Muslim Organization Calls on Public Leaders to Condemn Anti-Islamic Sentiment
The Alabama chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is calling on public officials to condemn growing anti-Islamic sentiment, specifically a flier they say has been distributed in northern Alabama. CAIR says the recruitment flier from the Ku Klux Klan has been seen in Cullman and Decatur and urges people help the group “fight the spread of Islam” in the United States.
The flier adds to tensions among Alabama Muslims sparked by Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s call to ban Muslims from entering the United States and a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, last week which left 14 dead. Investigators believe the act was committed by a radicalized Muslim couple.
Birmingham area mosques have increased security. Birmingham resident Labeebah Abdullah is among those troubled by Trump’s comments.
“[I’m concerned] that someone with some type of ideology that connects with him will want to do something crazy,” said Abdullah. “And that’s the danger of that kind of rhetoric.”
Meanwhile Birmingham Islamic Society President Ashfaq Taufique says he’s contacted the FBI after several members received suspicious messages on social media. He says mosque members received friend requests from an unknown person. He says one member received a message from that unknown contact saying, “We are at war and we must stick together.”
Taufique says the communication came before the San Bernardino shootings and that the message is unclear, but it could be tied to extremism.
South Korea halts propaganda broadcasts along border with rival North
The South resumed the daily loudspeaker broadcasts in June last year in retaliation for North Korea flying trash-laden balloons toward the South in a psychological warfare campaign.
Immigration enforcement ramps up, tensions persist in big cities
Cities prepare for nationwide protests on Saturday.
Federal judge says he could release Mahmoud Khalil as soon as this week
Judge Michael Farbiarz said the government cannot keep Khalil detained based on its accusation that he threatens U.S. foreign policy goals. But the judge gave the government time to appeal.
RFK Jr. names new slate of vaccine advisers after purging CDC panel
Two days after firing vaccine experts who help set the nation's immunization policies, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has picked eight successors for the CDC panel.
Leaders of ‘orgasmic meditation’ company were convicted of forced labor: What to know
OneTaste billed itself as a sexual wellness business centered on "orgasmic meditation." Prosecutors said former leaders subjected victims to sexual and emotional abuse.
LA braces for Marines as California sues to stop military involvement
With the federalized National Guard deployed against the state's wishes and the Marines on the way to L.A., there are growing concerns about the policing role of the military.
