With Ramadan starting on 23 April, Muslims around the world will refrain from food and drink every day from sunrise to sunset during the holiest month in Islam.

US Sizeable Muslim population observes Ramzan under cures

The novel coronavirus has complicated daily fasting and evening rituals in the US. Muslims have been hit hard but this is no way has weakened their spirit. Watch report.

Muslims in US face a daunting month: Ramzan in middle of COVID-19 Pandemic

About two dozen rallies were planned across the United States on Saturday to denounce sharia law, the Islamic legal and moral code that organizers say poses a threat to American freedoms, but critics believe the condemnation masks anti-Muslim hatred.&nbsp;

ACT for America, a self-described grassroots organization focusing on national security, has scheduled protests in New York, Chicago, Boston, Denver and Seattle, as well as many smaller cities. Hundreds of people pledged on social media to attend.

At a rally on the steps of the Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg, the atmosphere was tense.&nbsp;

Barricades and a heavy police presence, including officers mounted on horses, separated about 60 anti-sharia demonstrators from an equal number of counter-protesters, many dressed in black masks and hoods and chanting &quot;No&nbsp;Trump, no KKK, no Fascist USA.&quot;&nbsp;

More than a dozen men belonging to the anti-government Oath Keepers were on hand, invited by ACT to provide security. Most of them carried handguns.

Leann Koons, 35, of Ricketts Glen, Pennsylvania, said she came to the rally &quot;because I stand for women&#39;s and children&#39;s rights. I don&#39;t like how they treat women.&quot;

Chris Achey, 47, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, said he did not hate Muslims but believes that much of Islam is incompatible with Western culture.

&quot;The Constitution is the law of the land,&quot; he said. &quot;We have to be careful with who we let in the country.&quot;

The event ended without violence, and police said one counter-demonstrator was arrested.&nbsp;

On its website, ACT described sharia, which covers many aspects of Muslim life including religious obligations and financial dealings, as incompatible with human rights. It said sharia justifies the oppression of women and homosexuality, and advocates female genital mutilation.

But critics say the organisation vilifies Muslims and has repeatedly equated Islam with extremism. In their view, the rallies are part of a wave of anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiment fueled by President Donald&nbsp;Trump, who called for a ban on Muslims entering the country during his election campaign.

Molly Freiburg, 33, of Philadelphia, was one of the counter-protesters but not part of the larger group clad in black.

&quot;America is not in danger from sharia law,&quot; she said. &quot;This manifestation at the Capitol is actually a way to make our Muslim neighbors feel uncomfortable.&quot;

A representative for ACT for America could not be reached for comment.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the country&#39;s largest Muslim advocacy group, urged Americans to participate in one of several local educational events being organized in &quot;a peaceful challenge to Saturday&#39;s hate rallies.&quot;&nbsp;

It also warned Muslims to take extra precautions against potential violence over the weekend.

Anti-Muslim incidents rose 57 per cent last year, including a 44 percent jump in anti-Islamic hate crimes, CAIR said in a report released in early May.

Oath Keepers said on its website that it was &quot;answering the call to defend free speech against those who would use terrorist violence or the threat of violence to shut it down.&quot;

The Southern Poverty Law Center says Oath Keepers is &quot;one of the largest radical antigovernment groups in the United States,&quot; organized around a &quot;set of baseless conspiracy theories.&quot;

Refuse Fascism, a coalition of activists advocating confrontational tactics to oppose what it calls the&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;&quot;regime,&quot; said it would show up at the rallies &quot;to counter the xenophobic hatred and lies, defy intimidation and drown it out.&rdquo;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

A self-described grassroots organization focusing on national security?scheduled protests in New York, Chicago, Boston, Denver and Seattle, as well as many smaller cities

About two dozen rallies were planned across the United States on Saturday to denounce sharia law, the Islamic legal and moral code that organizers say poses a threat to American freedoms, but critics believe the condemnation masks anti-Muslim hatred. ACT for America, a self-described grassroots organization focusing on national security, has scheduled protests in New York, Chicago, Boston, Denver and Seattle, as well as many smaller cities. Hundreds of people pledged on social media to attend. At a rally on the steps of the Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg, the atmosphere was tense. Barricades and a heavy police presence, including officers mounted on horses, separated about 60 anti-sharia demonstrators from an equal number of counter-protesters, many dressed in black masks and hoods and chanting "No Trump, no KKK, no Fascist USA." More than a dozen men belonging to the anti-government Oath Keepers were on hand, invited by ACT to provide security. Most of them carried handguns. Leann Koons, 35, of Ricketts Glen, Pennsylvania, said she came to the rally "because I stand for women's and children's rights. I don't like how they treat women." Chris Achey, 47, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, said he did not hate Muslims but believes that much of Islam is incompatible with Western culture. "The Constitution is the law of the land," he said. "We have to be careful with who we let in the country." The event ended without violence, and police said one counter-demonstrator was arrested. On its website, ACT described sharia, which covers many aspects of Muslim life including religious obligations and financial dealings, as incompatible with human rights. It said sharia justifies the oppression of women and homosexuality, and advocates female genital mutilation. But critics say the organisation vilifies Muslims and has repeatedly equated Islam with extremism. In their view, the rallies are part of a wave of anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiment fueled by President Donald Trump, who called for a ban on Muslims entering the country during his election campaign. Molly Freiburg, 33, of Philadelphia, was one of the counter-protesters but not part of the larger group clad in black. "America is not in danger from sharia law," she said. "This manifestation at the Capitol is actually a way to make our Muslim neighbors feel uncomfortable." A representative for ACT for America could not be reached for comment. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the country's largest Muslim advocacy group, urged Americans to participate in one of several local educational events being organized in "a peaceful challenge to Saturday's hate rallies." It also warned Muslims to take extra precautions against potential violence over the weekend. Anti-Muslim incidents rose 57 per cent last year, including a 44 percent jump in anti-Islamic hate crimes, CAIR said in a report released in early May. Oath Keepers said on its website that it was "answering the call to defend free speech against those who would use terrorist violence or the threat of violence to shut it down." The Southern Poverty Law Center says Oath Keepers is "one of the largest radical antigovernment groups in the United States," organized around a "set of baseless conspiracy theories." Refuse Fascism, a coalition of activists advocating confrontational tactics to oppose what it calls the Trump "regime," said it would show up at the rallies "to counter the xenophobic hatred and lies, defy intimidation and drown it out.”

Protesters rally against sharia law in dozens of US cities

United States President Donald Trump has pledged to impose stricter vetting rules&nbsp;to weed out or keep radical Islamists away from the country.

The 70-year-old billionaire signed an executive order on Friday that suspends arrival of refugess and put down stringent controls on people coming from Muslim-dominated countries.

No visas will be issued to travellers or migrants from seven mainly-Muslim countries --&nbsp;Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The White House did not immediately make the wording of the decree public, but a draft text had been leaked to US media earlier in the week and was widely reported on.

According to this unconfirmed version, Trump&#39;s decree suspends the entire US refugee resettlement program for at least 120 days while tough new vetting rules are established.

In addition, it specifically bars Syrian refugees from the United States indefinitely, or until the president himself decides that they no longer pose a threat.

But the decree will make exceptions for &quot;religious minorities&quot;, which implies that Christians from Syria would be given a preference to enter the country.

&quot;This is big stuff,&quot; Trump declared at the Pentagon, after signing an order entitled: &quot;Protection of the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States.&quot;

The new order has been condemned by human rights groups and many counter-terror experts.

&quot;&#39;Extreme vetting&#39; is just a euphemism for discriminating against Muslims,&quot; said Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Romero argued that, by choosing countries with Muslim majorities for tougher treatment, Trump&#39;s order breaches the US Constitution&#39;s ban on religious discrimination.

Ahmed Rehab, director of the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said his group would mount legal challenges to fight the order &quot;tooth and nail&quot;.

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist and Nobel peace laureate who was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012, said she was &quot;heartbroken&quot; at Trump&#39;s Muslim migrants ban.

She urged Trump not to abandon the world&#39;s &quot;most defenseless children and families&quot;.

But the measure will be popular with Trump&#39;s nationalist base, and stops short of a threat made during last year&#39;s campaign to halt all Muslim travel to the United States.

&nbsp;

Mattis swears in

Earlier, former Marine general James Mattis was sworn in as the new secretary of defense.

Trump showered Mattis with praise and had earlier admitted he would allow the general&#39;s opposition to the use of torture to override his own enthusiasm for harsh measures.

(WION with inputs from AFP)

The specifics of the new executive order remain unclear, but people from Muslim-dominated countries will find it harder to enter US

United States President Donald Trump has pledged to impose stricter vetting rules to weed out or keep radical Islamists away from the country. The 70-year-old billionaire signed an executive order on Friday that suspends arrival of refugess and put down stringent controls on people coming from Muslim-dominated countries. No visas will be issued to travellers or migrants from seven mainly-Muslim countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The White House did not immediately make the wording of the decree public, but a draft text had been leaked to US media earlier in the week and was widely reported on. According to this unconfirmed version, Trump's decree suspends the entire US refugee resettlement program for at least 120 days while tough new vetting rules are established. In addition, it specifically bars Syrian refugees from the United States indefinitely, or until the president himself decides that they no longer pose a threat. But the decree will make exceptions for "religious minorities", which implies that Christians from Syria would be given a preference to enter the country. "This is big stuff," Trump declared at the Pentagon, after signing an order entitled: "Protection of the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States." The new order has been condemned by human rights groups and many counter-terror experts. "'Extreme vetting' is just a euphemism for discriminating against Muslims," said Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union. Romero argued that, by choosing countries with Muslim majorities for tougher treatment, Trump's order breaches the US Constitution's ban on religious discrimination. Ahmed Rehab, director of the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said his group would mount legal challenges to fight the order "tooth and nail". Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist and Nobel peace laureate who was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012, said she was "heartbroken" at Trump's Muslim migrants ban. She urged Trump not to abandon the world's "most defenseless children and families". But the measure will be popular with Trump's nationalist base, and stops short of a threat made during last year's campaign to halt all Muslim travel to the United States. Mattis swears in Earlier, former Marine general James Mattis was sworn in as the new secretary of defense. Trump showered Mattis with praise and had earlier admitted he would allow the general's opposition to the use of torture to override his own enthusiasm for harsh measures. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Trump vows new vetting rules to keep 'radical Islamic terrorists' out of US

Top Democratic lawmakers and rights bodies have slammed President-elect Donald Trump&#39;s reported plan to reinstate a database of immigrants from Muslim-majority countries.

National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) is a post-9/11 program which required travellers to the US from specified Muslim-majority countries to immediately register with the federal government or face deportation.

&quot;Reinstating failed programs that target Arabs and Muslims in our country is exactly what ISIS was cheering on election night when America, a beacon of freedom in the world, gives in to fear and begins chipping away at civil rights, our enemies are emboldened and their ranks swell with new recruits,&quot; Senator Dick Durbin said.

&quot;Back in 2002, I called for this program to be terminated because there were serious doubts it would help combat terrorism. Terrorism experts have since concluded that this program wasted precious homeland security funds and alienated Arab- and Muslim-Americans.&nbsp;

Failed programs like this are the exact wrong approach to combating terrorism, and I will fight to ensure it never returns,&quot; Durbin said.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs Raul M Grijalva and Keith Ellison, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chairwoman Judy Chu, CPC Vice Chair Congressman Mike Honda, and CPC Vice Chair Mark Takano slammed Trump surrogate, Carl Higbie, for suggesting that Japanese- American internment camps could serve as a precedent for the creation of a Muslim registry.

&quot;These remarks are beyond disturbing. This is fear, not courage. This is hate, not policy,&quot; Honda said.

&quot;Since Trump was elected president, thousands of Americans have voiced fears over what our country might look like in the coming years. Last night, one of his surrogates showed us why so many people are afraid of a Trump administration.

&quot;The fact that our incoming President has considered internment as a model for how to move forward with the Muslim community is absolutely shocking. We cannot allow it to be normalised or enacted,&quot; Ellison said.

Grijalva said it took the US decades to own up to the stain of Japanese internment, providing compensation to more than 100,000 people who suffered through it and formally apologising through the Civil Liberties Act in 1988. To say this heinous treatment should be precedent for any policy is horrific, and Trump should denounce it immediately.

&quot;Any proposal to force American-Muslims to register with the federal government, and to use Japanese imprisonment during World War II as precedent, is abhorrent and has no place in our society. These ideas are based on tactics of fear, division, and hate that we must condemn,&quot; Chu said.

&quot;I am horrified that people connected to the incoming Administration are using my family&#39;s experience as a precedent for what President-elect Trump could do,&quot; said Takano.&nbsp;

Congresswoman Luis V Gutierrez, a Member of the Judiciary Committee and is Co-Chair of the Immigration Task Force of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said the roundup of men from mostly Asian, Middle Eastern and African countries was one of the darkest chapters of the George W Bush years.

It was a strategy to scare immigrants and yielded zero concrete terrorism leads that led to conviction. Racial, ethnic, religious and gender profiling is exactly the wrong approach to law enforcement and counter-terrorism, he said.

&quot;The internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II was a historic injustice and nothing like it should ever happen again. The protection of our Constitution is not conditional; it applies to all of us.

&quot;We cannot allow hate speech, racism, and anti-immigrant sentiment to become the new norm in our country, and we must continue to speak out against hate and prejudice. An inclusive and vibrant America is worth fighting for,&quot; Senator Mazie Hironohe said.

Meanwhile, the South Asian Bar Association (SABA) has also denounced the suggestions of a registry for non-citizen Muslims in the US.

&quot;While once just a campaign promise, this xenophobic and un-American idea has been thrust back into our national consciousness by Carl Higbie, former spokesperson for a Super PAC supporting the President-Elect,&quot; SABA said in a statement.

Higbie&#39;s suggestion that internment camps that imprisoned countless Japanese-Americans during World War II is a &quot;precedent&quot; for a possible Muslim registry, presupposes the lawfulness of a program that&#39;s only lasting impact is that of shame, regret and embarrassment, it said.

SABA said this proposed registry is rooted in NSEERS that required certain &quot;foreign citizens and nationals&quot; to continuously check-in with US Authorities.

After repeated criticism and documented ineffectiveness, NSEERS was abandoned in 2011, leaving a legacy of deporting individuals who had committed no crimes and had no links to terrorism, it said.

SABA called on Americans of all backgrounds to reject the notion that registration and potential mass incarceration of residents of this country solely based upon nationality, race or religion, without justification, cause or purpose is acceptable.

&quot;Discrimination towards any community cannot be condoned and we hope the President-Elect and the pending administration uniformly reject such proposals. The perpetuation of hate solely serves to continue the divisiveness that tears at the core of our values of equal protection and freedom for all individuals,&quot; it added.&nbsp;

(PTI)

Trump is reportedly planning on reinstating a programme that requires travellers from some Muslim countries to register themselves

Top Democratic lawmakers and rights bodies have slammed President-elect Donald Trump's reported plan to reinstate a database of immigrants from Muslim-majority countries. National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) is a post-9/11 program which required travellers to the US from specified Muslim-majority countries to immediately register with the federal government or face deportation. "Reinstating failed programs that target Arabs and Muslims in our country is exactly what ISIS was cheering on election night when America, a beacon of freedom in the world, gives in to fear and begins chipping away at civil rights, our enemies are emboldened and their ranks swell with new recruits," Senator Dick Durbin said. "Back in 2002, I called for this program to be terminated because there were serious doubts it would help combat terrorism. Terrorism experts have since concluded that this program wasted precious homeland security funds and alienated Arab- and Muslim-Americans. Failed programs like this are the exact wrong approach to combating terrorism, and I will fight to ensure it never returns," Durbin said. The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs Raul M Grijalva and Keith Ellison, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chairwoman Judy Chu, CPC Vice Chair Congressman Mike Honda, and CPC Vice Chair Mark Takano slammed Trump surrogate, Carl Higbie, for suggesting that Japanese- American internment camps could serve as a precedent for the creation of a Muslim registry. "These remarks are beyond disturbing. This is fear, not courage. This is hate, not policy," Honda said. "Since Trump was elected president, thousands of Americans have voiced fears over what our country might look like in the coming years. Last night, one of his surrogates showed us why so many people are afraid of a Trump administration. "The fact that our incoming President has considered internment as a model for how to move forward with the Muslim community is absolutely shocking. We cannot allow it to be normalised or enacted," Ellison said. Grijalva said it took the US decades to own up to the stain of Japanese internment, providing compensation to more than 100,000 people who suffered through it and formally apologising through the Civil Liberties Act in 1988. To say this heinous treatment should be precedent for any policy is horrific, and Trump should denounce it immediately. "Any proposal to force American-Muslims to register with the federal government, and to use Japanese imprisonment during World War II as precedent, is abhorrent and has no place in our society. These ideas are based on tactics of fear, division, and hate that we must condemn," Chu said. "I am horrified that people connected to the incoming Administration are using my family's experience as a precedent for what President-elect Trump could do," said Takano. Congresswoman Luis V Gutierrez, a Member of the Judiciary Committee and is Co-Chair of the Immigration Task Force of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said the roundup of men from mostly Asian, Middle Eastern and African countries was one of the darkest chapters of the George W Bush years. It was a strategy to scare immigrants and yielded zero concrete terrorism leads that led to conviction. Racial, ethnic, religious and gender profiling is exactly the wrong approach to law enforcement and counter-terrorism, he said. "The internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II was a historic injustice and nothing like it should ever happen again. The protection of our Constitution is not conditional; it applies to all of us. "We cannot allow hate speech, racism, and anti-immigrant sentiment to become the new norm in our country, and we must continue to speak out against hate and prejudice. An inclusive and vibrant America is worth fighting for," Senator Mazie Hironohe said. Meanwhile, the South Asian Bar Association (SABA) has also denounced the suggestions of a registry for non-citizen Muslims in the US. "While once just a campaign promise, this xenophobic and un-American idea has been thrust back into our national consciousness by Carl Higbie, former spokesperson for a Super PAC supporting the President-Elect," SABA said in a statement. Higbie's suggestion that internment camps that imprisoned countless Japanese-Americans during World War II is a "precedent" for a possible Muslim registry, presupposes the lawfulness of a program that's only lasting impact is that of shame, regret and embarrassment, it said. SABA said this proposed registry is rooted in NSEERS that required certain "foreign citizens and nationals" to continuously check-in with US Authorities. After repeated criticism and documented ineffectiveness, NSEERS was abandoned in 2011, leaving a legacy of deporting individuals who had committed no crimes and had no links to terrorism, it said. SABA called on Americans of all backgrounds to reject the notion that registration and potential mass incarceration of residents of this country solely based upon nationality, race or religion, without justification, cause or purpose is acceptable. "Discrimination towards any community cannot be condoned and we hope the President-Elect and the pending administration uniformly reject such proposals. The perpetuation of hate solely serves to continue the divisiveness that tears at the core of our values of equal protection and freedom for all individuals," it added. (PTI)

US Democrats, rights bodies slam Trump Muslim registry plan

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US Sizeable Muslim population observes Ramzan under cures

Muslims in US face a daunting month: Ramzan in middle of COVID-19 Pandemic

Protesters rally against sharia law in dozens of US cities

Trump vows new vetting rules to keep 'radical Islamic terrorists' out of US

US Democrats, rights bodies slam Trump Muslim registry plan