Donald Trump Says His Very Rich Muslim Friends Won't Be Banned From The Country | ThinkProgress

Pressed by MSNBC’s Chris Matthews whether Trump’s friends could even get into the country with a ban on Muslims, Trump conceded. “They’ll come in,” he said. “They’ll come in, and you’ll have exceptions.”...
http://thinkprogress.org/immigration/2016/03/31/3765216/trump-muslim-friends-immigration/

7 Times Muslims Denounced Terror

Although the urge to place blame for these crimes is a natural one, it’s essential to remember that Muslims as a group — made up of 1.6 billion diverse people all over the world— aren’t the right target...
http://www.bustle.com/articles/149432-7-times-muslims-denounced-terror

Censorship in the Islamic World, Through the Eyes of Journalist Jessica Davey-Quantick (Josh Zepps, Point of Inquiry)

We know more and more about how repressive attitudes about blasphemy and religious criticism in parts of the Islamic world can become explosive, as with the Charlie Hebdo attacks or the murder of secularist bloggers in Bangladesh. But these extreme instances don’t tell the whole story.

This week our guest is Jessica Davey-Quantick, who spent several years in Qatar as a reporter and editor for Qatar Happening and Time Out Doha. She experienced first hand the often laughable degrees of arbitrary censorship and cultural oppression, and simultaneously the liberty with which certain members of society could behave as they pleased. She discovered a world that both reinforced and contradicted commonly held beliefs about the restrictiveness of the culture of Islam in the Gulf States, and wrote about her experiences in a recent article at Vox.

She and host Josh Zepps discuss the problems with how we discuss cultures outside our own, the ways religion is intertwined with repressive norms, and how we might hold a mirror up to our own practices.
Interview:
http://www.pointofinquiry.org/censorship_in_the_islamic_world_through_the_eyes_of_journalist_jessica_dave/

Ted Cruz Is an Anti-Muslim Bigot, Too

The GOP has an anti-Muslim hate problem: Ted Cruz’s foreign-policy team is anchored by America’s biggest Islamophobe...
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/ted-cruz-anti-muslim-bigot-too

DOJ Opens Civil Rights Investigation Into New Jersey Town's Denial Of Mosque

The suit alleges that Bernard Township planning board members were swayed by a swell of local opposition to the mosque, which masked anti-Islam sentiment.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/doj-ciil-rights-investigation-bernard-township-mosque

American IS fighter: I made a bad decision

“I wasn’t thinking straight,” Khweis said. “My message to the American people is that the life in Mosul is really, really bad,” he said, adding that he doesn’t believe the Islamic State group accurately represents Islam.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/american-is-fighter-i-made-a-bad-decision/2016/03/18/b54a32fa-ecf9-11e5-a9ce-681055c7a05f_story.html

Muslims, Protestants and Jews share common concerns in 2016 election - Religion News Service

The Muslim community is “both pious and patriotic, optimistic and weary of discrimination, similar to Jews in its politics, and much like Protestants in its religious practice,” writes Dalia Mogahed, director of research for the ISPU and author of the report...
http://www.religionnews.com/2016/03/15/muslims-protestants-jews-share-common-concerns-2016-election/

A Metal Band And A Group Of Teenagers Are Among The Latest To Be Indicted For Blasphemy

How can you try someone for mocking ISIS?
http://thinkprogress.org/world/2016/03/16/3760539/blasphemy/

Real Time with Bill Maher: Overtime – March 4, 2016 (HBO)

Bill Maher and his guests – Raheel Raza, Rep. Donna Edwards, Ari Shapiro, Matt Lewis and Sarah Silverman – answer viewer questions after the show.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/FdW5OkizEto

The Way of the Mister: Atheist Fundamentalist

https://youtu.be/B3B-PQpGBdY

Evangelical Dilemma: Do Principles Trump Practicality?

Trump’s ban on Muslim immigration is just as antithetical to religious freedom as Cruz’s brand of Dominionism.
https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/evangelical-dilemma-do-principles-trump-practicality

Linda K. Wertheimer, Author Of Faith Ed (Hemant Mehta, The Friendly Atheist)

Linda K. Wertheimer is a former education editor of the Boston Globe and a reporter at the Dallas Morning News and Orlando Sentinel. She recently published a book called Faith Ed: Teaching About Religion in an Age of Intolerance.

We spoke with Linda about groups that oppose the teaching of basic Islamic beliefs in public schools; whether teachers are properly equipped to objectively discuss religion in the classroom; and why atheists, Mormons, and Jews tend to know more about religion than larger faith groups.
Interview:
http://friendlyatheistpodcast.com/2016/01/24/linda-wertheimer-author-of-faith-ed/

Five Stupid Things About Islamophobia

Muslims and their religion are subjected to a level of fearmongering, prejudice, and double standards that other religions in the west don't have to put up with.
https://youtu.be/hIJ5WN9K7rY

President Obama: Religious freedom keeps us strong (RNS EXCLUSIVE – COMMENTARY)

First, at a time when others are trying to divide us along religious lines, we have to reaffirm that most fundamental truth — that we are all God’s children, all born equal with inherent dignity. Mere tolerance of different religions is not enough. Our faiths summon us to actively embrace our common humanity...
http://www.religionnews.com/2016/02/06/president-obama-religious-freedom-keeps-us-strong-rns-exclusive-commentary/

5 Right-Wing Absurdities This Week: Rubio's Reality Denial on Full Display

Many on the right were completely undone by Obama's mosque visit.
http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/5-right-wing-absurdities-week-rubios-reality-denial-full-display

Black Atheist | Who Created God? | SPEAKERS CORNER

Speakers Corner 2015, Black Atheist On Why Religion Is Corrupt, The Purpose Of Life, Who Created God, Laws, Morals And Society.

Tiffany Scott Vaughn Does An Excellent Job In Probing Into The Psyche Of A London Black Atheist - Stephen Yarde Who Answers Very Eloquently Forcing The Viewer To Really Reflect On The Concept Of God And Why They Believe In God.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/0-gJlKeXCWo

Muslims in Gillette, Wyoming face Islamophobia

The town is home to a handful of Muslims, who opened their first mosque late last year and now they face intimidation.
https://youtu.be/CpeDzy2X5Pg

Christie says neighbors of San Bernardino shooters knew more than they did

Neighbors of the San Bernardino shooters "knew that they were talking about trying to take our country and attack it."
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jan/28/chris-christie/christie-says-neighbors-san-bernardino-shooters-kn/

Sarah Haider, Ex-Muslim (Hemant Mehta, The Friendly Atheist)

Hemant Mehta says:
Sarah Haider was born in Pakistan as a practicing Shia Muslim. She moved to Texas and, in her late teens, began reading the Qur’an critically. It wasn’t long before she became an atheist. In 2013, she co-founded Ex-Muslims of North America, where she advocates for the acceptance of religious dissent and works to create local support communities for those who have left Islam.

We spoke with Sarah about why it’s dangerous for Muslims to leave the faith even in the United States, what the New Atheists get right and wrong about Islam, and why we need to stop using the word “Islamophobic.”

Notes:

At the 21:00 mark, I accidentally say an incident involving Ayaan Hirsi Ali being protested by students occurred at UCLA. It was actually Yale. Apologies for the error.

Also, if you haven’t seen it, Sarah gave an excellent speech at the 2015 American Humanist Association convention. It’s worth your time to watch it.
Interview:
http://friendlyatheistpodcast.com/2015/11/22/sarah-haider-ex-muslim/

Should We Go All-In On ISIS? (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

The heat on President Obama to go heavy with military action against ISIS is high now. There are body bags in Paris, multiple deadly ISIS attacks outside its self-proclaimed caliphate, and a political season on in the US that amps up everything. Critics say that in his determination to get the US out of a central role in the Middle East, Obama has been too restrained. And ISIS has grown. The President is clearly skeptical of big intervention. But the debate is on, again. This hour On Point, the next move. Roger Cohen calls for rage and NATO intervention. Barry Posen says even now, restraint. — Tom Ashbrook
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2015/11/23/isis-syria-iraq-paris-attacks-ground-troops