  As such, those who perpetuate anti-Muslim prejudice undermine our democracy by manipulating and misinforming the American people.  Muslim Americans are vital organs in the body of the nation and the disease of racism turns the body against its self, making it mistake vital organs for foreign agents.  This disease doesn’t only hurt those organs, but it eventually kills the entire body if not abated."

Rohingya refugees inside Bangladesh

How many Rohingya refugees are living inside Bangladesh? Well, the estimates vary. Here is a report on the subject, which, BTW, may not have all the right facts.

12-year-old Sikh boy arrested on false charge

Armaan Singh Sarai, a 12-year-old boy from an American-Sikh family, was arrested by the Dallas police on December 11 and held for three consecutive days after he was accused by a “bully” in his class of carrying a bomb to school, claims his cousin in a Facebook post.
You can read the news by clicking here.

The Zionist government approves new settlements

The Jerusalem Planning and Construction Committee has approved another significant expansion in the occupied West Bank this week, signing off on another 891 housing units in the settlement of Gilo, adding to a previous April construction which expanded Gilo into a forested area.
The plan was tentatively approved by the Israeli government back in November, but final vote was delayed on it because of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to the US, as Israeli officials hoped to keep the latest expansion out of the headlines.
Israel often faces serious criticism of settlement expansions, but the moves to expand Gilo have been particularly controversial, as they appear to be designed specifically to block the possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state.
Officials didn’t address the Palestinian issue in the expansion announcement, but rather declared the move as an effort to “strengthen” Jerusalem by expanding settlements across the Green Line.


The news can be seen from antiwar.comhttp://news.antiwar.com/2015/12/17/jerusalem-approves-new-settlement-expansion-of-891-units-in-gilo/.

Explosions inside Bangladesh Navy's Issa Khan Base

Bombs blasted inside mosque in a NV base in Chittagong, Bangladesh today. You can read the news by clicking here.

B’Tselem: Israel used ‘excessive’ force against Palestinian attackers

The B’Tselem group on Wednesday pointed to 12 incidents that paint “a grave and alarming picture of excessive and unwarranted use of lethal gunfire, which in some cases was tantamount to the summary execution of assailants or suspected assailants.” The human rights group says civilians and troops shot assailants who posed no threat. The Israeli rights group said Israeli security forces in some cases used “excessive and unwarranted” force in killing Palestinians terrorists and suspected assailants during the current wave of violence.
In two other cases, it said soldiers delayed or denied medical care to Palestinian terrorists.

“This wave of violent assaults is appalling, and clearly Israel’s security forces must protect the public and use the force necessary to that end, as determined by the circumstances,” the B’Tselem report said. “The law on this matter is also clear: shooting to kill is permissible only in cases that a person poses mortal danger to others. However, in at least some of the cases, firing at the assailants did not cease even after they no longer posed any danger.”

“Some were injured and lying motionless on the ground when they were shot dead,” according to the report. “In other cases, the very use of live gunfire seems excessive. Some cases were summary executions, without the benefit of law or trial.”

At least 115 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, of whom 78 Israel has identified as assailants.

You can read the full text of the report by clicking here.

A case of hate crime in Michigan

A Michigan liquor store clerk fought back after a robber shoved a rifle into his mouth and called him a terrorist.
The gunman demanded money from the clerk, who is of Indian descent, and led him just before midnight Saturday into a back room at Bottlenecks Food and Drink Shop in Grand Rapids, reported WXMI-TV.
The 34-year-old clerk said the gunman accused him of being part of the Islamic State militant group and called him a “terrorist.”
“I used to kill people like you in Iraq with no problem,” the gunman said, and shoved the barrel of the gun into the clerk’s mouth.
You can read the full story by clicking here.