Oakland Post Editor Chauncey Bailey was murdered in August of 2007 allegedly by a handyman for the now defunct Black Muslim Bakery.
Mr. Bailey might be the first murder of an American journalist in the U.S. by a Muslim group:
"...Broussard's attorney, LeRue Grim, says Broussard falsely confessed at the prompting of bakery leader Yusuf Bey IV (link added by Z). Among other issues, questions have been raised about the friendship between Bey and the lead investigator into Bailey's slaying, homicide Sgt. Derwin Longmire. Police say Broussard killed Bailey because he was upset about the journalist's reporting on Your Black Muslim Bakery's financial problems..." SF Gate
This upcoming trial could just be coincidental to an Islamic campaign in San Francisco to counter the negative image many Muslims believe most Americans have about Islam. Oakland is just across the bay from San Fran:
Bus ads aim to shatter Muslim stereotypes in San Francisco
Photo credit: Islamic Circle ABC7 in San Francisco
"We're basically sick and tired of people labeling us, of defining us, framing us, so I think it's time for us to stand up and basically inform the American public of who we are and what is our true identity," said Muhammad Hanif with the Islamic Circle of the Bay Area.
The ads will appear on about 170 Muni buses and 10 cable cars.
Do you realize the cost of putting billboards on 170 buses would be? Where are they getting the money?
I submitted questions by e-mail to WhyIslam, which is managed by the Islamic Circle of North America-NJ, on December 18th and never got a reply even though they encourage you to start up an e-mail conversation with them, so that ought to tell you something. I did ask questions (read them at the link above) that dug deeper into issues that go beyond the standard "Islam is only about peace" message we often hear (see link above for my questions.
-----
Also see:
Just glance over some of these troubling headlines from just the last 24 hours about Islam:
Testing Times - The Church of England and the challenge of Islam
'Prison Islam' in American jails troubles experts
Five killed in Christian-Muslim clashes in Nigeria
Suicide bomber kills 28 people in Pakistan
US Muslim TV boss 'beheaded wife'
Gruesome killing poses another test for US Muslims
..."Muslims don't want to talk about this for good reason," said Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur, a Muslim author and activist...In an open letter to American Muslim leaders, Imam Mohamed Hagmagid Ali of Sterling, Va., vice president of the Islamic Society of North America, said "violence against women is real and cannot be ignored."
He urged that imams and community leaders never second-guess a woman in danger, and said women seeking divorces because of physical abuse should not be viewed as bringing shame to their families..."
Additional information about the Why-Islam ad campaign and/or the Islamic Circle of North America:
Who is paying for all these ads?
Islam subway ads cause stir in New York - CNN.com
FrontPage magazine.com, CA - Feb 17, 2009
Shah is the former National President (Ameer) of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), the American affiliate of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) aka Muslim ...
