An honor killing in America twenty years ago!

12/21/2011 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Who knew? I was amazed to see this little nugget in the Washington Examiner yesterday. I bet I’m not alone in thinking that Muslim honor killings are a recent phenomenon in the US. Wrong! Here, in 1991, the parents were given a death sentence for killing a teenager who became too Americanized.

We’ve written a bunch about honor killings; you can find previous posts by searching ‘honor killing’ or you might want to check out our ‘women’s issues’ category, here.

From the Washington Examiner:

On this day, Dec. 20, in 1991, a Missouri court sentences the Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria to death for the honor killing of their daughter.

The FBI planted listening devices in the family’s St. Louis apartment hoping to hear evidence of terrorist activities.

Instead, what the agents heard were the screams of 16-year-old Palestina being stabbed to death as her father yelled in Arabic, “Die quickly!”

The parents were unhappy that they could not control Palestina, who had taken a part-time job without their permission and was dating a black teenager.

Zein Isa died of diabetes in prison in 1997. Maria’s death sentence was commuted to life in prison.

Also interesting is the news that the FBI was investigating Islamic terrorists in 1991. Guess they didn’t do such a great job investigating since the first highly visible terror attack on the US came just two years later—-the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.

Gainesville, Florida food stamp fraud bust nabs 31

12/21/2011 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I’m still trying to work through my backlog of food stamp fraud busts and picking only those that have some new angle.

Here is one from Gainesville earlier this month. No Mohammeds this time only Sharifa and two Syeds (pushing my luck with the Islamophobia police!)

Note that there are warrants out for some who sold their benefits.

The Gainesville Sun:

Police arrested 31 people and served at least three search warrants Thursday as part of an extensive food stamp fraud investigation.

The Gainesville Police Department around noon shut down the S.M.I. Food Mart at 404 S. Main St. after arresting the owner, Syed Hossain, 47, and his wife, Sharifa Mino, 30, inside the store. Police said they arrested the couple’s son, Syed Island, 21, at the family’s home.

The family members and others arrested Thursday were charged with multiple offenses related to food stamp fraud and racketeering.

Warrants also were issued for others accused of accepting food stamp benefits illegally and for those who allowed their benefits to be used illegally.

The Syeds used stollen benefits to buy things to sell in their store (at least they weren’t sending your money to the Middle East this time!–ed).

[…..]

At the S.M.I. store, investigators said food stamp recipients would turn over their EBT cards to the owners and in return receive half of the value of the card in cash. If the card had a balance of $100, the card carrier would receive $50 in cash, and the store would have access to the full $100 balance.

Plourde said the Hossain family then would take the card to larger stores, such as Target, WalMart or Sam’s, and buy items in bulk to sell in their store.

Most fraud occurs in small stores. 597 convicted of trafficking in last three years.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the program for about 45 million people, approximately $330 million is fraudulently diverted from the $64.7 billion food stamp program annually. Most of the abuse happens in the nearly 200,000 small stores that are among the 234,000 stores authorized to accept food stamps. [One solution—only allow big stores to accept food stamps!—ed]

Over the past three years, according to the Office of the Inspector General of the USDA, 597 people were convicted of food stamp trafficking, and courts ordered nearly $198 million be paid by the violators in the form of fines, forfeiture or restitution. (LOL! But, how much of the $198 million was collected?—ed)

Read the comments to this story at the Gainesville Sun.

Prayer in public schools aok in Wisconsin

12/21/2011 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This is a story about how as the Arab and Somali population grows in Wisconsin, schools are accommodating Muslim prayer requests even in elementary schools. The article from Green Bay goes on to say that they accommodate Christian and Jewish religious observances too. Others?

Green Bay Press Gazette:

Four Muslim students at Keller Elementary School in Green Bay quietly slip out of class or recess each day at about noon to pray in a tiny alcove of the school. For five to 10 minutes, the group of girls is not distracted by students who walk nearby.

“We do it because our parents want us to,” fourth-grader Ayan Artan said. “It’s important.”

The students are part of a growing Somali population in Green Bay. And as that population grows, schools are trying to accommodate the strict prayer schedule for the students, many of whom practice Islam, educators say.

[…..]

A few local residents have approached the Green Bay School District with concerns about the prayer time in schools. They worry the time in prayer takes away from learning and uses school resources to accommodate religion.

But educators say they’re required by law to allow students time and a place to pray or complete other religious practices. They note that the district accommodates Muslim students as well as Christians who choose to pray before meals or read the Bible during study hall.

“The issue of students praying in school has come up a number of times this year, in part, because we have an increasing number of students who practice the Islam faith, many of whom are Somali students,” said Barbara Dorff, director of student services for the district. “But it is our responsibility to find a private place for these students to pray and to allow them to pray.”

School districts that receive federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act funding must certify that they don’t have a policy in public elementary or secondary schools that prevents participation in prayer protected by the U.S. Constitution, she said.

[…..]

It’s been about a year since Keller Elementary School began to accommodate the prayer schedule for Muslim students. It enrolls 34 Somali students out of 189 total students, principal Kim Spychalla said.

Read it all.