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From the Los Angeles Times

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Bitter internal dispute roils San Fernando Valley mosque

The court battle for control of the mosque has turned ugly, with each side using inflammatory rhetoric, claiming to be more assimilated and alleging that it has been threatened or assaulted.

by Raja Abdulrahim, Los Angeles Times

January 31, 2011

On a Friday afternoon in October, men in black security T-shirts and matching cargo pants roamed the parking lot and perimeter of the Islamic Center of Northridge as worshipers arrived for weekly prayers.

Several Los Angeles Police Department patrol cars were parked nearby as officers kept a watchful eye on a demonstration out front. About 30 men yelled and held up signs. One waved a small American flag as another denounced the mosque's religious leader as a devil.

Worshipers, looking uncomfortable, hurried past and into the building.

It's a scene reminiscent of others across the country where new and existing mosques have faced heated opposition in recent months. But the protests at the Islamic Center's main mosque in Granada Hills are different, not demonstrations by anti-Islamic groups but a struggle between rival Muslim groups over control of the institution.

The two sides, each made up mainly of Pakistani and Afghan immigrants, are battling in court over leadership elections and greater openness at the Granada Hills mosque and an older satellite center in Northridge. The dispute has taken on an ugly, ethnically charged tone, including heated rhetoric about which group is more American in dress, accent and behavior.

The parties have traded accusations of radicalism as each side tries to discredit the other, sometimes using comparisons and accusations that American Muslims are more accustomed to hearing from critics outside their communities.

In one lawsuit, a dissident group accuses the mosque leaders of methods that "resemble Taliban-style tactics one might presume to exist only outside the boundaries of the United States."

The suit also quotes a threatening, profane voicemail message it says was left for one of the plaintiffs, in which the caller allegedly said, "Don't … with us. We are Pashtuns. We will kill you."

Mitchell Young, formerly an attorney for the mosque's leaders, said the quarrel seems "tribal" at times. "The underpinnings of this conflict are very different than the particulars of the lawsuit," he said.

Such jockeying over who is more American is not uncommon in immigrant communities, said Kamal Sadiq, a UC Irvine political science professor who studies South Asian communities. Proving who is more assimilated is a way of establishing who has a bigger claim on the mosque, he said.

The legal case centers on specifics of California law governing nonprofit corporations, including board elections, open membership and financial transparency.

The plaintiffs, including former board members and their supporters, say some have been barred from membership at the mosque. A spokesman would not say how many members it has.

At a pre-trial hearing in Los Angeles this month, Superior Court Judge Michelle Rosenblatt ordered court-supervised elections for the mosque's board, a victory for those challenging the current leadership. A trial is set for Feb. 7.

The defendants in the case are the Islamic Center's two imams, Qazi Fazlullah and Qari Yousuf, along with board members and supporters, many of whom emigrated from Afghanistan or Pakistan's Pashtun region. The plaintiffs are mainly from Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, and from the country's Punjab region.

Manzar Qureshi, a former board member at the mosque who is acting as a spokesman for the plaintiffs, said many Pakistanis tend to blame those from the Pashtun region, which abuts Afghanistan, for the terrorism-related problems in Pakistan. Qureshi, a native of Karachi, acknowledged that the regional tensions have contributed to the dispute.

Fazlullah, a former member of Pakistan's parliament, has led the San Fernando Valley mosque since 1997. A spokesman said the imam would not comment on the dispute.

The struggle has divided the area's Muslim community and led some who feel uncomfortable with such vitriol at a religious institution to cut back their attendance or seek services elsewhere. The plaintiffs said some of their supporters were prevented from praying at the mosque during a recent religious holiday. They now hold their own services in a rented room at the nearby Granada Hills Masonic Center.

Mosque spokesman Mahmood Payind denied that attendance, which numbers in the hundreds, has dipped because of the dispute. But at two recent Friday prayer services, the parking lot seemed less crowded than it was last fall.

Payind, who is from Afghanistan, said the accusatory language used by the plaintiffs is geared toward gaining support for their case, especially in an American courtroom.

It's easy to say someone "looks like so and so with the beard," the spokesman said, referring to Osama bin Laden. "They're trying to poison the well because of Islamophobia. They are like the Bill O'Reilly of this community."

Indeed, much of the rhetoric appears aimed at swaying public opinion in a case that could go before a jury. After a judge denied emergency motions filed by the plaintiffs to gain control of the mosque's finances, insurance policy and keys, one plaintiff suggested that the center's leaders were sending money overseas — an allegation Young, the former attorney, said was equivalent to an accusation of supporting terrorism.

"If you put us in a room, you can compare who has more of an accent," mosque spokesman Payind said. "We play basketball, we go to the movies, we play soccer. I myself am married to an American woman, so where is my Taliban style? Why they are playing that is because it is inflammatory words or because they can use that card: Muslim terrorist."

But the plaintiffs say the language they use is a result of the violent behavior of the defendants in trying to silence dissent.

"Unfortunately the defendants … are engaged in a series of patterns of conduct which is not very befitting in America," the plaintiffs' attorney Omar Siddiqui said. "It just seems like a lot of these people have brought their Third World ideas into the Valley."

Qureshi says he was once threatened in the mosque parking lot and another time was locked in its office while his two young sons waited outside. In a related lawsuit, another plaintiff alleges that he was assaulted and wrongfully imprisoned by the mosque's security guards in an August incident after Friday prayers. The defendants deny the allegations.

Since the conflict escalated about a year ago, police have been called several times to each of the mosque's locations. The officers took reports on accusations of battery, witness intimidation, trespassing, verbal threats and disturbing the peace, but the city attorney's office has declined to file charges, saying nothing has risen to a criminal act, said Lt. Tom Murrell, formerly of the LAPD's Devonshire division.

Each side also has made accusations to the department's counterterrorism division, Deputy Chief Michael Downing confirmed, but he said the conflict was being handled locally by the Devonshire division. Complaints have also been made to the FBI, the plaintiffs said. A spokeswoman said she could not confirm whether the bureau was investigating.

Murrell, the former commander of Devonshire's detective division who is now in the LAPD's Information Technology Division, said detectives had hoped that the case would be referred to a city attorney hearing, equivalent to dispute resolution.

"But in this case there are some cultural, religious things which are beyond what the civil commissioners can grasp," he said.

Each side in the case claims to have the support of the Valley's Muslim community. But many clearly feel torn.

One man who has attended the mosque since 2002, and who did not want to be identified for fear of being seen as taking sides, said he has cut back his attendance because of the controversy. "I don't feel comfortable going into the mosque and seeing cops around and the security guards," he said.

The man, who lives in nearby Sylmar, said he is inclined to believe the plaintiffs but hasn't spoken to Fazlullah to hear his views. He said, though, that a religious scholar like Fazlullah should be treated with more respect.

"I still would like a mosque that doesn't have this propaganda," he said. "I just listen and try to pray for both sides, because it makes us look bad in front of the [American] community."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-valley-mosque-20110131,0,3989858,print.story

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Ban proposed on 'bath salts' drugs

Sen. Charles E. Schumer proposes a bill that would make the synthetic stimulants into federally controlled substances. They are already banned in 3 states and in Europe.

Reuters

January 30, 2011

New York

Two drugs that produce a meth-like high and are being sold under the guise of "bath salts" would be banned as federally controlled substances under a bill unveiled Sunday by Sen. Charles E. Schumer.

"These so-called bath salts contain ingredients that are nothing more than legally sanctioned narcotics, and they are being sold cheaply to all comers, with no questions asked, at store counters around the country," said Schumer (D-N.Y.).

Schumer said he would introduce a bill to outlaw the two synthetic drugs — mephedrone and methylenedioxypyrovalerone, or MDPV. The drugs come in powder and tablet form and are ingested by snorting, injecting, smoking and, less often, by use of an atomizer.

Users experience an intense high, euphoria, extreme energy, hallucinations and insomnia and are easily provoked to anger, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, which is investigating the drugs.

They have emerged as legal alternatives to cocaine and methamphetamines, and one or both ingredients have already been banned in the European Union, Australia, Canada and Israel. Florida, Louisiana and North Dakota have all recently banned the substances as well.

"The longer we wait to ban the substance, the greater risk we put our kids in," Schumer said.

Media reports over the last year describe the drugs as becoming increasingly popular, particularly at nightclubs, although the actual number of individuals using the drugs is unknown.

"These products are readily available at convenience stores, discount tobacco outlets, gas stations, pawn shops, tattoo parlors, truck stops and other locations" for $25 to $50 per 50-milligram packet, a DEA alert said.

The European Union banned mephedrone in December, saying the drug was directly linked to the deaths of two people, and may have been tied to 37 other deaths.

The European Union's report said there was limited scientific evidence on the effects of the drug — believed to be mostly manufactured in Asia and packaged in the West — but that the evidence of its health risks was sufficient to support a ban.

Schumer has also asked the health commissioner of New York state, Nirav Shah, to ban the two substances.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bath-salts-20110131,0,142769,print.story

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Working on immigration

Resuming workplace raids isn't the answer. Better enforcement and a path to citizenship are needed.

January 31, 2011

Congressional Republicans will not — and should not — succeed in persuading the Obama administration to resume workplace raids to detain and deport illegal immigrants.

The administration has been effectively enforcing immigration laws without recourse to such raids, which have disrupted families and resulted in the detention of immigrants for minor offenses such as carrying a forged driver's license or using a fraudulent Social Security number. Instead, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has concentrated its resources on apprehending immigrants accused of serious crimes and fining employers that encourage illegal immigration by continuing to hire undocumented workers.

As Times staff writer Brian Bennett reported, the Obama administration has quadrupled the number of employer audits and fined businesses $6.9 million in fiscal 2010, compared with $675,000 in 2008. Deportations are also up, from 369,221 in 2008 to 392,862 in fiscal 2010. More than 195,000 criminals were deported in 2010, a 70% increase over 2008. These numbers suggest that the administration is not under-enforcing immigration laws, as Republicans claim, but has set reasonable priorities and is pursuing them.

The fact remains that the administration's selective enforcement of the law, defensible as it is on fiscal and humanitarian grounds, feeds a narrative that the administration and Democrats in general don't really object to illegal immigration and that "comprehensive reform" is a Trojan horse for open borders. Though some who make this argument may be dismissed as racists or xenophobes, other Americans with no ulterior motives are skeptical about whether reformers are serious about enforcement. That impression complicates the effort to reach compromise in Congress.

Several polls suggest that a majority of Americans support a path to legalization for illegal immigrants already living in this country. But other polls demonstrate that enforcement is also vital. For example, several surveys indicate majority support for Arizona's controversial law requiring police to determine the immigration status of people they stop for other reasons whom they suspect are in the country illegally.

In his State of the Union address, President Obama renewed his call for comprehensive immigration reform, and said he was ready to work with Republicans and Democrats "to protect our borders, enforce our laws and address the millions of undocumented workers who are now living in the shadows." If the president and other advocates of reform are to succeed, they must emphasize border protection and enforcement as well as legalization.

"Comprehensive" reform must be just that: a combination of legalization for immigrants already in the country and new measures to prevent illegal immigration in the future.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-immigration-20110131,0,1855947,print.story

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From the New York Times

New York City Investigates Arizona Gun Show

PHOENIX — Weeks after a shooting left six dead and 13 injured in Tucson, New York City sent undercover investigators to an Arizona gun show and found instances in which private sellers sold semiautomatic pistols even after buyers said they probably could not pass background checks, city officials said.

The investigation, part of an effort by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg 's administration to crack down on illegal gun sales nationwide, took place Jan. 23 at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show in Phoenix, officials said.

“The background check system failed in Arizona, it failed in Virginia and it fails in states around the country,” said John Feinblatt, an adviser to Mr. Bloomberg. “If we don't fix it now, the question is not whether another massacre will occur, but when.”

Private, unlicensed sellers are not required to run federal background checks, but it is a violation of federal law to sell guns to people if sellers suspect they are felons or mentally ill or are otherwise prohibited from buying. In the case of Jared L. Loughner, who is accused of opening fire on the crowd in Tucson on Jan. 8, the gun used in the shootings was bought at a licensed gun dealer, and he passed a background check, the authorities said.

In two instances, the New York undercover officers specifically said before buying a gun, “I probably couldn't pass a background check,” but were still sold guns, city officials said.

In a third case, an investigator bought a Glock pistol and two high-capacity magazines like the ones used in the Tucson shooting. Such purchases were made without any background check but were perfectly legal.

Mr. Bloomberg's office, which will release details of the undercover investigation on Monday, has for years pushed for tighter firearms laws. Since the Tucson shooting, Mr. Bloomberg has enlisted in his effort Daniel Hernandez , an intern in the office of Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona. The congresswoman was the most seriously wounded, and Mr. Hernandez held her until emergency personnel arrived.

Crossroads of the West holds dozens of gun shows annually, in Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah. “When we find someone who isn't complying with the law, we ask them to leave or don't allow them back,” said Bob Templeton, president of the gun show.

After similar transgressions were uncovered at gun shows in other states, some operators entered into agreements with New York City requiring that private sellers arrange background checks of all gun buyers.

According to a transcript from one investigator's purchase of a Sig Sauer pistol at the Phoenix show, the exchange went like this:

Investigator: “So, you're not one of those, you know, dealer guys, right?”

Seller: “No. No tax, no form, you don't have to do transfers or nothing.”

Investigator: “Yeah, yeah.”

Seller: “Just see an Arizona ID and that's it with me.”

Investigator: “So no background check?”

Seller: “No.”

Investigator: “That's good, because I probably couldn't pass one, you know what I mean?”

The seller sold the gun for $500.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/31/us/31guns.html?_r=1&ref=us&pagewanted=print

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AOL News

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Airline Crews to Ground Sex Traffickers Heading to Super Bowl

DALLAS -- Sex traffickers who plan to come to Dallas to conduct business during the Super Bowl weekend might find themselves grounded if they travel by plane.

Employees from at least five airlines will attend a special training session this week to learn how to get better at recognizing sex traffickers among travelers and learn what security measures to take.

"We want to become especially vigilant during the week before the Super Bowl," said Nancy Rivard, executive director of Airline Ambassadors, a humanitarian group of flight attendants that has aided victims of sex trafficking internationally.

The group will conduct the training in conjunction with representatives of Traffick 911, a local Christian group that launched "I'm Not Buying It," a national public awareness campaign to combat human trafficking. The training will be held at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport on Monday, six days before the NFL championship game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers.

Rivard says this is the first time that flight staff will receive training about how to handle human trafficking.

Hundreds of sex workers are expected to come to the area for Super Bowl XLV, and flight crews are often the first line of defense for women and young girls who are victims of sex traffickers, she said.

"We don't want to profile anyone, but we will be feeding information to security if anything looks suspicious," Rivard said.

Employees who work for American, American-Eagle, United, Quantas and Delta have already signed up for the training, which is not mandatory, Rivard said. The cutoff is 75, and more than 50 had already signed up last week.

Corey Aungst, a United flight attendant, is flying in from Pennsylvania to attend the training.
"We have guidelines for everything -- from an airplane ditching to how to help a choking victim," Aungst said. "It seems antiquated to not have a policy or procedure in place for a trafficked human being."

Aungst suspects that he has missed several incidents of trafficking during six years at United, but he didn't know what to look for. He remembers a flight from Mexico City two years ago where he suspected that a young girl was being illegally transported to the U.S by a man who claimed to be her father.

"The girl was very submissive," Aungst said. "Usually children who are with their parents are more involved and comfortable with them."

He said that he expressed his concerns to his co-workers, but they didn't know what to do and feared they would upset the parent if they intervened and their suspicions were wrong. He says he doesn't know what happened to the girl.

Women and children who are victims of trafficking are usually submissive and not allowed to speak for themselves; and the man traveling with them usually has control of their identification, according to Rivard. Airline staff members who attend the training will learn about the psychological techniques that traffickers use to control their victims. They will also learn what to do if they encounter a trafficking situation. She said they should never personally intervene.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott predicts that hundreds of sex workers will flow into the Dallas area during Super Bowl, and he has assigned two dozen of his staff to assist local police in efforts to minimize prostitution, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Traffick 911 has also planned rallies, distributed literature to residents and offered volunteer services to police in their efforts to curtail the activities of sex workers and possibly rescue some of the victims during the Super Bowl weekend.

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/30/airline-crews-looking-out-for-sex-traffickers-heading-to-super-b/

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From Google News

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Correctional officer in Washington prison is found dead

(CNN) -- A female correctional officer at a Washington state prison was strangled and an inmate who told officers he had planned to escape is under investigation, authorities said Sunday.

Jayme Biendl, 34, was discovered late Saturday night after workers at the Monroe Correctional Complex noticed her keys and radio were missing, according to a statement from the Washington State Department of Corrections. Staff at the prison immediately went to where she worked and found her unresponsive, it said.

Emergency responders declared Biendl dead at the scene shortly before 11 p.m. PT, the department said.

She had been strangled, according to Chad Lewis, a department spokesman.

Also Saturday night, a prison inmate was reported missing during a routine count, the department said. He was later found in the chapel lobby and told officers he had planned to escape, but changed his mind. The inmate, who Lewis identified as Byron Scherf, has since been taken to a segregation unit. The entire complex was on lockdown Sunday as officers investigate the incident, the statement said.

Police are interviewing Scherf as a suspect in the officer's death, Lewis said.

Biendl had worked with the corrections department since 2002.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/30/washington.officer.dead/

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Police: Mosque attack thwarted in Dearborn

by ELISHA ANDERSON and NIRAJ WARIKOO

Detroit Free Press

January 31, 2011

About 700 people were attending a funeral inside the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, the largest mosque in metro Detroit, when Dearborn police arrived to arrest a man in a car in the parking lot.

He had driven to Michigan from California and reportedly was overheard in a bar making threatening comments about Muslims or Arabs. His car was loaded with large, illegal fireworks, police said. Now, Roger Stockham, 63, is jailed on charges that include making a false report or threat of terrorism.

"He's very dangerous," said Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad.

Tip led to mosque bomb suspect

The comments a worker at a bar heard were enough to make the employee think a 63-year-old patron might target Muslims or Arabs in metro Detroit, Islamic Center of America executive administrator Kassem Allie said.

So the employee called police. His tip led police to the parking lot of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, where police said Roger Stockham was arrested Jan. 24 for trying to blow up the biggest mosque in metro Detroit. A preliminary examination is set for Friday, police said.

The man drove from California, where he lived, to Dearborn, where police said he was caught with a car packed with high-end fireworks.

"At that level, those things misused are terrific weapons," said Dearborn Mayor Jack O'Reilly.

Stockham was arraigned Wednesday on one count of a threat of terrorism or false report and one count of explosives-possession of bombs with unlawful intent for possession of Class C fireworks, Dearborn police said. He is in the Wayne County Jail on a $500,000 bond; the FBI was contacted.

"He's very dangerous," Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad told the Free Press. "We took his threat to be very serious."

Haddad said the man previously was known to law enforcement officials in other parts of the country.

"He's had a long history of being angry with the U.S. government," Haddad said. He appeared to be acting alone, Haddad said.

A man with the same name and from the same town, Imperial Beach near San Diego, posted a profile to a VFW site in Imperial Beach. It said the man spent seven years in the Army after joining in 1965. He flew helicopters in Vietnam in 1968, it said.

A woman who answered the phone at VFW Post 5477 said, "We don't have any comments at this time," and hung up.

A funeral was being held at the Islamic Center on Ford Road at the time Stockham was found in the parking lot, police said. There were as many as 700 people inside. But the suspect doesn't appear to have known about the funeral, Haddad said.

"He picked Dearborn as a stop because of the huge Arab and Muslim population," Haddad said.

Allie, the executive administrator for the Islamic Center, said Sunday that he wants to thank the person who tipped off police.

"We owe a debt of gratitude to him," Allie said.

http://m.freep.com/detail.jsp?key=825088&rc=ne&full=1

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