American Muslims defy Sen. Ted Cruz's call for surveillance

[webfact]

American Muslims defy Sen. Ted Cruz's call for surveillance
GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — A few miles from Disneyland is a place most tourists never see. The signs along the thoroughfare suddenly switch to Arabic script advertising hookah shops, Middle Eastern sweets and halal meat.

At a run-down strip mall in the neighborhood known as Little Arabia, flags from a half-dozen Muslim countries flap in a stiff breeze. Flying above them is a giant American flag.

After Sen. Ted Cruz called for increased surveillance of Muslims in the U.S., many people in this community and others like it either challenged the Republican presidential candidate or dismissed his comments as mostly meaningless rhetoric.

Majd Takriti, 43, stopped to discuss Cruz's remarks as he picked his mother up from a butcher shop. He said he took Cruz and rival Donald Trump with a grain of salt.

"A lot of what they say is to attract attention," Takriti said.

A block down the street, Jordanian native and 44-year U.S. resident Wathiq Bilbeisi slurped on lentil soup during his break at a Jordanian restaurant. He seemed mystified by the concern among some non-Muslim Americans about the candidates' comments.

"The politicians, they want to say whatever the constituents want to hear. I don't think they mean what they say, and in the end, they'll have to come to terms with themselves," he said.

Bilbeisi wasn't worried about the GOP seeking major changes to U.S. law.

"When they go to Congress to get laws to watch the Muslims, nobody's going to do anything about it," he said. "It's against American values."

At a nearby hookah shop displaying pipes in a rainbow of colors, employee Guss Zayat questioned whether IS members were true Muslims.

"They are killing more Muslims than anyone else in this world. They are killing children. They are killing Christians and Muslims in our home countries," said Zayat, who came to America from Beirut about three years ago. Politicians "should know the difference between ISIS and Islam."

Cruz's statement on Tuesday came hours after the deadly attacks at the Brussels airport and a subway station that killed dozens of people and wounded many more. The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility.

He said law enforcement should be empowered to "patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized." Echoing earlier statements from Trump, Cruz also said the U.S. should stop the flow of refugees from countries where the Islamic State has a significant presence.

In Washington, Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates was asked Wednesday at a news conference about calls to step up patrols of Muslim communities. She said the Muslim community "is one of our greatest partners in our fight against terrorism and public safety generally."

Ahmad Tarek Rashid Alam, publisher of the weekly Arabic-language Arab World newspaper and one of the immigrants who helped build Little Arabia, said anti-Muslim statements are familiar.

"This has been going on in every Islamic neighborhood for years," he said. "But now our kids are in the police, in the Army. Are they going to watch us?"

He said Cruz's remarks seemed aimed at exploiting prejudice to get votes.

"The way he talks, it could work maybe 40 years ago. But now, it's too late. Islam is part of the country. . We are already in the country. We're part of the country whether he likes it or not."

Sam Chashku, a Syrian immigrant who arrived in 1996 and married an American-born Christian woman, said Cruz's comments simply made him sad.

"We love this country. We came from nothing. They gave us everything. It's crazy. This country is built on immigrants."

Sometimes, he said, he doesn't want to tell anyone that he's Muslim because "people get offended, and I'm scared of hate crimes."

Trump, who has proposed a temporary ban on foreign Muslims entering the U.S., said in a CNN interview that he supported Cruz's plan.

Speaking Tuesday in New York, Cruz praised the city's former program of conducting surveillance in Muslim neighborhoods. He called for its reinstatement and said it could be a model for police departments nationwide.

After the 9/11 attacks, the New York Police Department used its intelligence division to cultivate informants in Muslim communities. In a series of articles, The Associated Press revealed that authorities had infiltrated dozens of mosques and Muslim student groups.

The program was later disbanded amid complaints of religious and racial profiling.

Kamel Haddouche is overseeing the rebuilding of the Al-Tawheed Islamic Center in Jersey City, N.J. It was destroyed in a fire in 2014.

He said he's met people he's sure were working for law enforcement. They would show up, talk to people and get involved in activities.

The surveillance, he said, makes Muslims feel like they are being watched and they "don't feel free."

"This is what you call a free country? It's not a free country. Especially when you are doing nothing wrong."

The Detroit suburb of Dearborn is widely known as the hometown of Henry Ford, who hired Arabs and Muslims in the early days of the Ford Motor Co. It is now one of the nation's largest and most concentrated communities of people who trace their roots to the Middle East.

Ali Najaf, a senior at the Dearborn campus of the University of Michigan, said the campaign rhetoric is concerning but also motivating. He hopes one day to run for office and tackle some of the issues separating Muslims and non-Muslims.

"Brussels has done one thing: It's made the Muslim community stand on its heel. Even innocent Muslims now feel, 'I need to fight back,'" said Najaf, an Iraqi native who came to the U.S. when he was 9.

"Nobody," he added, "wants to be on the fence anymore."
___

Associated Press writers Jeff Karoub in Dearborn, Michigan; Eric Tucker in Washington, D.C.; and Deepti Hajela in Jersey City, N.J.; also contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-03-24

[samran]

Interesting to see the lunatic right, champions of individual Liberty - with their don't tread on me flags, lack of trust in government and fundamental belief that each man is his own island, manage to contort themselves and throw away the very fundamental core values they profess to beleive in and want to defend.

[Pimay1]

She said the Muslim community "is one of our greatest partners in our fight against terrorism and public safety generally."

You could have fooled me.

[Jingthing]

Cruz is trying to out Trump Trump. Good luck with that. There is only one Trump.

[Scott]

Off-topic post removed.

Please re-read the OP and stay on topic.

[Steely Dan]

If increased surveillance saves lives I'm in favor of increased surveillance. In the absence of infinite resources profiling is a common sense approach to take, especially as some groups are more problematic than others. If this causes hurt feelings I would observe that few people die of hurt feelings.

[Chicog]

Take your foot out of your mouth slowly, Ted.

Sen. Ted Cruz’s controversial proposal that “patrols” should monitor “Muslim neighborhoods” in the United States the aftermath of terror attacks in Belgium has been condemned on both sides of the political aisle, and on Tuesday, New York Police Department commissioner William Bratton added his voice to the chorus.
Bratton, flanked by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who had previously called Cruz’s remarks “reprehensible” and example of “demagoguery,” told reporters that “the statements he made today is why he’s not going to become president of this country.”
“We don’t need a president that doesn’t respect the values that form the foundation of this country,” Bratton added. “As the mayor mentioned, I have over 900 very dedicated officers in this department, many of whom do double duty, and they serve as active duty members of the U.S. Military in combat, something the senator has never seen,” referring to the fact that Cruz has no military experience.
“So before he starts denigrating any population, he should take a close look at who he’s denigrating,” Bratton said. This is not the first time Cruz has provoked the ire of many New Yorkers. In January, Cruz suffered a barrage of bad press in the Big Apple, after he took aim at what he called “New York values.”

Link

Edited March 24, 2016 by Chicog

[otherstuff1957]

Cruz is trying to out Trump Trump. Good luck with that. There is only one Trump.

One is enough.... actually, more than enough!

[humqdpf]

There is a way to deal with such nonsense - along the lines of "I am Spartacus" (remember the movie?), everyone declares themselves Muslim to the authorities. That would put an end to such surveillance nonsense!

[tonbridgebrit]

Cruz is trying to out Trump Trump. Good luck with that. There is only one Trump.

Very important point this. See, a whole load of people have come out to blast and condemn Trump. But, look at all those who are condemning Trump, about a third of them actually support some of his ideas.

Trump wants to draft in the crazy idea of stopping all Muslims entering into America, and some of his supporters would support removing a load of Muslims from the USA. Look at those who call Trump a lunatic, some of them people actually want to see such crazy ideas happen.

[JHolmesJr]

Slimy Ted Cruz....now slimily trying to copy mr trumps original idea.

[tonbridgebrit]

If increased surveillance saves lives I'm in favor of increased surveillance. In the absence of infinite resources profiling is a common sense approach to take, especially as some groups are more problematic than others. If this causes hurt feelings I would observe that few people die of hurt feelings.

Increased surveillance ?? If they carried out increased surveillance on those who are suspected of being terrorists, fine. But increasing the surveillance on a large number of people (bearing in mind that the vast majority of Muslims are not actually supporters of terrorism) is surely, a waste of precious resources ?

"If this causes hurt feelings I would observe that few people die of hurt feelings". Yes, actions that make Muslims angry BUT IF it saves our lives, lets do it, fine. We don't care if Muslims get angry, as long as we ARE OR FEEL safer. But this action is, is a lot of effort and action, for only a small increase in our level of safety. It's more like a waste or non-effective use of our resources. Yes, it might make some of us feel safer, but that's what it's mainly about, making people THINK that they are safer.

Oh, so now we are targetting a percentage of non-Muslims, and making them FEEL safer, and at the same time, we're making a whole load of Muslims angry. It might cause a very small number of Muslims who are NOT terrorists to actually support terrorism.

Does this help the situation ?? Surely not ??

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

In todays Mail online there is an opinion piece by a British muslim. In this piece he blame the rise of Islamic terrorist in the UK and EU on the muslim parents. According to the writer muslim parents have fallen for radical preachers from Saudi Arabia which instructed muslim parents to insolate their children from western society. By doing this the muslim children becomes isolated from their peer groups, country and broader society. These children are then easy targets for conversion to radical islam as they don't feel part of the country they stay in and in some cases feel discriminated against.

There are also mounting evidence that radical islam wants to takeover Europe through a numbers game. In countries like France and the UK muslims make up more than 10% of the population. Their population growth is also 3 or 4 times that of Europeans and Brits, which means in 30 years they will become the majority in certain areas and in 50 years an absolute majority in those 2 countries. When they reach that point they will impose sharia law.

So for those who would like that to happen good luck. There is no politically correct way to solve this problem, only the Trump way. It's racism, it's ugly and it will be painful, but if its not done now it will cause much greater pain later on.

[Chicog]

There are also mounting evidence that radical islam wants to takeover Europe through a numbers game. In countries like France and the UK muslims make up more than 10% of the population.

Yeah, I seem to have to repeat that the comic that is the Daily Mail is about as trustworthy as Fox News.

Muslims in the UK make up 4.4% of the population. In France it's 7.5. This is not a sudden thing, the UK has been accepting Muslims from the commonwealth for years, and most of France's come from its former colonial territories in Africa.

Bunch of alarmist ratbags.

Now, given that both countries had a significant muslim population for decades without strife, what do you think really started all this discord?

I would assume it predates 9/11 even.

In my readings it does seem to me that Mullahs and Imams have seen how the Church's power has waned over the years, and they see themselves as being next.

I already work with plenty of good muslims who are more likely to enjoy a beer and a game of football than a visit to the mosque.

It's no coincidence that anything remotely fun is branded as "Haram".

Edited March 24, 2016 by Chicog

[Steely Dan]

If increased surveillance saves lives I'm in favor of increased surveillance. In the absence of infinite resources profiling is a common sense approach to take, especially as some groups are more problematic than others. If this causes hurt feelings I would observe that few people die of hurt feelings.

Increased surveillance ?? If they carried out increased surveillance on those who are suspected of being terrorists, fine. But increasing the surveillance on a large number of people (bearing in mind that the vast majority of Muslims are not actually supporters of terrorism) is surely, a waste of precious resources ?

"If this causes hurt feelings I would observe that few people die of hurt feelings". Yes, actions that make Muslims angry BUT IF it saves our lives, lets do it, fine. We don't care if Muslims get angry, as long as we ARE OR FEEL safer. But this action is, is a lot of effort and action, for only a small increase in our level of safety. It's more like a waste or non-effective use of our resources. Yes, it might make some of us feel safer, but that's what it's mainly about, making people THINK that they are safer.

Oh, so now we are targetting a percentage of non-Muslims, and making them FEEL safer, and at the same time, we're making a whole load of Muslims angry. It might cause a very small number of Muslims who are NOT terrorists to actually support terrorism.

Does this help the situation ?? Surely not ??

Did the years of denying Islam has a terrorism problem make the much talked about moderate majority feel better? Does denial of other negative aspects of conservative Islamic culture such as misogyny, homophobia, antisemitism or honor killing stop them being a problem? The underlying reflex of political correctness may be intended to protect minority groups, but who is it actually helping? If moderate Muslims realized there would be zero tolerance for behavior contrary to the constitution they may be more inclined to make their voices heard. Whereas now I suspect they are cowed by their conservative coreligionists, who are anything but compatible with a modern pluralistic society.

Or is it there a tacit realization that extreme attitudes are far more prevalent than we have been led to believe?

[ggt]

dismissed his comments as mostly meaningless rhetoric.

Presidential elections are what some call the "silly season"...

Candidates will say anything...give away everything...and do nothing...

Such is the American Presidential Process....

[geriatrickid]

Interesting to see the lunatic right, champions of individual Liberty - with their don't tread on me flags, lack of trust in government and fundamental belief that each man is his own island, manage to contort themselves and throw away the very fundamental core values they profess to beleive in and want to defend.

How so? There are already parts of the USA which are no go areas for christians. Ever been to Deerborn Michigan? Try and have a Bible revival in that city and see if you get a permit.

Edited March 24, 2016 by geriatrickid

[samran]

Interesting to see the lunatic right, champions of individual Liberty - with their don't tread on me flags, lack of trust in government and fundamental belief that each man is his own island, manage to contort themselves and throw away the very fundamental core values they profess to beleive in and want to defend.

How so? There are already parts of the USA which are no go areas for christians. Ever been to Deerborn Michigan? Try and have a Bible revival in that city and see if you get a permit.

Whoosh!!! Straight over your head.

[geriatrickid]

Interesting to see the lunatic right, champions of individual Liberty - with their don't tread on me flags, lack of trust in government and fundamental belief that each man is his own island, manage to contort themselves and throw away the very fundamental core values they profess to beleive in and want to defend.

How so? There are already parts of the USA which are no go areas for christians. Ever been to Deerborn Michigan? Try and have a Bible revival in that city and see if you get a permit.

Whoosh!!! Straight over your head.

On the contrary, your attempt to use a condescending flick of your opinionated wrist to dismiss legitimate concerns is what went swoosh. Ted Cruz is no lunatic. I loathe the man, but he keeps his comments legal. He's a former clerk of the US supreme court and someone who didn't get a free pass through law school or at the workplace.

[Linzz]

Slimy Ted Cruz....now slimily trying to copy mr trumps original idea.

Imitation is flattery. He's just given Trump approval trying to capitalize on a disaster and that's how it looks because it's after the fact

[Scott]

Troll posts and replies removed. Continue and suspensions will be given.

[willyumiii]

I hope they all vote and they all "feel the Bern"!

[samran]

Interesting to see the lunatic right, champions of individual Liberty - with their don't tread on me flags, lack of trust in government and fundamental belief that each man is his own island, manage to contort themselves and throw away the very fundamental core values they profess to beleive in and want to defend.

How so? There are already parts of the USA which are no go areas for christians. Ever been to Deerborn Michigan? Try and have a Bible revival in that city and see if you get a permit.

Whoosh!!! Straight over your head.

On the contrary, your attempt to use a condescending flick of your opinionated wrist to dismiss legitimate concerns is what went swoosh. Ted Cruz is no lunatic. I loathe the man, but he keeps his comments legal. He's a former clerk of the US supreme court and someone who didn't get a free pass through law school or at the workplace.

Doesn't stop him from being a hypocrite, which is my point... Edited March 24, 2016 by samran

[willyumiii]

Cruz is trying to out Trump Trump. Good luck with that. There is only one Trump.

One too many!

[Redline]

Profiling is a normal common sense approach. This is about the security of the country. If there is an internal national threat, then it needs to be addressed. If they are not doing anything wrong, they should not mind. I know all of my communications are subject to review, but I have nothing to hide, well, nothing that is illegal. Set aside political correctness, adhere to the constitution, but don't let those that want to kill innocent people use the system to their favor. It's a delicate situation, but our world has changed.

[Linzz]

Interesting to see the lunatic right, champions of individual Liberty - with their don't tread on me flags, lack of trust in government and fundamental belief that each man is his own island, manage to contort themselves and throw away the very fundamental core values they profess to beleive in and want to defend.

How so? There are already parts of the USA which are no go areas for christians. Ever been to Deerborn Michigan? Try and have a Bible revival in that city and see if you get a permit.

There seems to be a lot of disinformation about Deerborn

http://www.factcheck.org/2015/12/dearborns-anti-isis-rally/

[willyumiii]

Have you ever wondered why this racist Canadian born Cuban refuses to use his real name?

I have!

[Credo]

There is profiling, which probably is counter productive, and there is targeting. The NSA gathers huge amounts of information, I am sure that through that process they are able to target those who have likely links to terrorism, terrorists or suspected groups. Putting large numbers of people to watch all Muslims would be a waste of time and money.

I have friends in the ME and I occasionally communicate with them. I have no doubt those emails and Facebook comments have been viewed. A few of them are in areas pretty close to ISIS controlled territory.

[wwest5829]

Interesting to see the lunatic right, champions of individual Liberty - with their don't tread on me flags, lack of trust in government and fundamental belief that each man is his own island, manage to contort themselves and throw away the very fundamental core values they profess to beleive in and want to defend.

How so? There are already parts of the USA which are no go areas for christians. Ever been to Deerborn Michigan? Try and have a Bible revival in that city and see if you get a permit.

No go areas in the U.S.? Verifiable source citations, please.

Edited March 24, 2016 by wwest5829

[jesimps]

Interesting to see the lunatic right, champions of individual Liberty - with their don't tread on me flags, lack of trust in government and fundamental belief that each man is his own island, manage to contort themselves and throw away the very fundamental core values they profess to beleive in and want to defend.

How so? There are already parts of the USA which are no go areas for christians. Ever been to Deerborn Michigan? Try and have a Bible revival in that city and see if you get a permit.

No go areas in the U.S.? Verifiable source citations, please.

We have more than a few in the UK, d'ya want them?