>> tony, thanks. we began with a couple behind the mass shooting in san bernardino about on, one the prt has called an act of terrorism. both were interested in staging attacks before they were even engaged. this is a very significant development that is playing out in the u.s. and overseas. paul beban is reporting.

paul. >> exactly how a pharmacy and a county health inspector turned against the united states. but the picture that is coming together is something the fbi call a different level of threat. otherwise did everything else on their own. >> san bernardino involved who killers who were radicalized for quite a lorch long time before r attack. >> fbi director james comey said the two began talking about attacks months before they met in person. >> they were actually radicalized before they started courting or dating on. and as early as 2013 they were talking about jihad and martyrdom before they became engaged and lived in the united

states. >> director comey said the couple's radicalization began before the emergence of i.s.i.l. farook left for saudi arabia in 2013 where the two met face to face, and were married in august 2014. comey says he can't say president relationship was arranged by a group as part of a plot to carry out attacks in the u.s. but agreed with lawmakers that such a scenario would be a game-changer. >> it would be a very, very important authentic to know. >> reporter: last week it emerged that malik pledged allegiance to i.s.i.l. on facebook. no other links to i.s.i.l. or any other terror group. >> we are working hard to understand whether there is anybody else involved was assisting them or supporting

them or equipping them. >> carrying out an attack in the u.s. as far back as 2012. not clear why the two didn't go through with the plot. has not been charged with any crime and is not a suspect in last week's terror attack but investigators have conducted extensive interviews with marquez and are trying to determine if he sold or gave the couple the two guns that were involved in the shootings. his name wouldn't be connected to the weapons. we're also learning more about suspicion financial transactions. the fbi is looking into a $28,500 cash loan that farook took out from an online bank before the shootings. investigators reportedly do not believe i.t. came from a person or a group backing the plot, but

adam this could be something regarding backing the attack. >> george washington center for cyber and homeland security. joining us live from washington, d.c. lorenzo zoe glad to have you with us. i visited the mosque and spent the morning with the guy he prayed shoulder or the shoulder with, he said almost for a year. he had no indication of anything like this. if not a friend, how could the government predict anyone else to be radicalized? >> you are absolutely right, the vast majority cases i.s.i.s. related cases in the states, people living seemingly normal signs, gave no signs, turned out

to be violent. obviously the government has access to certain information the parents and friends do not. certain activities online give away certainl sen certain signs. it cements to b -- seems to be e case with the farooks, online, they are interacted in some cases, i don't know if that's the case with the farooks or with i.s.i.s. members overseas even in syria and iraq. the government to some degree can access that online. but every case is different and that's the nature of the terrorists, so much more difficult to penetrate. >> the fbi director said there were online communicates communications in 2013. was there a failure on the

intelligence or immigration side of this? >> it is too early to tell. we don't have access to all that information so it's difficult to have access to that. >> are there areas where we can make improvements right now? >> there is a lot of debate of course about encryption and about more pressure onsocial media. to know what conversation is of concern, which is not, whether they talk about jihad in a dangerous way or not. that seems complicated and probably not the job of these companies. i think the fbi is overwhelmed. they are monitoring a lot a lot of people that are talking about i.s.i.s. but are clearly radicalized but that is protected by the first amendment. so they have difficulty in

zeroing in between an understanding which one of the cases of people that might make the leap into violence and those that are just talking about certain things. talking about jihad per se, we have to say exactly what it means in this specific case. it is not necessarily a sign per se. >> want to jump in here real quick and ask you a question. i think a lot of people were surprised to see that a woman was involved in these attacks. but into your research it is not unusual at all sit? >> no, not at all. we have seen it in a variety of settings, middle east, europe, both attacks in paris had a woman involved and even in the u.s. we have 10% of the people that have been charged in the u.s. for i.s.i.s. related activities are women. when you look on the bubble of i.s.i.s. sympathizers online, a good 30% are female. female, radicalized, exact lip

like men do but a different purpose but process at the end of the day is exactly the same. plenty have joined i.s.i.s. and they are as radicalized as aggressive vicious and vehement in their beliefs as the member. >> thank you so much for your insight. the fight against i.s.i.l. took center stage on capitol hill today. defense secretary ash carter and fbi director james comey faced tough questioning. national security correspondent jamie mcintire is with us now. jamie what did we learn from today's hearing? >> reporter: adam, there were two separate hearings, specifically what law enforcement and the military are doing in response. at the senate judiciary committee, fbi director james

comey singled out i.s.i.l. as the single greatest threat against the united states. >> people planning increases their ability to mount a sophisticated attack against the home land. >> over at the armed services committee, senators wanted to know, if i.s.i.l. was the biggest threat, what are the forces to wipe it out? >> we need to know how you're going to wipe it out, that is not clear. >> neither could ash carter nor vice chairman james silva could say. >> they do not have operational freedom of movement or tactical freedom of movement. >> they were able to orchestrate an attack in san bernardino, california. >> there is no indication that i.s.i.l. ordered the attack, only that it inspired it. again senators were frustrated that defense secretary carter

stubbornly stuck to the old strategy of searching for elusive indij influence indigens while pleading for special forces. >> i too wish that particularly the sunni arab nations of the gifl would do more and going back -- >> they are willing to do so if there is a united states commitment. >> i've had lengthy conversations -- >> and so have i. >> to weigh in for a small number of u.s. combat troops to lead an international force, dr. ray ordierno. >> what a better time to build a coalition with european allies with our partners in the middle east to put a force in in the long term that will defeat i.s.i.s, with some u.s. troops involve refused. >> armed services committee chairman mccaijohnmccain says o.

>> there's 20 to i 30,00 30,000. they are not giants. >> secretary carter did say the u.s. would be willing to send in attack helicopters to help iraq take i.s.i.l.-held ramadi. but the no fly zone is still a no go. >> we have not recommended it because the political situation on the ground and the potential for misescalation and loss of american life. >> general i must say , we have worried about syria and russia's reaction to saving the lives of thousands and thousands of syrians who are being barrel bombed and massacred, so far 240,000, remarkable performance. >> secretary carter acknowledged a major missing point is that bigger role by sunni arabs, back in the spring the u.s. urged

gulf cooperation council group to form a force. but carter says that has not materialized. >> the third gunman, of the bataclan concert hall, faod ajad. his mother went to police after she got a text message saying her son had died a martyr on november 13th. she provided a dna sample. 130 died at the bataclan. donald trump is responding to critics of his plan to ban muslims from entering the u.s. trump said he would not rule out a third party run if the republican party is not fair to him.

trux saytrump says it's about nl security. >> we need safety, we want to make america great again but we need safety in our country. >> but wouldn't a ban on muslims, wouldn't it violate the constitution's freedom of -- >> these are people not in the country. they're not in the country. these are people that are outside of the country so we're really not talking about the constitution. this is not about religion. this is about safety. this has nothing to do with religion, it is about safety. >> worldwide outrage, more than 300,000 people have signed a petition demanding trump be banned from the u.k. saying he uses hate speech. the british parliament must now consider putting that matter up for official debate. trump's plan to ban muslims from entering the united states has been widely condemned around the world, including the very

neighborhood that the presidential candidate grew up. mary snow reports from new york. >> these are the new faced in donald trump's old enabled. urafaing is mosque in his old neighborhood in convenes. >> he's as american as a new yorker. when i heard it, it's really heartbreaking, shocking, that someone new yorker talks like this. >> people are shocked and when i say the people, their heart is breaking right now. >> the borough of convenes where donald trump grew up is the most diverse in america. more than half are foreign born. there are 93 mosques in queens alone. the trump family name is still

visible here, on the street where the presidential candidate grew up, mostly white residents lived in this community when trump was here. but nearby store fronts show how many that world has changed. as immigrants from bangladesh to india to africa call this home. trump hasn't changed with the world, stan has lived here for nearly 50 years. >> your reaction to what he said the other day? >> he's a putz. that's all. he's a fear mongerrer. anmongerrer and whathe's doing r fighting i.s.i.s. >> aleaders of this mosque say they recently installed security cameras and with donald trump becoming more of their conversation they have this message for him.

>> come visit us and see who we are. you know? you don't even know us and how can you make a statement without knowing us? >> mary snow, al jazeera, new york. >> while some of donald trump's supporters seem to have a negative view of islam, many americans admit they know little or nothing about it. jacob ward on one of the world's fastest growing religions. >> there are roughl roughly 1.6n muslims. indonesia, pakistan, bangladesh, india, islam around the world is on the rise. islam is the fastest growing religion by the world. by the end of the century, demographers expect to be more

muslims than any other religion in the world. there are more children. and muslims are also the youngest people of any major religious group. the median age of a muslim was just 23 years old in 2010, that's seven years younger than the median age of nonmuslims. muslims around the world share one belief, the belief of one good and the prophet muhammed. when it comes to social beliefs the way they actually want to live their lives there's tremendous variety. if you ask muslims whether they want to live undera code called she rasharia law, the numbers do the single digits. muslims around the world overwhelmingly report unfavorable feelings for i.s.i.l. virtually all respondents in lebanon and 90% inning iran says

they have a negative view of the group. they have a 20% fairchl favoraby when it comes to i.s.i.l. there is no one muslim culture around the world. that much is clear but here ask a last piece of unity. from nigeria to indonesia, growing worry about extremism in their countries. >> jacob ward, thanks. now to a major development in the civil war in syria. hundreds of rebels were evacuated from the last opposition health stronghold of homs. this is part of a regional truce. in addition to 300 fighters, 450 civilians also left. the opposition and the government have a january 1st deadline to begin peace talks. in afghanistan, dozens of people are dead in a two-day taliban assault on the kandahar airport.

the taliban released video it says shows a shootout between fighters and the afghan military. 16 taliban attackers stormed the military and civilian air field reportedly taking hostages. at last count more than 70 people were killed including civilians, afghan security members and most of the tabl tan fighters. it is still unclear tonight if that attack is actually over. coming up, chicago protests. in the wake of several police related killings, demonstrators take to the streets. calling for mayor rahm emanuel to resign. new education. >> this is the biggest rewrite of our education laws in 25 years. >> the big changes to niend. no child left behind and what they mean for millions ever schoolchildren. plus sacred ground. bearing witness. we take you inside a southern

plantation. that's the first museum in the u.s. devoted to slavery. but around the world. getting the news from the people who are affected. >> people need to demand reform... >> ali velshi on target

assemble chicago mayor rahm emanuel personally apologized today for last year's shooting death of 17-year-old teenager la quan mcdonald who was killed by police. but that didn't stop mass protests in the street with many calling for emanuel's

resignation. total reform of the police department, during a special 40 minute address before the city council he admitted to a failure of supervision and leadership. >> i take responsibility for what happened. because it happened on my watch. if we're going to fix it, i want you to understand it's my responsibility with you. but if we're also going to begin the healing process, the first step in that journey is my step. and i'm sorry. >> emanuel also said police won't always get it right but he promised to add new measures to enforce that officers will be held accountable when they get it wrong. out of baltimore maryland, the first of six officers charged with freddy gray's death, took the stand in his defense. he said he did not think gray was injured because he was

alert. he didn't call a medic because gray was, quote, unable to give me reason for the emergency. 80% of his spine was crushed not allowing him to speak or move. more testimony continues tomorrow. questionable policing. in washington state, the justice department has been working with the seattle police department for three years now trying the stem criticism and avoid civil rights lawsuit. allen schauffler is in seattle with more. allen. >> adam, the justice department is overseeing operations in 17 different jurisdictions, under a legal agreement they are operating under here in seattle and have been operating under for several years. what we're learning is when the feds come to town to address constitutional issues with policing don't expect a quick fix.

>> hey, hey, put the knife down. >> august 2010 was the last straw. >> but the knife down! >> native american wood carver john williams walking with a knife in his hand shot and killed by a seattle officer. the naacp and dozens of other community groups reached out for help. >> what was happening with the police department was out of control. the recent safnlings as assassi referred to it of john williams, meant the system was out of control. >> they fount biased policing and improper use of force. two years later the city agreed to federal oversight and a federally appointed monitor instituted major changes in police policies. new chief kathleen o'toole spoke to us after her hiring in 2014.

>> the more we can work collaboratively the better. we have all the same goals and that is to make this a much more effective police organization. >> it is about a culture shift both within the police department and within these cities that have often supported police departments that have been dysfunctional. >> fay lopez heads a commission to work with the committee. during the interim process hasn't been peaches and cream as she puts it. federal guidelines put their lives at risk, thrown out of court. >> can you please put it down. >> there have been controversial high profile arrests and repeated anti-police protests. lopez sees progress but slow progress. >> because it's not just about the seattle police department or any police department. it is about the community it impacts. and that there is trust in both, both ways and i think that's the best way to have the most significant meaningful reform.

>> so is meaningful reform taking place? >> i think that depends on who you ask. >> dave croman has been following the process for seattle website crosscut. >> it has major bumps but still on a national level is being celebrateas an example for other cities. >> is that appropriate? >> i think it might be actually a little too early to say. department of justice is still here. this thing is not over. >> many involved give chief o'toole credit for pushing reform. police government and community groups connecting in ways they never did before. more officers are wearing cameras and more of that video is available to the public. the federal monitor has been generally positive, about spd progress. the naacp has a different take. >> well, my recommendation to the people of chicago, don't get your hopes up. obviously doj comes in by the time they do whatever they're

here to do, it could be five years later and you still don't see no results. >> full assessment about seattle police could take another year. and after that assessment, if seattle police have been seen to meet certain levels of performance, and they're able to do it for another, an additional, two years, then and only then, will the city be able to appeal to the federal judge overseeing this process, have the consent decree lifted and get the department of justice out of town and seattle police can go back to doing their jobs without the feds looking over their shoulder. adam, it's going to be three years likely more before that happens. >> seattle has had what, five on-duty sheetings this year? are there things actually getting better? >> you know that really depends on who you talk to if things are getting better or not. this weekend was quite disturbing and it shows a lot of the things that are brought up, and in the mix, during this

federal review. at what point do you use force? what level of force do you use? how do you report an incident like this? where in the chain of command does accountability go whether police officers have fired their weapons. and after this chase which went from downtown through a beg youf different neighborhoods, and police reporting suspects returning fire, these are the things that are involved in this effort by the justice department to determine how police are operating and where they should go from here. is it working? is it not working? at this point it depends on just who you ask. >> and why the department of justice is involved with so many police departments. missed opportunities when it comes to intelligence to stop the attack. plus, a big change for public education, how washington is

revamping no child left behind. the is.

>> good evening, everyone, this is al jazeera america, i'm adam may. >> san bernardino, had two killers radicalized for quite some time before their attack. >> the san bernardino attack was years in the making. rewrite. >> with this bill we are sending power back to the people. >> major changes to no child left behind and those controversial high-stakes exams. and blond belief, what it means to be muslim. >> this is our country. we love it, we will defend it. >> and american. >> we don't deserve this. we're just as american as everybody else. >> in the age of fear and donald trump. >> agents investigating the massacre in san bernardino said the husband and wife team were

on the path to terrorism before they even met. the early speculation that taff sheen malik was the driving force was actually off base. >> our investigation up to date, which i can only say so much about at this point, indicates they were radicalized before they started courting or dating each other online and online, as early as the end of 2013 they were talking to each other about jihad and martyrdom before they became engaged and married and lived together in the united states. >> this is raising a lot of questions. malik entered the united states under a fiancee visa. let's bring in joshua katz, a former cia operative and chairman of the house committee

for homeland security. josh, thank. isn't this why we have the nsa, aren't they listening to phone calls or reading e-mails if the name jihad or mar martyrdom comp shouldn't that generate suspicion? >> that technical surveillance is not the end-all be-all as we saw it here as we saw it in paris. to rely 100% on technology here to solve this problem, i think, is setting ourselves up to fail continuously. >> so there's a potential of a missed opportunity there by the intelligence community but how is it that one of the shooters how were they able to get into the u.s. when she is apparently already radicalized according to the fbi? >> right. and so it's very, very hard, what is that mean? where was she radicalized? i think that that's going to

come out here probably not so quickly. but it's going to come out. and i think that when they go -- and when people apply for a visa, especially for a fiancee fees a, they're going in and the consular sister in the department of state is looking to see is there any major issue that's going to prevent these two from basically getting married. and in this case, i'm sure the consular officer did everything that they could and in this case there was no smoking gun to prevent her from coming into the united states. >> is the consular officer enough then, is that where we should look for a potential change to avoid a similar situation? should there be sharing of intelligence or member of the intelligence community involved in this procedure? >> well, there should be i think a more robust visa screening process across the board. not just for fiancee visas, but for a lot of different visas.

for every aspect throughout the world. i think we really need to look at how the process is done, how the policies are implemented and how we continue to talk. because i think what we're seeing here is that the communication across the board, intelligence, law enforcement, still -- you know years after 9/11 we're still failing there and we need to bring everything together in a more robust way. >> how is it possible? you oar advisor to congress, how is it possible so many years after 9/11, we are talking about this and there are still no guarantees. >> absolutely. and we address this on -- in congress almost every day. they're still addressing it, in the department of homeland security, that department is completely lacking in sharing of information, and sharing of information within government is still problematic, are they better? yes, we are better but we're not

quite there yet. and we're not there internally and we're definitely not there externally with our partners overseas. >> is the problem bigger because there are so many operations out there? >> the problem is there is so much to do, so many threats not just from terrorism, other nations, other actors, other nefarious actors. there is so much to monitor, so much intelligence to go through, so many things to go through, that it's overwhelming, however i think we can apply our resources a little bit better, and we really need to go back to that human interaction. because the human interaction, the humans as it were have been really -- we're really putting in technical intelligence collection on top of it. and we need the go back to the root of it all which is just human interaction. >> human intelligence, all right

joshua katz, thanks so much for your insight. thanks. the white house tonight says president obama will sign a sweeping overhaul of the no child left behind law. the senate passed it today. limiting control. mike viqueria reports from washington. >> good evening, adam. 13 years in and virtual all sides agree that no child left behind had to go. wednesday in congress, much of the power over public schools was handed back to the states. >> the yeas are 85, in nays are 12. >> joined hands with republicans to make this happen. >> this is the biggest rewrite of our education laws in 25 years. >> championed by president george w. bush, no child left

behind was a high water mark. >> believing in settling high standards and using accountability to make sure every single child gets a good education. >> reporter: but from the start, the law was a magnet of criticism from both teachers and parents. congress struggled for years on a rewrite until now. >> we have an opportunity today to reverse the trend of the last several years towards a national school board. we have an opportunity to make clear that in the future the path to higher standards, better teaching and real accountability will be through states, communities and classrooms and not through washington, d.c. >> reporter: the new law keeps federally required testing in grades 3 through 8 and once in high schools. but the schools get more say, in

grading teachers and students. states not the federal government will come up with their own plans to reform underperforming schools. sending children from low to moderate income families to preschool. and common core, the education initiative hated by conservatives is now obsolete. now welcome news for teachers groups. the fight for testing moves to the states. >> i am worried that states will think that test and sanction is a good thing to do. that would be dead wrong for kids. we need to stop that, we need to focus on how we need to get to the unique needs of children. >> 13 years after the law was passed, a greater role forking states in schools. >> change to no child left behind, including president obama he'll hold a high-profile

sielg signing ceremony on thursday. adam. >> mike viqueria. congress could vote later this week on legislation to keep the government open past friday. it would give lawmakers a few more days to finish work on a huge spending bill. legislators are currently fighting over dozens of side items that someone attached toyota. this week we are focusing on items that could impact the consumer protection inspection bureau. libby casey, where do things stand on this? >> good evening, adam. what we do expect congress to pass on friday, a short term bill that would tide us over through the weekend and buy legislators more time to hash out these disagreements over side items or riders attached to a massive spending package. democratic sources on capitol hill said they are becoming less worried that the republicans will launch and attack on the

cfpb, because republicans realize it would be a nonstarter and could gum up the works of this big spending bill. however, there are still ways that republicans can take a bite out of the consumers financial protection bureau. debates behind closed doors on the massive spending bill and its attached riders. >> i'm not going to negotiate to the media as to what we will or will not do did. >> impacting american consumers, one item on the table, rolling back measures by the consumer financial protections bureau. >> we cannot stress our this is helping americans deal with their financial needs. >> the cfpb and justice department have gone after three auto lenders for charge minority

buyers higher interest rates. banks allow dealers to set car loan rates at their discretion and they can mark up those rates. the cfpb issued guidance in 2013 to restrict that, a bill to block the cfpb's guidance passed the house last month. not just with republicans on board, 88 democrats supported it too. the white house is against it. another provision being considered would curtail the cfpb's ability to restrict predatory lending. making sure borrowers have the ability to pay back their loans. >> we don't mind seeing people make a profit. if you're making that profit by trapping hardworking americans into a vicious cycle of debt, you got to find a new business model.

you got to find a new way of doing business. >> reporter: such changes could chip away at the cfpb's mission. but they might be narrow enough for the white house to swallow to get a braider spending deal. and adam, whether or not americans are successful, you can bet they will keep trying because they control both the house and senate, so they see some windows of opportunity. adam. >> yes, the consumer bureau definitely a lightning rod for controversy. libby, some more examples of the work that they do? >> reporter: the agency is boanl four and a half years old. one of the issues they are going after is red lining, the practice of discriminating against people. the cfpb has been watching out for banks who have been denying people mortgage loans because of their race, hudson city savings bank, the cfpb and justice

department allege this lending agent, the largest lending bank in new jersey that has clients in other states was essentially ignoring entire neighborhoods, people of color and providing loans the white people in disproportionate numbers. it did settle this fall for $30 million and this is a prime example of the way the cfpb is trying to bring scrutiny to the lending banks. which means opportunities for americans. if you can't get a home loan or auto loan it can certainly set you back. adam. >> libby casey, in washington. we'll be right back. br

>> next month, salt lake city will inaugurate its first openly gay mayor. her impact is already being seen in the city. she has called out the mormon church, and she's asking some

top city officials to step down. jim hooley has more. >> if there's any indication that salt lake city is a conservativliberalbass john in e state, it's jackie basupski. >> we're talking about the transition fund. >> when that transition is complete in the beginning of yap, she will become the first openly gay mayor in salt lake's history. >> it's a dream come true for me. i put this out there ten years ago. and said this is something i really want to make sure i do. >> her political path did not come easy. she first won a seat in the state legislature in 1998. already out as a lesbian. >> there were elected officials who i served with, who wouldn't even look me in the eye when i got there. or shake my hand or you know, i

mean it was really a different time, a lot of people were still in the closet. we had a lot of work to do. >> today, salt lake's gay community is quickly exercising its muscle. derrick kitchen won election as a city councilman. >> if you can win election as an openly gay plan or woman -- gay man or woman, can you do it anywhere. focus on issues that matter to people. the bread and butter issues, then i think you can overcome any sort of obstacles when it comes to your orientation. >> she has her own political battles brewing. just weeks after winning election, she told all appointed department heads to hand in their resignations. critics have called the move

unprecedented, shocking, appalling. >> that's no way to begin one's term as mayor, when you really depend on these people at the top, in their departments, and even in your office, most of them, for your success. >> reporter: the new mayor also takes office as the mormon church appears to be backing away from a trend towards more attorneys towards the gay community. the church recently said they would ban gay couples in church rituals. >> i will work with them on issues and really establish a relationship with them that they haven't had. >> please come talk to me, i want to have a chance to visit with you. >> she is not mormon but she is a single mom raising her adopted six-year-old son archie.

she says archie and his education remain her greatest priority even with all the work ahead. she will be sworn into office on jan 4th. jim hoolie, al jazeera, salt lake city. this week marks the 118th anniversary of the 13th amendment. >> to remember that our freedom is bound up with the freedom of others. regardless of what they look like or where they come from or what their last name is or what faith they practice. >> well, the president also said it's a betrayal to war yorgs off justice in the past to deny the issues of slavery still evident

today. jonathan martin has more from wallace, louisiana. >> it was never in my education, ever. s-l-a-v-e, the word was there but the story was not. very little pay -- >> a self described rich white guy and successful trial lawyer, john cummings said he didn't truly learn about slavery until he bought an old sugar plantation and came upon some documents. >> mama called to us in the fields, told us that papa couldn't come, because he belonged to another plantation. >> cummings spent 16 years and $8 million of his own money transforming the 250 acre former plantation to the first museum dedicated to slavery.

>> i can't apologize to something i didn't do. i said first of all nobody is asking you to apologize for anything. we just want you to understand what happened. >> academic director. >> here, the emphasis isn't on slavery, it is our philosophy to focus on the people whose blood, sweat and tears made the building of wealth possible and made the masters very comfortable. >> statues of slave children. in the plantation house, guides talk about house slaves, women often separated from their children. you won't see any stories of 170,000 slaves brought to louisiana between 1719 and 1820. >> this country, especially at the beginning, was built on the

sweat and tears of african slaves and their descendants. we have to know it, own it. not to be ashamed about it. >> and cummings does own it. along with the criticism that his exhibits are too provocative. >> i have no pride of author ship and i don't have the sensitivity of an african-american. >> for cummings, the dialogue is the important part. the education, understanding history as a means to move past it and fix the problems the country is facing today. jonathan martin, al jazeera, wallace, louisiana. >> up next what it means to be a muslim american in their own words. words.

>> finally tonight, we leave you with the words of five muslim

americans, on religion, intolerance and what american means to them. >> my name is samaya. >> adim. >> dina. >> america to me means opportunity. >> america is home to us. >> beauty of this land, this is a land of immigrants. everyone here is an immigrant. >> this is our country. we love it. we will defend it. it's important for us to keep it safe. i envision my kids growing up here and living happy, productive lives. >> but at the same time, i feel like we can't deny that you know america means -- >> an inherent islamization of my ethnicities. >> the teachers did nothing about it. all the jokes about osama being your cousin or saddam being your uncle. >> i'm nervous to tell people i'm muslim.

>> people that i work with people that i see that are nonmuslim, choose to ask me, how do i feel about the shootings in san bernardino. it's shocking, of course i'm fest disgusted. >> pig heads thrown at mosques. >> i'm wearing a small piece of cloth that covers my hair, i dress modestly. that brings on so much anger. >> i know people who have voiced antiislamic sentiments, once they get to know you, you are a practicing muslim and you are like this, their opinion changes. >> the muslim community isn't any different than any other religions community in the united states. >> islam is a sense of guidance. >> grounds me in my behavior, my

ethics, my morals, my treatment of others. >> gives me a sense of peace and hope. >> i hate having to defend an entire religion that activities of people from all walks of life and all cultures and all languages. >> you know if i was able to speak with anyone from i.s.i.s -- >> i would say that you know, you're winning and you're hurting your own people. >> they're actually oppressing more muslims than any of the dictator regimes were. >> what they do have no basis in our fundamental religion, you know, and actually teen prophet muhammed warned of the coming of this kind of people. >> you're hurting the people you claim to represent and if you cared about us you would never do what you're doing. >> the muslim community is always doing everything to denounce terrorism and hate. >> it is not the burden of the press to try and communicate our innocence when we are completely innocent in the first place. >> they are the first ones to

organize candlelight vigils, they are the first ones to put out statement, first ones to hold interfaith dialogues. >> the best thing a muslim american could do is to be positive and contribute. >> i'm ali velshi. >> i'm david schuster in for ali velshi. "on target" tonight, why ted cruz could be the top republican can't against donald trump. showing off the softer side of a