Stop Now, Act Now: End Muslim Discrimination                    
Events and Personal Stories
Discriminatory Events Against Islam and Muslims
  • March 20, 2011 - After posting a facebook poll to determine how to destroy the Qu'ran, Florida pastor Terry Jones burned the Qu'ran on 9/11/11 after soaking it in kerosene for an hour. His actions instigated two days of rioting protests in Afghanistan and left 21 people dead. 
  • "February 1, 2007 - Threatening letters mailed to Muslim leaders targeted the imams (the person who leads prayers in a mosque) of at least two New Jersey mosques. One of the letters stated in part: 'Because you worship the devil ALLAH, who has brought death, destruction, and hatred upon my country, you must now DIE!! DEATH TO ALL OF YOU!!!' The same mosque also received a phone call expressing similar views near the time the threatening letter was received" ("The Status", 2008).
  • "June 19, 2007 - A 13-year-old Muslim student taking part in a summer algebra program at Seaside High School in Seaside, CA was shouted at by a supervisor in front of more than 100 other students to remove her scarf, despite being told that it was worn for religious reasons. The supervisor screamed, 'You have to take it off now,' while the girl broke down in tears. Despite the shouted demands of the school official, the girl refused to remove her scarf" ("The Status", 2008).
  • "August 8, 2007 - An “acid bomb” was thrown out of a car window near worshipers outside an Arizona mosque. A container of acid and a reactant landed near an imam and another mosque official who were standing outside the Albanian American Islamic Center of Arizona. The plastic bottle landed within 20-25 feet of the apparent targets, who reported a chemical smell after the container exploded. No one was injured in the attack" ("The Status", 2008).
Personal Stories of Discrimination and Hate Crimes
  • "May 17, 2007 - An alleged assault on a Muslim woman took place in Fairview, NJ by a man shouting Islamophobic slurs. The assailant reportedly shouted, 'You (expletive) Muslims are here to bomb this country, you should all die. I want to kill all of you Muslims'" ("The Status", 2008).
  • "January 17, 2007 - An attack on a Muslim took place outside a Lackawanna, NY restaurant. The victim, a 26-year-old man of Yemeni heritage, said one of the white male assailants called him a 'f**king Arab' as the attack began. Another attacker allegedly picked the victim up from behind and threw him to the ground, rendering him unconscious. The victim suffered a fractured nose and a fracture under one eye. His medical treatment included staples on the back of his head and six stitches on his face" ("The Status", 2008).
  • "July 12, 2007 - An arson attack on a Sarasota, FL Muslim family's home was investigated by the FBI. 'F*** Islam' was spray-painted on the garage door of the house, which is owned by a Muslim of Bosnian heritage. Neighbors told a local television station that 'it sounded like a bomb exploded inside the house.' The station also reported that 'there were 10 different spots inside the home where accelerants were used.' Fire officials told police that the blaze was an act of arson" ("The Status", 2008).
  • "July 26, 2007 – A mother and her children were eating at a Taco Bell in Lynn Haven, FL when a man began to scream religious slurs such as 'you Muslim bast**ds.' The assailant then reportedly spit food on a five-year-old child and shoved his 11-year-old brother. When the mother asked why the man was acting in such an abusive manner, he allegedly replied: 'My problem is that you are f**king Muslims.' The alleged assailant, who was at the time a Bay County school bus driver, was eventually arrested and charged with two counts of evidencing prejudice while committing an offense" ("The Status", 2008).
  • "April 2, 2007 – A 66-year-old Muslim worker reported that fellow employees at a BMW Manufacturing Co. plant in Spartanburg, SC repeatedly made Islamophobic comments such as, 'Muslims are no good. They should all be killed,' and, 'We will f**k up your family, we’ll kill you all.' Other comments allegedly disparaged Islamic attire and suggested that Muslim women be raped. One of the abusive co-workers confronted the Muslim worker in a facility restroom on March 31st and put a box-cutter to his throat, saying: 'I’ll slice your throat and kill you.' When the incident was first reported, company officials did not take appropriate action against the assailant" ("The Status", 2008).
  • "December 30, 2006 – Sixty-two-year-old Majed Shehadeh was held and interrogated for more than 12 hours by officials with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the FBI after arriving at Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport. He was allegedly placed in a cold cell with some 25 other people and a single toilet, and prevented from taking prescribed heart medication for 20 hours. Shehadeh, whose wife and three children are U.S. citizens, had planned to visit his daughter in Bakersfield, CA to celebrate her passing the California Bar exam and her wedding anniversary. CBP officials reported that he would be sent out of the country that Sunday" ("The Status", 2008).
Share Your Story
If you have experienced discrimination against your own Muslim ethnicity or belief in Islam, feel free to post your stories. Note: Stories will be published upon approval.
*Note: Many of these stories have been lawfully copied from CAIR.com. All stories with (CAIR.com) at the end of paragraph is from CAIR's website and are not Stop Now, Act Now's own work.
Source
"The Status of Muslim Civil Rights in the United States 2008." CAIR.com. Council on American-
         Islamic Relations. Web. 25 May 2011. 
         <http://www.cair.com/Portals/0/pdf/civilrights2008.pdf>