Derek Reeve of the San Juan Capistrano City Council, the man who refused to apologize for naming his dog Muhammad, is no longer teaching at Concordia University in Irvine. Neither side will say why Reeve is no longer employed, though he continues to work part-time at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo. more ›

On March 13, 2011, Irum Abbasi was escorted off of a Southwest Airlines plane by a TSA employee. The Muslim woman from San Diego was wearing a hijab - the Islamic head scarf - while seated on a flight preparing for departure from San Diego to San Jose. A flight attendant became alarmed after hearing something she thought Abbasi said on her cellphone. more ›

Souhair Khatib has been fighting to sue her Orange County jailers for some time now, and the Supreme Court has just given the Muslim woman's lawsuit the go-ahead. more ›

A 9th circuit court of appeals has found that a Muslim woman who was forced to remove her headscarf while in an Orange County jail may proceed with a lawsuit she filed against the county. Souhair Khatib was arrested in 2006 after a judge "revoked her probation from a misdemeanor welfare fraud conviction," reports KNBC. While imprisoned, guards made her take off her headscarf, which she wore for religious purposes. more ›

A video posted yesterday to YouTube shows footage from a February, 13th protest in Yorba Linda, held outside a fundraising event held by the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), with a goal of aiding women's shelters, and fighting homelessness and hunger in the US. The protesters were there to speak out against "what they called the group’s agenda to impose Sharia (Islamic law) on American society," explains the Jewish Journal. more ›

Disney intern Noor Abdallah, 22, has a new specially-designed costumed that incorporates the head-covering she wears as a part of her Muslim faith, according to the AP. Abdallah had been working as a vacation planner for the Disneyland resort, but took a job in the stockroom when her head scarf, or hijab, became an issue. "Vacation planners are costumed employees, whose outfits include an optional baseball-style cap," explains the LA Times. more ›

To counter plans by a Florida pastor to burn copies of the Koran, a local peace activist is organizing a silent protest which calls for people to "Wear a Hijab or Kufi" to show tolerance for those of the Muslim faith. more ›

A restaurant hostess at the Storytellers Cafe in the Grand Californian Hotel in Downtown Disney is preparing to file suit against Disney, accusing the entertainment biz powerhouse of discrimination because she has not been permitted to wear her Muslim head scarf in view of the public at work, reports the OC Register. more ›

During a hearing yesterday in DC, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca got into an argument with Republican congressman from Indiana Mark Souder after "the lawmaker questioned his relationship with an Islamic nonprofit group," according to LA Now. more ›

No, really - did some memo go around saying all film festivals had to be scheduled within the same two-week period? The Polish Film Festival continues, flanked by the South-East European Film Festival & the last stands of the Los Angeles Jews & the Pacific Asian subcontinent. But with all the talk of Iran lately, the Noor ("light" in Arabic) Film Festival may prove the most noteworthy. While stark, realistic Iranian New Wave films by the likes of Abbas Kiarostami & Mohsen Makhmalbaf have nabbed accolades at Western film festivals for decades, less "artsy" films like the historical epic Flags of Kaveh's Castle & crime thriller In The Dark reveal a different side of the country. This theme of revelation & East-West conflict motivates much of the festival, coming to a most human (and most absurd) head with Donkey In Lahore, undoubtedly the first and only documentary to follow a Gothic Australian puppeteer, his teenaged Pakistani fiance & her traditional Muslim family.
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The Muslim holiday Ramadan began last night at the first spotting of the crescent moon. "Muslims revere this month because the first verses of their holy book, the Quran, were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad during Ramadan. 'Ramadan is a month of blessing. We fast from dawn to dusk. We abstain from food, drink and sexual relations during that time. Every adult male and female is required to fast,'" explained Imam Ahmed Patel of the Islamic Center of Conejo Valley in Newbury Park to the Daily News in an article about locals observing the month-long holiday. more ›

Gearing up for another War on Christmas, combative conservative columnist David Horowitz and the College Republicans are calling out to their hate squad and killing Halloween (not to mention a week of breast cancer awareness month) with what they've dubbed "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week." Ann Coulter, recently listed as charging a $25,000 speaker fee by the Premiere Speakers Bureau (and now "call for fee") will speak in the name of Islamo-Fascism Awareness tomorrow night at USC.... more ›