Know your rights message<\/p>\n
Coinciding with Ramadan, some Muslim groups have issued know-your-rights guidance for navigating immigration enforcement interactions, including for mosques. The Muslim Public Affairs Council, for example, created a safety guide.\n<\/p>\n
MPAC official Dahlia M. Taha said the included guidance for imams aims to help them address congregants\u2019 fears without causing panic or spreading misinformation.\n<\/p>\n
Questions from imams, she said, have included: Can houses of worship be subject to enforcement operations? How to reassure people without giving legal advice? How to address immigration anxiety while keeping Ramadan spiritually centered?\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a deep sense of community and peace that always comes with Ramadan,\u201d said Taha, adding that many mosques are well-attended and families are gathering.\n <\/p>\n
Nonetheless, \u201cpeople are carrying fear, anxiety, and uncertainty alongside our faith,\u201d she said. \u201cDevotion and concern are existing side by side. I think everyone is just exhausted.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Ibrahim Dyfan, executive director of Masjid Al Shareef, a 2,000-strong mosque in Long Beach, California, said his community, like other Muslim congregations, is coping with stress related to rising Islamophobia, immigration enforcement and the Middle East conflicts.\n<\/p>\n
The mosque also boosted security for prayer services during Ramadan, he said.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cAll we can do is continue praying and fasting,\u201d he said. \u201cThis, like everything else, will pass. At the same time, we also need to pay attention to what is happening around us, and take the necessary precautions.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Islamophobia in politics<\/p>\n
A wave of anti-Muslim language intensified in Republican campaigns early this election year, most prominently in Texas, which held its primaries Tuesday. Gov. Greg Abbott, who clinched the GOP nomination for a fourth term, helped lead efforts to stop a Muslim-centered planned community near Dallas.\n<\/p>\n
In Congress, several bills have been introduced recently targeting Shariah \u2014 the framework that guides Muslims, including on prayer and ethical conduct. Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., in a recent social media post, compared Muslims unfavorably to dogs, prompting the Council on American-Islamic Relations and some Democratic members of Congress to call for his resignation.\n<\/p>\n
Muslim American leaders view the vitriol as election-year scaremongering \u2014 more intense now than in recent campaign seasons. Their alarm was only partially eased by recent election victories for Muslim candidates, notably Zohran Mamdani becoming mayor of New York.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery election year, you see an increase in anti-Muslim bigotry in certain parts of the country, where politicians see Muslims Americans a useful political football,\u201d said CAIR\u2019s national deputy director, Edward Ahmed Mitchell. \u201cWe expect that \u2014 but it\u2019s so much worse than usual this time.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
War worries emerge<\/p>\n
In Paterson, according to Rania Mustafa, many families worry about relatives in conflict-wracked parts of North Africa and the Middle East, including those in Gaza struggling to access sufficient food supplies.\n<\/p>\n
But she is proud of her community\u2019s perseverance.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite what\u2019s going on in the world, Ramadan reminds us of the strength and resilience of our community,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople are still gathering for prayer, sharing meals, checking on one another, and supporting families who are struggling.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
As the sun set on a section of Paterson\u2019s Main Street renamed \u201cPalestine Way\u201d \u2014 flanked by Palestinian and U.S. flags \u2014 people arrived at homes and restaurants to break the fast on a recent evening. Some rushed to pastry shops, others headed to the Palestine Hair Salon.\n<\/p>\n
Raed Odeh, the salon\u2019s owner and top barber, lamented how the Middle East\u2019s tumult and the U.S. immigration crackdown were dampening what should be a joyful month.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not only affecting those who don\u2019t have documents, this is also affecting everyone else around,\u201d said Odeh, Paterson\u2019s deputy mayor, as he shaved a client\u2019s beard.\n<\/p>\n
Like other city leaders, he urged the release of\u00a0Leqaa Kordia<\/a>, a Palestinian woman and Paterson resident who has been\u00a0held in an immigration jail for a year<\/a>\u00a0after attending a protest in New York. Recently,\u00a0Kordia said she suffered a seizure<\/a>, an episode she linked to \u201cinhumane\u201d conditions inside the detention facility.\n<\/p>\n At a time of turmoil, Odeh said he shares the hope of many \u2014 regardless of their ethnicity or religion \u2014 during Ramadan: \u201cOf course, everybody is hoping for peace.\u201d\n<\/p>\n ___\n<\/p>\n Fam reported from Cairo. AP journalists Deepa Bharath in Los Angeles and David Crary in New York contributed.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Know your rights message Coinciding with Ramadan, some Muslim groups have issued know-your-rights guidance for navigating immigration enforcement…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":507658,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,32313,230700,3,215833,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":{"0":"post-507657","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-islamophobia","10":"tag-muslim-community","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-ramadan","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-united-states-of-america","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","17":"tag-us","18":"tag-usa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=507657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/507658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=507657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=507657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=507657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}