D.C. imam provides counseling, weddings and prayer space for gay Muslims

Imam Dayaiee Abdullah never knows how many people are going to show up for Friday prayers. Some weeks, nearly a dozen men and women gather at a Quaker hall in northwest Washington, D.C., where they kneel on prayer rugs laid out to transform the room into a Muslim place of worship.   Other weeks, Abdullah,…

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FBI Muslim spying vs. personal liberties

A federal judge Tuesday threw out a lawsuit filed against the U.S. government and the FBI over the agency’s spying on Orange County Muslims, ruling that allowing the suit to go forward would risk divulging sensitive state secrets. Times court reporter Victoria Kim will join L.A. Now Live for a web chat at 9 a.m. to…

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California councilman criticized for mentioning in meeting that he named dog after Muhammad

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. — A Southern California councilman is drawing criticism for mentioning in a public meeting that he named his dog after the Muslim prophet Muhammad. The Council on American-Islamic Relations has called on Derek Reeve to apologize for his comment at a recent San Juan Capistrano council meeting. The Islamic advocacy group…

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Want to Sue the FBI for Spying on Your Mosque? Sorry, That’s Secret.

Obama, once a critic of the state secrets doctrine, has invoked it repeatedly. But critics say his latest use of Bush’s favorite get-out-of-court-free card is different. The state secrets privilege—perhaps the most powerful weapon in the government’s legal arsenal—has a complicated history. For years, Democrats, including then-Sen. Barack Obama, accused the Bush administration of overusing…

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Appeals court reinstates case by Muslim woman in CA over forced removal of head scarf in cell

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court unanimously reinstated a lawsuit Tuesday filed by a Muslim woman who accused Southern California jailers of violating her religious freedom when they ordered her to take off her head scarf in a courthouse holding cell. An 11-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also said…

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