Discrimination: U.S. Mosques Urged to Step Up Security After Norway Attacks

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations

A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization today called on American mosques to step up security following attacks by an anti-Muslim, right-wing terrorist in Norway that left more than 70 people dead.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) also called on state, local and national law enforcement and security agencies to drop Islamophobic trainers who were cited in the terrorist's manifesto.

In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:

"Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of all those killed and injured in these unconscionable and inexcusable terror attacks. As we have stated repeatedly in the past, extremist rhetoric can lead to violence.

"Because the Norway terrorist left a manifesto designed to inspire similar attacks, and because he claims there are others who share his beliefs ready to strike, we urge American mosques and Muslim institutions to step up security measures using CAIR's 'Muslim Community Safety Kit.' Added security measures, coupled with increased outreach and educational efforts, will help American Muslims be safe during the upcoming religious observances associated with the fast of Ramadan.

"These horrible attacks have exposed more than ever before the ideological underpinnings of anti-Muslim extremism in Europe and the United States. It is shocking that some of the individuals cited by the terrorist to justify his crimes have trained American security personnel. Perhaps those who ignored or downplayed this issue in the past will address it now by instituting measures to prevent the use of Islamophobic trainers by government agencies."

As the New York Times reported today: "The man accused of the killing spree in Norway was deeply influenced by a small group of American bloggers and writers who have warned for years about the threat from Islam, lacing his 1,500-page manifesto with quotations from them."

The anti-Islam bloggers and writers cited favorably by the Norway terrorist include Robert Spencer (64 citations), co-founder of the hate group Stop the Islamization of America (SIOA), and Walid Shoebat (more than 15 citations), an "ex-terrorist" recently exposed as a fraud by CNN's Anderson Cooper. SIOA has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

SEE: 'Expert' Walid Shoebat Cited in Terror Manifesto
http://tinyurl.com/3f4kckf

Southern Poverty Law Center Names Anti-Muslim Groups
http://www.splcenter.org/node/3502/activegroups

The Norway terrorist also cited the anti-Islam blog of SIOA co-founder Pamela Geller. On her blog, Geller recently sought to minimize the war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims. SEE: On Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, and Other Jihadists (Atlantic)

http://tinyurl.com/3mcj44p

Spencer and Shoebat have both been solicited in the past to train government and security officials, including FBI agents, on the topics of Islam and terrorism.

CAIR has recently called on the Obama administration, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and Congress to provide oversight for apparently widespread anti-Muslim bias in the training of law enforcement, security and military personnel nationwide.

Last month, CAIR and the University of California, Berkeley's Center for Race and Gender released a report that documents growing Islamophobia in the United States and offers recommendations about how to challenge the troubling phenomenon.