Hemani is a Shi'a Muslim, and there is a very political motivation behind his arrest. The FBI alleges that he and his family have ties to the Iranian military and government due to the trips they have made there. The federal government used this as justification to conduct a raid of the Hemani family’s home in August 2022, in search of anything that could incriminate the family.

The FBI found Ali Danial Hemani in possession of a small amount of drugs, which under no normal circumstance would deny someone the possibility of bail, but because of a legally-owned firearm, they are attempting to persecute him as a supposed addict ineligible to be in possession of a gun. The legislation Hemani is being charged under is the Gun Control Act of 1968, which prohibits drug users from possessing firearms – a gun control measure which was aimed to disarm Black people and oppressed people in the context of the radical movements of the time, and has also been declared unconstitutional in U.S. v. Connelly in Texas and U.S. v. Harrison in Oklahoma.

Since February 10, Hemani has been detained without bail, on account of being a “danger to society” and a “risk”, citing he had been indoctrinated by “radical ideology”. On March 9, there was a bail hearing, where the primary focus of the prosecutors had nothing to do with the actual crime committed. Instead, they focused on his and his family's alleged Iran connections, and allegations against Danial Hemani’s mother as a radical extremist, which clearly demonstrates the Islamophobic roots of this case. On March 21, Magistrate Judge Kimberly C Priest Johnson denied the motion for pretrial release, justifying the denial with similar Islamophobic rhetoric to that of the hearing.

On April 25, Hemani’s attorney filed a motion to revoke or amend the detention order. On April 28, U.S. Federal Attorneys Brit Featherston and Heather Rattan responded to the motion with continued Islamophobic rhetoric.

A hearing on a motion to dismiss the case is scheduled for June 15 at 10 a.m. to be heard by Magistrate Judge Kimberly C Priest Johnson.

There is a petition to free Ali Danial Hemani at https://www.change.org/p/help-us-free-ali-danial-hemani and the family is accepting donations for a legal defense fund on Zelle at freehemani@gmail.com. The case docket is available for free here: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/66799720/united-states-v-hemani/

#DallasTX #Islamophobia

The rally was held to protest an act of vandalism in which a slur for a Middle-Eastern or Muslim person was spray-painted on the garage door of the Bullet Cab Company, a local business owned by Mian “Mike” Ahmad, who is Muslim. As of this time no suspects have been identified for this hate crime.

Speakers led chants espousing the need for equality, and “freedom and justice for all!” After the speakers had their say Ahmad was presented with over $1000 from a GoFundMe campaign to pay for the graffiti cleanup. The space has since been painted over with a mural by local artists Cathryn Dagendesh and Adam Faeth which reads, “One community, one family, hate has no place here!”

Looking back, however, La Crosse has a history as a ‘sundown city’ during the heyday of overt segregation across United States. This history serves as a reminder that racist discrimination was far from contained to the southern states. The occurrence of this hate crime reminds us to remain strong against the rising tide of xenophobia and national chauvinism.

The perpetrator of this hateful vandalism was ideologically aided and abetted by those in the highest seats of power in the government and media. These figures are directly responsible for the actions of these and other people by providing a platform to normalize and incite the far-right, fascist ideology.

“While I am glad that so many people showed up to voice their support, including some prominent community members, we need to be proactive in our attempts to root out racist ideology of all kinds and not just reactively decry racism after the fact,” said rally attendee Jeremy Schroeder. “These types of people are mobilizing and becoming stronger every day and we need to rise to meet them or nobody will.”

The rally was organized by the La Crosse Interfaith Shoulder to Shoulder Network, Showing Up for Social Justice, and the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse (UWL) Campus Climate and was attended by such area notables as Mayor Tim Kabat and UWL Chancellor Joe Gow.

#LaCrosseWI #PeoplesStruggles #Islamophobia #Antiracism #BulletCabCompany

Minneapolis, MN – Over 250 people rallied and marched through the Cedar-Riverside and Seward neighborhoods Sept.17, showing solidarity and denouncing the hate crimes being committed against Muslims. The protest started at May Day Plaza and included a march to the headquarters of the Republican Party of Minnesota on Franklin Avenue, where they confronted the Islamophobic message of Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate.

Sabry Wazwaz, a Palestinian-American activist with the Minnesota Anti-War Committee, was the first speaker to address the crowd before leading chants on the march route. He spoke out against the U.S. government’s use of terrorism as an excuse to attack Muslims at home and abroad. He was inspired by the action and told Fight Back!, “Today people of all faiths, color and no faith stood together in solidarity to say no to Islamophobia and racism. It was wonderful and beautiful to see.”

Burhan Mohumed, a Somali-American activist with Minnesotans Against Islamophobia, explained the significance of the protest for himself and many of his fellow community members, “We can and must confront the climate of fear promoted by the haters like Trump. Coming out to protests, with Muslims and non-Muslims in solidarity, is one of the strongest ways that I can think of to do this. Today I witnessed the power of the people. We marched to together for justice. I feel more inspired and empowered by the people.”

Filsan Ibrahim and Aisha Mohamed both spoke to the rally and denounced the Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) program run by the Department of Justice in Minneapolis. CVE criminalizes and spies on the Somali community in Minnesota and is a classic divide and conquer tactic using ‘trusted’ individuals and organizations; infiltrators posing as friends, teachers in schools, and social service organizations. Protesters carried signs denouncing CVE and chanted, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, CVE has got to go,” and “See me not CVE.”

The march opposed the anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim speech coming from candidates during this election season. Donald Trump was called out by speakers from the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee for his calls for banning Muslims from entering the U.S. and for building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

The Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC) organized the march to draw attention to the cost of 15 years of the war on terror at home. Misty Rowan of the AWC explains, “We need to stand up against Islamophobia and the government’s targeting of our Muslim sisters and brothers as terrorists. As we marched through the Somali-American community, we saw many smiling faces and raised fists from people in cars and on balconies. There was a real feeling solidarity and gratitude from the people who live in the neighborhood.”

This protest was part of a national call by Stand Together Against Racism and Islamophobia and was co-sponsored by the Minnesota Anti-War Committee and Minnesotans Against Islamophobia. The march was endorsed by anti-war groups, student organizations, anti-police brutality groups and the St. Paul Federation of Teachers.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Islamophobia

Tampa, FL – About 20 student activists from Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) came together, June 24, to speak out against the Orlando shooting, homophobia and Islamophobia. The protest occurred on the campus of University of South Florida.

The group of students made clear that this attack was not because of mental illness or ‘Islamic extremism’ but rather homophobia and patriarchy perpetuated by the ruling class. The group of students also called out USF’s administration and their blatant homophobia for refusing to change the name of the C.W. Bill Young Building on campus.

The building is named after C.W. Bill Young a republican congressman. Bill Young was a member of the Johns Committee, a committee prominent during the 1960s which directly targeted and discriminated against suspected queer people, civil rights leaders and communists.

SDS member Brett Behers spoke on the media’s role in the Orlando shooting. “Coverage by the mainstream media has been doing a lot more harm than good. The LGBT community, being victimized, and made to feel fear; and the Muslim community, being demonized, and made to be feared.”

Sam Beutler, an SDS member, connected Tampa Bay SDS’s campaign with fight against systemic homophobia and patriarchy: “When SDS demands administration #ChangeTheName of the homophobic CW Bill Young building, we strike a blow to the foundations of homophobia at the root of the Orlando shooting.”

Tampa Bay SDS will continue to fight against homophobia, Islamophobia, and USF’s administration in the upcoming semester.

#TampaFL #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #Islamophobia #Orlando #homophobia

Tampa, FL – Two-dozen people rallied here, Jan. 13, to end violence against Muslims and refugees in Tampa. The Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR)-Tampa organized the rally against Islamophobic violence in Tampa.

One Muslim woman in New Tampa had stones and other objects thrown at her, while another Muslim woman's car was shot at in East Tampa. Both were leaving mosques when they were attacked. Another anti-Muslim incident in the Tampa area involved a man leaving a voicemail threatening to set off a bomb in a local mosque.

These Islamophobic attacks, and the political repression of Muslims and Arabs in the U.S., coincide with ongoing U.S. intervention in Syria and Iraq. At the same time, Florida Governor Rick Scott opposes resettling Syrian refugees in Florida and called on Congress to ensure they are denied entry.

The CSFR-Tampa united people around four major demands: an end to Islamophobic violence, for Governor Rick Scott to welcome refugees to Florida, no more U.S. military intervention in Syria and the Middle East, and justice for Rasmea Odeh, a Palestinian American activist being targeted by the U.S. government.

Muaaz Hassan of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest civil rights organization representing Muslims in the U.S., affirmed the demands, “At the core of Islamophobia is empire and imperialism, which dominates the world. To justify their horrendous foreign policy, the U.S. government and corporate media demonize Muslims. We must work to educate our community to fight back against state repression and violence, or be complicit in these grave injustices.”

Danya Zituni of the CSFR-Tampa summarized the importance of the rally, “We cannot rely on the politicians who politically repress, racially profile, jail, torture and murder our families to make social change. We need to build the mass movements that collectively struggle for an end to all systemic oppression under this racist, capitalist system.”

Other organizations at the rally included Friends of Human Rights, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, St. Pete for Peace and Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

The Committee to Stop FBI Repression-Tampa and allies are planning a rally in solidarity with Rasmea Odeh when the written ruling of her appeal is announced.

#TampaFL #AntiwarMovement #PeoplesStruggles #Islamophobia

Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 people came out for a protest against islamophobia and racism, Feb. 17, in response to the killing of three Muslim students last week. Gathered at a busy intersection in the heart of the local Somali community, near the University of Minnesota campus, they held signs and chanted for an hour, as temperatures dropped below zero.

Organizers sought to honor the lives of Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Abu-Salha, 21 and her sister, Razan Abu-Salha, 19, who were executed by a neighbor in their home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on Feb. 10. While local police and media have said the murders were motivated by a parking dispute, family members of the victims say the crime was fueled by islamophobia and racism. Protesters slammed the media silence on this story in general, and the unwillingness to name racism and islamophobia as contributing factors in this case.

Sabry Wazwaz of the Anti-War Committee led chants throughout the event, along with Caleb Murphy. The rally closed with brief remarks by Wazwaz, as well as Sahro Ismail, a member of the large local Somali community and Tarik Rasouli and Karmel Sabri, who are organizing a major event for Palestinian activist Rasmea Odeh. Some at the rally carried signs for Rasmea Odeh, and all were urged to attend Rock for Rasmea on Feb. 21 at Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #PeoplesStruggles #Islamophobia #AntiWarCommittee #ChapelHillShooting

“This could have been me,” said Mariam Aboulela from the Muslim Student Association. FSU students of all different nationalities and religions on campus joined her. After the vigil the Muslim students hosted a prayer for the victims.

Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha were shot and killed by an anti-Muslim bigot in their apartment complex in Chapel Hill. Barakat was a dental student; all three were Arab Americans.

The attack prompted vigils and actions all over the country to speak out against the islamophobia fueling the murder. The Muslim Student Association, Students for Justice in Palestine, Dream Defenders and Students for a Democratic Society gathered at FSU.

With attacks on Muslims and Arab-Americans occurring on a daily basis, students across the country are speaking out against islamophobia as well as the negative stereotypes of Muslims portrayed in the U.S. media.

#TallahasseeFL #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #Islamophobia #DreamDefenders #Antiracism #StudentsForJusticeInPalestine #DeahShaddyBarakat #RazanMohammadAbuSalha #MuslimStudentAssociation #YusorMohammadAbuSalha

Osmakac immigrated with his family from Kosovo in the aftermath of the war in 2000. As a devout Muslim, Osmakac attended mosques throughout the Tampa Bay area. He later became a U.S. citizen. He frequently talked about the local homeless problem in the Tampa Bay area and helped give food to those in need. He also has no prior criminal record.

Osmakac was arrested in January 2012 after allegedly trying to buy weapons off of undercover FBI agents. Since then, he has spent almost two and a half years in solitary confinement. Currently he is housed in the medical area of the Pinellas County jail under suicide watch. Before his arrest he had been diagnosed with mental illnesses.

Mel Underbakke, education committee director of the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms (NCPCF), is a local activist who had previously worked on the Sami Al-Arian trial in Tampa and is speaking out against this injustice. Underbakke said, “This is the third ‘terrorism’ trial I have attended at Sam Gibbons Federal Courthouse. The first two resulted in not guilty of terrorism verdicts by juries, but in both cases, the defendants had spent months and years in solitary confinement before the trial. Sadly, once again the defendant Sami Osmakac has not been accused of committing any violence, but nonetheless has been held in solitary confinement for two years before his trial began. Solitary confinement is torture and has the same lasting effects as physical torture.”

The federal prosecutors are using recordings from two FBI informants who had been spying on Osmakac or months. However, he had been talking with and led on by FBI informants for much longer. Sami Osmakac’s brother Avni Osmakac, said he had “seen agents around his house every day since 2010.” Their house frequently had undercover police vehicles parked nearby. Back then Sami had worked as a grocery stocker for a local market. This is where they think he met the first government informant. From there he spent over a year being coaxed and pushed by agents into making “radical YouTube videos”. He was eventually guided into buying fake weapons with money given to him by the FBI. Government videos show FBI informants teaching and pushing Sami into committing acts of terrorism.

The U.S. government has been trying to build a case of lies and doctored evidence to portray a mentally ill man as a terrorist. Accidental recordings between informants and their FBI supervisors have revealed other important information. From the beginning it shows, the supervisors were telling the informants to get them a “Hollywood ending.” And that the recordings of Osmakac were “gifts” for the government prosecution. It also revealed what the informants thought of Sami. At one point they said Sami was “wishy-washy” and doubted whether or not he would even carry out the FBI's planned “attack”.

Like in the other trials, the U.S. government tries to portray Muslims, Arab-Americans and even anti-war activists as terrorists. Jared Hamil, of the Tampa Committee to Stop FBI Repression says, “They do so for two reasons – for propagandizing for their wars on countries in the Middle East and to scare other Muslims and Arab peoples from speaking out against U.S.-led invasions and occupations. Just as we see with the case of Rasmea Odeh, the U.S. government will do whatever it can to silence those who are outspoken and calling them out.”

Avni Osmakac states, “the real terrorism is going on in the courtroom.” Activists in the area plan to speak out against this trial in the coming weeks.

#TampaFL #PoliticalPrisoners #Islamophobia #politicalRepression #InjusticeSystem #SamiOsmakac

Judge Michael J. Davis handed down a 20-year sentence for Amina Ali and a 10-year sentence for Hawo Hassan. Both are well respected humanitarian workers. Hundreds of supporters from the Somali community in Minnesota came to the sentencing hearing.

Before sentencing the two Muslim women to prison May 16, U.S. District Judge Michael Davis asked each woman if she supported “jihad, suicide bombings and Sharia law.” Judge Davis also asked, “Does she understand there are some Muslim women who wear dresses or short skirts?” Davis said he was trying to decide whether the defendants would “support terrorist causes” when they are released from prison. The questions reportedly drew audible reactions in a courtroom packed with Muslim spectators.

“It is misguided and unethical for a judge to reference an individual's general support of mainstream Islamic principles, known as Sharia, during sentencing to determine a defendant's future dangerousness,” said CAIR Staff Attorney Gadeir Abbas. “By also linking modest dress to a propensity for violence, the judge revealed a disturbing bias that may have impacted his decisions in this case and his sentencing of the defendants.”

He added that CAIR's complaint will not deal with the specifics of the cases or the charges against the defendants, but with the action of the judge in inappropriately questioning the defendants on their views about Sharia and modest attire, both of which are irrelevant to their cases.

#WashingtonDC #ImmigrantRights #Islamophobia #CouncilOnAmericanIslamicRelations #HawoMohamedHassan #AminaAli #InjusticeSystem

The film showed the round-up of Japanese Americans after the Japanese empire attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor. Korematsu tried to evade the round-up, was caught and arrested, and set to a concentration camp. He fought his arrest all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 1944 upheld the government’s round-up by a six to three margin. Then in the 1980s, a team of young Asian American lawyers fought with Korematsu to overturn his conviction on the basis that the government had suppressed evidence that there was no threat from Japanese Americans. A federal court vacated (cancelled) his conviction, but the Supreme Court did not rehear the case, and did not rule the camps unconstitutional.

The film was followed by a panel of speakers from the Japanese American and American Muslim communities. Tom Izu, director of the California History Center of De Anza College in Cupertino, California, spoke about his own experience of being called a traitor by another faculty member after organizing a program on the WWII concentration camps after September 11, 2001. He was followed by Yasir Afifi, a young college student who found a GPS tracking device attached to his car and is currently suing the government over this. The last speaker was Zahra Billoo, the executive director of the Bay Area Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), who said that it was important for people to fight discrimination and government harassment.

The panel was moderated by Masao Suzuki, a member of the Nihonmachi Outreach Committee and the South Bay Committee Against Political Repression, who spoke of his own experience of being visited by the FBI as part of the FBI raids and federal grand jury subpoenas on 23 Midwest anti-war and international solidarity activists. The program was chaired by Will Kaku of the Japanese American Museum of San José, which organized the event. He quoted the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in urging solidarity between the Japanese American community and American Muslims.

#SanJoséCA #JapaneseAmericanInternment #Islamophobia #MasaoSuzuki #AntiWar23 #WorldWarII #FredKorematsu

Tampa, FL – On Sept. 11, members of various student and community groups gathered at the University of South Florida (USF) to commemorate the millions of victims affected by the conflicts sparked by the U.S. after the attacks on this day eleven years ago. The gathering was organized by Tampa Against the War on Terror and was supported by the campus chapter of Students for a Democratic Society. It came before a counter-protest in downtown Tampa, against a hate group that was seeking to ban the Council on America-Islamic Relations from speaking in Hillsborough County Public Schools.

The event started with the distribution of signs and artwork which depicted the gruesome realities and toll of the War on Terror. This was followed by a march around the USF Student Center, where people chanted, “No justice, no peace, no war in the Middle East,” and “Drop tuition, not bombs.”

The protesters ended their march inside the Student Center, where Tefa Galvis, an organizer with Tampa Against the War on Terror, invited everyone present to get involved to end the wars, while a banner that stated the figures on the lives and resources lost in the past eleven years was dropped from the third floor. Galvis went on to add that the rising cost of tuition was directly related to the amount of money spent on these wars.

A representative from the University attempted to stop the protest. Despite this, Matt Hastings, an organizer with SDS, gave a speech blasting the racist interventions in the Middle East, particularly the recent U.S. involvement in Syria, declaring, “No drone strikes, and no tuition hikes!”

The crowd then swiftly organized a caravan to join the counter-protest downtown, where the Education Coalition, consisting of Tea Partiers from across the state, was holding a press conference outside of a Hillsborough County School Board meeting to denounce the Council on America-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a ‘jihadist’ organization and to attempt to get CAIR banned from speaking at local schools. The counter-protest quickly broke the lines of the press conference with chants such as, “No hate, no fear,” to make sure that the anti-Islamic message made by the group was not welcomed in the city of Tampa.

#TampaFL #AntiwarMovement #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #Islamophobia #September11 #TampaAgainstTheWarOnTerror

Gainesville, FL – Chanting, “When the Muslim people are under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back!” about 300 people rallied and marched here Sept. 11 in response to the threatened Qur’an burning by Pastor Terry Jones's church, the Dove World Outreach Center. The protest was organized by the Gainesville Area Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and it received support from the community at large.

The protest began at Possum Creek Park, where speakers denounced the anti-Muslim bigotry and racism that is spread by the Dove World Outreach Center. From there, demonstrators marched to the church. Cops prevented protesters from using bull horns, but they were not silent. Among their chants was, “Same thing every time, being Muslim’s not a crime!” and, “Hey hey, ho ho! Terry Jones has got to go!” Students for a Democratic Society carried a large banner reading, “SDS stands against bigotry and racism.”

Justin Wooten, a protest organizer and member of SDS stated, “We sent a message to the world that our community is opposed to racism and anti -Muslim bigotry. We know that reactionary politicians who promote hatred of Muslims have a deeper agenda. They are prompting the racism and inequality that’s faced by Arabs, South East Asians and African Americans. And they are supporting U.S. wars and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq.” Wooten also noted that backers of Israel have worked hard to support anti-Muslim bigotry.

The Gainesville protest was one of the many that took place across the United States on Sept. 11. In New York City, 10,000 people rallied in solidarity with the Muslim community in the struggle over the Islamic Community Center near the World Trade Center site. Other protests against anti-Muslim bigotry took place in a number of cities, including Minneapolis, Ashville, North Carolina and Chicago.

#GainesvilleFL #StudentMovement #Islamophobia #GainesvilleAreaStudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #KoranBurning

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following article from Workers World.

New York – In a city that is home to more nationalities than any other in the world, all seemed represented in the crowd of thousands who came to demonstrate in the City Hall area on Sept. 11. They were there to express solidarity with the Muslim community in the struggle over the building of an Islamic Community Center near the World Trade Center site.

Answering the call of the Emergency Mobilization Against Racism & Anti-Muslim Bigotry, people from Boston, Washington and in between joined thousands of New Yorkers in a display of the strength of the anti-racist movement that embraced young and old, people of all the colors of the city and region, gay and straight. The demonstrators exuded a spirit of unity and cooperation by chanting, marching and then chipping in their labor to clean up at the end of the day’s action.

International Action Center co-coordinator Sara Flounders, one of the rally chairs, told Workers World that “10,000 people joined today, coming from dozens of communities in the city. They represented neighborhood organizations, religious groups of all kinds, political and anti-war groups and human rights groups. Many workers wore their union caps or tee shirts.”

Just naming Flounders’ co-chairs gives a modest idea of the breadth of the rally’s support: They were Sayel Kayed of American Muslims for Palestine; Dr. Asha A. Samad-Matias of the Safrad Somali Association and the Muslim Women’s Coalition; Lucy Pagoda of the May 1st Coalition for Worker and Immigrant Rights; and Amadi Ajamu of the December 12th Movement. Another 48 diverse speakers and cultural groups gave greetings or performances.

At 3 p.m. the pro-unity gathering far outnumbered an anti-Muslim protest organized by the much-publicized Tea Party. In addition, hundreds of anti-racist protesters, many with home-made signs, were surrounding the Tea Party and showing their opposition to its message of hatred. Just two weeks earlier the anti-Muslim crowd had been getting the main media attention and was pouring money into advertising for their action.

In late August the IAC had put out an initial call for a counter-rally; soon more than 100 organizations had come together and formed the Emergency Mobilization. With little time to organize and less money, the ad hoc group was still able to get out 100,000 pieces of literature in the two weeks before the rally.

“We had to organize on a shoestring budget,” said Flounders, “putting the bills for leaflets and posters and signs on people’s credit cards and hoping we could pay for the demonstration. It was worth it. We showed that a broad section of the city won’t let the racists invade and dominate 9/11.”

The message from the nearly 50 speakers on the stage of the Emergency Mobilization action was a strong one of solidarity and unity — solidarity with the Muslim community in the United States and unity of all the forces who came that day in the struggle against all forms of racism and scapegoating, against U.S. wars abroad and for jobs, education and social benefits at home.

One of those speakers, Larry Holmes of the Bail Out the People Movement, told Workers World, “We brought out the real New York City — a city of workers and peoples of color from all around the world. This mobilization started because we were forced to defend our Muslim sisters and brothers. It will continue because we have to open up the struggle against war, against racism, and for jobs, education and health care. There is much more to fight for and now we all know who we can count on.”

#NewYorkNY #WorldTradeCenter #Islamophobia #MuslimCommunityCenter #EmergencyMobilizationAgainstRacismAntiMuslimBigotry #WorkersWorld

Emergency Mobilization Against Racism and Anti-Islamic Bigotry

Say NO to Racism and anti-Islamic Bigotry

Stand for Unity and Solidarity on Saturday, September 11

Saturday Sept. 11 in NYC

1:00 p.m. Assemble and rally at east side of City Hall, then March

Rally at Park Pl. and Church St. (Manhattan)

Why we are marching on September 11th

The Emergency Mobilization Against Racism and Anti-Islamic Bigotry is organizing a rally for civil rights and religious freedom on Saturday, September 11th. This rally is a response to the ugly and violent attacks, both verbal and physical, which are happening more and more frequently around the country. It is also a specific response to the hate-filled protest being called by a coalition of racist and anti-Islamic organizations on September 11th.

The wave of Islamophobia being stirred up against the proposed Islamic Center at Park51 in Lower Manhattan and Islamic institutions and people around the country has poisoned our nation’s climate. We feel we cannot remain silent and surrender the streets of New York City to the forces of hate and bigotry on this day. We must offer an antidote to this poison.

We called this rally for unity and respect only after the well-funded rally called by racist groupings on September 11 had become a national outrage. The MTA agreed to their inflammatory bus ads. The mainstream media gave extensive pre-publicity coverage, including program, speakers, websites and interviews for this September 11 rally of the racist forces. Such pre-publicity has never been given to progressive, anti-war or union struggles. In the face of all this we cannot remain silent.

Our Rally will send a message many thousands strong, of unity, respect and solidarity in the face of the increasing climate of racism and bigotry against Muslims, Arabs and South Asians in the US.

These bigots have very consciously chosen the location of their rally – the proposed Islamic Community Center at Park Place and Church St in lower Manhattan (Park51) – in an attempt to intimidate the Center’s sponsors and the Muslim community as a whole. And they chose the date without regard to the feelings of the thousands of survivors, including many Muslim families, of what happened on 9/11.

This hatred and attempt at intimidation is typical of these groups’ actions all around the country, as mosques and community centers have suffered abusive picketing during Ramadan and other times of prayer; shooting attacks – such as the one this week in Carlton, New York; firebombings; desecration; and attempts to get town and city authorities to deny permits for much-needed expansion plans. These actions have already created an atmosphere that led to the horrific slashing of New York City taxi driver Ahmed Sharif, the desecration the very next day of a mosque in Queens, and fear of many more such heinous attacks.

We are rallying on 9/11 in lower Manhattan to let the racists know that we will be there every time they threaten our Muslim sisters and brothers, that we will not stand for abuse, intimidation, or attacks of any kind, anywhere, at any time.

Finally, we take note of and support the vigil that will be held on September 10th, and respect the choice of those who choose to show their solidarity on that day. Our action on the 11th is a supplement to, not a substitute for, that vigil, in keeping with our main emphasis:

Not one attack on Muslims, any day, anywhere!

Please join us on Saturday, September 11th, at 1pm on the east side of City Hall facing Brooklyn Bridge.

After this initial Unity Rally we will march at 2pm to Park Place and Church Street for a second rally.

For more information, flyers, endorsers see:

www.iacenter.org/muslimsolidarity

DONATE to the mobilization at iacenter.org/muslimsolidaritydonate

ENDORSE the mobilization at iacenter.org/muslimsolidarityendorse

Download flyers, Volunteer and Get Involved at iacenter.org/muslimsolidarity

Partial list of endorsers:

Al-Awda NY Palestine Right To Return Coalition

American Muslims For Palestine

Arab Muslim American Federation-AMAF

Bail Out The People Movement

BAYAN USA-Philippine American Alliance

Bethlehem Neighbor for Peace, Albany, NY

Black Workers For Justice

Bronx Greens

CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities

Casa Esperanza, Plainfield, NJ

Catholic Scholars For Worker Justice, White Plains, NY

Creative Nonviolent Resistance Against Injustice, Wyckoff, NJ

Dec. 12 Movement

Defenders For Freedom, Justice & Equality, VA

Democratic Labor Party, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Drum-Desis Rising Up & Moving

Families United For Justice In America-FUJA

Fight Imperialism Stand Together-FIST

Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition

Freedom Road Socialist Organization

Gabriela USA

Green Party Power to the People, New York, NY

Guyanese American Workers United

In the Name of Humanity

International Action Center

International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network

Islamic Leadership Council of New York

Jersey City Peace Movement

Labor for Palestine

Los Angeles Latino Muslims Association

Malcolm X Grassroots Movement

Masjid As-Salam, Albany, NY

May 1 Workers And Immigrant Rights Coalition

Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice

Million Worker March Movement

Millions For Mumia

MN Anti War Committee

Moratorium Now Coalition To Stop Foreclosures, Evictions & Utility Shutoffs

Muslim Solidarity Committee

New York City Labor Against the War

National Assembly

Nodutdol For Korean Community Development

North East Peace And Justice Action Coalition

NYC Coalition to Stop Islamaphobia

NYC Jericho Movement

Pakistan USA Freedom Forum

Pan Africa News Wire

Peoples Organization For Progress

Project Salam , Albany, NY

Queers For Economic Justice

Radical Women, Harlem, NY

Senegalese Workers Association

Socialist Action

South Bronx Community Congress

Stonewall Warriors

Take Back WBAI Coalition

The Peace Thru Justice Foundation

U.S. Palestinian Community Network, NY

Women In Black, Westchester, NY

Women's Fightback Network

Workers World Party

World Can't Wait

#NewYorkNY #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #AntiRacism #Islamophobia #Park51