Alabama Muslims seek additional protection after recent email threats
The nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group is requesting additional police protection for the state’s Islamic community following emailed threats received by the Birmingham Islamic Society and Huntsville Islamic Center. The Alabama chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Alabama) said the emails, with the subject line “YOUR ONE WARNING, stated in part, (grammatical and spelling errors maintained) “. . .MUZLIMS MEXICANS BLACKS WE WILL HUNTED NATION WIDE UNTIL ARE ARE DEAD OR GONE. . .PLAN TO RUN OR DIE, THIS IS A KINDNESS THAT WE GIVE YOU ALL WARNING, TAKE IT AND GO .” Both organizations have reported the threats to local law enforcement, Department of Justice office in North Alabama and the FBI. “We are coordinating with law enforcement authorities to reach out to Muslim community leaders to ensure additional safety measures at this time of increased anti-Muslim bigotry nationwide,” said CAIR-Alabama Executive Director Khaula Hadeed. Hadeed added, “CAIR-Alabama also condemned the rhetoric that continues to embolden bigotry and Islamophobia leading to threats of terrorism such as these against Muslim, Jewish, African-American, and Latino communities. The Muslim community continues to receive support and cooperation from local law enforcement agencies.” The Washington-based Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization believes the emailed threats may be part of a mass mailing to mosques nationwide and is urging Islamic institutions to report any such threats to local police and to CAIR online. “Hate and threats will make us firm in our resolution to fight hate with love. We will take every opportunity to combat fear-mongering and build alliances and coalition that will give voices to all marginalized communities,” said Birmingham Islamic Society President Ashfaq Taufiq. CAIR has noted a spike in hate rhetoric and bias-motivated incidents targeting American Muslims and other minorities in recent months. “America is one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for ALL as guaranteed by the constitution we cherish,” said Huntsville Islamic Center President Mateen Muhammad. “We will work together to show the world, by example, how to live and love the diversity we find in this land we call home and defeat the forces of fear and bigotry that are trying to tear us apart. United we are strong.”
Alabama Islamic leader notifies FBI of social media contacts
A Muslim leader in Alabama said Wednesday he had notified the FBI after mosque members received suspicious contacts on social media, including one that mentioned war. Ashfaq Taufique, president of the Birmingham Islamic Society, said several members of the mosque received friend requests from an unknown person about 1½ weeks ago. One member also got a message, apparently from the same person, stating: “We are at war and we must stick together,” according to Taufique. Taufique said the meaning of the message was unclear. But the society member informed Taufique, who said he went to the FBI since the message could be tied to extremism amid a time of extremist violence. “Because of the special time we are in we didn’t want to take a chance,” said Taufique, adding it was part of his religious duty to report anything that could endanger the community. Paul Daymond, an FBI spokesman in Birmingham, declined to comment. Taufique said the friend requests and message were sent before the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, that is being blamed on a radicalized Muslim couple. Earlier this year, members of the Birmingham Islamic community were encouraged to report any suspicious activities or signs of possible radicalization after a Muslim teenager from suburban Birmingham left the United States to join Islamic State. Leaders at the time said the young woman apparently was radicalized through online contacts. A representative of the young woman’s family said she withdrew from the Muslim community in Birmingham more than a year before her November 2014 disappearance. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
20-year-old Hoover woman leaves to join Islamic State group
A spokesman for a Muslim couple in Alabama on Monday said their 20-year-old daughter fled a Birmingham suburb to join Islamic State militants in Syria after being recruited via the Internet. Hassan Shibly spoke at the mosque on behalf of the parents of the young woman, whom he identified only as Hoda. He said the family has been “extremely traumatized” for months and has been in contact with law enforcement and government officials since she disappeared while also pleading with Hoda to return home. “For them this is worse than losing the life of a child, to have them join such a horrible, horrible gang of violent extremists,” Shibly said, adding the father is worried about the mother’s health. “Nothing can describe the pain they are facing.” Shibly, an attorney and chief executive director for the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Hoda left in November. While he said it’s unclear when Hoda made contact with militants, he said she withdrew from the Muslim community in Birmingham more than a year before her disappearance. The woman’s whereabouts were not immediately known. “The reason she withdrew from the community is because the Muslim community is very vocal against groups like ISIS … she made the decision based on her communication online with them that she wanted to join them,” Shibly said. The family and the Birmingham Islamic Society have spoken out against violent extremism. The account was first reported by Buzzfeed. There have been other reports of young people leaving or attempting to leave the U.S. for the Islamic State in recent months. In a criminal complaint unsealed on Monday, six Minnesota men were charged with terrorism-related offenses after authorities said they failed in attempts to travel to Syria. Shibly said he’s talked with families who have also lost their children to the Islamic State group have similar stories. “It’s often young, naive, impressionable, ignorant troubled youth who are dissatisfied with their life and are seeking a sense of belonging,” he said. “And it’s frankly the same social factors that lead to youth joining various gangs. I think ISIS is just another gang,” he said, using an alternate acronym for the militant group. Members of the Birmingham Muslim community met on Monday evening to discuss how to protect other children from the influence of violent extremists. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
