Constitutionally incorrect
|  | | Civil rights | |
Turning our back on religious freedom
By Sahar Aziz, September 1, 2010
On August 13, 2010, the White House sponsored the annual Iftar, a tradition started by President Bush in 2000, commemorating the month of Ramadan. Diplomats, members of Congress, and community leaders from diverse backgrounds celebrated America’s venerable support for religious diversity and freedom. At the dinner President Obama accurately summarized the Founders’ intent to preserve religious freedom in America, for native-born and immigrant alike. He commendably stated, “As a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan.”  ( 2 comments) | |
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 | In a recent poll, nearly one of five Americans expresses their belief that President Barack Obama is a Muslim, despite multiple statements to the contrary 2 weeks ago | |
| | | An estimated 20 million people have been displaced, and 1,500 confirmed dead, in floods that have affected nearly a fifth of the land area of Pakistan
2 weeks ago | |
| | | An estimated 20 million people have been displaced, and 1,500 confirmed dead, in floods that have affected nearly a fifth of the land area of Pakistan
2 weeks ago | |
| | | As expected, the New York Landmarks Commission denied landmark status for the building at the site of the Park51 community center in lower Manhattan, clearing the way for the project to go ahead 4 weeks ago | |
| | | The Anti-Defamation league states their opposition to the proposed Park51 community center in lower Manhattan, with an expected approval by New York's Landmarks Commission pending 1 month ago | |
| | | By a vote of 335 to 1, France's lower house of parliament approved a law banning the wearing of veils that cover the face in public places. 1 month ago | |
| | | The city of Teaneck, NJ selected councilman Mohammad Hameeduddin to be that city's new mayor, making him one of two Muslim mayors in the state of New Jersey (the other being Mohamed Khairullah of Prospect Park, NJ) Friday, July 02, 2010 | |
| | | At least 42 worshippers were killed in a suicide bombing of a Sufi shrine in Lahore, Pakistan Friday, July 02, 2010 | |
| |  | The 47th annual ISNA Convention will be taking place in Chicago from July 2-5 Friday, July 02, 2010 | |
| | | The Takin' It To The Streets festival, a daylong music and arts festival sponsored by the Inner City Muslim Action Network, will be taking place on June 19, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010 | |
| | | Judges at The Hague handed down two genocide convictions, sentencing two security officers for the Bosnian Serb Army to life in prison for their roles in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre
Thursday, June 10, 2010 | |
| | | Over 50 people were killed in coordinated attacks on two Ahmadi mosques in Lahore, Pakistan
Friday, May 28, 2010 | |
| | | Proposed bus ads exhorting Muslims to leave Islam cause controversy in Detroit and other US metro areas
Friday, May 28, 2010 | |
| | | On Sunday in Las Vegas, Nevada, Dearborn, Michigan resident Rima Fakih became the first Muslim to win the Miss USA pageant Tuesday, May 18, 2010 | |
| | | Plans are moving ahead for the construction of a 13-story mosque and cultural center in a building damaged by the 9/11 attacks in lower Manhattan Thursday, May 06, 2010 | |
| | | Fulfilling a pledge made at his June 2009 Cairo speech, President Obama is hosting an entrepreneurship summit at the White House today, with over 250 entrepreneurs from Muslim-majority countries Tuesday, April 27, 2010 | |
| | | The release of autopsy photos of Imam Luqman Abdullah, who was killed in a shootout with Detroit police, is fueling questions about the actions of law enforcement officials Thursday, April 08, 2010 | |
| | | After having a six-year ban on visiting the US lifted, Geneva-based professor Tariq Ramadan returned to the US to give a talk today at Cooper Union College in New York Thursday, April 08, 2010 | |
| | | A new bill that has been introduced in the province of Quebec requiring faces to be seen before receiving government services is widely considered to be directed towards Muslim women who wear the niqab, or face veil
Thursday, March 25, 2010 | |
| | | According to a new poll of 2,300 Americans shows that 57% of Republicans (and 32% of Americans overall) believe that President Barack Obama is a Muslim Tuesday, March 23, 2010 | |
| | | Journalists and editors at the Cairo-based offices of IslamOnline have staged a sit-in protest against their board's takeover by those who want to purge the site's more liberal content and eliminate their jobs Wednesday, March 17, 2010 | |
| | | Debbie Almontaser, the former principal of the Arabic-language Khalil Gibran International Academy in Brooklyn, NY, was found by a federal commission to have been discriminated against by her former employer
Saturday, March 13, 2010 | |
| | | The US-born spokeman for al-Qaida, Adam Gadahn, has been arrested in Pakistan, the same day he appeared in a video calling on Muslims in the US military to rebel Sunday, March 07, 2010 | |
| | | Aminah Assilmi, the world famous Islamic speaker and president of the International Union of Muslim Women was killed in a car accident in Knoxville, Tennesee on March 5, 2010.
Friday, March 05, 2010 | |
| | | Muslim scholar Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri of the Minhaj-ul-Quran International movement declared terrorism and suicide bombing un-Islamic in a 600-page fatwa revealed in a London press conference
Thursday, March 04, 2010 | |
| | | Cherie Blair, wife of former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and currently serving as a British judge, spared a Muslim from jail time in an assault case because he was "a religious man and know[s] this is not acceptable behaviour." Wednesday, February 17, 2010 | |
| | | In a video address to the 2010 US-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar, President Obama named White House official Rashad Hussein to be the US special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference
Saturday, February 13, 2010 | |
| | | Shahid Khan, a Muslim businessman from central Illinois, has purchased the St. Louis Rams, beating out efforts by radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh to do the same Thursday, February 11, 2010 | |
| | | The Detroit Board of Police Commissioners has passed a resolution calling for an investigation of Imam Luqman Abdullah, the Muslim cleric killed in a shootout with FBI agents seeking to arrest him Tuesday, February 09, 2010 | |
| | | A Swedish court ruled in favor of a Muslim man suing for discrimination after being told he wasn't hired because he refused to shake hands with a woman
Tuesday, February 09, 2010 | |
| | | According to results of a Gallup poll released Thursday, the the strongest predictor of prejudice against Muslims is whether or not a person holds similar feelings about Jews Thursday, January 21, 2010 | |
| | | The US military is taking action after it was discovered that gun sights manufactured by defense contractor Trijicon and used in Iraq and Afghanistan are engraved with Bible verse references Thursday, January 21, 2010 | |
| | | After having been banned from the US in 2004 after having accepted a teaching position at Notre Dame University, European academic Tariq Ramadan was allowed back into the United States per a directive from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 | |
| | | Muslim American relief organizations are contributing to relief efforts after this week's devastating earthquake in Haiti, including Hidaya, ISNA, and Islamic Relief USA, which provided an immediate allocation of $1 million
Thursday, January 14, 2010 | |
| | | After ruling that Catholics can use the word "Allah" to refer to God, Malaysia's high court has suspended the ruling in the face of rising tensions between Muslim and Christian Malays Wednesday, January 06, 2010 | |
| | | A legal dispute is brewing in the face of a decision by the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences to ban face coverings (including veils) for safety reasons; two Muslim students who would be affected by the ban have agreed to comply
Wednesday, January 06, 2010 | |
| | | The Inner City Muslim Action Network will be hosting a special " Community Cafe" event on January 23, 2010 at New York's Apollo Theater, featuring comedian Azhar Usman and actor/musician Mos Def, among others Friday, December 25, 2009 | |
| | | Chicago-based imam and writer Abdul Malik Mujahid has been selected to head the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions, which just concluded its 2009 meeting in Melbourne, Australia Monday, December 21, 2009 | |
| | | According to a new survey from a Southern Baptist-affiliated research group, two thirds of all US Protestant pastors believe Islam is a "dangerous" religion Monday, December 21, 2009 | |
| | | A new Pew research poll shows, among other things, that there is very little support for terrorism among Muslim Americans
Thursday, December 17, 2009 | |
| | | Six Americans - five men aged 18-25 and the father of one of them, all based in the Washington, DC area - have been arrested in Pakistan on charges of attempting to join a militant group Thursday, December 10, 2009 | |
| | | Plans are moving ahead for the establishment of an Islamic cultural, educational and recreational center two blocks from Ground Zero in lower Manhattan
Tuesday, December 08, 2009 | |
| | | The car rental company Hertz is being sued by two former employees, who claim that paid prayer breaks given to Muslim employees aren't also given to their non-Muslim colleagues Friday, December 04, 2009 | |
| | | A Long Island, NY shopkeeper who offered food and money to a would be robber, prompting him to convert to Islam, has received the money back along with a thank you note six months later Thursday, December 03, 2009 | |
| | | The most senior Muslim politician in Britain, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi of the Conservative Party, was pelted with eggs in Luton, England on Monday during a conversation with a group of activists who said they did not consider her a "proper Muslim"
Wednesday, December 02, 2009 | |
| | | After months of campaigning, Swiss voters have approved a ban on minarets, reflecting a backlash against that country's growing Muslim population Sunday, November 29, 2009 | |
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| Religious tolerance | |
| The Ground Zero synagogue By Ghassan Bridi, August 30, 2010 As opposition builds to the "Ground Zero mosque" by Americans, a "Ground Zero synagogue" was built in the heart of Beirut with little opposition by the Lebanese, who suffered a proportionally worse fate than New York did on 9/11. ( 2 comments) |
| Park51 | |
| It’s about the community, stupid By Abed Z. Bhuyan, August 25, 2010 The Park51 project in lower Manhattan cannot fail. It must not fail. Indeed, it has become a fight that needs fighting by all Americans. But it must begin with strong Muslim leadership. ( No comments) |
| Newsletter | |
| altmuslim this week - august 23, 2010 By Zahed Amanullah, August 24, 2010 This week, is there a connection between the heated rhetoric over Park51 and increased hate crimes against Muslims? Also, parallel struggles against anti-Muslim protests in Bradford, England and the innovation (and integration) on display in the 30 Mosques, 30 States and 30 Nights, 30 Grants projects. |
| Park51 | |
| Pride and prejudice By Muqtedar Khan, August 23, 2010 Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf's project to build bridges with America has inadvertently become a lightning rod for hatred. If he succeeds in building his center, it will be a triumph for America and its values. But American Muslims will have to pay a big price for it. ( 2 comments) |
| 30 Mosques, 30 States | |
| In search of Muslim America By Zahed Amanullah, August 23, 2010 This Ramadan, Bassam Tariq and Aman Ali expand on last year's exploration of 30 mosques in New York City with an ambitious drive across 30 states to visit 30 unique mosques, uncovering a diversity and dynamism that surprises us all. ( No comments) |
| Education | |
| The other Islam controversy in NYC By Asma Uddin, August 20, 2010 The campaign for school holidays for Muslim students in New York City may actually be detrimental to religious freedom by creating an all or nothing conflict - either recognize all holidays or none - that is most likely to result in the recognition of none. ( 3 comments) |
| Assimilation | |
| Looking for an American standard By Sara Haji, August 18, 2010 Does the American standard consist of freedom of religion, that fundamental right to which we thought ourselves entitled in this nation? Or has the new American standard become the method by which to deny American Muslims their rights? ( 1 comment) |
| Newsletter | |
| altmuslim this week - august 16, 2010 By Zahed Amanullah, August 17, 2010 This week, the flooding in Pakistan - affecting over 20 million people - is worse than anyone expected. So is the fallout over Park51, with plenty of blame to go around on all sides. Also, Miss USA Rima Fakih (and her brother) give us a glimpse of America's future. |
| Afghanistan | |
| Prosecute Taliban leaders for war crimes By Rafia Zakaria, August 16, 2010 By misusing concepts of Islamic law to instate a reign of terror, the Taliban are guilty of increasingly bloodthirsty killing campaigns that kill hundreds of Afghan civilians. It's time to hold them accountable. ( 22 comments) |
| Theatre | |
| Finding mizan with a good story By Luqman Ali, August 13, 2010 In creative storytelling and theatre from the Muslim community lie the answers to many questions and the solutions to many problems, not least that of how we positively relate to and communicate with the world. ( No comments) |
| Podcasts | |
| altmuslim review 033 By The altmuslim staff, August 13, 2010 We're baaaaack! We speak about the ongoing controversy over Park51 and what means for the future of lower Manhattan. Also, a discussion with Farhad Chowdhury of the M100 Foundation, which seeks to change the way Muslims pay zakat ( 8 comments) |
| Fasting | |
| Ramadan and God’s love By Hesham Hassaballa, August 11, 2010 You can fake prayer: you can pray in front of other people so that they can say you pray. You can fake giving alms; you can fake going to Mecca. But you can’t fake fasting. And that is how we can show our love for God. ( 3 comments) |
| Newsletter | |
| altmuslim this week - august 9, 2010 By Zahed Amanullah, August 10, 2010 This week, Ramadan begins with with disasters both natural (flooding in Pakistan) and manmade (impending executions in Iran and mutilations in Afghanistan). Also, what does the potential Saudi Blackberry ban say about our love-hate relationship with technology? |
| Park51 | |
| Looking for common ground in lower Manhattan By Parvez Ahmed, August 9, 2010 Now that the developers of the Muslim community center known as Park51 have secured their legal rights to continue development, what can we do to help heal the tensions that arose in its wake? ( 4 comments) |
| Pakistan | |
| Everyday acts of intolerance By Rafia Zakaria, August 6, 2010 While there have been some military victories against militant strongholds in Pakistan's tribal areas, the social project of producing a radicalised Pakistan attracted to literal and intolerant interpretations of faith is flourishing. ( 5 comments) |
| Park51 | |
| Choosing freedom over fear By Joshua M. Z. Stanton, August 4, 2010 With its last legal hurdle cleared, Park51 will still face protests that threaten to undermine the freedom of a religious community to provide a space that is open to Americans of all faiths. We must stand with Park51 as part of a free society. ( No comments) |
| Newsletter | |
| altmuslim this week - august 2, 2010 By Zahed Amanullah, August 3, 2010 This week, a turning point (for the better?) for lower Manhattan's Park51 project, the opening of America's first Islamic college (under scrutiny, as expected), and Ramadan becomes a time for innovation - for better or for worse. |
| Pakistan | |
| Let’s be friends, not frenemies By Safiya Ghori-Ahmad , August 2, 2010 America would be well-served to provide better explanations and offer more concrete tools for engagement and interaction with young people in Pakistan. It could be a long struggle, but we’ll certainly need to make more friends in Pakistan in the long run. ( 5 comments) |
| Book "The Butterfly Mosque" | |
| We are all on the mountaintop By G. Willow Wilson, July 30, 2010 In this excerpt from her new book, The Butterfly Mosque, American author and graphic novelist G. Willow Wilson begins to describe her experiences arriving in Egypt and her impending immersion into the Muslim world. ( No comments) |
| Journalism | |
| Islam, the media and meaningless language By Ali H. Mir, July 28, 2010 The use of reactionary language in place of context when covering issues related to Muslims is simply lazy journalism. But there is more at stake than that conclusion implies. These hollow phrases fail to portray Muslims as human beings or to accord Islam the same stature as other global faiths. ( 17 comments) |
| Newsletter | |
| altmuslim this week - july 26, 2010 By Zahed Amanullah, July 27, 2010 This week, WikiLeaks blows the cover off 5 years of secrets in America's Afghan adventure, Britain's David Cameron gets too honest about Israel and Pakistan, and the parade of fear-mongering Republicans who have found an issue to galvanize their most xenophobic supporters - your nearest mosque. |
| Park51 developer Sharif El-Gamal | |
| “We want to build Park51 so it has something for everyone” By Aziz Poonawalla & Shahed Amanullah, July 24, 2010 In the wake of growing public debate, we ask Sharif El-Gamal, the CEO of Soho Properties and the developer of Park51, some hard questions about the plans to develop a Muslim-run community center in lower Manhattan. ( 1 comment) |
| Supreme Court | |
| US peacemakers forced to stay home By Sahar Aziz, July 23, 2010 As a result of the Supreme Court ruling on Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project (HLP), the ability of American civil society to pursue peaceful means to resolve violent conflict is now curtailed. ( 2 comments) |
| Religious liberty | |
| How can we view Muslims as Americans? By Asma T. Uddin, July 21, 2010 The latest outbreaks of paranoia and anti-Muslim sentiment around the construction of new mosques, particularly the one proposed in lower Manhattan, is propelling American society down the same road it has traveled many times before, to its own detriment. ( 5 comments) |
| Newsletter | |
| altmuslim this week - july 19, 2010 By Zahed Amanullah, July 20, 2010 This week, will the drive to ban niqabs in Europe start to ebb? Also, how does NASA help build bridges with Muslims worldwide, and the love-hate relationship that Muslims have with Facebook and why a gaggle of Muslim-branded Facebook imitators won't make much of a difference. |
| Cartoonist Molly Norris | |
| Hijacked art, sidetracked peace By G. Willow Wilson, July 19, 2010 There is a central tragedy to these endless cartoon scandals, such as the one involving the Seattle cartoonist, Molly Norris, who penned the comic sparking an "Everybody Draw Muhammad Day." No one is looking for a resolution. ( 41 comments) |
| Health | |
| House on fire By Adem Carroll, July 16, 2010 In the midst of a health crisis in American Muslim communities, the Director of the Muslim Consultative Network offers some insight into how to get young Muslims to stay healthy as Ramadan approaches. ( 2 comments) |
| Newsletter | |
| altmuslim this week - july 12, 2010 By Zahed Amanullah, July 13, 2010 This week, a near-unanimous vote by French lawmakers vote to ban the wearing of face veils in public (that'll teach those misogynistic Muslim men), Britain's experiment with funding Muslim organizations (in exchange for information) is coming to an end, and look out Ugly Betty, a new magazine from Al Qaeda is hitting your inbox. |
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altmuslim this week - august 23, 2010 - This week, is there a connection between the heated rhetoric over Park51 and increased hate crimes against Muslims? Also, parallel struggles against anti-Muslim protests in Bradford, England and the innovation (and integration) on display in the 30 Mosques, 30 States and 30 Nights, 30 Grants projects.
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How Miss USA will push the secret Muslim agenda - A leaked memo confirms a nefarious plot to infiltrate America using the one weapon we can't resist: Total hotness. (May 17, 2010)
South Park: The controversy continues - In a special for Salon.com, our Associate Editor Wajahat Ali offers his take on the controversy over South Park. If you think South Park's Muslim brouhaha was messy, you should see what's going on in the neighboring town of East Park. (April 28, 2010)
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altmuslim review 033 - We're baaaaack! We speak about the ongoing controversy over Park51 and what means for the future of lower Manhattan. Also, a discussion with Farhad Chowdhury of the M100 Foundation, which seeks to change the way Muslims pay zakat (August 13, 2010)
altmuslim review 032 - Muslim writers everywhere! We speak about the new wave of Western Muslim literature and interview two authors with recently released books. Our own Irfan Yusuf talks about his memoir, Once Were Radicals and Reza Aslan tells us more about his second book, How to Win a Cosmic War (June 11, 2009)
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Recent and upcoming talks and offsite articles by altmuslim contributors
It's the occupation, stupid, Wajahat Ali, Salon.com, June 4, 2010
Sex and the City 2's stunning Muslim clichés, Wajahat Ali, Salon.com, May 28, 2010
Draw Muhammad Day: Collectively Punishing Muslim Americans, Shahed Amanullah, Huffington Post, May 25, 2010
Shahed will be a guest on the BBC World Service's World, Have Your Say discussing the proposed French ban on niqab (and fines for husbands who compel their wives to wear them) on May 18, 2010.
Even Controversial Views Should Be Protected by Freedom of Speech, Asma Uddin, The Huffington Post, May 7, 2010.
What I understand about Faisal Shahzad, Wajahat Ali, Salon.com, May 6, 2010
No freak out about South Park, Zahed Amanullah, The Guardian, Comment is Free, April 23, 2010.
Shahed will be a guest on the BBC World Service's World, Have Your Say discussing the South Park controversy along with Zarqa Nawaz (Little Mosque on the Prairie) and other guests on April 22, 2010.
Shahed will be a guest on NPR's State of Belief discussing Barack Obama's outreach to the Muslim world, April 17, 2010.
Zahed will be attending a panel discussion entitled " Are Islam and Free Speech Compatible?" in London, England on Friday, March 26, 2010 sponsored by The City Circle. He will be accompanied by Riazat Butt (The Guardian), Hamid Khan (Consultant in Offender and Youth Development), Abu Muntasir (JIMAS), and Dr Usama Hasan.
'Jihad Jane': not the usual suspect, Wajahat Ali, The Guardian, Comment is Free, March 18, 2010.
Al-Awlaki, a new public enemy, Zahed Amanullah, The Guardian, Comment is Free, December 30, 2009.
Islamophonic: Review of the year, Riazat Butt, Zahed Amanullah and David Shariatmadari, Cif Belief (The Guardian), December 18, 2009.
Fort Hood has enough victims already, Wajahat Ali, Comment is Free (The Guardian), November 6, 2009
The pitfalls of filming Muhammad, Shahed Amanullah, The Guardian, Comment is Free, November 4, 2009.
Children of Dust (published by HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins), the first book by longtime altmuslim.com contributor Ali Eteraz, is released in the US, Canada, and the UK on October 13, 2009.
Shahed will be attending the m100 Sansoucci Colloquium in Potsdam, Germany, September 14-16, 2009. He will be moderating a panel discussion on the Danish cartoon crisis with Denis MacShane MP, Jasim Al-Azzawi (Al Jazeera English), and Flemming Rose (Jyllands Posten).
Associate Editor Wajahat Ali's play "The Domestic Crusaders" is having its premiere at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York City, NY, September 11, 2009. The play will continue through Sunday, October 11, 2009.
Shahed will be moderating or participating in three panel discussions at the Islamic Society of North America's annual convention, including Muslim Journalists: The View from the Inside, Supporting Social Entrepreneurs and Civic Leaders, and Blogistan: Muslim Americans on the Web in Washington, DC, July 3-6, 2009.
State-sponsored Sufism, Ali Eteraz, Foreign Policy, June 10, 2009.
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Media appearances and analysis featuring altmuslim editors
Helping U.S. reach out to young Muslims worldwide - Soon after Farah Pandith was named last year as the State Department's first special representative to Muslim communities, she sat down with the editor of an independent Muslim website for her first official interview. Altmuslim.com, a forum for opinion and analysis about current issues facing Muslims, was a fitting choice. Pandith has said a strong focus of her work is to reach out to younger Muslims around the world, often those most likely to use the Internet for news and networking. (June 5, 2010)
Censorship is in the ascendant - Zahed Amanullah, associate editor of altmuslim.com, has argued in a national newspaper blog that, since the warning came from an unrepresentative group, the media interest was not justified. As for events of the past – the fatwa on Salman Rushdie, the Danish cartoons, the murder of van Gogh – they were "three incidents over a 20-year period from amongst 1.6 billion people. These things do happen. But we all need a bit of perspective." (April 30, 2010)
Muslims say new security rules unfair, ineffective - ''Muslims are doing their duty. Muslim parents are being attentive. It's the TSA that's not being attentive. It's the TSA that's not doing its duty," said Shahed Amanullah, an editor at the Web site altmuslim.com. "There's nothing more that Muslims can do than turn in their own families." (January 7, 2010)
US Muslims & media… Lost love - "We have a big problem; it’s that other people are shaping the story about us," Shahed Amanullah, editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com, told IslamOnline.net. (December 16, 2009)
Moves to Seize Mosques Spark Outrage - "I'm extremely skeptical that the link between these mosques and this organization is so strong as to merit the seizing of a considerable amount of assets that do a lot of good for the Muslim community," says Shahed Amanullah, a prominent Muslim blogger based in Austin. "The government better be prepared to make a very good case, because this is unprecedented." (November 17, 2009)
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