Local Islamic Leaders Denounce Orlando Shooting, Stress Unity
Islamic leaders in Alabama have condemned Sunday morning’s deadly shooting rampage at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida — a shooting carried out by a Muslim man claiming allegiance to the Islamic State. WBHM’s Sherrel Wheeler Stewart spoke with Khaula Hadeed, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Alabama.
Hadeed says Omar Mateen, the man who was gunned down after shooting dozens of people, represents enemies of the faith and humanity.
Interview Highlights:
Impact on the Muslim community:
“This was an extremely trying and overwhelming day for the entire Muslim community. This is something our community is dealing with. That this could happen at a time like this. Muslims around the world this month are observing Ramadan. We reached out to the interfaith communities. We reached out to our community. Most of the response was amazing and overwhelmingly love and compassion.”
Stereotypes and the Muslim Community:
“Events like these don’t help. They actually make our jobs harder because of all the work that has gone on over the years and in the past couple of months. All of the bridges we try to build are undermined by the actions of some crazy people who are hateful and who hate people.”
Donald Trump’s call for ban on entry to United States
“When he said it, it was surreal. Living in America, someone, let alone a presidential candidate could come up with a statement like that or a theory like that. First of all, it’s unconstitutional. To suggest something like that is antithetical to what America stands for. To me it’s just a random statement, but that statement is extremely, extremely divisive, and it’s extremely dangerous.
Alabama’s Muslim community demographics
“Some of them are recent immigrants, but most have been here for a very long time. They are second generation or before. They have raised families here. They have built mosques here. They are part of the community. They are your doctors, your lawyers, your real estate agents, your taxi drivers, your nurses, your teachers. They’ve been part of Alabama for a very long time.”
What led the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to crash in India with 242 people aboard?
"It just appears to me that the airplane is unable to climb," former NTSB investigator Jeff Guzzetti tells NPR. Several explanations could account for that, the aviation expert says.
In first-of-its-kind lawsuit, Hollywood giants sue AI firm for copyright infringement
Disney and Universal's 110-page lawsuit against Midjourney claims the AI player stole "countless" copyrighted works to train its software.
Trump’s efforts to defund NPR and PBS playing out in Congress and the courts
Trump and other Republicans want to rescind more than $1 billion in federal funding already approved for NPR and PBS. The president also issued an executive order intended to prevent federal agencies from funding the two public broadcasting networks.
Sen. Padilla forcibly removed from DHS press conference in Los Angeles
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was forcibly removed and handcuffed at a Homeland Security press conference in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Alabama drops four places in national child well-being rankings
Alabama ranked 43rd nationally for child well-being in the latest KIDS COUNT data book from by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
The GOP’s massive bill would benefit the rich the most — while hitting the poor
The top 10% of earners in the U.S. would see the biggest gains under the GOP tax and spending package, according to congressional forecasters, but those at the bottom of the income ladder would be worse off.
