Free Republic

(AP) DETROIT — When DC Comics decided to blow up its fabled universe and create a brave, diverse future, Geoff Johns drew from the past for a new character: his own background as an Arab-American. The company's chief creative officer and writer of the re-launched "Green Lantern" series dreamed up Simon Baz, DC's most prominent Arab-American superhero and the first to wear a Green Lantern ring. The character and creator share Lebanese ancestry and hail from the Detroit area, which boasts one of the largest and oldest Arab communities in the United States.

A new report by Britain’s Department for Education and Skills notes that an increasing number of schools are dropping the teaching of the Holocaust from history lessons to avoid offending Muslim students. The report, titled Teaching Emotive and Controversial History, also observes that many teachers are reluctant to discuss the Crusades because the lessons frequently contradict what is taught in local mosques... 30 non-Muslim children at an elementary school in Scotland were required to visit a mosque in Glasgow, where they were instructed to recite the shahada, the Islam declaration of faith, which states, “There is no god but Allah...

( Cinnamon Heathcote-Drury ) was waiting to pay at the checkout when she noticed a man with two small children also queuing. They were joined by a woman wearing a hijab and a long black tunic who began unloading an overflowing trolley, one item at a time. She says: ‘I glanced over and thought, “This poor woman’s going to be there for hours.” Her husband was standing closest to me, so I said to him, “Will you help her?” ‘He said, “I’ve got the children.” I said, “Well, I can help her” and he replied, “What’s it to you?” I...

Three years ago film maker Robb Leech was reading a newspaper article about the radical Islamic preacher Anjem Choudary, when he spotted his stepbrother, Richard Dart’s name. Richard Dart, 29, is a white Muslim convert who featured in a BBC documentary last year filmed by his own brother about his conversion... now one of the extremist’s most devoted followers and was spending his days calling for strict Sharia law to be imposed in Britain. Unable to believe what he was seeing, Robb, who had been extremely close to his stepbrother when they were teenagers contacted him and they arranged to...

White Muslim convert Richard Dart and a former police community support officer were among six people arrested for allegedly plotting a terror attack in Britain.Richard Dart, who was radicalised by the cleric Anjem Choudary, was held following police raids in east and west London. A former PCSO and two of his brothers, who were living just over a mile from the Olympic site in Stratford, were also among those detained during the police and MI5 operation to prevent a suspected terror assault. One of the brothers was Tasered by officers. Counter-terrorism police had first searched their home last November. The...

CHARLOTTE -- A national Muslim American organization plans a series of events to coincide with the Democratic National Convention in September. The kick-off for its three days of events begins with a jummah prayer, the weekly mid-afternoon Friday prayer, at Marshall Park in uptown. Other events include an Islamic issues conference and banquet, and a cultural festival held in different parts of the city, including at the Park Expo and Conference Center off Independence Boulevard.

As a vehicle for legitimizing and promoting Shariah throughout the world, Shariah-compliant finance is a phenomenon that is taking the financial world by storm right under the noses of American investors. Given the stated mission of Shariah is to bring about the rule of Islam worldwide, anything that promotes the Shariah mission warrants careful scrutiny. American investors deserve to know where their money is being invested, and the fact that their hard-earned dollars could be helping fund the very radical terrorist groups that are seeking to destroy this nation is shocking. It is vital that we come to grips and...

The election has been marred with ugly undertones of anti-Semitism: one candidate accuses the other of being more loyal to Israel than to his own land, and anchors his candidacy in ethnic and religious identity politics. Observers fear that by making his anti-Israel stance the lynchpin of his campaign, the candidate is setting a precedent that could have severe negative consequences in the near future. All this sounds as if it could be taking place in Egypt, where Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi has signaled that he wants to review, if not discard outright, that nation’s peace treaty with Israel,...

A US soldier accused of plotting an attack on a military base after fleeing his post as a Muslim conscientious objector went on trial Tuesday wearing a surgical mask and manacled to the floor. Courtroom security agents behind him wore protective goggles, an apparent reaction to an incident in which the soldier, Naser Jason Abdo, who claims to be HIV positive, bit his lip and spat blood at law enforcement officers. Prosecutors called the first of 43 witnesses to the stand in a bid to show that Abdo, who fled his post in Kentucky, was gathering bomb-making materials and weapons...

In Dearborn Mich., a Detroit suburb known for its concentration of Muslim Americans, anti-Islam leaders from around the country are gathering to discuss how to rescue women from that faith. The "Jessica Mokdad Human Rights Conference on Honor Killings" on Sunday is named for a local Muslim woman murdered one year ago. But Muslims, civil rights groups and other religious leaders say the conference is merely another event put on by well-known bigots to attack the minority religion. Their response was to schedule a town hall meeting just a few miles away on Sunday called "Rejecting Islamophobia: A Community Stand...

In 2011, death row inmate Abdul Awkal sued an Ohio prison because he was receiving non-halal food while in prison. As a consequence, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction banned all pork products in prison. This year, prisoner James Rivers filed a lawsuit arguing that pork should not be outright banned. He reasoned that, should Muslims not want to eat pork, they had the right to, but that it was discriminatory to ban pork for everyone. Additionally, the prison did offer meals without pork products in them before the ban. To reinforce Rivers's lawsuit, prison authorities argued that the...

With the twin spires of the Islamic Center of America in the background, the Rev. Terry Jones praised Christianity and condemned Islam, calling it “of the devil.” “Mohammad was a liar, a pedophile and a false prophet,” Jones said. “I believe that as a Christian. But as an American who believes in the constitution I believe they have the right to practice their beliefs under the freedom of religion.” Jones — who is on his fourth trip to Dearborn to preach about the dangers of Islam and its agenda of imposing Sharia law on America — also called for a...

It's an eye opening experience for a Brit returning to her hometown to witness firsthand the growing muslim extremism in Britain.

....The CIA declined to comment on Roger’s status or provide any information on him for this article. Roger declined repeated requests for an interview. The Post agreed to withhold some details, including Roger’s real name, his full cover identity and his age, at the request of agency officials, who cited concerns for his safety. Although CIAofficials often have their cover identities removed when they join the agency’s senior ranks, Roger has maintained his. A native of suburban Virginia,Roger grew up in a family where several members, across two generations, have worked at the agency. When his own career began in...

A new religious center is being built here in Laredo, finally giving people of the Muslim faith their own place to worship. Previously the Islamic group here in Laredo had been renting a location but soon construction will begin on their own mosque. The space will be close to 2,000 sq. feet and will be able to accommodate the school they are currently running. Dr. Zakariah Hamdan, "for many years there hasn't been a place for the Muslim community to perform their prayers and practice aspects of the religion. So this will be a very important step." Leaders also said...

... As the profile of American Muslims has been heightened by the 9/11 attacks and subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, many Muslims say they too have been inspired to protect their communities against terrorism. They are becoming more active in civic and political causes and more regularly reach out to law enforcement officials. "No community is working more diligently than the Muslim community," said Sally Howell, an associate professor at University of Michigan-Dearborn and author of several books and essays on Arabs and Muslims in Detroit. "Really, there is nobody in our society that is more concerned about this...

Legal experts following one of the most riveting murder trials in Buffalo history express uniform disapproval of Hassan's attempt to serve as his own lawyer and showing contempt for his trial by stalking out of court. Hassan, also known as "Mo," is charged with stabbing and beheading his wife, Aasiya, on Feb. 12, 2009, in the headquarters of their Bridges television station in Orchard Park. So far, Sedita said, prosecutors have received notice only that Hassan plans to pursue a "battered spouse" justification defense, essentially stating that as a long-abused husband, he feared for his life and the only way...

(CathNews) Santa will not be visiting students in St. Peter, Minnesota this year. Muslim immigrants got him cancelled. The MinnPost reported, via Pat Dollard: Santa Claus, as portrayed by Dennis Jackson, won’t be visiting students at the Head Start classes in St. Peter this year. Jackson has made appearances the past four years at the classes for students who need help preparing for school, but this year officials said, “No, no, no.” The reason: The classes have many immigrant children who don’t celebrate Christmas, says the Mankato Free Press. Santa’s a little frosted, the paper says. It kind of burnt...

The powerful leader of a branch of the Shiite Muslim faith, who some believe is a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, is determined to change the world's impression of his religion. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

One day about a month ago, a foreign exchange student named Jawdat Kasab wrote the phrase “Death to America,” in Arabic, on a board in an art classroom at Niceville High School. He and his friends thought it would be good for a laugh. Nobody’s laughing now. The 15-year-old student was suspended for two days. Then the exchange program in which he was enrolled — AYUSA Global Youth Exchange — sent him packing. He flew to Israel last Friday night. The episode has ignited a debate on whether authorities overreacted and whether Jawdat’s right to free speech was violated. The...