http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/ropma/ en-us Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:23:26 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387958/posts FREMONT — Despite concerns that the Fort Hood shooting rampage would lead to a new backlash against American Muslims, optimism pervaded a Sunday gathering of hundreds of Bay Area members of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "There is hope for Americans who happen to be Muslim," said host and Fremont dentist Mohammad Rajabally, who said attitudes toward Muslims have improved but could fall back into misjudgment and hatred without persistent advocacy. The fundraising banquet for the Bay Area chapter of the nation's largest Muslim civil rights group carried a cheerful name — "A New Era of Hope" — but came... Oakland Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387958/posts#comment Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:23:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2387204/posts In the wake of the horrific attack at the Fort Hood military base in Texas earlier this month, and the mounting evidence that the shooter, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, was motivated by Islamist beliefs, the media has turned to Middle East studies "experts" for enlightenment. Instead, what the media, and, by extension, the American public, has received is the moral relativism and obfuscation that too often meets any effort to address Islamism or jihadism in an intellectually honest manner. Writing for the Washington Post's "On Faith" blog, John Esposito, professor and founding director of the Saudi-funded Prince Alwaleed bin Talal... American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2387204/posts#comment Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:22:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2379179/posts The Council on American-Islamic Relations sent out its usual roundup Tuesday of news stories alleging the mistreatment of Muslims in America. There was a story critical of the FBI harassment of Muslims in Queens, N.Y., in the wake of the arrest of a suspected terrorist. Another story concerned calls for an investigation into an FBI shooting that left Detroit Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah dead. There were also notices of CAIR banquets. There was no story about Noor Faleh Almaleki. Her father, Faleh Hassan Almaleki, has been arrested for running down his 20-year-old daughter, as well as the mother of her... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2379179/posts#comment Thu, 5 Nov 2009 15:55:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2309862/posts Oakland, Calif. (AP) -- Court documents claim a man charged in the murder of an Oakland journalist was also involved in the killing of his own brother. Yusuf Bey IV, former head of Your Black Muslim Bakery, has pleaded not guilty in the deaths of Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey and two other men. Yusuf Bey IV's brother, Antar Bey, was killed in 2005. Alfonza Phillips is serving life in prison for that murder. In documents filed last week seeking to overturn Phillips' conviction, defense attorney Randi Covin says Yusuf Bey IV and two other men acted on their intent... AP via SFGate http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2309862/posts#comment Thu, 6 Aug 2009 19:44:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2294466/posts Explosions have hit two luxury hotels in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, say police reports. The country's Metro TV reported that one blast was heard and felt at the Ritz-Carlton and another hit the Marriott Hotel. At least three people were injured in the Marriott blast, the Associated Press quoted police as saying. One witness told Reuters some windows on the lowers floors of the Ritz-Carlton hotel had been shattered. BBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2294466/posts#comment Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:45:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286167/posts Suspected Muslim guerrillas detonated a bomb near a Roman Catholic cathedral in the southern Philippines on Sunday, killing at least five people and wounding 46. The bomb exploded outside the Immaculate Conception cathedral in Cotabato city as churchgoers were attending Mass. Two people were killed instantly in the attack and three others, including a militiaman, later died in hospitals, military officials said. Among the wounded were six soldiers and militiamen who were in an army van that passed by the cathedral when the device, fashioned from a mortar round, exploded, Cotabato city Mayor Muslimin Sema said. The improvised explosive, which... The Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286167/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 23:56:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2260559/posts Oakland, Calif. (AP) -- A former community-group leader accused of ordering the murder of three men, including a newspaper editor, was scheduled to be arraigned Friday. It'll be the third time Yusuf Bey IV will stand in front of a judge for the murder of Chauncey Bailey and two other men in 2007. Bailey was an editor for the Oakland Post and working on a story about the finances of Bey's Your Black Muslim Bakery when he was gunned down on the way to work. AP via SFGate http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2260559/posts#comment Fri, 29 May 2009 15:00:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2240660/posts OAKLAND - A grand jury today voted to indict Yusuf Ali Bey IV, the scion of the defunct Your Black Muslim Bakery, for ordering the killings of journalist Chauncey Bailey and two other men in 2007, authorities familiar with the situation said. Prosecutors are likely to bring the case with special circumstances - allowing them to seek the death penalty against Bey IV, 23. He allegedly told two of his followers that in exchange for killing Bailey, he would teach them how to file fraudulent loan applications that could reap hundreds of thousands of dollars. Another man, Antoine Arelus Mackey,... Contra Costa Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2240660/posts#comment Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:04:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2234653/posts OAKLAND -- The man accused of fatally shooting Oakland journalist Chauncey Bailey testified before a grand jury today that he was ordered to commit the killing by the leader of Your Black Muslim Bakery, his attorney said. Devaughndre Broussard, 21, a former handyman at the now-defunct black self-empowerment group, has struck a plea agreement with Alameda County prosecutors under which he agreed to testify against bakery leader Yusuf Bey IV and another bakery figure, Antoine Mackey. In exchange, Broussard has agreed to plead guilty to two counts of voluntary manslaughter, for the 2007 killings of Bailey and Odell Roberson, and... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2234653/posts#comment Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:47:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2231459/posts OAKLAND -- After striking a deal with prosecutors, Devaughndre Broussard described in detail how he carried out orders from the leader of Your Black Muslim Bakery to kill Oakland journalist Chauncey Bailey, including specific instructions to fire enough rounds to make sure "it ain't no coming back." The 21-year-old former handyman for the bakery chillingly and nonchalantly took prosecutor Chris Lamiero step by step March 23 and 24 through the events surrounding the slayings of the Oakland Post editor and another man. Both shootings, he said, were ordered by Yusuf Bey IV, the leader of the bakery, a now-defunct black... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2231459/posts#comment Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:54:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2230627/posts DETROIT (AP) -- A Michigan Muslim organization said Thursday it has asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate complaints alleging the FBI is asking followers of the faith to spy on Islamic leaders and congregations. The Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan sent a letter last week to Holder after mosques and other groups reported members of the community have been approached to monitor people coming to mosques and donations they make. Sandra Berchtold, a spokeswoman in the FBI's Detroit office, had no immediate comment. Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations,... AP via SFGate http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2230627/posts#comment Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:05:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2199855/posts <p>Oakland -- A confidential informant has told prosecutors that the jailed head of Your Black Muslim Bakery boasted to him last year that he ordered Oakland Post Editor Chauncey Bailey executed to stop untrue information from being published about the bakery. In the statement obtained by The Chronicle, the unidentified informant recounted how he met Yusuf Bey IV, 22, while both were in jail and Bey IV talked constantly about the bakery and the Aug. 2, 2007, killing of the 57-year-old Oakland man.</p> San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2199855/posts#comment Thu, 5 Mar 2009 15:50:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2158803/posts Hamas representatives claimed on Sunday that their militiamen were fighting against IDF troops in the Gaza Strip with weapons confiscated from the Palestinian Authority in the summer of 2007. They said Hamas had managed to lay its hands on all the weapons that Israel, the US and other countries had given forces loyal to PA President Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas had also seized dozens of armored vehicles used by Abbas's security forces, they added. After its men took full control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, Hamas announced that it had seized tens of thousands of rifles and pistols, including heavy... Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2158803/posts#comment Mon, 5 Jan 2009 04:02:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2157722/posts Israel's long overdue military response to the daily barrage of Gaza rockets aimed at its citizens has led to the usual round of protest/counter-protest confrontations in the West. Whether it's here in the San Francisco Bay Area or across the United States and Europe, Arab protesters and those on the left who have bought into their false victimhood narrative are enraged. They have directed their hatred and vitriol towards the few pro-Israel counter-protesters who have shown up to counter their monolithic message, and in some cases rioting and violence has ensued. For the most part, the mainstream media continues to... Cinnamon Stillwell's Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2157722/posts#comment Fri, 2 Jan 2009 18:47:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2157425/posts Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday night issued a general curfew in the West Bank beginning at midnight Thursday and ending at midnight on Saturday. The decision to issue the curfew was made due to warnings by the Security Establishment that terrorists were planning attacks in revenge of Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip. Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2157425/posts#comment Fri, 2 Jan 2009 01:29:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2156801/posts Search for answers into slaying has raised questions not only about handling of case, but department as a whole — OAKLAND — As 2008 ends, more questions than answers remain about the brazen slaying of journalist Chauncey Bailey 17 months ago, and they raise increasing concerns about this city's beleaguered police force — questions that some officers say are now being asked within their own ranks.Officers and recently retired officers interviewed for this story describe the department as fractured, lacking confidence in Chief Wayne Tucker and his executive command staff, and neutered in its crime fighting abilities.Continuing violent crime, chronic... Contra Costa Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2156801/posts#comment Wed, 31 Dec 2008 17:27:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2150378/posts It was often said after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that everything had changed. And for a few years afterwards, indeed it had. After decades of denial, America and its allies went on the offensive against Islamic terrorism, both militarily and morally. Most importantly, there was no hesitancy to name the enemy or to condemn his inhumanity. But if the lack of outrage over the Islamic terrorist assault on Mumbai, India last month was any indication, everything has changed back. The obfuscation that characterized much of the early reporting on Mumbai is partially to blame. Watching a number... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2150378/posts#comment Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:37:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2148595/posts OAKLAND — Yusuf Bey IV was heavily involved in guns and gun violence well before the killing of journalist Chauncey Bailey last year — a killing he is suspected of ordering — despite his claims to police that he didn't allow weapons at Your Black Muslim Bakery and disavowed their use.Recorded jailhouse telephone calls and three statements given to police before and after Bailey's Aug. 2, 2007, killing implicate Bey IV in a 2006 shooting of a car belonging to the former boyfriend of a woman with whom he was involved and a June 2007 shootout at a San Francisco... Contra Costa Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2148595/posts#comment Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:40:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2143031/posts For a brief time during the 2008 presidential campaign, Columbia University's Edward Said professor of Arab studies Rashid Khalidi was the most famous Middle East studies academic in the country. Khalidi's relationship with now president-elect Barack Obama brought him national attention and unprecedented media scrutiny. At the heart of the controversy was Khalidi's role as a spokesman for the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) when he lived in Beirut in the late 1970s and early 1980s. During those years, the PLO was listed by the State Department as a designated foreign terrorist organization. But this was not the first time that... Campus Watch http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2143031/posts#comment Thu, 4 Dec 2008 22:49:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2118522/posts Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums asked the state attorney general Tuesday to investigate the Police Department's handling of the August 2007 slaying of journalist Chauncey Bailey, amid lingering questions about the relationship between the lead investigator and the head of the Black Muslim group at the heart of the case. "While I respect and appreciate" the efforts of the police, Dellums said at a City Hall news conference, "the residents of Oakland deserve to know that this investigation is being conducted with the utmost transparency, openness and integrity." Dellums also said the lead investigator into the killing, Sgt. Derwin Longmire, a... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2118522/posts#comment Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:53:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2116456/posts OAKLAND — The lead detective assigned to investigate journalist Chauncey Bailey's killing ignored evidence linking Yusuf Bey IV, former leader of Your Black Muslim Bakery, to a role in the killing and interfered in two other unrelated felony cases involving Bey IV, according to an investigation by the Chauncey Bailey Project. The Bailey Project's reporting has led to a police internal affairs investigation of that detective, Sgt. Derwin Longmire, and whether his relationship with Bey IV may have compromised the case. Law enforcement officials said the investigation of the Bailey killing is in crisis. If Longmire is charged with administrative... Contra Costa Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2116456/posts#comment Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:01:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2114486/posts Islam Awareness Week 2008 is underway at the University of Pennsylvania. Organized by the Muslim Students Association, Islam Awareness Week also has academic sponsors, including the university's Middle East Center. While "awareness" may be a laudable goal, blatant proselytizing is another matter entirely. Yet today's event, "State and Need for Dawah in the West," promises just that. Here is the description (received by e-mail; emphasis added): Harvard Chaplain and well-studied individual of Islam, Taha Abdul-Basser will deliver the Friday sermon on the lack of Dawah (invitation) on the part of Muslims in North America, not only to convey a message... Campus Watch http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2114486/posts#comment Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:10:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2095300/posts Ingrid Mattson, director of the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford Seminary and president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), has been all over the news lately. Mattson was one of the speakers at an interfaith gathering at the Democratic National Convention in August, and now word comes that she's a member of the "leadership group" for the U.S. Muslim Engagement Project. The latter consists of a bipartisan coalition of American leaders from a variety of backgrounds, which, as described at its website, seeks to form "a clear and strong consensus on... Campus Watch http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2095300/posts#comment Wed, 1 Oct 2008 23:18:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2090811/posts A word to the wise: if you are posting news articles that are related to Islam: Sharia Law, Jihad, and other "religion of peace" pleasantries, it would behoove you to post the entire text of the article here rather than an excerpt. News articles that show Islam in a less than favorable light have mysteriously been disappearing from the news websites at a rapid rate. There is a lot of pressure being put on media outlets, and it is working. If we want to have access to the truth, we are going to have to take steps to protect it.... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2090811/posts#comment Fri, 26 Sep 2008 03:40:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2090556/posts A poster promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace at an AC Transit bus stop in front of UC Berkeley’s Eshelman Hall has been repeatedly vandalized with anti-Semitic slogans and swastikas, authorities said. The poster—part of the “Only in Israel” public awareness campaign launched by San Francisco-based BlueStarPR and sponsored by the Jewish Community Federation and Foundation of the Greater East Bay—has a picture of Israeli Arab soccer star Sowan Abbas calling for coexistence among communities. The poster also gives an example of a soccer team consisting of Jews and Arabs training together in the Arab-Israeli town of Sakhnin. Gabe Weiner, a campus coordinator... Berkeley Daily Planet http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2090556/posts#comment Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:06:50 GMT