on al-jazeera. the. storytelling of the biggest issues we have to do is do it again. hello i'm barbara starr in london these are the top stories on the al-jazeera the e.u. and u.k. negotiators of resume talks in a last ditch attempt to cement a breakfast deal it comes after a personal intervention between the european commission president and the british prime minister late on saturday both sides remain divided over $63.00 key issues they are fishing rights fair competition guarantees and how future disputes will be solved but there is now less than a month until they split with no trade agreement and hopes of a deal before a summit of the leaders on thursday are fading that the bubble has more from london . i don't think anyone knows with any great insight to the actual chances of

a deal emerging but everyone does agree that time is very limited of course there was a week of talks in london which ended on friday with them being frozen and david frost and michel barnier putting out a statement saying progress had been made but still a significant divergence on the issues of fishing rights what kind of access european union fleets should have in future on fair competition or the level playing field how to avoid businesses on one side gaining an unfair competition over the other for example for 3 states to firms and governance how the treaty how they how the agreement should be implemented and how any dispute should be handled in the future on top of that we've got some choreography in the u.k. parliament in the next few days which actually could also impact these talks

because on monday parliament due to revisit something called the internal market bill which includes clauses which break international law they actually go back on what was agreed previously with the european union on northern ireland so if in fact that gets voted on and passed that could be a severe annoyance there's another thing called the trade bill which also does similar things going back on the divorce agreement that's already been signed. the 1st approved coronavirus vaccine doses have arrived in the u.k. before the 1st people are inoculated on tuesday the jabs made by pfizer and by on take are being stored in special freezer is where they need to be kept at around minus 70 degree celsius elderly people and care workers are said to be ending and among the 1st batch of people to receive the jab well meanwhile the u.s. health secretary has his back and joe biden after the president elect said he had

not seen a plan for a vaccine rollout alex as are called it nonsense saying there is a comprehensive plan to inoculate millions of americans so we're going to focus on those most vulnerable and those most on the front lines of treating people with kovan with the initial $40000000.00 doses in the next month and then we're just going to progressively keep adding more and more people so be finking in the february march timeframe that you're going to see more general vaccination and by the 2nd quarter of next year we'll see we'll have enough vaccine for every american that wants it but more and more people are just going to keep progressively getting vaccinated week by week as the product rolls off the want venezuelan's a still have a couple of hours left to vote for a new congress it's the only body currently held by the opposition but it is set to go back under the control of president ma doodle's a socialist party as opposition parties are boycotting the poll the country has been suffering an economic collapse for years with an inability to provide basic

necessities worsening the impact of the coronavirus. studies who are calling for a boycott they've already done it for 4 times and the people have rejected it but he defended the move the little independent of a person's political position it's a civic duty they teach is that when you're young in 6th grade you have to go to vote it's a civic duty. american scientists think they may have uncovered the cause of a mysterious condition that has plagued the staff at the embassy in cuba for years diplomats in nevada have been struck down by north business and even hearing loss well now a government report says targeted at microwave radiation may be behind the strange symptoms there's a top story stay with us rewind looks at islam in america next. hello

and welcome to rewind i'm richelle carey and the decade since we launched al-jazeera english back in 2006 and built a library of moving and powerful documentaries here army wine revisiting some of the best of them and looking at how the story has new dawn today we are rewinding 10 years to 2008 and rug omar set out on a unique journey across the united states to get to the heart of what it meant to be muslim in america and that was back in the decade of $911.00 and the iraq war

that followed since then of course the world has turned with the rise of isis the political upheavals that followed the arab spring the chaos of us and gulf 1st libya then syria and of course the election of donald trump and his travel ban for the day it's more important than ever to understand the history of a vibrant diverse and still growing muslim community and what it means to be both muslim and a patriot here's islam in america from 2008. 0 says. cecil i would think it was a cause that. would . have.

you. mention america and islam and most people think of irreconcilable conflict but i suspect that's not the whole story in this 2 part series i hope to discover the truth relationship that's evolving between the 2. there is said to be 8000000 muslims in the united states and the faith is said to be the fastest growing religion in this country and the roots and history of islam a longer than most people are aware of i want to travel across this huge country to find out the stories of what it's like to be an american. in this program all the searching for the origins of islam in america talking to african-americans who had just discovering that own islamic history and exploring is being american fits comfortably with being muslim. my journey begins with

a trip to minneapolis in the midwest it may seem an old destination for a program on islam because its citizens are mostly jewish and christian but in 2007 voters here elected america's 1st muslim congressman keith ellison. keith back on the campaign trail on a most significant anniversary today is juneteenth it commemorates june 19th 865. the abolition of slavery these are local political activists and they're coming on the parade to get people in this community fired up about voting and at the halls of their efforts a young muslims playing their part trying to get congressman keith ellison the 1st muslim in congress reelected. how are you a good spirit nice to see you keith ellison is a charismatic politician who's keen to get young muslim started in politics well

you know we're just having fun out here you know keith introduces me to his intent . would you say just sort of young muslims living in other parts of the world think being a muslim in america is a very tough thing and such are i mean there's advantages there's disadvantages we definitely have a lot more opportunity is that it's kind of difficult going up any different especially where i'm from it's a stance and the only muslim in my school the only muslim in my high school so that's definitely a challenge but once you get past that you know you can there's so many different avenues so many different opportunities for you to connect with and what it's like to be able to come in the united states get challenging and rewarding on the same time but i think the most important thing to remember is that you only you know what we can make you know if we want and i encourage all muslims around the world to actually do the same you know please get to know you elected officials will it all that's the only way you can make a difference. and it's going to get. you

guys who are happy to see you know this is when the slaves go free right this is a great example of the american author of glad handing it's the way to the electoral heart of the nation how candidates meet their votes is and has paid off for keefe here in minneapolis and it's worked elsewhere now americans have elected to muslims to congress. all these historically been on the margins of american society now come in you know when there's enough. everybody right now. for those muslims around the world in western countries who have no idea about the community here how would you say life is for muslims in america at the moment oh yes american like you don't hear about people getting hassled in the airports you know there's a long way to go absolutely because impression i mean come from britain in terms of sure muslims is a base level is hiding under their beds. that's broadly speaking that muslim living

is really the beast not only did i not only did i just get elected by an overwhelming jewish and christian community so did andre carson who's a muslim here in indiana so people need to not look for excuses to just again you have to get involved you have to run the risk that you're going to encounter bumps in a long way but you still have to seen him yeah. and certainly keith needed the votes of christians and jews to get elected but there's a community of 44000 somali muslims here the biggest in america they even have their own t.v. network and they got behind chief. somali t.v. of minnesota and we're so glad to hear today. from 000 k. regulus focus to. interest i think muslims in european countries. believe that you know they joy the greatest freedoms in the muslim communities in the west are thriving most of all in europe and when they think

about the position of muslims in america to be honest with you i think they think that the numbers are tiny before i caught the plane here actually i was with my mom and i said oh you as we send someone. how many muslims you think they're on in the whole of the united states and she said 100150000 you know the whole united states in the whole united states but i mean as i understand there is anywhere between $5.00 and $8.00 men. i mean when you think about america as a land of opportunity and sort of seizing things with both hands maybe the sort of you know the next rock humas if i could be so arrogant as to say that will come from here it is you. i have distant relatives in the somali community here they're among the 1st to escape the civil war that's been raging in my homeland off and on for decades 20 years on

and the new wave of refugees has arrived from somalia some of just graduated college and the throwing a party to celebrate their achievements we came here to take advantage of the opportunities here at the same time to keep our identity as muslims we're all going through the same experiences let's not forget our identity and let's give back to the community that. i'm a very blast person because. i get a little bit emotional. we've been given so much you know we've learnt so much. well you read the news it's happening at home i have nothing to complain about. after that we need some laughs so i went to welcome i am doing. thank you very much but the problem is that it is beginning to close me so mother i get better than me . luckily he's a big shot making one me about a year who knows that i don't know how you do among them after all you know was at

the height. of the. my adopted home england has a bigger somali community the minneapolis and it's been settled for longer but they do tend to think of england as home my parents a typical their mental bags are still packed to return to somalia but that's not true here the somalis are no less scarred all traumatized by their experiences of planted roots deeper and faster than any somali community i've seen in the world they don't talk of returning home they are ok. i said it's the that's got it i want to. tell you stuff and it's a message that came across loud and clear and i was still hearing it in the taxi to the airport with how much so whole of you left out the step 2 years 13 years yeah

and you came from some honest somalia. having been there for a long time there was a lot of problem last 1517 years. in england we somalis you know we're not that organized you know here in america you don't organize if you don't vote if you don't disobey the american way of living you lost. you know but that's the way to be visible that's the word to get heard yes can you be muslim and american yes you have to sacrifice one to be the other. to be america 1st and you have to do what other americans decertify as a live to defending america because this is our country this is feel that you know i mean you don't think about. my life defending this country. i get the welcoming i get. that's a powerful thing compared to where i come from how we were how i was you know

slaughter a friend of mine who died the war where we come to where i come from coming here. you know having what i have. is home. to minnesota is a liberal state in the democratic heartland of the midwest a welcoming place for the somalis the latest black immigrants to establish themselves in america but in the early years of its history america was the very opposite of welcoming for the 1st africans to reach these shores. for 300 years africans were brought here in chains a slave labor i'm heading to jackson mississippi in the deep south to meet some of the descendants of those 1st african-americans because it seems that their history lines at the heart of the story of islam in america.

this impressive looking building is actually the state capital of mississippi and i'll be honest i've come with my own really strong preconceptions about the south for me it's about being in the hearts of the bible belt it's about prejudice and the history of segregation but actually being told that the story of islam in america begins of all places here centuries before. and it's a story that begins with slavery. it's. starts here because most of the slaves shipped from africa came to work the plantations of the south among them when muslims. forbidding from practicing their faith they found secret ways to keep islam alive calling the faithful to pray here in mississippi is abdul rashid he believes that one way they achieve this was through.

the africans brought believes it here as slaves people and blues came from mississippi i don't think so i've been hearing about the link between the call to prayer and the songs the slaves used to sing in the fields are they similar the call to prayer a lot. if you ever went to a baptist church then you can hear this in a baptist church all of the baptists especially the southern baptists is in. this with a capella. singing the whole congregation to sing you know. i love. yours and they called the entire koran which basically chanted yes as you know and it was

chanted basically in that minor scale you see that connection to you and your singing things that had deeply embedded within the sort of african-american experience in the blues not only that but that was one of the things that. guided me to islam really yes the music and when you start reading when i was introduced to the koran that was founded there as well founded well. so i think for my opinion this is just what i opened it with my opinion about her and something you get a cup of coffee maker but this is my opinion that this entire movement is a spiritual movement and is geared toward islam. like abdul more and more people of all ethnicities are finding their way to islam a 3rd of all muslims in america about 2000000 converts the people at the mosque in jackson convinced that this is having

a positive impact on the entire nation o'connor was she is one of the founding members here today have you heard so much about it yet. and we're just happy to have a caller who is involved in a new research project with 25 other historians they believe their discoveries will not only rewrite the history of islam in america but transform our understanding of african cultures i think we're leading the way actually. as part of this initiative a co-founded the international museum of muslim cultures the 1st in america researches suggests the number of muslim slaves was much greater than previously thought one 3rd of all of the enslaved africans that were brought to america actually were muslims nobody knows this is new cutting edge information because when we read our history books we don't see that we have one of the great stories here in mississippi in

a place called natchez mississippi we have the story of our prince abdul-rahman ybor he he was an african muslim prince and scholar came out of the area around gambia and he was actually slave to matches for over 40 years and we have that story but but you're a combination of all these things that's unique here to the to the deep south on to me africa american and muslim and why. why is that why is it important to stress i mean in this exhibit in your work this missing link of islam in this in this makes the most important reason is that it's going to help the african-american to become a 1st class citizen am opposed to a 2nd class citizen and this whole standing up for rights fight for freedom leaving the whole effort in america for reforming america and bringing america to respect its own constitution all blending is really was that's what makes me optimistic

about the future. this corner of the exhibition is really interesting because you've goals real evidence of this link between islam and slavery in mississippi and it hymn of the man who was known as the prince among slaves who was sold into slavery for 40 years before winning his freedom and going to live as a free man in liberia and i understand that there are his descendants still living in the united states and i'm going to try and find them. i now see that what's up the heart of the story of islam in america is the story of slavery and on this issue america was divided as early as the 17th seventy's some americans were calling for the abolition of slavery one of these thomas jefferson

proposed forming a colony in africa to take freed slaves but it wasn't until 863 after the civil war that slavery was finally abolished with it came the economic collapse of the southern states which depended on slaves the big plantations fell to ruin and 2000000 freed slaves headed for the northern cities. for those who stayed behind life remained brutal well into the 20th century lynching and murder where every day facts of life african-americans across the south. african americans have been telling me that here in mississippi a place on i've always associated with prejudice they can now be muslim without prejudice and that this is an essential part of being a muslim in america the fight against prejudice and the struggle to be free and it was in pursuit of this struggle that in the early part of the 20th century millions of african-americans abandoned the south and they headed north which is where i'm going next.

i'm catching the night train to chicago following in the footsteps of millions of freed slaves to the city by the promise of jobs in the factories and stockyards. with the hope of living a life free from prejudice but they did have another option to sail from liberia the colony america established for free to slaves in africa. it was a stark choice scratchie living in america's ghettos will build a nation from scratch the muslim prince ibrahim of mississippi that a college told me about was among the 1st to sail from liberia where he dreamt of establishing islam but the early settlers encountered little bit disease and hardship and prince ibrahim barely saw the completion of the 1st settlement before

he died. martin liberia has suffered a succession of civil wars and feeling the last of these was abraham's great great great great grandson who's turned this story on its head he fled wall to liberia to find freedom in america his name is. he asked i want to say i want to start in liberia i came to this country and it was just a shift as an honest and in my own country's history that i spent hours in the library just trying to find out the history of the colonizers just by mississippi. and then i define oh yes there were ships there was a ship manifesto and a longer ship name out of great me his name was like man ibrahim sorry he was one of the sons of. remodel or was and was a prince but also clearly by his name a muslim a muslim was very important to realize that. son's. medicine and that for me

was like winning the lottery or mazing. in reverse to come from africa. africa. refuge in a chicago place intellectual place for me is for me in above all it has one of the largest collection of books in africa one norway in africa it's right here in chicago how importance was that up to you relative was a muslim this country has to understand its roots especially when it comes to african-american is an islamic which african-american shoe not seen as just a religion it is a heritage and a good thing about it people respect each other here you know in the midst of all of this is diversity so that's something that you've got what has. shills what it means when people in. all 'd merge.

artemus has a good point chicago is culturally very diverse and it has a large muslim community big enough to justify this celebration of arab culture it's the 2nd year running the city is celebrating its links with the middle east for those for whom the slaves who fled the south a little over 100 years ago the transformation of this city so would be unbelievable. african-americans came to chicago as parts of one of the largest human migrations of the 20th century they were leaving the segregated and racist south in search of a new life in what many hoped would be a promised land and it was out of this experience that was born the 1st american muslim movements and it was known as the nation of islam. in the 1930 s. a radical idea began to spread through the cities of america the idea that white people were irredeemably evil form the coolness stone of the nation of islam. his

theology combined islam and black nationalism the nation's message appeal to african-americans who fled the bigotry of the south by the 1950 s. the nation had around 100000 members led by in large. part. by. the would gave the nation some credibility were high profile members including the boxer caches clay who took the name. and the radical charismatic activist malcolm x. in the present situation don't know the political power they don't know that they can put a man in the white house so they can take the man out of the way but in 1965 after leaving the movement malcolm x. was assassinated defection sold enough to a larger mama died most of the membership converted to mainstream islam. i'm on a bit of a pilgrimage south of chicago to meet a man who's had

a profound effect on the story of islam in america he's the son of john muhammad but he led the largest single conversion to mainstream islam that america has ever seen. as joe biden prepares for the united states to reenter the powers climate treaty boris johnson and u.n. secretary general antonio terrace co-host a virtual meeting of world leaders we'll bring you live updates and in-depth reports as country struggles to meet their climate targets special coverage on al-jazeera. al-jazeera world needs some extraordinary women. who are making things happen that way. following their daily struggle to survive. for their families to thrive.

egypt swimmin street sellers on al-jazeera. with the old. hello i'm barbara starr in london these are the top stories on al-jazeera e.u. and u.k. negotiators have resumed the talks and a last ditch attempt to cement a breakfast deal it comes after a personal intervention between the european commission president and british prime minister late on saturday both sides remain divided over 3 key issues fishing rights fair competition guarantees and future disputes will be solved but there is now less than a month until they split potentially with no trade agreement and hopes of a deal before a summit leaders on thursday are fading. from london. we've got some

choreography in the u.k. parliament in the next few days which actually could also impact these talks because on monday parliament due to revisit something called the internal market bill which includes clauses which break international law they actually go back on what was agreed previously with the european union or northern ireland so if in fights that gets voted on and passed that could be a severe annoyance the 1st approved corona virus vaccine doses have arrived in the u.k. before the 1st people are inoculated on tuesday the jabs made by pfizer and by own take are being stored in special freezers where they need to be kept at around minus 70 degree celsius elderly people and care workers are said to be among the 1st batch of people to receive the jab meanwhile the us health secretary is head back at joe biden after the president elect said he had not seen a plan for a vaccine rollout alex's are called the nonsense saying that there is

a comprehensive plan to inoculate millions of americans he said the country's drug regulator is reviewing 2 candidates for the potential of approval by next week venezuelans still have a couple of hours left to vote for a new congress it's the only body currently held by the opposition and led by rival leader one but it's set to go back under the control of president why do those socialist party as opposition parties are boycotting the poll the country has been suffering an economic collapse for years with an inability to provide basic necessities worsening the impact of the coronavirus more on all those stories on the al-jazeera news hour i'll have that for you in just under half an hour coming up next though rewind continues to look at islam in america thanks for watching hope you join me and i felt that i could. hear mom wallerstein muhammad lives modestly here in chicago he became the. head of the

nation of islam when his father in larger mohammad died in 1975 wallenstein persuaded most of the nation to adopt mainstream islam and he changed the nation's name to the world community of islam in the west there were some very startling ideas. oh yeah it was like hans tell us about some of the it was a myth to destroy we had a myth of the origins of the white race as grafted there were the black men you know as man and the black and black people were gods and the whites were devils as an exactly exactly but what made you break with the nation of islam that it didn't it didn't take nothing but a child's brain for me to do that out about 11 or 12 when i was there was wrong then you became a sunni muslim well i don't make a big deal of mass sunni and shia you know when i lay my mainstream most and you became a mainstream muslim yes and the really the importance of it how it would

affect not only muslims but christians to. was not realize ballasts in 1905 in what way was it important turning that means a lack of nationalists movement as extreme as ours believing what we believe in the race if you could make a 180 degree turn and join the muslims of the world good christians and of the good people of this earth is amazing but when you look from the middle east to europe thinking of america as a bad place to be a muslim it's like living in the belly of the beast and not heard it how would you say that life is like for people well we know things that happened to make america peer ugly in the eyes of citizens of this country and that is the world that if we can see america the beautiful there has advanced that against america the ugly

successfully. then i'm sure that we would recognize that america's the most fertile soul we have for x. davening our religion and our future for our children grandchildren and children to come and then my journey across america if i want to find america the beautiful. where will i find that certain kind of things should i look for the concept of citizenry how citizenry it is that race. in the constitution the united states based upon the equality of man and i feel very strongly that the founding fathers indeed and. a world that would welcome muslims and others from across the waters not only christians. there seems to be an incredible transformation in only 30 years ago chicago was the most racially divided city in america it had a white supremacist movement and

a black separatist movement it saw some of the worst racial violence in the entire country i'm amazed what i'm hearing from people like optimists and wallerstein and it seems chicago is becoming much more at ease with its own diverse population it's a rich city where life is improving on many fronts better public education karma race relations and overall the crime statistics show a big improvement. but there is still a dark side to the city because even though the city has cracked down and arrested gang leaders gang violence is getting worse i've been here for 3 days and 9 people have been killed in gang warfare.

islam has made huge gains in chicago which is home to the largest number of african-american muslims in the u.s. 30 years ago they had only one mosque today they have more than 40 to choose from now islam has a new battle to win trying to loosen the hold the gangs have on chicago's south side. i'm heading to the south side to visit the city's 1st halfway house for muslim x. prisoners its aim is to provide an alternative to life in the gangs the man who runs this project has served 12 years for murder like many x. offenders he converted to islam in prison his name is. rafi peterson. we used to go in the cook county jail division 11 which is in the like maximum security and then . we things so many brothers we did there for like 6 years and then we seen so many brothers coming home and go right back right we realize that we needed so attention

to food and most being must have been very hard for a lot of the you've known as if you come back and you've got to make money you've got to make ends meet not only that remember a lot of brothers that convert to islam and institutions. they would rather than the institutions so we know that you have to have an environment here for the brothers to get a foothold when they get out and so we want to national housing service to look my you know i know you got some houses. can we get one right and he said i know a good one you can have what we have and a lot of. you know we can do a little bad way when you 1st saw this was goofy the everywhere and here this is again the gang house it was boarded up you know and the neighbors and stuff with the freight to say and think what you can call the police on these guys the neighborhood is feeling the benefits of this project but that's no rule it's having a positive impact on new still in prison. haven't you noticed more more i mean

african-americans coming to islam i mean especially in in prison. they already have it in the south they need somebody to bring it out. so fast they see it and they might see over night that you know. this whole free house is a calm sensor in a neighborhood torn up by gun violence and rafi is not content to let murder and mayhem thrive on his doorstep. with little rock. you're going to drop a brother right here and they shot him in the. this is a very you know ted. book and pastor they're. up to street here. they say it's 88000 young people between the ages of 8 to 25 in this general area that we live in west a lot of it's not teasing them down the street don't want to go down there

specially to camp in a car this morning his own sound if you look down the street to street look like a ghost see all the house and the same thing down this way. having you drop in fast and also. 6 you don't want to take you up 6 meters i mean you're living right now also so you know a lot of people they you know they know a lot of the brothers and even a lot of the brothers in the tribes they don't like what i'm doing but they know with i got to do weeks ago they killed the brother that i get the best the store that they broke in on the corner they shot that place up the one thing that they did when they locked up all the real gangs in chicago they destabilize all of the gangs now there's no one individual you can come to but you used to back in the day as a man he got control of the whole you know there's a madness of i mean they got to do what they got to do this the bottom. now you

know could i understand what they're saying year that you want to turn people away you got to turn into a song and of course what rafi is trying to turn this neighborhood towards is islam . what do you think brushy here in chicago would do you think islam is place in america i mean is it a growing want to go to a healthy future or not i think that islam can be the cure to america ills of openly aseptic islamic cannot down barriers because we as muslim we spoke to be the best for humanity and i think it's long in america has the opportunity to really teach and show that that's what we are and that we can be. i have to admit i've come to america with my own prejudices and misconceptions i thought that being muslim in america was a story of widespread fear discrimination and stereotyping but in the short time i've been here what i'm hearing from muslims is about opportunity constitutional

rights and due process about having a stake in this country and being made to feel that they belong and as i travel across america what i want to find out is whether these ideas define not only what it means to be a muslim in america what it actually means to be an american muslim. and i'm getting the message that a great deal of what it means to be an american muslim is understanding your constitutional rights and how you go about being a good citizen and it's in washington the nation's capital where i'm hoping to learn about citizenship the law of the land and the influence of islam in fact in something that would come as a huge surprise to most of us amongst the founding fathers one of the greatest thomas jefferson had his own koran in full of knowledge and. of islam's

contribution to world civilization and one of the most famous monuments in the american capital over that is dedicated to him. a big part of the legacy of thomas jefferson in the founding fathers is freedom of expression it means a lot to americans including american muslims one of the most radical ways you can indulge this freedom is on stage through comedy. i mean washington d.c. about to get a lesson in free speech at a comedy club show you the rule nicholas berg's generation pakistani muslim woman she just won an ignite one is in america ruby nicholas won a national talent competition and became an overnight star my parents like when they came to this country they told everyone they were pakistani muslim immigrants so that i wouldn't have to grow up at the stigma of being known as hawaiian. to me this is my mom that when nation of easter to me and my sister's 2 story. oh

east. christ will come back from the dead. and he will give all of the good days in the night. but you know i mean. i make stitch. on the east the jesus christ will come out of the gate. and if he does not see his shadow. it will be 6 more weeks of chile i. think that you're going to distribute. this in the. end there's always a mixed bag of reaction and i mean there are some that really feel as though it is

imminent you know there are those you know and there are others who just sort of take it in stride and what do you think i mean when you when you say you but you know you what your heritage is in some ways comedy is a way to disown people about. a little easier for people to handle some of the muslim terrorist take the jokes when you're made you know like i need to see you know i get totally different and you know a guy with a big beard in appears to look at a woman is it made sort of all the comics suddenly jump in there as well one thing to sort of talk about iraq you know yeah they were mixed as a whole tend to be a little more political and. and you have jumped into the mix in terms of taking liberties with making fun of muslims and islam a religion a little bit more than in the past opening up the conversation putting a stereotype on the table that was

a mess and so way to break it down for you. i mean when i do 3rd of the federal typing i tell a cab driver job like that and and my mom calling in to him you should get people about the contribution that american muslims have made going to me we have the most educated we've got the high class be both really good. parts of ruby's act is offending people and she's very good is it if she wants to say that jesus gives chocolate to children she can but the principles that underpin this freedom go way beyond providing material for comedians they provide the basis for the nor of this land and guarantee freedoms than a carved in stone. congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press all the rights of people to peaceably assemble and to petition the government for

a redress of grievances when people talk about the fundamental freedoms in shrines in the american constitution this is what they're talking about the 1st amendment and it's the reason why so many american muslims have been talking to me about the american constitution because it is they are free to practice their religion as muslims and they are free to speak their minds unlike so many muslims in muslim countries around the world and if anybody tries to oppress them in this country they can seek justice from the american government the fundamental freedoms guaranteed under islamic law and not far from these american ideals and that's amazing when you realize the koran predates the constitution by a 1000 years and there is evidence in washington that suggests america knows it's indebted to islam for its own citizens inalienable rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. this is the supreme court in washington now we can't get into film because they're actually in session but what i wanted to show you is

a free means which is in the room where the chief justice is actually sits and dispense justice. this frees pays homage to the ideas and principles that have inspired the american legal system and one of the foundation documents represented in this freeze is the koran. and in the nation's capital there are a few other references to islam largely unknown rarely seen the thomas jefferson building contains the library of congress the oldest cultural institution in washington which was completed in the 19th century around the dome of the reading room is a mural meant to represent the nations and ideas that contributed most to american civilization and it might come as a surprise to historians that amongst the ideas represented here is islam. beneath this great meeting congressman keith ellison who i came across at the start of my journey in minneapolis so he told me about when you took your oath of office

because it was a copy of the koran and not just any copy but in fact was on this qur'an that we have right here before us and you know in fact this on which is a 2 volumes it has the initials t.j. inscribed right here thomas jefferson and so you know we said this was your reaction when you find them one of the founding fathers had his own copy of the koran i was gobsmacked. huge had it was international. i didn't have much appreciation for why it would be a big deal that a muslim of the elect of the united states congress i thought the issue was going to be color. and i thought wow we've really made some great strides in terms of racial justice when people don't care that i'm black anymore they're just they're just exudes or dark about religion but do you think keith that for all the grassroots activism in the muslim community that at a national level the fact is that most americans are still afraid of islam

americans i think are subject to fear just like any people in the world but i think this is deeply rooted tolerance in people and we've been through a moment a civil rights movement we've been through all kinds of social change movements all marching the country toward a greater level of equality and i think people are just not ready to try to cut anybody out of a deal but the fact is in the european context it's what it means to be a brit or a norwegians fairly tightly defined they would look like in what it means to be. yours you're certain colors certain cultures certain faith yes but in america we come in all cultures all colors our face even the most conservative american does not question my authenticity as an american you know we oppose social orthodox i mean hierarchies and economic iraqis we're not saying we have social justice have been here we don't but but the fact is we don't question our authenticity as americans. on this journey i've met muslims who've made me rethink my prejudices

about america muslims here realize something the rest of the world and possibly other americans have forgotten this country was born out of a revolutionary moment settlers 1st came here for religious persecution they overthrew a colonial monarchy they based their constitution on the ideals of the french revolution and radical thinkers like tom paine john locke and yes the prophet mohammed. but there's a much more recent moment in american history that has come to define america's relationship with islam. a. look out of the oh oh oh.

oh oh oh oh. oh oh thinking about america's relationship with islam like everybody else i'm joined immediately it's a one city and one moment and the events of september the 11th 2001 in new york city change that relationship between america and islam forever. and it must also have had an impact on american muslims for mohamed was with the new york city fire department on 911 will muslims like me then you know who died and some that died definitely muslims died there you know trying to help. james he was the army's muslim chaplain at guantanamo prison. i was being accused of espionage spying and aiding the enemy now these are capital crimes in which military prosecutors even threaten me with the death penalty.

they're a distinctly american from of islam is emerging in the off the mouth of 911 arabic scholar believes something unique is happening here the voice of the muslim woman has not been heard throughout the 1400 years of islamic history now we need to hear from the women and it's only when you live in america that you are empowered to go forward with your ideas. islamic america from 2008 as we know a lot has happened says globally with the rise of by. and in america itself where terrorism has returned to american soil and president trump has introduced a travel ban which seems to many to target muslims so 10 years on what is the position of islam in america realises the political analyst who lives and works in the united states and she joins us now rula thank you very much so you moved to the

u.s. in 2009 during that time what as a muslim what have you seen that has changed for muslims in america and i realize it's a broad question that one of the things that stick out to you well out of things changed we see a major shifts in islamophobia and attacks against muslims in 20152016 it's not a coincidence that the f.b.i. report about hate crimes islam a full big hate crimes in america skyrocketed in those years by far much more than in 2001 after 911 i just want to remind you that immediately after the election president trump banned 6 countries 6 muslim countries and it looked like a persecution religious based persecution of one group based on the actions of individuals that are carried in pakistan maybe afghanistan iraq and elsewhere he

went on * to attacking the 1st muslim mayor subject immediately in the aftermath of a terrorist attack in london singling him out he didn't act the mayor barcelona after the attack or the mayor for any other city but he single out said the con because it is muslim and his brown this is the platform. on which he campaigned and his governing now so where are the voices of people that would traditionally be allies to push back against this type of dangerous rhetoric that sometimes also crosses over into violence where are those voices. i mean there are breyer voices we have some. muslim voices in america whether they are intellectuals like razor. and others but 3 d. we are in minority we are underrepresented in the political arena and in the media i mean i am the only one that gets invited invited to c.n.n. and i'm b.c.m.

to others to explain why this rhetoric is so dangerous and it was it was used before remember europe in the thirty's when you go through the holocaust museum it's clear if thouse you and it's written in the wall the holocaust did not start with the killing it started with words with violent words it started with politicians dividing people with them versus us it started with them and ising an entire group of people and criminalizing them and then that pave the way for the killing and for the gas gas chambers remember president bush after 911 pushed this narrative of them versus us either you are with us or them that means if you challenge his views or his policies and decision then you are a terrorist and your label as a terrorist and many liberals jumped on that vaga. a just want to remind you that president obama and he was elected the 1st accusation the burger movement that led

and paved the way for trump to win the election what was he accused off of being a secret muslim that he is a crypto muslim and america is fighting a monster today that is called the country off white supremacy is basically the pure race and in the name of the pure race every minority is an enemy and that will be the final word rula jebreal thank you so much for joining us thank you for having me. that is it from us join us again next week and do check the rewind page it's al jazeera dot com for more films from this series and michelle carey thank you for joining us so you can say. from fossil fuels to modern day renewable as societies develop the energy demands

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sydney's 30 down to the low twenty's in due course but we're below 20 natalie to melbourne with passing showers in rather persistent cloud now in contrast to that in perth the temperatures going up $33.00 to about $38.00 that's the hot part of a strike here this is the drop in sydney and then you'll notice showers up through tropical queens and repeated and enhanced in western australia that's a potential development of a couple cyclists here for at least in broome that give you the focus for tuesday wednesday and thursday a wet spell of weather for the northwest of the continent now we've seen snow is far south as hunan is probably not going to produce very much more in the near future that's more like to be concentrated in japan was just eyeing grey skies much as central china and the northeast wants to move take a walk in the west which i think in heart sing in the wool the rain in taiwan but also change in the weather in hong kong for the windy and slightly cooler

continuation of rain from china southwards is in the northeast monsoon. al-jazeera. hello i'm barbara starr and this is the al-jazeera news hour live from london thank you for joining us coming up in the next 60 minutes back to the negotiating table and u.k. team returns to brussels for more talks but key issues are on resolved and time is running out as the u.k. gets ready to roll out a corona virus vaccine u.s. officials say there is a plan to vaccinate millions of people in the next month. that is where lives.