What is the fall out of the anti-Sharia campaigns. Such campaigns increase bias among the public by endorsing the idea that Muslims are second-class citizens. They encourage and accelerate both the acceptability of negative views of Muslims and the expression of those negative views by the public and government agencies like the police.
Exponential rise of Islamophobia
Recent years have witnesses an exponential rise in Islamophobia which should be understood as a potent political tool that is used to exploit fear to gain political mileage. The anti-Muslim sentiment in America is being generated by a cottage industry of Muslim bashers and Islamophobic groups. Some individuals, institutions and groups are at the center of pushing Islamophobia in America.
The quarter-million Muslims live in the San Francisco Bay Area face ongoing, entrenched Islamophobia more than a decade after 9/11, according to a new study released in May last. "The Bay Area Muslim Study: Establishing Community and Identity" found 40 percent of Muslims in the region have experienced personal discrimination and 23 percent have been victims of a hate crime. The discrimination against Muslims was particularly pronounced in school-aged children, the study found.
Islamophobia through anti-Islam bus ads: In March, muni buses were once again riding the streets of San Francisco with advertisements critical of Islam. The ads were purchased by Pamela Geller and the American Freedom Defense Initiative, who also put ads critical of Islam on Muni buses in 2012. San Francisco's Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution condemning the content of Islamophobic advertisements. The resolution is the first of its kind in the nation, sending a clear message that San Francisco's elected leaders stand against hate and Islamophobia.
Islamophobia through children toys: In another sign of rising Islamophobia in the country, the American Muslim community was surprised at the fabrication of a birthday card that depicts a veiled girl doll as a suicide bomber who'll "Blow Your Brains Out." Featuring a photo of a Muslim doll with a Hijab, the talking bubbles placed on top of the doll's photo read, "The Talking Doll, Pull string for message, if you dare," and "She'll Love You To Death! She'll Blow Your Brains Out !"
NYPD declares mosques as terrorist organizations
Amid the concerted Islamophobic campaigns the America Muslim community was stunned to know that the New York Police Department (NYPD) has secretly designated mosques as "terrorist organizations." The Associated Press reported on August 28 that the designation allowed the police to use informants to record sermons and spy on imams, even without any evidence of criminal activity. According to the AP report , designating an entire mosque as a terrorism enterprise means that anyone who attends prayer services there is a potential subject of an investigation and fair game for surveillance.
The AP report further said: "Since the 9/11 attacks, the NYPD has opened at least a dozen "terrorism enterprise investigations" into mosques...... The TEI, as it is known, is a police tool intended to help investigate terrorist cells and the like. Many TEIs stretch for years, allowing surveillance to continue even though the NYPD has never criminally charged a mosque or Islamic organization with operating as a terrorism enterprise."
It may be pointed out that in August 2011, the AP exposed the NYPD spy program, which is allegedly being conducted with the assistance of individuals linked to the CIA. The AP reported that the NYPD is using covert surveillance techniques "that would run afoul of civil liberties rules if practiced by the federal government" and "does so with unprecedented help from the CIA in a partnership that has blurred the bright line between foreign and domestic spying."
Understandably, on June 18, 2013, civil rights groups filed a federal lawsuit charging that the NYPD's Muslim Surveillance Program has imposed an unjustified badge of suspicion and stigma on hundreds of thousands of innocent New Yorkers. It was filed on behalf of religious and community leaders, mosques, and a charitable organization that were all swept up in the NYPD's dragnet surveillance of Muslim New Yorkers.
Muslims need not apply
"Muslims Need Not Apply" is the title of a report of the American Civil Liberty Union (ACLU) which revealed that a covert national security program allows the FBI and US immigration authorities the power to indefinitely delay immigration benefits to Muslims and those from Muslim countries. According to Jennie Pasquarella, the ACLU report writer, the Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program, or CARRP, secret program, relies on "deeply flawed" mechanisms such as "over-broad watch-list systems" and religious, national origin and associational profiling. "It not only catches far too many harmless applicants in its net, but it has overwhelmingly affected applicants who are Muslim or perceived to be Muslim."
The ACLU
report, released on August 21, has given examples of specific cases. Application of Tarek Hamdi,
an Egyptian, was rejected simply because he made his annual tithing (or a
religious donation, known as zakat in Islam) to an Islamic relief aid
organization, Benevolence International Foundation . The government later
shuttered the charity on allegations that it supported terrorism, and
prosecutors charged its leader with defrauding donors like Tarek. Nonetheless,
USCIS flagged Tarek, and what should have been a six-month citizenship process
took 11 years, ending only when a judge ruled in his favor (after numerous
attempts by USCIS to deny his application).
Under CARRP, USCIS also delays applications based on harmless contacts. Mahdi
Asgari, an Iranian, was flagged after facing questions from the FBI about his
relationship with an acquaintance from graduate school -- an acquaintance with
whom Mahdi has scarce contact, beyond occasional holiday greeting emails.
"It shatters your belief to some extent in what America stands for,"
says Mahdi, a mathematics professor who was forced to wait three years before
USCIS allowed him to become a citizen.
Hassan Razmara, another Iranian and practicing Muslim, is still waiting. It has
been nearly six years. The reason: Hassan attended a West Covina mosque that
was under FBI surveillance. The imam was later charged with several crimes,
including filing false tax returns. Hassan did nothing wrong. But an FBI agent
questioned him about the mosque, and asked Hassan to become an informant -- in
exchange for expedited citizenship. Hassan declined. USCIS has yet to decide on
his application.
Samir, a Tunisian national, practicing Muslim, and thirteen-year lawful resident of the United States, has been waiting for three years for a determination on his naturalization application. He has never been charged with or convicted of a crime. Samir is routinely subject to secondary inspection when he returns to the United States and he was once denied boarding on a U.S. flight. He is thus likely on the Terrorist Watch List.
Pasquarella, who conducted interviews with dozens of migrants, and examined CARRP policy documents obtained through litigation and Freedom of Information requests, said the investigation "only scratches the surface" because it focuses on naturalization cases. The program also covers those who apply for visas, green cards and asylum.
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