Bayan Claremont Islamic Graduate School
Imam Jihad Turk is President of Bayan Claremont, a graduate school designed to educate Muslim scholars and religious leaders. He is a former director of religious affairs at the Islamic Center of Southern California.
No imam at the National Prayer Breakfast podium At the National Prayer Breakfast today in Washington, President Trump talked about Arnold Schwarzenegger's rating as Trump's replacement on The Apprentice. He told the audience, "Don't worry" about what he called "tough phone calls" with international leaders, and he defended his ban on refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries as protecting a guaranteed Constitutional right. The President called the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom as a "right under threat," but assured the audience that although "the world is in trouble, we're going to straighten it out." Jihad Turk is President of the Bayan Claremont Islamic Graduate School in Southern California. He's also on the Muslim Leaders Forum.
Imam: Muslims are getting more support than hate, must organize Throughout this week, we talk to faith leaders about how they’re advising their congregations as America heads into a Donald Trump presidency. Imam Jihad Turk’s friends have called him about their kids being increasingly bullied at school. Imam Jihad Turk Photo by Amy Ta
Local Muslims React to Trump Donald Trump’s stance on Muslims is galvanizing his supporters, but it’s being condemned by many others, including some in the Republican Party. Senator and presidential candidate Lindsay Graham has called Trump’s rhetoric “race-baiting” and “xenophobic.” So how does this kind of speech impact people in the Muslim community here in Southern California?
Atrocities in Paris: The LA Connections The latest attacks by extremists -- last Friday's massacre in Paris and last Thursday's suicide bombings in Beirut — are being felt deeply here in multicultural Southern California. Joining us in the studios of KCRW are two local residents who've come to tell their stories.
The First Women’s-Only Mosque in the US – Right Here in LA Last Friday was the first day of prayer in the Women’s Mosque of America, located in downtown Los Angeles. It’s available only to women—the first of its kind in the United States. More than 100 women gathered at the nonprofit house of worship, which promises Muslim women they can “bring their whole self.”
Local Reaction to Paris Shooting In France, Britain and other countries of Europe, there's concern that yesterday's deadly attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo may lead to retaliation against Muslim citizens, even those who want nothing to with terrorism. Will there be local fallout from yesterday's massacre in Paris?
Southern California Responds to the Death of bin Laden President Obama last night urged Americans to be vigilant for a possible backlash, a warning not lost on officials here in LA. Security has already been beefed up at LAX as well as at sports and commercial centers. We hear about security concerns and learn what bin Laden's death means to Muslims, families of September 11 and soldiers whose comrades have died or are fighting in Afghanistan. To report possible terrorist threats, phone 1-877-A-THREAT
Terrorism and Stereotyping in Southern California As he opened his hearings on what he calls the "radicalization" of Muslims in the US, New York Congressman Peter King responded to critics who call it a "witch hunt," saying that "to back down would be a craven surrender to political correctness… Despite what passes for conventional wisdom in certain circles, there is nothing radical or un-American in holding these hearings." In the latest edition of the Jewish Journal , two local leaders take strong exception to King and warn that his hearings could "exacerbate" the reality of the terrorist threat rather than remediate it. They are an unusual pairing: Imam Jihad Turk and orthodox Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky.
Award to LA Islamic Leader Hathout Sparks Dispute LA County's Human Relations Commission has made Dr. Maher Hathout the first Muslim to receive its award for humanitarianism . The chair of the Islamic Center of Southern California has sponsored inter-faith dialogues between Muslims, Christians and Jews, but the Jewish Community is divided over whether he is an extremist masquerading as a moderate, and some are demanding that the Commission rescind the award. On Monday, the Commission heard a roomful of witnesses for and against its selection, a meeting at which LA Times says supporters outnumbered opponents 2-to-1. Meantime, the commission is looking at videotape, e-mails and letters from all over the country on both sides of the heated controversy. Next Monday, it will decide if it still wants to honor Hathout with the prestigious award.
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.