Published on Alternet (http://www.alternet.org)
Home > Banner Bearing Arabic Message of Love Reported to Homeland Security
and FBI
________________________________________
Banner Bearing Arabic Message of Love Reported to Homeland Security and FBI
By Sarah Lazare [1] / AlterNet [2]
February 16, 2016
A banner bearing the Arabic expression "Love is for all," touched off a
massive security crackdown this week in Lubbock, Texas, where city officials
shut down traffic and called for an investigation by Homeland Security, the
FBI and police. First spotted the morning after Valentine's Day, the banner
was hung from the top of the publicly owned Citizens Tower in the downtown
area of the city, which is located in northwestern Texas. The Arabic script
spelling out the message of love was framed with a red heart. It was not
immediately clear who hung the item.
But to Mayor Glen Robertson, the "Arabic flag" was cause for alarm.
Robertson instructed the city manager to remove the banner and "take all
steps necessary to secure the building and that Chief [Greg] Stevens notify
the Department of Homeland Security, FBI and the Lubbock Sheriff's Office,"
according to a public statement.
Robertson implied there was a threat to public safety. "It is premature to
come to conclusions before we can gather more facts but I believe that we
must take this situation seriously in light of current national and
international events."
According to [3] the local media outlet Lubbock Online, "After evaluating
the situation and blocking traffic on a portion of nearby Avenue K, city
crews cut down the flag shortly after noon [on Monday]."
The banner has already attracted some national press, including Fox News,
which ran the foreboding headline [4], "Arabic banner mysteriously appears
on Texas building."
Raed Jarrar, government relations manager at the American Friends Service
Committee, told AlterNet that the fear-mongering response "is another
unfortunate example of how an entire language is criminalized in the United
States, even when there is a love banner on Valentine's Day."
Ten years ago, Jarrar, who was born in Iraq, was prevented from boarding a
JetBlue flight in New York because he was wearing a shirt which said in
Arabic, "We shall not be silent." He sued the airline and TSA screeners,
eventually winning [5] a large settlement in 2009.
Jarrar emphasized that the discrimination and suspicion he faced is not a
thing of the past, noting a disturbing spike in recent incidents.
In late December, Palestinian-American artist Leila Abdelrazaq was arrested
and interrogated [6] in Arizona for notebook sketches with the themes of
immigration and borders that included Arabic script. Also in December, a
high school teacher in Augusta County, Virginia was met with fierce backlash
after teaching a lesson in Arabic calligraphy. The angry emails and phone
calls were so threatening that the entire school district decided to
temporarily close [7] over safety concerns.
Sarah Lazare is a staff writer for AlterNet. A former staff writer for
Common Dreams, Sarah co-edited the book About Face: Military Resisters Turn
Against War. Follow her on Twitter at @sarahlazare [8].
Share on Facebook Share
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Report typos and corrections to 'corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx'. [9]
[10]
________________________________________
Source URL:
http://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/banner-bearing-arabic-message-love-
reported-homeland-security-and-fbi
Links:
[1] http://www.alternet.org/authors/sarah-lazare-0
[2] http://alternet.org
[3]
http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2016-02-15/arabic-flag-citizens-tower-
prompts-security-evaluation-investigation#.VsMzLhgWHR1
[4]
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/02/16/arabic-banner-mysteriously-appears-on-t
exas-building.html
[5] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/08/us/08arabic.html
[6]
http://www.salon.com/2015/12/22/palestinian_american_artist_detained_for_ske
tching_in_arabic_falsely_accused_of_terrorism_by_right_wing_media/
[7]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2015/12/17/furor-over-arabi
c-assignment-leads-virginia-school-district-to-close-friday/
[8] https://twitter.com/sarahlazare
[9] mailto:corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=Typo on Banner Bearing Arabic
Message of Love Reported to Homeland Security and FBI
[10] http://www.alternet.org/
[11] http://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B
Published on Alternet (http://www.alternet.org)
Home > Banner Bearing Arabic Message of Love Reported to Homeland Security
and FBI
Banner Bearing Arabic Message of Love Reported to Homeland Security and FBI
By Sarah Lazare [1] / AlterNet [2]
February 16, 2016
A banner bearing the Arabic expression "Love is for all," touched off a
massive security crackdown this week in Lubbock, Texas, where city officials
shut down traffic and called for an investigation by Homeland Security, the
FBI and police. First spotted the morning after Valentine's Day, the banner
was hung from the top of the publicly owned Citizens Tower in the downtown
area of the city, which is located in northwestern Texas. The Arabic script
spelling out the message of love was framed with a red heart. It was not
immediately clear who hung the item.
But to Mayor Glen Robertson, the "Arabic flag" was cause for alarm.
Robertson instructed the city manager to remove the banner and "take all
steps necessary to secure the building and that Chief [Greg] Stevens notify
the Department of Homeland Security, FBI and the Lubbock Sheriff's Office,"
according to a public statement.
Robertson implied there was a threat to public safety. "It is premature to
come to conclusions before we can gather more facts but I believe that we
must take this situation seriously in light of current national and
international events."
According to [3] the local media outlet Lubbock Online, "After evaluating
the situation and blocking traffic on a portion of nearby Avenue K, city
crews cut down the flag shortly after noon [on Monday]."
The banner has already attracted some national press, including Fox News,
which ran the foreboding headline [4], "Arabic banner mysteriously appears
on Texas building."
Raed Jarrar, government relations manager at the American Friends Service
Committee, told AlterNet that the fear-mongering response "is another
unfortunate example of how an entire language is criminalized in the United
States, even when there is a love banner on Valentine's Day."
Ten years ago, Jarrar, who was born in Iraq, was prevented from boarding a
JetBlue flight in New York because he was wearing a shirt which said in
Arabic, "We shall not be silent." He sued the airline and TSA screeners,
eventually winning [5] a large settlement in 2009.
Jarrar emphasized that the discrimination and suspicion he faced is not a
thing of the past, noting a disturbing spike in recent incidents.
In late December, Palestinian-American artist Leila Abdelrazaq was arrested
and interrogated [6] in Arizona for notebook sketches with the themes of
immigration and borders that included Arabic script. Also in December, a
high school teacher in Augusta County, Virginia was met with fierce backlash
after teaching a lesson in Arabic calligraphy. The angry emails and phone
calls were so threatening that the entire school district decided to
temporarily close [7] over safety concerns.
Sarah Lazare is a staff writer for AlterNet. A former staff writer for
Common Dreams, Sarah co-edited the book About Face: Military Resisters Turn
Against War. Follow her on Twitter at @sarahlazare [8].
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Report typos and corrections to 'corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx'. [9]
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.[10]
Source URL:
http://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/banner-bearing-arabic-message-love-
reported-homeland-security-and-fbi
Links:
[1] http://www.alternet.org/authors/sarah-lazare-0
[2] http://alternet.org
[3]
http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2016-02-15/arabic-flag-citizens-tower-
prompts-security-evaluation-investigation#.VsMzLhgWHR1
[4]
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/02/16/arabic-banner-mysteriously-appears-on-t
exas-building.html
[5] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/08/us/08arabic.html
[6]
http://www.salon.com/2015/12/22/palestinian_american_artist_detained_for_ske
tching_in_arabic_falsely_accused_of_terrorism_by_right_wing_media/
[7]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2015/12/17/furor-over-arabi
c-assignment-leads-virginia-school-district-to-close-friday/
[8] https://twitter.com/sarahlazare
[9] mailto:corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=Typo on Banner Bearing Arabic
Message of Love Reported to Homeland Security and FBI
[10] http://www.alternet.org/
[11] http://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B
