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The Guardian Follow Shia Muslim scholars denied entry into US suspect religious bias Story by Samira Asma-Sadeque • 11h ago It took the US consulate seven minutes to reject Nabil Ahmed Shabbir’s visa application. Photograph: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images© Provided by The Guardian Shabbir, a British Shia scholar, had applied for his US visa to assist with the birth of his first child. His wife, an American Shia Muslim, wanted to have the birth in the US. Shabbir hadn’t even left the embassy gate after handing in his visa application when he got a text message saying it had been rejected. Shabbir, whose work has brought him to the US dozens of times prior to this rejection in 2020, did not think obtaining a visa would be an issue. Instead, he had to watch his firstborn’s birth via WhatsApp video. Shabbir is one of numerous Shia scholars who have been repeatedly – and unexpectedly – denied entry to the US in the past decade, despite their prior travel to the country for work purposes, raising concerns that they are being deliberately excluded because of their religion. Despite traveling to the US regularly for five years on a valid 10-year visa, Shabbir was stopped at the airport in 2019 and detained for five hours, facing questions about the intent of his visit. He was traveling with his wife, but was asked why he had invitations from years ago from American organizations – which fed his suspicion that officials had gone through his email. He was eventually allowed to enter, but once he returned from the US, he received a notification that his visa had been revoked. This revocation – unceremonious, without a specific reason and out of the blue – fits a pattern that has been experienced by many Shia scholars. Mohammad Ali Naquvi, cofounder and chair of the American Muslim Bar Association (AMBA), said his organization has documented denials or revocations of more than 50 Shia scholars in the past decade. Some were denied entry as they were about to board a US-bound flight, some were denied entry after arriving in the country and forced to turn back despite having a valid visa – and some like Shabbir still remain in a limbo of “administrative processing”. “It has a burden on the religious practice of Shia Muslims in the US, not being able to have the scholars here,” Abed Ayoub, national executive director at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), said. “Not being able to have your religious events because of immigration enforcement is very problematic.” The issue has been going on for a long time. Sheikh Jihad Ismail, an Australian Shia scholar, was about to board his flight to Albany from Dubai in 2014 when he was told he couldn’t fly into the US. This threw him off, especially because he had visited the US nearly 20 times since 2002, giving talks and engaging with the Shia community in the country. His visa has been under “administrative processing” for six years. According to Naquvi, there are some “administrative processing” cases that go back nine years. What we believe is happening is the consular officers at the state department are misreading this law Abed Ayoub of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Both Ismail and Shabbir know numerous other scholars going through similar experiences. Ismail recalled the story of a friend who was recently made to return on the next flight after arriving in the US. Many of these scholars are from English-speaking countries such as the UK, Canada and Australia. There is no solid reason to which anyone in the community can point to explain why so many Shia scholars have been denied entry, but they say they have their suspicions. Ayoub traces the issue back to the San Bernardino shooting in 2015, in which the shooters had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. This was followed by the Obama administration passing the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015, which disqualified the visa waiver for applicants from 40 countries if they had made any trips to Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen on a government assignment or military order. This is tricky because Shia pilgrimages, including the ziyarah, take place in Iran and Iraq. Nearly all Shia scholars have visited or regularly visit these countries, which automatically puts them under scrutiny under the law. “Because you’re seeing a big number of individuals coming from visa waiver countries, what we believe is happening is the consular officers at the state department are misreading this law,” Ayoub said. “What they’re doing, in our opinion, is yes, the individual may not qualify for visa waiver, but they’re holding the same standard in even issuing a visa,” he added. That still doesn’t explain why Ismail was denied the visa in 2014, before the San Bernardino shooting, feeding further confusion among the scholars. It’s clear that there is a pattern that holds true for all these instances, yet nobody can pinpoint the exact issue that would uniformly justify these cases. This has a grave impact for Shia Americans, especially the current generation. For a religion with a rich practice of cultural and knowledge exchange across borders, Shabbir said there is an immense value English-speaking scholars have in reaching the current generation, and these visa denials hamper that education. If scholars like himself aren’t allowed to teach in the US, the other option for such exchange programs is to invite scholars from countries where they may not understand British or American culture, and the culture gap could become a barrier. “Those young people then find it very difficult to consolidate their faith and the culture they are living in,” he said. “They see the western culture as something inherently bad, and if they’re going to be religious that means they have to be against western culture,” he added. “Whereas it’s not the case – but they won’t know that until they are presented with a western scholar who has grown up through the system.” But there are signs of progress. Ayoub said the Trump administration assisted on some individual cases, and activists are now in talks with Biden administration officials who Ayoub said had been “very receptive”. Those like Shabbir hope the doors open up soon. For him, beyond giving talks as a religious scholar, he misses the opportunity to visit his in-laws, with whom his wife has been staying for a few months to take care of her mother. This means he has to go months without seeing his wife or child. “It’s not just the visa rejection,” he said. “There’s just so much more that ends up being attached to it.”

Anyone from UAE deported or knows someone still detained because there are still detained for no reason and held in hell solitary cell, kindly update others it will help families Kindly update some details

Salam, I know many Muslim landlord (in the West). Their apartments are typically non-smoking and no pets, and they will ask you about your employment when you contact them (like every other non-Muslim lanlord). According to the Fair Housing Acts this is seemingly the maximum you can get away with before it falls under discrimination. That being said, people clearly violate these rules all the time (e.g. Chinese buildings). What confuses me is the following... Presumably these Muslim landlord are renting out their apartments to boyfriend/girlfriend couples... or else they wouldn't be able to survive in the rental market. One would assume that non-married couples are engaging in Zina. Regardless, it is free-mixing nonetheless. Furthermore, they likely rent out their apartments to gay couples, who are likely engaging in Sodomy, or lesbian intercourse. What does Islam say about this (from a Fiqh perspective)? Should Muslim landlord be able to discriminate in order to have NOT provided the tools necessary to perform immoral sex acts (I.e. housing)? OR Should Muslim landlord be forbidden from discriminating in regards to housing (since shelter is considered basic human right in the religion of Islam? Does it depend on how many listings are available in order for it to be considered reasonable or unreasonable (If many apartments are available, then you could argue that it's not really denying housing, but rather it's deferring housing? OR should Muslim landlord simply assume the best in their tenants, so that a self-proclaimed gay couple is really just two straight dudes hanging out? This question brings up more questions than it answers. Our traditions condemn living alone, as this is a huge gateway to commiting sin... so would it also be wrong to house any non-straight non-married couple? Another question to add on could be regarding transgenders and whether or not they are the sex that they say they are (when considering this question), and whether or not you should refer to them by their preferred pronouns, shake their hands (which sex are they really?) etc... Lastly, breaking the law is Haram in Islam. Discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender, marital status and/or relationship status is ILLEGAL in most western countries, such as Canada. But is it also Haram to break a law that you cannot easily prove as violated in order to follow God's law more closely? Anyways, for the sake of this question, we will assume that this discrimination is legal... despite it being absolutely illegal. TL;Dr...: My main question is the following: Is denying housing to straight non-married couples, and gay couples HARAM or HALAL?

There are obvious differences among members of the human family. Not only between races, which have their own unique characteristics but individuals within the same family can exhibit a multitude of features, even if they are identical twins. The Holy Qur’an has also affirmed the differences among people: وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ خَلْقُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلَافُ أَلْسِنَتِكُمْ وَأَلْوَانِكُمْ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّلْعَالِمِينَ “Among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. There are indeed signs in that for those who know.” (30:22) Discrimination is a phenomenon that all countries of the world are confronted with and have suffered from. Discrimination has not been limited to one person, society or country. Even those nations which espouse democracy practice some form of discrimination. Discrimination means giving preference to one individual over another because of individual characteristics such as colour, gender, religion and race, rather than due to the merit of the individual. In other word, discrimination occurs when there are two people with the same abilities but one is given preference because of illogical and irrelevant reasons. For example, between a black-skinned person and a white-skinned person seeking a job, whit the same education and experience, the white-skinned person is given preference, or vice versa. http://www.islamportal.net/search/node/discrimination

Muslim man in US thrown off plane for saying 'inshallah' http://presstv.com/Detail/2016/10/06/487961/Muslim-man-plane-inshallah this seems to be the new norm!!!! I have read tons of these articles lately, How sad ! If anyone dared to talk about Israeli/Zionist they would be labeled anti Semitic and probably jailed. Sad ........

God is wise existence who does not oppress any of creation .This world is full of oppression and justice in this world do not ru. In this world injustice and discrimination is widespread and don not reach people to their rights Allah wise and justice on day of Judgment runs to reach anyone in his/her right and wrong doers be punished .Suppose ,sin opportunity for someone is be provided and he ignores to commit and does not commit the sin and person guilt position is not provided for him, but applies all his attempts to commit the sin .Do you think they are same?

A German referee, Frank Scharmach, has been suspended for five days following his summary disqualification of Iranian heavyweight Olympic boxer Ali Mazaheri. (Story and more Pictures) http://iranianfacebook.com/2012/08/02/republic-of-azerbaijan-turkmenistan-disgrace-themselves-in-sports-world/

http://www.mehrnews.com/FA/newsdetail.aspx?NewsID=1617300 http://www.rferl.org/content/iran-list-of-university-courses-banned-for-afghans/24602340.html The National Organization for Educational Testing has published of list of university degrees that are banned for Afghans living in Iran - mostly engineering, advanced science degrees, military science, etc. Mehr argues that allowing Afghans to become qualified in these areas, would create an obligation to employ them, as opposed to less qualified native Iranians. Mehr also tells us that Afghans can only apply to universities in areas where they are not already banned, including a dozen provinces and a number of cities throughout Iran. Keep in mind that a sizeable percentage of these Afghans are Shia Hazars....

Houthis to Salafi Terrorists: Stop Takfir, terrorist acts, suicide bombing against civilians and religious ceremonies, or else face the consequences. ------------------------------------------------ Yemen Shiite Houthis Fight Salafist Terrorists Near Saudi Arabia’s Border Yemen’s Shiite Muslim Houthis killed 24 Salafist terrorists yesterday after a week of sporadic fighting between the two religious communities in the north of the country near the border with Saudi Arabia. The Houthis attacked the Dar Al-Hadith school in the Dammaj region in Saada, according to Abdulhamid al-Hajouri, the principal of the school. About 60 Salafists terrorists, who are considered conservative Sunnis, were wounded in the clashes, Abu Ismail, spokesman for the group in Dammaj, said in a phone interview today. Several Houthi fighters were also killed and wounded, Dhaifallah al-Shami, a leader of the Shiite group, said. Abdelmalek al-Houthi, had issued orders for a ceasefire but that the Salafis rejected it and fought on. "We have martyrs and wounded," he said. "We have informed the mediators that the Salafis can have their slogans as long as they refrain from incitement and takfir (denouncing a Muslim as an infidel)." The escalations between both groups started when Houthis claimed that Salafis are entering weapons inside their educational institutions in the town of Dammaj, and demanded that all military posts are emptied. As Salafis refused, a tightened siege against their religious school complex took place early this week. bloomberg.com Houthis rejected the power transfer signing that took place in Riyadh earlier this week and said it would not recognize it. "The movement has more than 100,000 fighters ready to obey commands from their spiritual leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi," said Ahmed Bahri, an expert in Houthi affairs. "This movement is well organized and only has one head," Bahri said. "They now control majority areas in the provinces in Sa'ada and Jawf, and have powerful presence in Amran, Mareb, Sana'a and Hajjah," added Bahri. Sectarian violence is at peak in northern Yemen where Houthis control is spread across five provinces. Saudi Arabia fought the Houthis in 2009 but failed to end their expansion. The attacks come a day after Yemen's vice president called for presidential elections to be held in February, state media reported. CNN Recently Salafi terrorists backed by the West and Saudi Nasabis were organizing themselves to kill Shias in Northern Yemen instead of focusing on Saleh's government and the revolution of the people. Finally, Houthis are saying, enough is enough. Either live amongst Shia communities of the north in a peaceful coexistence or face the will of Allah. Houthis must hurry and expand party's influence and presence in the land and towards the sea and unite with Shia tribesmen before it is too late and again face oppression of puppets and Nawasib for another 50 years.

U.S.: Shia Face Systematic and Pervasive Discrimination in Saudi Arabia Shia face systematic and pervasive official and legal discrimination, including in education, employment, the military, housing, political representation, the judiciary, religious practice, and media. Primary reasons include the widely-held view that Shia are polytheists and that they commit apostasy by practicing some of their worship activities, historical Sunni-Shia animosity, and suspicion of Iranian influence on their actions. (Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - US secretary of state Hillary Clinton expressed deep concern about the Saudi government which denies its people the most fundamental human rights : the right to believe according to their own conscience – including the freedom to not believe or not follow the religion favored by its ; the right to practice their religion freely, without risking discrimination, arrest, or violence; and the right to educate their children in their own religious traditions; and the freedom to express their beliefs. The Saudi government did not respect religious freedom in law, but generally permitted Shi'a religious gatherings and non-Muslim private religious practices. Muslims who did not adhere to the government's interpretation of Islam faced significant political, economic, legal, social, and religious discrimination, including limited employment and educational opportunities, underrepresentation in official institutions, restrictions on religious practice, and restrictions on places of worship and community centers. In Saudi Arabia , authorities continue to repress Shi'a Muslims, Sulaimaniya Isma'ilis , and others who do not share the government’s religious views. Now, as you know, the protection of religious freedom is a fundamental concern of the United States going back to the earliest days of our republic, and it remains so today. U.S. Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor July-December, 2010 International Religious Freedom Report September 13, 2011 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Saudi Arabia The laws and policies restrict religious freedom, and in practice, the government generally enforced these restrictions. Freedom of religion is neither recognized nor protected under the law and is severely restricted in practice. The country is an Islamic state governed by a monarchy; the king is head of both state and government. According to the basic law, Sunni Islam is the official religion and the country's constitution is the Qur'an and the Sunna (traditions and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad). The legal system is based on the government's application of the Hanbali School of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence. The public practice of any religion other than Islam is prohibited, and there is no separation between state and religion. The government did not respect religious freedom in law, but generally permitted Shia religious gatherings and non-Muslim private religious practices. Some Muslims who did not adhere to the government's interpretation of Islam faced significant political, economic, legal, social, and religious discrimination, including limited employment and educational opportunities, underrepresentation in official institutions, restrictions on religious practice, and restrictions on places of worship and community centers. ..... Although many intolerant statements had been removed, some school textbooks continued to contain overtly intolerant statements against Jews and Christians and intolerant references by allusion against Shia and Sufi Muslims and other religious groups. For example they stated that apostates from Islam should be killed if they do not repent within three days of being warned and that treachery is a permanent characteristic of non-Muslims, especially Jews. ...Shiites constitute 10 to 15 percent of the population. Approximately 80 percent of Shia are "Twelvers" (followers of Muhammad ibn Hasan al-Mahdi, whom they recognize as the Twelfth Imam) and are primarily located in the Eastern Province. Twelver Shia adhere to the Jafari school of jurisprudence. Most of the remaining Shiite population are Sulaimaniya Isma'ilis, also known as "Seveners" (those who branched off from the Twelvers to follow Isma'il ibn Jafar as the Seventh Imam).Seveners reside primarily in Najran Province, around the residence of their sect's spiritual leader in Al Mansourah. In the western Hejaz region, there are approximately 100,000 Ashraf (descendants of the Prophet Muhammad) and 150,000 Nakhawala, or "Medina Shia." Additionally, statistics put the number of Zaydis (followers of Zayd ibn Ali, whom they recognize as the fifth Imam) at approximately 500,000. The Zaydis reside primarily in the cities of Jizan and Najran along the border with Yemen. ...The government permits Shiite judges presiding over courts in the Eastern Province to use the Jafari school of Islamic jurisprudence to adjudicate cases in family law, inheritance, and endowment management. There were six Shiite judges, all located in the Eastern Province cities of Qatif and al-Ahsa, where the majority of Shia lived. Shia living in other parts of the Eastern Province, Najran Province, and the western Hejaz region had no access to local, regional, or national Shiite courts. Shia face systematic and pervasive official and legal discrimination, including in education, employment, the military, housing, political representation, the judiciary, religious practice, and media. Primary reasons include the widely-held view that Shia are polytheists and that they commit apostasy by practicing some of their worship activities, historical Sunni-Shia animosity, and suspicion of Iranian influence on their actions. ...Unlike for Sunni mosques, the government does not finance construction or maintenance of Shiite mosques, and the process for obtaining a government-required license for a Shiite mosque is reportedly unclear and arbitrary. However, Shia have the right to manage their own mosques and to be supervised by Shiite scholars... Shiite courts' powers are limited by the fact that any litigant who disagrees with a ruling can seek a new decision from a Sunni court. Sunni court rulings can void Shiite court rulings, and government departments can choose not to implement judgments rendered by Shiite judges. Jurisdictionally these courts are only allowed to rule on cases in the Qatif and al-Ahsa areas; Shia from other regions cannot use such courts. Most Shia expressed general concerns about discrimination in religious practice, education, employment, political representation, the judiciary, and the media. The government generally limited public religious practice to activities that conform to the official interpretation of Islam. Practices that diverged from the official interpretation, such as celebrating Maulid Al-Nabi (the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad) and visits to the tombs of renowned Muslims, were forbidden. Enforcement was more relaxed in some communities than in others. For example, authorities allowed Shia in the Eastern Province city of Qatif greater freedom in their religious practices, including the public commemoration of Ashura (the "day of grief"). This event was held with minimal government interference. In other areas with large Shiite populations, such as al-Ahsa and Dammam, authorities restricted Shiite religious activities, including public observances of Ashura, public marches, loudspeaker broadcasts of clerics' lectures from Shiite community centers, and, in some instances, gatherings within those centers. Shia described restrictions on their visits to Mecca and Medina as interference by Riyadh-based authorities in private Muslim worship. In addition government religious authorities continued the practice of destroying ancient Islamic historical sites. Shiite mosques in mixed religious neighborhoods reportedly were required to recite the Sunni call to prayer, which is distinct from the Shiite call, at prayer times. Moreover, although Shia combine two of the five daily Sunni prayers, Shiite businessmen were often forced to close their shops during all five prayer times, in accordance with the country's official Sunni practices. Link To Full Report http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=266230