NN. WAL-MART TO ACCOMMODATE MUSLIM WORKER’S PRAYERS - TOP

(ST. PAUL, MN, 7/20/2009) - The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) announced today that a Wal-Mart store in that state has agreed to accommodate a Muslim employee’s right to pray in the workplace.

CAIR-MN said the religious accommodation came after its intervention in the case of a Muslim Wal-Mart employee who was reportedly fired for violating a new supervisor’s ban on prayer during work breaks. A previous supervisor had allowed the worker to perform his daily prayers.

Following discussions between CAIR-MN and local and national representatives of Wal-Mart, the Muslim worker was re-hired and allowed to perform his prayers during breaks.

“We appreciate Wal-Mart’s handling of this case and its willingness to accommodate the religious practices of employees,” said CAIR-MN Civil Rights Coordinator Zahra Aljabri.

Aljabri noted that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Minnesota Human Rights Act protect the right of any employee with a bona fide religious belief to have accommodation in the workplace as long as that accommodation does not cause “undue hardship” for the employer.

On August 4, CAIR-MN will offer a workshop in St. Paul, Minn., called “Positive Interactions: Working Effectively with Muslim Employees,” which will outline the religious practices of Muslims and how they can be accommodated in the workplace.

CAIR also publishes a booklet, called “An Employer’s Guide to Islamic Relations Practices,” designed to assist employers in providing constitutionally-guaranteed religious accommodation in the workplace.

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CONTACT: CAIR-MN Civil Rights Coordinator Zahra Aljabri, 805-341-2237; CAIR-MN Communications Director Jessica Zikri, 612-226-3289, E-Mail: jzikri@cair.com; CAIR-MN Civil Rights Director Taneeza Islam, Esq., 651-587-4712, E-Mail: tislam@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

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CAIR-IL: ARAB-AMERICAN OFFICER'S HARASSMENT CASE MOVES TO TRIAL - TOP

(CHICAGO, IL, 7/20/09) - CAIR-Chicago announced today that the discrimination case of an Arab-American correctional officer against the Cook County Sheriff's Department will move to trial on July 21.

WHEN: Tuesday, July 21, 2009; 9 a.m.
WHERE: Courtroom of Judge Amy St. Eve, Room 1241, Dirksen Federal Building, 219 S. Dearborn (at Jackson & Dearborn), Chicago, IL

Background: CAIR-Chicago began litigation on behalf of the officer in 2007 after he allegedly experienced racial harassment by other correctional officers beginning in December 2004. Cook County officers continuously and anonymously targeted Yasin with racist slurs such as "terrorist," "Hussein," "sand ni**er," "bin Laden," "shoe bomber," and "camel jockey." Yasin testified that his co-workers made calls over the radio and telephone about his ancestry and national origin as many as 10 times a day, and at least a 100 times for over a one-year period.

Despite reporting the incidents, multiple supervisors and the Internal Affairs Division failed to take adequate corrective action.

"No individual should suffer harassment at work based on race," said CAIR-Chicago Staff Attorney Kevin Vodak. "It is particularly egregious that the officers entrusted to uphold the law failed to take action to stop the discrimination."

In an opinion issued in May, Judge St. Eve noted: "Yasin has presented evidence creating an issue of fact for trial that a reasonable person would find the alleged harassment pervasive or severe enough to create a hostile and abusive work environment."

Cook County is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County.

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower America Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CONTACT: CAIR-Chicago Communications Coordinator Reem Rahman, E-Mail: communications@cairchicago.org, 312-212-1520 or 217-493-0912; Kevin Vodak, Attorney, CAIR-Chicago, E-Mail: attorney@cairchicago.org, 312-212-1520; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

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CAIR-NY: CALL FOR EID TO BE ON SCHOOL CALENDARS - TOP
Sharmila Devi, The National, 7/19/09

NEW YORK // On Eid al Adha last December, Isabel Bucaram-Belguet did not want Huyam, her then six-year-old daughter, to miss the family festivities. So it was with a heavy heart that she wrote to Huyam’s teachers explaining why her little girl would have to skip school and a scheduled field trip.

A grassroots campaign for the New York public school system to include two days of holiday to mark Eid al Adha and Eid al Fitr has yet to win final success, forcing parents and pupils to decide between religious obligations or missing school.

“It was really difficult for me at Eid to decide whether to send my daughter to school or keep her at home,” said Mrs Bucarem-Belguet, who is originally from Lebanon. “We want to be inclusive and part of society but I also want my children to take part in and learn about our culture.”

Huyam’s school trip was to see The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center. Her mother instead took her to a local performance of the ballet, allowing her to take part in subsequent school projects centred on the piece.

“Not all parents would be able to do what I did for reasons of cost, time and logistics, particularly if there are two or more children,” said Mrs Bucaram-Belguet, who is 36 and whose Algerian husband is an engineer.

The New York city council voted 50-1 last month to include the Muslim holidays in the public school calendar but Michael Bloomberg, the New York mayor, was opposed to the move.

“If you close the schools for every single holiday, there won’t be any school,” he said. “Educating our kids requires time in the classroom and that’s the most important thing to us.”

Mr Bloomberg seeks re-election this November and religious, immigrant and labour leaders intend to keep up the pressure, arguing public schools already honour such Christian and Jewish holidays as Christmas and Yom Kippur.

“We urge Mayor Michael Bloomberg to ensure that a significant population of Muslim students does not have to make an unfair choice between religious observance and educational opportunities,” said Faiza Ali, who is the community affairs director for the New York office of the Council on American Islamic Relations. She is also a steering committee member of the Coalition for Muslim School Holidays, which brings together more than 80 community organisations.

“Currently, one in eight students in New York City public schools is Muslim. Over 90 per cent of Muslim students attend public schools,” she said. The total number of Muslim public school students is estimated at around 100,000, with the entire Muslim community believed to number about one million in New York.

The coalition says allowing two days off for the Eids would have a minimal impact because the Muslim holidays follow a lunar calendar, meaning they would often fall on a weekend, another school holiday or summer recess. A report by the Immigrant Rights Clinic at New York University said at least one of the two Eids each year over the next decade is expected to fall on an existing holiday. (More)

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CAIR-CHICAGO REP DISCUSSES CONTROVERSIAL ISLAMIC CONFERENCE - TOP

CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab comments on a conference by a controversial Muslim group in Chicago, and on civil rights issues, political empowerment, media monitoring, and community outreach.

Click here to watch the video.

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CAIR-MI REP SPEAKS AT INTERNATIONAL INTERFAITH CONFERENCE - TOP

(SOUTHFIELD, MI, 7/20/09) - A representative from the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) recently participated in an international interfaith conference in Bamako, Mali.

CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid addressed attendees regarding the importance of cooperation amongst people of various faiths and the work of CAIR in promoting interfaith cooperation in and outside of the United States at the 2nd Association of Malian Peace and Tolerance Conference on July 18.

Muslim and Christian presenters discussed mutual challenges in eliminating barriers in among religious people and how to develop interfaith networks across Africa.

Government officials including the Danish Ambassador to Mali and religious scholars from several countries including Chad, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Mauritania were in attendance.

CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties organization, has 35 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CONTACT: CAIR Executive Director Dawud Walid, 248-559-2247, E-Mail: dwalid@cair.com

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CAIR: OREGON'S FASHION POLICE - TOP
David Waters, Newsweek, 7/17/09

Should your child's teacher wear a turban, a hijab, a kippah or other "religious dress'? The state of Oregon doesn't think so. The Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act, now awaiting the governor's signature, requires all employers to let workers wear religious items with one exception: "No teacher in any public school shall wear any religious dress while engaged in the performance of duties as a teacher."

The proposed law has set up a classic religious liberty battle between the First Amendment's Establishment clause, which tells government not to favor (or disfavor) one religion over another, and the Free Exercise clause, which tells government to leave the religious alone. The new law also reflects the increasing difficulty of accommodating a widening variety of religious faiths in a pluralistic society.

Organizations representing Sikhs and Muslims claim the new law would unconstitutionally limits their religious freedom. They are asking Gov. Ted Kulongoski to veto the bill. "In effect," argues the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, "observant Sikh Americans would still be barred from working as teachers in the public schools of Oregon because of their religiously-mandated dastaars (turbans), and observant Jews and Muslims would also be subjected to the ignominy of having to choose between religious freedom and a teaching career in the State of Oregon."

But Oregon's Department of Education argues that public schools are obligated to maintain religious neutrality: "The underlying policy reflects the unique position that teachers occupy," spokesman Jake Weigler told the Oregonian. "In this case, the concern that a public school teacher would be imparting religious values to their students outweighs that teacher's right to free expression."

Not quite, argues the Council on American-Islamic Relations: "Those who wear religiously-mandated attire are not proselytizing; they are practicing their faith, a right guaranteed by the Constitution. Concerns about religious neutrality in schools can be adequately addressed through professional codes of conduct," spokesman Ibrahim Hooper says in a statement. (More)

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CAIR-SEATTLE: Finally, Something a Little Different in the Exec Race Forums, Courtesy of Local Muslims - TOP
Laura Onstot, Seattle Weekly, 7/17/09

After awhile it all sounds the same.

After you've been to a few candidate forums, everything starts to sound the same. In some cases, that's because it is. At a mayoral forum, it's a guarantee that in Jan Drago's opening statement she'll say something about hitting the "reset button" and James Donaldson will stand tall and note that the job takes a "big man." Over on the Executive side, Susan Hutchison will say she "solves problems and fixes things" and Dow Constantine will talk about fighting the Maury Island gravel mining operation.

After so much of the same, you get desperate for someone to mix it up. Enter Sunday's Exec and Port Commission forum by the Council on Islamic-American Relations, Muslim Students Association, and Islamic Circle of North America.

It's the first time in several years that the larger local Muslim groups have gotten together to host an election forum, notes Council President Arsalan Bukhari.

Bukhari says there will be general management questions for the candidates (so Ross Hunter should still get a chance to remind us what a waste Seely's beloved Water Taxi is.) But the candidates will also be asked to commit to keeping racial, ethnic and religious profiling out of law enforcement training. "It's a great opportunity for elected officials to meet constituents who are Muslim," Bukhari says. Adding that he hopes it will increase interest in local races in both the Muslim community and among King County residents as a whole.

The forum is free, open to the public and includes dinner (food being the great attendance incentivizer and all). All the candidates have RSVP'd, Bukhari says. Doors open at 5:00 at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse, 16600 NE 80th.

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U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL ENGAGES L.A.'S MUSLIM AMERICAN YOUTHS - TOP
In a closed meeting at a local mosque, he tries to bridge relations between the Justice Department and the community, which has been critical of the 'infiltration of mosques,' among other things.
Paloma Esquivel, Los Angeles Times, 7/18/09

In a quiet event during an otherwise well-publicized visit to Los Angeles this week, U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder Jr. reached out to local Muslim American youths, calling on them to work with the government to fight violent extremism and pledging that the Justice Department would reinvigorate enforcement of civil rights and work to advance religious freedom.

"For American Muslims specifically, these are times that pose serious civil rights and civil liberties challenges," Holder told the crowd, according to a copy of prepared remarks.

The meeting, which was closed to the media, was held Thursday evening at the Omar Ibn Al Khattab Foundation, a mosque and community center near USC, said Dafer Dakhil, the foundation's director.

It lasted about an hour, during which Holder gave prepared remarks and answered questions from an invited audience of about 200 people between the ages of 18 and 33.

The relationship between the Muslim American community and the Department of Justice has come under increasing strain. Earlier this year, a coalition of the nation's largest Muslim organizations issued a statement demanding that the Obama administration address FBI actions, including what they described as the "infiltration of mosques," the use of "agent provocateurs to trap unsuspecting Muslim youth" and the "deliberate vilification" of one of the nation's largest Muslim civil rights organizations.

The point of Thursday's event "was to engage the Muslim community here in Los Angeles," said Justice Department spokesman Matthew Miller.

Events closed to the media are not unusual and allow participants to have an "open, frank discussion," he said, adding that Holder also held a closed community round table Thursday morning about fighting gang violence in South Los Angeles.

Although Muslim Americans suffered in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks like all Americans, Holder said in his prepared remarks, they also suffered in unique ways -- as victims of hate crimes and as people who "have seen your faith maligned and insulted by those who commit acts of hatred and violence in its name."

Questions posed at the event included concern about law enforcement's profiling of Muslim Americans, the sanctity of mosques, hate crimes and plans for the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, said Dakhil, who helped organize the event.

Sharaf Mowjood, 26, of Upland said he asked Holder about the use of informants in mosques, a topic that stirred controversy locally after the disclosure earlier this year that the FBI sent an informant to an Irvine mosque.

Holder "recognized that the department has to be sensitive to religion," Mowjood said.

"The good thing is that he listened. He answered the questions to the best of his ability. . . . He could have been more frank, but it's OK. He's new." (More)

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CAIR EVENT: ART AND THE AMERICAN MUSLIM PERSPECTIVE - TOP

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) presents an evening of networking: “Art and the American Muslim Perspective.”

Come and celebrate CAIR’s 15th anniversary with a relaxing evening of networking and Islamic artwork on August 6, 2009. You will have a chance to introduce yourself to the greater Muslim community, dialogue with local professionals, and connect with prominent Muslim business leaders.

This amazing opportunity will be accompanied by an intriguing exhibit and silent auction of both unknown and distinguished American Muslim artwork. The evening will include artwork by Salma Arastu, Halide Salam, Reem Hussein, and many others.

The event will be held on Thursday, August 6 from 6:30 8 p.m. at CAIR’s national headquarters located at 453 New Jersey Ave. SE Washington, DC. Refreshments will be served.

In order to participate in this event please RSVP by e-mail to cairintern09@yahoo.com or call (360) 584-7018 before 5 p.m. on July 31st, 2009. Please include “Networking Event” in the subject line of your email or call Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

We ask that you provide the following information:

1. Name
2. Email
3. Phone number
4. Title
5. Company/organization affiliation
6. Whether or not you are a CAIR member

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CAIR: CONGRESS'S FIRST ELECTED MUSLIM IS EMBLEMATIC OF MANY THINGS - TOP
David Montgomery, Washington Post, 7/16/09

Keith Ellison is what he is -- the first Muslim elected to Congress, the first African American to represent Minnesota -- while trying not to be too much of what he is. But not too little, either.

Quietly devout, he unrolls his prayer rug in the privacy of his office in the Longworth House Office Building, facing the corner beyond which lies Mecca -- but that is still too Muslim for some…

Without trying too hard, just by being who he is, Ellison has multiple publics. To Arabs overseas, he is evidence that Americans can embrace Islam. To Muslim Americans, he is a role model for political engagement.

To the voters in the urban liberal Minneapolis precincts who actually elect him, well, they seem to like his politics, which he sums up as peace, working-class prosperity, environmental sustainability, civil rights. He won 71 percent of the ballots cast in November for his election to a second term. His district is about 77 percent white, 13 percent black, 5 percent Asian, with Muslims making up an estimated 3 percent. Members of labor unions and people who have Arab surnames are among his more reliable campaign contributors….

"He has been an inspiration to Muslims in general but in particular to young people who have been disheartened by the politics of division and alienation and exclusion after 9/11," says Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "He serves as a good example of what America is and can be."

Presumably, Ellison could adorn his suit with some subtle pin or chain or tie pattern that would signify his religion, but he doesn't. Muslims do not necessarily want a charismatic spokesman who wears his faith on his sleeve.

"His brand of Islam, the way he has conducted himself, really resonates with the majority of Muslim Americans and Arab Americans," says Hassan Jaber, executive director of ACCESS, a Detroit-based national network of Arab American community organizations. "That's exactly the way Muslim Americans want to be judged, not as being Muslims but by their contributions to their communities as Americans." (More)