News and Analysis (7/12/17)

A township trustee in Illinois draws fire for her online bigotry …

• Preckwinkle Joins Activists in Denouncing Trustee’s Anti-Muslim Posts (Chicago Sun-Times)

… but in the face of constituents calling for his removal form office, a politician insists that his call for the murder of “every last Muslim” is protected free speech:

• Kalkaska Village Leader Stands by Muslim Killings Call (Detroit News)

The visiting scholar to the Harvard-affiliated Boston’s Children’a hospital traveling on a valid visa with his wife and three children was deemed inadmissible by US Customs and Border Protection officers:

• Iranian Cancer Researcher Sent Home After Being Denied Entry in Boston (The Guardian)

An undershirt, a shirt AND a sweater? Must be a terrorist:

• Muslim Man Stopped and Searched on Way to Mosque Because He Was ‘Wearing Too Many Clothes’ (Independent)

Small falafel shop owner in D.C. donates around $1000/week to refugees in need, but also hopes employ them and help them open their own businesses as well:

• Washington Shop Sells $3 Falafels to Feed Refugees (VoA)

A new proposal seen as “duplicative and unnecessary” would force students to reapply to stay in the U.S. every single year as well as when they move from institutions like undergraduate to graduate school:

• Overseas Students Would Face Close Scrutiny Under Proposal Floated at DHS (Washington Post)

It is unthinkable to imagine another country, even a close ally, setting up a base in our country, blocking off land and occupying it with weapons. Yet we do this do countries all over the world:

• The Long Reach of the US Border (Al-Jazeera)

Although they feel the oversight is inadequate, Muslims find the change groundbreaking since it is “the first time since 9/11 that any law enforcement or investigative or intelligence agency has had its ability to spy on Muslims limited in any way”:

• Muslim New Yorkers Now Have Someone Watching the Cops Who Watch Them (WNYC)

One owns no Qur’an and another skips prayers on the excuse of having “no suitable clothes.” A study reveals the  role of alpha males “with no theological training and no skills”:

• WhatsApp Messages Reveal ‘Lego’ Islam Extremists (Irish Times)

“[T]o enforce the Congressional mandate that district courts lack jurisdiction … would expose Petitioners to the substantiated risk of death, torture, or other grave persecution before their legal claims can be tested in a court” — Judge Goldsmith …

• US Judge Halts Iraqis’ Deportation Until Court Review (Al-Jazeera)

… but the admission of the mostly Christian refugees continues a decline in the number of Muslims admitted:

• Muslim Refugees to US Are Declining as Christians Overtake Them (Religion News Service)

Layla Shoufer