“Shooting at Sikh temple: 7 dead, including suspected gunman, police say”

There have been too many shootings. 

Taken from: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/sikh-temple-shooting-175002467.html

August 5, 2012

At least seven people were killed, including the suspected gunman, in a mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis., south of Milwaukee on Sunday.

According to police, 911 dispatchers received multiple calls from the temple at approximately 10:25 a.m. local time. An officer who responded to the scene was treating a victim when he was “ambushed” by the suspected gunman in the parking lot, Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards said. The veteran officer was shot multiple times and rushed to Milwaukee’s Froedtert Hospital where he underwent surgery, Edwards said.

The suspect was shot and killed by a second officer, police said. The gunman was not identified, and no motive was released. But according to Thomas Ahern, spokesman for the ATF Chicago bureau, the gunman was a white male in his early 40s. And federal law enforcement officials told NBC News the suspected gunman “had no obvious connection to domestic terror or white supremacist groups and apparently was not on any list of suspected terrorists.” And “while he had an arrest record, it was for minor offenses, one federal official said.”

Tactical units conducting a sweep of the 17,000-square-foot temple discovered four bodies inside and three—including the gunman—in the parking lot. Edwards said “weapons” were recovered, but would not elaborate. According to CNN, two semi-automatic handguns were recovered at the scene, and member of the temple described the gunman as tall male with what appeared to be a “9/11 tattoo.” Officials told NBC the suspect, who served in the U.S. Army, had many tattoos.

There were initial, unconfirmed reports of multiple shooters and a hostage situation, though police said they believe there was just one gunman.

A spokesman for Froedtert Hospital said a total of three victims, including the officer, were admitted—two with gunshot wounds to the face and one with gunshot wounds to the abdomen. All three are in critical condition, the spokesman said. Other area hospitals were initially told to prepare for as many as 20 victims, though it appears that figure was precautionary.

Law enforcement officials are treating the case as an “act of domestic terrorism,” police said, and the FBI is leading the investigation. The names of the victims in Sunday’s shooting were not released.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Satwant Kaleka, the president of the temple, was one of the victims taken to Froedtert Hospital, according to his nephew, Gurmit Kaleka.

Dozens of worshipers, including women and children, were gathering for a meal before an 11:30 a.m. prayer service at the temple, or gurdwara, when the shooting occurred. There are about 500 members in the congregation, officials said. Witnesses described a chaotic scene as worshipers reportedly hid inside closets within the building after the gunman opened fire inside.

President Barack Obama was notified of the shooting shortly before 1 p.m. (ET) by chief counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, a senior administration official told Yahoo News. ”Michelle and I were deeply saddened to learn of the shooting that tragically took so many lives in Wisconsin,” Obama said. “At this difficult time, the people of Oak Creek must know that the American people have them in our thoughts and prayers, and our hearts go out to the families and friends of those who were killed and wounded. My administration will provide whatever support is necessary to the officials who are responding to this tragic shooting and moving forward with an investigation. As we mourn this loss which took place at a house of worship, we are reminded how much our country has been enriched by Sikhs, who are a part of our broader American family.”

Mitt Romney released a statement, too. “This was a senseless act of violence and a tragedy that should never befall any house of worship,” Romney said. “Our hearts are with the victims, their families, and the entire Oak Creek Sikh community. We join Americans everywhere in mourning those who lost their lives and in prayer for healing in the difficult days ahead.”

Wis. Gov. Scott Walker said his office is working with the FBI and local law enforcement in its investigation. ”Our hearts go out to the victims and their families as we all struggle to comprehend the evil that begets this terrible violence,” Walker said. “At the same time, we are filled with gratitude for our first responders, who show bravery and selflessness as they put aside their own safety to protect our neighbors and friends.”

The Indian Embassy in Washington called it a “tragic incident” and said it has been in touch with the National Security Council and local authorities to monitor the situation.

Sunday’s shooting comes less than a month after the Aurora, Colo., theater massacre, when 12 people were killed and 58 wounded during a midnight screening of “Dark Knight Rises.”

Sikhism is a 500-year-old monotheist faith with about 27 million followers worldwide, including about 300,000 in the United States. Since 9/11, Sikh groups in the United States have reported a rise in bias attacks. There have been more than 700 reports of hate-related incidents against Sikhs since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, according to the Associated Press. “Sikhs don’t practice the same religion as Muslims,” the AP noted, “but their long beards and turbans often cause them to be mistaken for Muslims, advocates say.”

In the wake of the shooting in Wisconsin, law enforcement officials in other cities, including New York City, increased patrols near Sikh temples on Sunday. However, there is no known threat against Sikh temples in New York, the NYPD said.

“U.S. Muslims sue to stop NYPD spying program”

Taken from: http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/index.php?mod=article&cat=Community&article=5706

June 8, 2012

Eight American Muslims have filed a federal lawsuit to put an end to a post-9/11 surveillance program run by the New York Police Department. The lawsuit follows a New Jersey Attorney General probe saying the NYPD had done nothing wrong.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Newark Wednesday by Muslim Advocates, a group who has taken up the New Jersey Muslims’ cause. The suit claims that identifying as Muslim does not constitute “a legitimate criterion” for law-enforcement officials to target individuals for surveillance. ”This case is critical to protecting the civil rights of American Muslims and all Americans,” Muslim Advocates legal director Glen Katon said.

New Jersey Representative Rush Holt called the lawsuit “a thoughtful, sensible step toward bringing law enforcement practices back into line with constitutional protections and the standards of good policing.”

It is the first such legal action to directly challenge the NYPD for spying on Muslims following the attacks of September 11, 2001. An Associated Press investigation last year uncovered a systematic surveillance program that put entire Muslim neighborhoods under a watchful eye, recording the every move of their residents. Undercover police infiltrated dozens of mosques and student groups while investigating scores more in New York City and neighboring New Jersey.

Records showed that police paid special attention to grocery stores that carried halal or kosher food products, eavesdropped on Muslim-owned stores, cafes and hair salons, placed mosques under surveillance during Friday prayers, and even went so far as to photograph an elementary school for Muslim girls. While New Jersey lawmakers were up in arms upon learning of the intrusive spying program, after a three month review, the state’s attorney found there was no legal means to stop the NYPD from carrying out their practice of targeting mosques, business and student groups for surveillance.

Both NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly and the city’s mayor Michael Bloomberg have supported the spying program, saying the information is obtained within departmental guidelines which are within constitutional bounds. Kelly further stated that the 2001 attacks showed that the city could not rely solely on the federal government to provide for its security.

As it is, the program operates with limited oversight. The New York City Council claims it isn’t qualified to supervise intelligence operations, while Congress says the NYPD is out of its jurisdiction despite the billions in federal largesse the city receives each year.

Lawmakers and civil rights groups have urged the Justice Department to investigate the NYPD’s practices. A Justice Department spokeswoman said those requests were currently under review.

But Farhana Khera, executive director of Muslim Advocates, said state and federal stonewalling made the lawsuit inevitable. ”With New York officials refusing to look into the NYPD’s abuses, the New Jersey Attorney General saying his hands are tied, and the U.S. Department of Justice dragging its heels, this lawsuit is the victims’ last resort for justice to prevail. What makes America great is that everyone is treated equally under the law. These plaintiffs are ordinary citizens going about their lives who law enforcement spied on simply because of their faith,” she added.

“‘Nine/Twelve’ Film Aims To Tell A Muslim American Story, Challenge Islamophobia”

Taken from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/23/nine-twelve-film-khurram-mozaffar_n_1285399.html

February 23, 2012

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1150082127/nine-twelve/widget/video.html
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 forever impacted the lives of every American — but for Muslim Americans, their lives changed more than they could have expected.

The experience of Muslim Americans in a post-9/11 nation — one often marked by scapegoating, prejudice and fear — inspired Khurram Mozaffar, a Naperville, Ill. actor, writer and lawyer, to write “nine/twelve,” a screenplay telling, as the film’s website describes, “a story that hadn’t been told before. But perhaps should have been.”

The screenplay is currently in the process of being brought to life as a full-length feature film by director Sean Fahey and producers Fawzia Mirza and Kevin Schroeder. Telling the story of two Chicago men — one Muslim, one Christian; one a soldier, one a blue-collar worker — whose lives are brought together following the 9/11 attacks, the film recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to help offset its production costs.

The Huffington Post spoke with Mozaffar about his new project.

What originally inspired you to write the script for “nine/twelve”?
I come from an acting background and I do some theater in Chicago and I started writing, in general, because there weren’t a lot of parts for people of my ethnicity. I fell in love with the craft of writing itself. A number of stories originate out of the South Asian Muslim American experience and they’re usually told from an outsiders’ perspective. I wanted to tackle that kind of story line from the inside out because I feel like that kind of voice usually isn’t heard in film.

In the time after 9/11, the world changed for everybody and it changed twofold for patriotic Muslim Americans who were, on one hand, horrified as to what was happening and what they were witnessing, but at the same time, we were also suffering a backlash as we were associated with the people who committed these horrific, horrific crimes. With “nine/twelve,” I wanted to tell that story of what it was like in the days right after 9/11 for people, like me, who were considered patriotic Americans one day and, in a matter of minutes, because of what happened, the perception that people had of them changed.

This story clearly has a strong personal resonance for you. Tell me more about what you sensed changed for you and how you were perceived by others immediately following the 9/11 attacks.
I remember a few years ago, I was visiting a close friend of mine, a white American frat brother of mine from the University of Chicago, in New York. We were talking about 9/11 and he said something to the effect that, in addition to me, he knew other Muslims, including one man he worked with. He said he seemed like a really nice guy though my friend added, “But I don’t know what he talks about when he gets home.”

Wow, was that surprising for you to hear from your friend?
It struck me that his coworker was automatically considered suspicious, even by my friend, someone who knew other Muslims and who doesn’t have a negative bone in his body. But because of what he witnessed, he had to question everything he knew about Muslims. I always thought that as a Muslim American, if people just get to know me, they’ll use me as a standard for what to decide about us, but there are competing messages about what people of my faith have done in the world. It’s not enough to sit back and wait for people to come to their senses — we have to battle the presumption that is out there. That was the impetus of the film.

That said, the film is not an overtly political or overtly pro-Muslim movie. This is not that movie. I wanted to be careful not to create propaganda, because that sort of filmmaking makes me sick. I am telling a story about human people, a story that would resonate with anyone, so that people can understand we are just like anyone else, and felt pain like anyone else. We are a part of the fabric of this country.

Fictional stories can definitely be powerful in battling prejudice.
I feel like we, especially in the West, are a culture of storytellers. I feel an obligation to take on the role of storyteller. I’m a parent and I want my children to grow up in a world where they can be proud of who they are and don’t have to hide aspects of themselves. A good friend of mine in Chicago told me that, in the days after 9/11, his son was 4 or 5 years old saw him shredding some financial documents and his son asked him whether he was shredding the bills because he didn’t want their neighbors to know they are Muslim. Even at that age, this child was cognizant of how the world perceives him right now.

How long has this screenplay specifically been in development?
This script has been in incubation for the last few years now. It was an idea I had a while back and has gone through a couple of different transformations in terms of plot lines and characters. About a year and a half ago, I was in a play with the Silk Road Theatre Project and met a number of amazing artists there. One is Fawzia Mirza, an actress and producer of the film. We started working on the movie together and started developing a fresher take on the ideas I already had. From that point on, it’s been kind of steamrolling on its own as people have really responded to the need for voices like these to be heard.

Your story feels particularly timely right now, as last fall marked the 10th anniversary of the tragedy and there has been a lot of Islamophobic language coming up in the presidential race.
I think it [the anniversary] gave me a sense of urgency. We launched our Kickstarter right after the incident where Lowe’s pulled their ads from the “All-American Muslim” reality show and that situation effected all of us as filmmakers and people. It was very saddening to us that it was happening and made it even more important for us to make this movie. It is profoundly sad that there are people in our culture who have no interest in seeing people like me or my wife or my kids as anything other than some kind of aberration of humanity or something we should all be suspicious of.

I’ve never seen the particular show, but the argument that boycott made was that there is something wrong with a show that doesn’t depict Muslims being violent. Those people don’t want us to be a part of our national conversation. I don’t think this film will change those peoples’ minds, but I would like other voices to be out there on these issues and I hope to be one of those voices. I hope to be a part of the conversation.

What is your timeline going forward with the project?
Job one for us now is to get the money in the bank. To do this film right and to do it justice, we’re looking at a $400,000 budget, which is not a lot of money for a movie, but is a lot of money to fundraise. We are bringing together a wonderful crew, we have the cast, which includes some fun names that we are looking forward to working with. One is another Chicago actor, Parvesh Cheena, who used to be on “Outsourced.” Another is Faran Tahir who played the villain in the first “Iron Man” movie. And we also have Azhar Usman, a Chicago standup comic who tours the world as part of his comedy troupe which is called “Allah Made Me Funny.”

We also have some rewrites going on and one of the people who has been really instrumental in helping us work on the script is “Chinglish” playwright David Henry Hwang, who I had worked with as an actor. I showed him my script and he was very generous with his time and gave me some very serious and thoughtful notes on where the story can go.

Tell me more about the decision to film in and recruit talent primarily from Chicago. What was behind that decision?
It seemed like an obvious decision for us, given that most of our talent lives here, so it made sense because it was cheaper to shoot here. But also, this is an amazing theater town and amazing writers constantly come out of Chicago. As far as we’re concerned, this is a movie that Chicago is making. The crew and actors are primarily from Chicago and the majority of the filming will be done here.

The movie takes place in Chicago after 9/11 and part of it is a love letter to the experience in Chicago. This is a community-based movie. When I’ve been out working on other projects in LA and talking about scripts, it was almost a purposeful decision not to talk about this script with production companies. This has been a passion project for me and really everyone involved with it — to be making the movie for the amount we’re trying to make it for means that nobody is going home with a giant pay check at the end of the day. They all believe in the story we are trying to tell. We’re committed to making this movie no matter what, even if we have to shoot it on iPhones.

As of Feb. 23, with 23 days to go, Mozaffar’s campaign has raised just over $5,200 of its $100,000 fundraising goal. Click here to learn more about the film and help the important project become a reality.

“NYC Muslim Leaders Encourage Residents to Know Their Rights”

Taken from:  http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/11/nyc_muslims_less_like_to_collaborate_with_police_after_one_too_many_undercover_stings.html 

November 15, 2011

Leaders in New York City’s Muslim community are warning people to be watchful of potential undercover NYPD and FBI informants. So they’re holding teach-in’s to help members of the community diagnose the problem and understand their rights.

Insiders say the government’s surveillance efforts are certain to further strain relations between NYPD and the Muslims in the city. The Associated Press is reporting that Muslim community leaders are openly teaching people how to identify police informants, encouraging them to always talk to a lawyer before speaking with the authorities, and reminding people already working with law enforcement that they have the right to change their minds.

The news comes after the AP released an investigation that revealed the NYPD dispatched plainclothes officers to eavesdrop in Muslim communities. The report found hundreds of mosques and restaurants were infiltrated to build a database on what the department later called “daily life inside Muslim neighborhoods.”

In a story published Monday, the AP describes some methods being used in the teach-in’s:

At a recent “Know Your Rights” session for Brooklyn College students, someone asked why Muslims who don’t have anything to hide should avoid talking to police.“Most of the time it’s a fishing expedition,” answered Ramzi Kassem, a law professor at the City University of New York. “So the safest thing you can do for yourself, your family and for your community, is not to answer.”

…

A recently distributed brochure from the City University of New York Law School warns people to be wary when confronted by someone who advocates violence against the U.S., discusses terror organizations, is overly generous or is aggressive in their interactions. The brochure said that person could be a police informant.“Be very careful about involving the police,” the brochure said. “If the individual is an informant, the police may not do anything … If the individual is not an informant and you report them, the unintended consequences could be devastating.”

Muslim communities nationwide have faced a increased amounts of surveillance since 9/11. In a Colorlines.com story published in September, Asraa Mustufa wrote about Muslims in Irvine, California whose communities were being infiltrated by FBI and CIA informants. The policies that allow the agencies to conduct undercover surveillance in Muslim neighborhoods are sanctioned by the Obama administration. To make matters even worse, the administration strengthened a national security provision that makes it nearly impossible for communities and individuals to protect their rights through lawsuits after they’ve been infiltrated.Mustufa explained on Colorlines:

The provision, known as the state secrets privilege, permits the government to block discovery in a lawsuit of any information that, if disclosed, could adversely affect national security or foreign relations.

During his first presidential campaign, Barack Obama vowed to end the type of undercover surveillance that Muslim communities around the country are now dealing with. Of course, that didn’t happen. But not only did it not happen, government surveillance and the legal mechanisms to protect is has reached nearly unprecedented levels.