Latest news with #CouncilonAmerican-IslamicRelations
Miami Herald
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Muslim groups call for Florida officials to investigate killing of Tampa man in West Bank
Muslim groups in Florida are pressing for an investigation of a Florida-born man who was killed in the West Bank, reportedly in a clash with Israeli settlers. Days after Sayfollah 'Saif' Musallet, a 20-year-old Florida-born U.S. citizen, was reportedly beaten to death by Israeli settlers while visiting family in the West Bank, a Muslim advocacy group and Musallet's family are demanding a formal investigation by the DeSantis administration and the Department of Justice. 'When American citizens like Saif are killed overseas, especially by Israeli settlers backed by the Israeli government, looking the other way sends a dangerous message: that some American lives simply don't matter. We demand better,' said Imam Abdullah Jaber, executive director of the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement. While Florida officials have remained mostly silent about the death, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, asked Israel to 'aggressively investigate the murder' of Musallet, calling it a 'terrorist act.' 'There must be accountability for this criminal and terrorist act. Saif was just 20 yrs old,' Huckabee said in a post on X yesterday. On Wednesday, a representative for CAIR-Florida responded to Huckabee's statements, saying that 'a lot more' can be done to push an investigation forward, especially by Florida officials. 'It needs our Governor, President, State Senators, and/ or Secretary of State to really pressure Israel to stop the settler's terrorist activities affecting US citizens,' Wilfredo Ruiz, CAIR-Florida's communications director, said in a message to the Miami Herald. The statement made by Huckabee on the social media site was perhaps the strongest response issued by the state department since Musallet's death. On Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis was questioned about the murder allegation during a visit to Sarasota's New College. 'I don't have any information on it,' DeSantis said to an inquiry by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune at the New College of Florida press event. 'I've heard different reports on it, but I just don't have any information.' In response to DeSantis' comments, CAIR-Florida doubled down on its request for an investigation by Florida officials, demanding justice for the 20-year-old Tampa resident. 'If Gov. DeSantis won't even comment on — let alone call for a formal U.S. investigation into—the brutal murder of one of his own constituents, how can any Floridian trust him to stand up for them in a time of need?' Jaber said in a statement. Musallet was visiting family in the West Bank 'to protest the establishment of a new illegal Israeli outpost' that had been built on a Palestinian village called Khirbet al-Tal, according to Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel. He reportedly died before reaching the hospital after his ambulance was blocked by settlers, according to his family. A U.S. embassy spokesperson confirmed Musallet's death, according to reports from NPR. The Israeli military said that a confrontation had broken out between Palestinians and Israelis, and that officials were investigating reports of a Palestinian civilian killed. Musallet was born in Port Charlotte and grew up in Tampa with his family. He co-owned a small ice cream shop in Tampa. 'He was a young man with dreams and with plans and a future, but that future was cut short ... when he was brutally beaten to death by illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank,' said Hiba Rahim, the deputy executive director of the Florida chapter of CAIR at a Monday news conference in Tampa. CAIR-Florida pointed out that Israeli officials rarely prosecute those accused of violence against Palestinians. 'Where is the outrage from our government. Where is the justice for a family that is grieving,' Rahim said. 'If Saif was killed by anyone else or in another country there would already be investigations.' At Monday's press conference, Saif's uncle, Hesam Musallet, spoke about his nephew, saying that he was 'a very loving, caring' person. 'Everybody who met him just fell in love with him. He was respectful .. he's just going to be missed and loved,' Musallet said holding back tears. 'This is not an issue between Jews and non-Jews,' said Saleh Mubarak a national board member of CAIR, at the Monday press conference. 'For centuries we coexisted without any incident.' Mubarak, who is originally from Syria, said the issue is not about land ownership, but the 'equal value of human life.' 'Once we accept that all humans have the same value, I think we will come to the beginning of resolving this issue that has not been resolved.' This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and from donors comprising the South Florida Jewish and Muslim Communities, including Khalid and Diana Mirza, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Family of US citizen beaten to death by Israeli settlers calls on Trump administration to prosecute killers
Relatives of Sayfollah Musallet, a US citizen from Florida beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, are calling for the Trump administration to arrest and prosecute those responsible for his killing. The 20-year-old from Tampa was visiting his family in an area near Ramallah, and died last week trying to protect their farm from invaders, they said at an emotional press conference in Florida on Monday afternoon. His uncle Hasem Musallet paid tribute to the 'loving, respectful' boy who loved baseball and had just opened an ice-cream business in Tampa with several of his cousins. He decried what the family saw as indifference from the US government over the murder of one of its citizens. 'Somebody needs to be held accountable,' he said. Related: Israeli settlers kill American-Palestinian visiting relatives in West Bank, says family 'He wanted to be a businessman ever since he was young. He was planning on expanding, finding a wife, having a family. That was his dream but it was cut short at 20 years old, cut short unjustly.' Musallet was beaten with clubs and bats, and died in the same attack that killed a 23-year-old Palestinian man. Razek Hussein al-Shalabi was shot and left to bleed to death, the Palestinian health ministry said. Hasem Musallet said the settlers prevented ambulances from reaching the injured men, and that a brother watched Sayfollah take his last breath. Hiba Rahim, deputy executive director of the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair), said Musallet's family wanted Donald Trump, and the departments of justice and state, to prosecute his killers under US law. She also condemned a statement from the state department that said it had no comment on Musallet's death 'out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones during this difficult time'. Rahim said: 'We're not asking, and his family is not asking, for silence. We're asking for accountability. 'If Sayfollah was killed by anyone else or in another country, there would already be investigations, there would already be attempts for arrest, and calls for arrest and outrage in Washington. 'Where is the outrage from our government? Where is the accountability?' Hasem Musallet broke down in tears as he remembered his nephew as 'just a very rare soul' who would help anybody in need. He said Musallet was on a trip with family members from Florida, and enjoying time in the mountains and barbecuing with friends in the West Bank in the days before his death. 'He was very loving, caring. Just like any other 20-year-old he would go out with his friends after work, he'd watch comedy, he'd go out driving, he'd go to the beach. He would come to my house always, and come to his grandmother and give her a hug and kiss her hand,' Hasem said. The Israeli military claimed the incident happened after stones were thrown at Israelis and that 'a violent confrontation developed' and said it was looking into the incident. Rahim dismissed this, saying: 'There were no clashes. These are the same lies we hear every time a guilty party is guilty of monstrous activity like what we saw with Sayfollah's death. 'This is not an isolated tragedy. There's a devastating pattern of Americans being killed in Israel, brutalized and murdered with impunity by Israeli forces and settlers.' Musallet's death is part of a growing wave of violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Israeli forces and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the territory and injured at least 9,000 since the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023. The Guardian has contacted the state department for further comment.
Middle East Eye
3 days ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Palestinian with valid US immigrant visa held at Houston Airport since 5 July
The Houston chapter of the civil rights organisation, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Houston), on Monday demanded the immediate release of a 22-year-old Palestinian man who has been reportedly confined for nine days at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). Muhanad J M Alshrouf has been held in a secondary screening room since entering the country on 5 July on a valid immigrant visa. His father is a US citizen, and Alshrouf spent years going through the immigration process to obtain his visa. Alshrouf has not had any access to legal counsel, a change of clothes, proper food, or shower facilities during this time. Maria Kari, attorney and executive director of legal non-profit Project TAHA, said Alshrouf's treatment was "unlawful, unjust and profoundly inhumane". "Airports are not detention centers. Yet Muhanad has been subjected to an unconscionable confinement, forced to wear the same undergarments for over a week. Is this the dignity America offers its newest residents? Every American should be outraged,' she added.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Palestinian man detained at Houston airport for 9 days: report
A 22-year-old Palestinian man has reportedly been detained for nine days in a screening room at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. According to the Houston chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Muhanad J. M. Alshrouf entered the United States legally on July 5 after obtaining a valid immigrant visa and has been held in a secondary screening room at the airport ever since. Alshrouf came to the U.S. to visit his father, who is a citizen. Per a press release, he has been held without access to legal counsel or a change of clothes since arriving at the airport earlier this month. 'This young man legally entered the country with a U.S. immigrant visa, having passed every background check and security clearance. Yet he has been held in a secondary screening room for more than a week without due process or basic human compassion,' John T. Floyd, a board member of CAIR-Texas Houston and civil rights attorney, said in a statement. Floyd called the treatment 'unlawful, unjustified, and inhumane.' Salon has reached out to airport and Customs and Border Patrol representatives and will update this article if they respond. It's not the first time Palestinians and pro-Palestine activists have faced increased scrutiny of their legal status within the U.S. Despite being a permanent resident of the country, Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and held in a Louisiana facility for more than 100 days. Ward Sakeik, a Palestinian woman married to a U.S. citizen,was detained by ICE in February while returning from her honemyoon. Sakeik was just released from detention earlier this month. The post Palestinian man detained at Houston airport for 9 days: report appeared first on
Miami Herald
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Muslim woman says deputy stomped on hijab, left her exposed. She's suing in CA
Two Muslim women arrested while participating in a pro-Palestinian protest at a University of California campus filed a federal lawsuit against a sheriff's office, accusing deputies of violating their religious rights by forcing them to take off their hijabs in jail. One of the women, Shenai Aini, 22, of Orange County, was protesting as a UC Irvine student when multiple male law enforcement officers apprehended her during the May 15, 2024 campus demonstration, according to the lawsuit, which is represented by the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Asian Law Caucus. A complaint filed June 30 says the arresting officers, including Orange County sheriff's deputies, first threw Aini to the ground, then one grabbed her arm to drag her 'to apply zip ties.' As she was dragged, Aini says an Orange County sheriff's deputy 'repeatedly stomped on (her) hijab…causing it to unravel and leaving her exposed and in plain view of men outside of her immediate family.' Having her hair seen by male officers and protesters was humiliating for Aini, as it violated her religious beliefs, according to the complaint. Like her fellow plaintiff, Salma Nasoordeen, Aini wears a hijab when around men who are not in her family, in accordance with their Islamic faith. 'Due to the actions of the OCSD deputy, my exposed hair was broadcast for the world to see,' Aini said in a July 2 news release issued by CAIR-CA. Her arrest was filmed and televised by local TV news crews, according to the complaint. In jail, Aini's religious rights were violated further, the filing says, when a female deputy required her to take off her hijab to search her. Afterward, Aini had to remove her hijab again for a mugshot, according to the complaint. 'In the process of being booked, I was forced to be exposed in view of males and to have my photo taken without my hijab against my will,' Aini said. In a statement to McClatchy News on July 2, Orange Sheriff's Department public affairs director Carrie Braun said deputies helped campus police enforce a dispersal order during the UC Irvine protest and denied the lawsuit's allegations. She said the agency 'upholds individuals' rights to protest lawfully and peace-fully, as well as the First Amendment right to religious freedom.' 'No women were required to remove their hijabs in front of male employees or male members of the public,' Braun added. 'Women were asked to privately remove their hijabs only once while inside the jail facility for a booking photo, and this occurred with only female deputies present.' But the lawsuit says a female deputy 'demanded' the other plaintiff, Nasoordeen, who was taken into custody within an hour of arriving at the protest, to take off her hijab for her booking photo at jail. Nasoordeen, 26, of Orange County, felt pressured into complying, according to the complaint. 'I've never had to remove my hijab for a government identification photo,' Nasoordeen said in a statement shared by CAIR-LA. 'I kept thinking, 'Is this allowed?'' Nasoordeen works as the youth coordinator for CAIR-LA, according to the Los Angeles Times. In the complaint, attorneys from CAIR-CA and the Asian Law Caucus wrote that by photographing Aini and Nasoordeen without their hijabs, the sheriff's department has created a 'public record that exposed each woman in a manner deeply contrary to her religious exercise.' According to Braun, the department has not made Nasoordeen or Aini's booking photos public. She said state law prevents the agency from doing so. During a July 2 news conference held at CAIR's office in Anaheim, CAIR-LA attorney Dina Chehata said 'It is not for the state to decide when it (a hijab) can be removed,' according to the Orange County Register. Braun said 'the account of events' detailed at the conference were 'misleading and inaccurate.' In a similar, unrelated case in Tennessee, a Muslim woman sued deputies in Rutherford County, accusing them of forcing her to remove her hijab for a booking photo. The county later paid Sophia Johnston a $100,000 settlement, McClatchy News reported in January 2024. Johnston was threatened with indefinite jail time if she didn't remove her hijab, according to her federal lawsuit, which accused deputies of publishing her booking photo online and denying her request for religious accommodation. Aini and Nasoordeen, with their lawsuit, demand a jury trial. 'A year later, I am still deeply affected,' Aini said. 'I still hear my pleas to be covered, along with flashbacks reminding me that my religion was disrespected and I was spiritually harmed and exposed without my hijab when my arrest was broadcast to the public.' The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages and judgment against Orange County deputies for violations of state and federal law.
