In the news - muslims......

[Soldier4Christ]

Muslim sues, demands apology over head scarf
Woman claims manager told her 'hijab' doesn't fit company image

A Muslim woman is claiming she was denied employment at an American clothing store because she wears a religious headscarf, or hijab, and she wants an apology.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint against an Oklahoma Abercrombie Kids store claiming a district manager told her the hijab "does not fit the Abercrombie image."

"Employers have a clear legal duty to accommodate the religious practices of their workers," executive director Razi Hashmi said. "To deny someone employment because of apparent religious bias goes against long-standing American traditions of tolerance and inclusion."

Hashmi said Abercrombie & Fitch's corporate "Code of Business Conduct and Ethics" states: "The Company will adhere to its employment policies of non-discrimination as it relates to race, color, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation or handicap and will ensure compliance with all legal and other regulations governing employment."

CAIR sent a letter to Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jefferies requesting a formal apology to the Muslim woman. It also asked that the company make its policy on religious accommodation more clear and require employees to attend sensitivity and diversity training.

The organization also cited Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting employers from refusing to "hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. ... "

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently issued new guidelines to protect religious groups, employers and labor organizations. According to USA Today, the agency estimates religious-discrimination reports have double in frequency in the last 15 years.

The new guide shields workers who ask for time off for religious holidays and workers who wear religious attire, such as a hijab.

[Soldier4Christ]

We have to put up with lawsuits like these but the Saudis can get away with imprisoning Christians or kicking them out of their country.

[HisDaughter]

Muslim sues, demands apology over head scarf


and she wants an apology.

Okay, we're sorry that our government is blind and has let you come here.

goes against long-standing American traditions of tolerance and inclusion."

How "long-standing" would that be?  Considering that we have only been a nation for 200 and some odd years.  It wouldn't have been tolerated just after the Viet Nam era which was just yesterday, relatively.

According to USA Today, the agency estimates religious-discrimination reports have double in frequency in the last 15 years.

Is that a question?

[Soldier4Christ]

According to USA Today, the agency estimates religious-discrimination reports have double in frequency in the last 15 years.

Is that a question?

That is a statement that might be true against Christians but is only imagined against muslims. All muslims have to do is holler islamaphobia and everyone tucks tail and runs or bows down to them and their desires.

[Soldier4Christ]

Al Qaeda 'Associate' Arrested in Afghanistan After Shootout With Questioners

A US trained scientist wanted for questioning in connection with terrorism cases has been shipped to New York and charged with attempted murder after a shootout with her would-be questioners following her arrest in Afghanistan last month, the US Attorney in New York said Monday.

According to the FBI and the US Attorney, the woman, Aafia Siddiqui, is scheduled to be arraigned before a federal magistrate in Manhattan Tuesday. The FBI had sought her for questioning in connection with assisting key al Qaeda operatives now detained at Guantanamo Bay.

The day after her arrest by Afghani authorities on July 17th, Siddiqui was shot twice in the torso, US officials said, when she grabbed a US soldier's M-4 carbine and attempted to shoot another officer as a team of US soldiers and FBI agents prepared to question her. A US interpreter threw off her aim when he pushed the gun. She then was shot twice with a .9 millimeter handgun, authorities said. According to the US Government, despite her wounds, she shouted that she "wanted to kill Americans," and struggled with her captors before they subdued her.

According to a joint press release issued together with the New York City Police Department, Siddiqui was arrested outside the Ghazni governor's compound by Ghazni Province Afghanistan National Police.

The ANP officers "questioned Siddiqui, regarded her as suspicious, and searched her handbag. In it, they found numerous documents describing the creation of explosives, as well as excerpts from the Anarchist's Arsenal."

The papers also "included descriptions of various landmarks in the United States, including in New York City." Siddiqui had been wanted for questioning by the FBI in connection with allegedly assisting key Al Qaeda operatives in the past.

According to the FBI and US Attorney, on July 18, "a party of United States personnel, including two FBI special agents, a United States Army Warrant Officer, a United States Army Captain, and United States military interpreters, arrived at the Afghan facility where Siddiqui was being held. The personnel entered a second floor meeting room -- unaware that Siddiqui was being held there, unsecured, behind a curtain."

"The Warrant Officer took a seat and placed his United States Army M-4 rifle on the floor next to the curtain. Shortly after the meeting began, the Captain heard a woman yell from the curtain and, when he turned, saw Siddiqui holding the Warrant Officer's rifle and pointing it directly at the Captain."

Siddiqui said, "May the blood of [unintelligible] be directly on your [unintelligible, possibly head or hands]." The interpreter seated closest to Siddiqui lunged at her and pushed the rifle away as Siddiqui pulled the trigger. Siddiqui fired at least two shots but no one was hit. The Warrant Officer returned fire with a 9 mm service pistol and fired approximately two rounds at Siddiqui's torso, hitting her at least once."

According to a government statement on Siddiqui issued a few years ago, Siddiqui allegedly aided Majid Khan in obtaining documents to re-enter the United States. The New York Times reports "the statement said Mr. Khan was directed by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the chief organizer of the Sept. 11 plot, to conduct research on poisoning reservoirs and blowing up gas stations in the United States. The statement also said Mr. Khan had delivered money for terrorist attacks to another Qaeda operative and discussed a plan to smuggle explosives into the United States."

Described on her Wikipedia page as a 36-year-old MIT graduate and a Pakistani national, Siddique, even as the government asserted it wanted her for questioning was suspected by human rights groups as being among the "ghost prisoners" held in secret prisons maintained in the past by US intelligence agencies.

[HisDaughter]

Well...theres' the answer to the "whys" of the previous article.

[Soldier4Christ]

Tyson reverses Eid al-Fitr holiday plan
Workers get Muslim day off this year but not in future

Workers at the Shelbyville, Tenn., plant for Tyson Foods – which boasts on its corporate website that it strives "to honor God" – will get the Muslim Eid al-Fitr as a holiday this year, but not in the future unless they choose to give up their birthday as a day off, the company announced today.

The company recently had agreed to a request from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union to replace the traditional American workers' holiday Labor Day with the Muslim holiday that closes the fasting month of Ramadan.

But in an e-mail to WND today, officials for Tyson said Labor Day has been reinstated and Eid al-Fitr dropped after it acquired permission from the union to change the contract.

"Tyson made this request on behalf of its Shelbyville plant employees, some of whom had expressed concern about the new contract provisions relative to paid holidays," the company told WND. "In an effort to be responsive, Tyson asked the union to reopen the contract to address the holiday issue, and the union agreed to do so. The union membership voted overwhelmingly Thursday to reinstate Labor Day as one of the plant's paid holidays, while keeping Eid al-Fitr as an additional paid holiday for this year only. This means that in 2008 only, Shelbyville employees will have nine paid holidays."

The company said that for the remainder of the five-year contract period, the eight paid holidays will include: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and a "personal holiday," which could either be the employee’s birthday, Eid al-Fitr or another day requested and approved by their supervisor.

"This issue concerns only the plant at Shelbyville, Tenn. Labor Day has always been celebrated, and continues to be, at the other 118 Tyson plants across the country," officials said.

WND reported Tyson had agreed to the request from the RWDSU for the change in holidays because about 700 immigrants from Somalia who largely are Muslim are among the 1,200 plant workers.

Union officials had boasted of the new contract creating "an additional paid holiday, [Eid al-Fitr,] a Muslim holiday that occurs toward the end of Ramadan."

Union officials did not respond to WND requests for a comment.

But Gary Mickelson, Tyson's media chief, clarified that there was no "additional" holiday, the company had just agreed to discontinue Labor Day and implement Eid al-Fitr.

"Union leadership did request and receive Eid al-Fitr ... as a paid holiday in place of Labor Day," Mickelson told a local newspaper at the time. "Since all Team Members will still have eight paid holidays, the change will not affect production," he said.

On a local newspaper's forum page, readers were outraged.

"If this holiday is that important to them, make them take it off instead of Christmas Day and allow ALL workers to be off Labor Day. Most AMERICAN families have some type of function on Labor Day," wrote one participant.

"It says union leadership made this request, makes you wonder who runs the union. I guess they are already working on a plan to replace Memorial Day, that means nothing to the Muslims so why should we have the right to celebrate it. Labor Day commemorates the plight of workers and the struggle of labor unions to improve working conditions for American workers. The Muslims will not stop until all of our rights and laws are changed to accommodate their beliefs. This will be a new America but it will be their America," said another.

The union boasts on its website, "Diversity is one of the strengths of our union. … We may come from different countries and speak different languages. But what unites us is the belief that by standing together we can better advance our interests."

Union spokesman Randy Hadley told the newspaper, "The negotiating committee felt this was extremely crucial, since this holiday is as important to Muslims as Christmas is to Christians."

The union also reported "two prayer rooms have been created to allow Muslim workers to pray twice a day and return to work without leaving the plant."

Ironically, the company on its website also promotes a variety of traditional and customary Christian and secular blessings for food – its primary product.

Another forum participant said immigrants should adjust to American culture, not the other way around.

"This is America, founded by the blood of our forefathers and should not be challenged by Somalians, Hispanics, or any other immigrants. If they come to America, they need to learn our language and our ways. They can practice their culture in private if they so please, but not shove it down our throats. Would they let us go there and change there country? I have banned Tyson's products from my home for years because of the illegals they were hiring. I am sorry for the producers that are supplying them, but Tyson's has once again crossed the line with the American people. Labor Day was here long before Tyson's. What holiday will be next to be taken away and replaced to accommodate an immigrant. This stinks worse than the plant," the forum participant said.

A Muslim website says the holiday is a "joyous three-day celebration" that concludes Ramadan, during which Muslims fast during the day.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the Labor Day national holiday dates from Sept. 5, 1882, and is "dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country."

[Shammu]

Philippine govt warns Muslim rebels to leave occupied villages

Thu Aug 7, 10:05 AM ET

MANILA (AFP) - The Philippine government has given Muslim separatist rebels 24 hours to vacate occupied villages in the south or risk being thrown out by the military, officials warned Thursday.

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said about 800 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels had made "incursions" in five towns and at least nine villages in Mindanao island's North Cotabato province in recent days.

Troops estimated more than 1,500 families, or 6,000 people, had been forced to flee their homes, Puno said, adding more troops will be deployed to the region.

"We are giving those individuals 24 hours to vacate or they will be forcibly separated from the area," Puno said at a press conference.

Asked if his warning was an open declaration of war, Puno said: "No. It's a declaration of the enforcement of the law."

Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said the rebels' actions over the next 24 hours would be "a litmus test of its good faith."

Military chief General Alexander Yano visited troops in the area and vowed that civilians would be protected and returned to their homes.

"The MILF's illegal occupation denies the locals to live normal and peaceful lives," Yano said. "We will be implementing the rule of law, ensure the safety of residents, and return peace and order in North Cotabato."

But MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said their men would stay in position and demanded the government provide them with a "specific list" of areas they had allegedly illegally occupied.

"We have not encroached on any area, we have had a presence in North Cotabato for a long time," Kabalu told AFP. "This is a careless statement (by the government) that could cause more problems."

Sporadic skirmishes have erupted between MILF and government forces in the south since Monday -- the day the Supreme Court halted the signing of a Muslim homeland agreement.

The agreement was meant to pave the way for a final political settlement to end MILF's 30-year fight for an independent Islamic state in the southern third of this largely Roman Catholic nation.

The 12,000-strong MILF has insisted Manila cannot renege on the deal, which gives them control over large swathes of land on the southern island of Mindanao, southern Palawan and the Sulu archipelago.

Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo has said the deal was not unconstitutional and he was confident it would eventually be signed.

Interior Secretary Puno said the villages occupied in North Cotabato were among those that would have been covered by the homeland deal.

He said no armed group, whether Christian or Muslim, will be allowed to take over public land.

"We want to make sure Christians and Muslims are going to adhere (to) and be committed to the maintenance of peace in their areas," Puno said.

National police chief Director General Avelino Razon said 900 more police officers have been deployed to back up about 500 troops already in North Cotabato.

Philippine govt warns Muslim rebels to leave occupied villages
~~~~~~~~

The Filipino government better be ready for an all-out war because the "Moro Islamic Liberation Front" certainly isn't going without a fight.

[Soldier4Christ]

The Filipino government better be ready for an all-out war because the "Moro Islamic Liberation Front" certainly isn't going without a fight.

The Philippines has been a battle ground with islamic guerrilla's for quite a few decades. The Philippines was a major port for the ship I was on during that time frame (1970 to 1974 ). I can remember there being a serious problem with them and that it had been going on and off for many years prior to that. The government there would beat them back into the jungles each time they tried to come out. They attempted to eradicate them completely. Even though they came close to it several times they couldn't succeed completely as the jungles were so thick they couldn't find them all.

[Shammu]

Hezbollah might attempt to shoot down Israeli aircraft
Terror group stockpiling advanced radar missile systems, say security officials
Posted: August 08, 2008
1:00 am Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2008 WorldNetDaily

JAFFA, Israel – Israel has general information the Hezbollah terror organization may be looking to shoot down an Israeli aircraft over the skies of Lebanon, according to informed security sources.

The sources believe Hezbollah, aided by Iran, is in the early stages of acquiring advance radar and anti-aircraft missiles that could threaten the Israel Air Force.

Since the second Lebanon war in 2006, Israel has been carrying out regular flights over Lebanon that the defense establishment here deems necessary for intelligence purposes. The flights provide Israel with important data on Hezbollah's continued armament and strategic information, such as the locations of missile storage bunkers and the rebuilding of Hezbollah bases in southern Lebanon.

Arab media accounts the last few weeks reported Hezbollah already set up sophisticated radar-guided anti-aircraft missile bases in Lebanon's vast 7,800 foot-high Sannine mountain range.

But Israeli security officials told WND they estimate Hezbollah is still in the early stages of acquiring the advanced anti-aircraft system.

They said Hezbollah has made the import and set up of such a system top priority and that the terror group could easily bring in the missiles along active Syria-Lebanon smuggling routes, or even through Lebanon's international airport.

During the 2006 war, Israel essentially exercised complete dominance of the Lebanese skies, but Hezbollah is looking to change that, according to security officials.

The officials said Hezbollah likely was looking to stockpile the anti-aircraft missile system for a future confrontation with Israel. But there is a chance, they said, the terror group could attempt to shoot down an IAF plane to score points with its Lebanese constituency and to legitimize the group's continued armament as necessary to "defend Lebanese airspace." A U.N.-brokered cease-fire, however, called for Lebanese militias, meaning Hezbollah, to relinquish their weapons.

Israeli security officials said they have been debating this week whether to make any changes to the IAF's current over-flights and how the Jewish state would respond should Hezbollah attempt to shoot down an Israeli aircraft.

The information comes just days after the Lebanese parliament passed a statement that essentially legalized Hezbollah's continued armed presence in Lebanon. The country's new parliamentary cabinet unanimously adopted a statement laying out its goals, including a clause that Hezbollah has a "right" to "liberate" Lebanese territories.

The policy statement said it is "the right of Lebanon's people, the army and the resistance to liberate all its territories." The "resistance" refers to Hezbollah, and "all its territories" is a reference to the disputed Sheba Farms area, a tiny zone Israel retains but Hezbollah claims it is trying to liberate and uses as an excuse to retain its weapons.

Following a violent confrontation with pro-democracy group in Lebanon earlier this year, Hezbollah was granted virtual veto power over the country's parliament.

[Shammu]

Billboards announce: 'Sharia law is hate'
Group hopes to spark debate over accepting Islamic rules in U.S.
Posted: August 08, 2008
11:34 pm Eastern

By Drew Zahn
© 2008 WorldNetDaily

An organization in Florida plans to educate what it perceives as an increasingly culture-tolerant public about the horrific dictates of Islamic law by purchasing billboard space with a simple, but confrontational message: "Sharia law is hate."

The Central Florida chapter of the United American Committee, a nonprofit group that seeks to educate Americans on the threat of Islamic extremism, is raising money to purchase a six-month contract to display the billboard, which the group hopes will awaken the public to discussing the full extent of Islamic law.

"The UAC's goal in this project is to raise awareness because most people have no idea what Sharia law is," Alan Kornman, director of UAC's Central Florida branch, told WND. "We are confident people will see the billboard and learn on their own what Sharia law is and come to their own conclusions. At the very least, we hope our billboard will spark public debate on this overlooked issue."

The billboards will also include a link to UAC resources where people can learn more about Islam's Sharia law, a set of religious codes – both moral and legal; Sharia law recognizes no separation of church and state – that bind both Muslims and Islamic nations.

"Under Sharia law if you are accused of stealing, a hand and foot from opposite sides are amputated. If you are caught having an affair, the woman is stoned to death and the man is given 80 lashes. If you change religions, you can be charged under apostasy laws and given the death sentence by a legal Sharia court. If you want to marry a nine-year-old child, Sharia law condones pedophilia, because Mohammad married Aisha at six and consummated the marriage at age nine. I find these and many more practices of Sharia law despicable and hateful," said Kornman.

In nations with large Muslim populations, coordinating the nation's laws with the laws a large minority demands to be governed under has proven difficult. WND has reported on Canada's faltering attempts to incorporate Sharia law and on some of the stir created when England's Archbishop of Canterbury recommended adopting tenets of the Islamic religious code.

Kornman told WND that Americans need to understand the enmity between the American way of life and living under Sharia law.

"If a person condones (the horrors of Sharia law enforcement), then living under our U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights is not possible," Kornman said. "The two systems will never be ideologically compatible."

In addition to the billboard campaign, the Central Florida UAC has purchased airtime for half-hour radio programs, the first scheduled for Sept. 12 on Orlando-area station WEUS, AM 810. The group said in a press release that the shows will focus on "discussing everything you will never hear from the mainstream press."

The group's billboard proposal, while unusually confrontational in its language, is not the first attempt at utilizing the power of advertising in the culture clash between Islam and America's Western way of life.

WND reported earlier on a series of advertisements employed by Islamic groups on New York City's subway system.

Another group called Jihad Watch has blazed the trail with billboard campaigns, two of which you can see below:

While Jihad Watch reports their billboards were subject to editing by the billboard company, the Central Florida UAC's billboard plans are likely to be subject to heated controversy. Kornman, however, told WND that he stands behind the message that Sharia law is a hate-based ideology.

"Sharia is the glue that holds an Islamic society together," Kornman told WND. "The harsh punishments associated with Sharia law in all facets of day-to-day life create a never-ending atmosphere of abject fear for those living under Sharia law."

"For those people calling me hateful, then they would have to condone child marriages, amputations for stealing and death for apostates to name only a few punishments attached to Sharia law. If my critics condone this type of activity under any circumstances, then it is they who are hateful towards anyone who is non-Muslim and should look into their own mirror before crying hate speech," he said.

[HisDaughter]

Cool. But I'm surprised they were able to put them up at all!  I wonder how long it will be allowed to last.  About time somebody did something drastic!

[Soldier4Christ]

I haven't heard a whole lot of the UAC up until recently but Jihad Watch has been quite active in attempting to educate the public in this area for quite some time now. CAIR has attacked them with lawsuits and accusations of hate several times. The lawsuits were withdrawn by CAIR when it was obvious they weren't going to get anywhere and that they were getting publicity that was unfavorable towards them.

Yes, we need a whole lot more of this sort of thing. The public needs to be made aware of the truth.

[Soldier4Christ]

Olympics: Controversy in Iran over female flag carrier

Iranian religious figures have criticised that Olympic female rower Homa Hosseini was chosen as the flagbearer of Iran, calling the move a 'heresy'.

"To make a woman march with the flag of the Islamic Republic in Beijing, is pure heresy and shows total disobedience of the laws mandated by our spiritual guides," said Seyye Ahmad Elmalhoda, leader of Friday prayers in Iran's holy city of Mashad.

Hosseini, 19, grew up in Iran's Kermanshah province in western Iran, she is one of three Iranian female competitors at the Olympic Games and Iran's first ever female rower. The other two female competitors are Najmeh Abtin (archery) and Sara Khosjamal (Tae Kwon Do).

"To make this woman march means to openly declare war to our religious values. Whoever is responsible for this unforgivable act, he should know that this gesture constitutes an obstacle for the 'appearance' of Mahdi," said Elmalhoda.

He was referring to the mainly Shia Islam belief that imam Mohammed al-Mahdi will appear to fight a final apocalyptic battle over the forces of evil.

Followers believe he was born in the year 868 and has been in hiding ever since awaiting a decision from god to reappear.

[HisDaughter]

our spiritual guides

And they are.......demons?

"To make this woman march means to openly declare war to our religious values.

Ah, gee.....get over it.