"New York Arson Attacks are Investigated as Hate Crimes"

Los Angeles authorities have arrested a suspect in a furious spate of arson fires, but New York police are still searching for a suspect in that city's string of arson attacks.

In a period of about two hours Sunday night, four buildings -- all within a mile of each other in the Jamaica area of Queens -- were attacked with bottle-bombs, according to police. Now a fifth attack in nearby Nassau County is being linked to those firebombings, which are under investigation as possible hate crimes.

The attacks occurred at an Islamic center, a home used for Hindu services, a 24-hour grocery store and two private homes. In three of the five attacks, the Molotov cocktails were made in glass Starbucks bottles, police noted. No one was reported injured, but at least one of the attacks led to significant damage in one of the homes The arson outbreak is small compared to the incidents that Los Angeles has experienced in the last week, but New York officials are taking it seriously. New York's Gov. Andrew Cuomoannounced Monday that he'd be asking the state police to follow up on the attacks; the city's Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg condemned them as an anomaly that "stood in stark contrast to the New York City of today that we've built together."

The mayor also said that police were looking into whether there was any connection to the arson fires that occurred across Los Angeles in recent days.

Bloomberg was scheduled Tuesday morning to visit the Al-Khoe Islamic Center, where two small bottle bombs were hurled while about 100 people were inside worshipping.

"We don't know why," the acting imam Maan Al-Sahlani told the New York Daily News. "This is the first time this has happened at this center. ... We cannot accuse any religion or any party of any people. We do  not know what they believe. Hopefully, they will get them soon."

Police released a sketch of a suspect as well as a video showing a man throwing a flaming bottle at a private home that is used as a Hindu place of worship. (NY1 posted the video.) The bottle hit the front window of the house, then bounced onto the pavement, said Bejai Rai, 77, who was having dinner with his family when the incident occurred.

"It sparked but didn't catch a fire," Rai told the Daily News. "We were lucky." 

source - LA Times Blog

DIY firm Lowe's in row over Muslim-American reality TV

The Amen family of Dearborn includes a fiance who is converting from Catholicism

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Home improvement retailer Lowe's is facing criticism after removing advertising from a reality TV show showcasing American Muslims.

The company pulled ads from All-American Muslim after complaints from the Florida Family Association.

The cable TV show portrays the lives of five families in Dearborn, Michigan, a city known for its Muslim and Arab population.

Lowe's issued an apology, but did not say it would re-advertise on the show.

The North Carolina-based company said in a statement it apologised for having "managed to make some people very unhappy".

"It appears that we managed to step into a hotly contested debate with strong views from virtually every angle and perspective," the firm said.

"As a result we did pull our advertising on this program. We believe it is best to respectfully defer to communities, individuals and groups to discuss and consider such issues of importance."

In a statement on its website, the Florida Family Association called All-American Muslim "propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda's clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values".

The association asked members to send emails to companies that ran advertisements during the show.

According to the association, adverts from many other firms are no longer appearing during the programme. However, while many firms buy adverts to run at any time, Lowe's said it pulled adverts bought specifically for broadcast during All-American Muslim.

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“Start Quote

I'm saddened that any place of business would succumb to bigots and people trying to perpetuate their negative views on an entire community”

Suehaila AmenAll-American Muslim participant

The Learning Channel, which broadcasts the programme, features several reality shows focusing on the everyday lives of subjects viewed by many as controversial or outside the mainstream.

They include a polygamist family in Sister Wives, and the Duggars, a conservative Christian family with 19 children on 19 and Counting.

The channel describes All-American Muslim as "a powerful series that goes inside the rarely-seen world of American Muslims to uncover a unique community struggling to balance faith and nationality in a post 9/11 world".

'Extreme disappointment'

Keith Ellison, one of only two Muslim congressmen, said withdrawing the advertisements was "disappointing".

"The success of All-American Muslim shows how ready the country is to learn about Muslims as Americans," he said in a statement.

"This probably makes hate-mongers uncomfortable - as they should be," Mr Ellison, a Democrat who site in the House of Representatives for a Minnesota district.

Mr Ellison was among those who signed a petition calling on Lowe's and other advertisers to resist calls to step aside from opponents of the show.

Suehaila Amen, whose family is featured on All-American Muslim, told the Detroit News on Sunday she was disappointed by the retailer's decision.

"I'm saddened that any place of business would succumb to bigots and people trying to perpetuate their negative views on an entire community," she said.

Ted Lieu, a Democratic state senator from California, said he was considering calling for a boycott of Lowe's, a pledge already made by Twitter users using the hashtag #boycottlowes.

"The show is about what it's like to be a Muslim in America, and it touches on the discrimination they sometimes face. And that kind of discrimination is exactly what's happening here with Lowe's," Mr Lieu said.

The Michigan director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Dawud Walid, said his group felt "extreme disappointment" but was working on resolving the situation with the help of non-Muslim allies.

"I will be picking up the phone tomorrow to some of our friends and allies to explain the situation to them," Mr Walid said on Sunday.

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Video: CAIR Rep Says 9/11 Coloring Book Promotes Anti-Muslim Stereotypes...

The fact that there is a colouring book out there directed to young impressionable children that openly promotes ignorance is shocking to say the least. These open acts of racism and prejudice prove more and more the negative and backwards way that our society is heading. Humanity is sinking and ignorance is rampant, we live in a time where being anything other than a white Christian leads to an automatic dislike and turns you into a stereotype. These attitudes are becoming more and more prevalent where I live and what's worrying is that people seem to think it's OK.



"There's a new coloring book on the market and it doesn't feature cute animals or cartoon characters...it shows the Twin Towers burning and Navy Seals shooting Osama Bin Laden. CAIR-MI Executive Director appears on Dr. Drew's CNN program and says the coloring book promotes anti-Muslim stereotypes. CONTACT: CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid, E-mail: dwalid@cair.com"


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Sign the petition to discontinue the nasty colouring book