CAIR-LA JOINS FOIA REQUEST ON ANTI-MUSLIM BIAS IN NATURALIZATION - TOP

(LOS ANGELES, CA, 6/17/10) – The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA), along with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU/SC) and the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), yesterday filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request demanding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provide a full record of all internal policies and practices relating to the treatment of naturalization applicants from Muslim countries.

In the FOIA request, the groups stated:

"[W]e are concerned that USCIS subjects naturalization applicants from Arab and Muslim countries or countries perceived to be Muslim, to heightened scrutiny and discriminatory treatment in the adjudication of their applications, scrutiny and treatment that other applicants do not face. We would like to know what policies and procedures account for this heightened scrutiny and discriminatory treatment for applicants from Arab or Muslim countries."

The request includes information on a possible "critical country list," or list of countries whose nationals are selected for special processing, lists of questions to be asked of people from certain countries, and policies and procedures regarding the sharing of information between USCIS and other federal agencies, including the FBI.

CAIR-LA Staff Attorney and Deputy Executive Director Ameena Mirza Qazi said:

"A systematic pattern of discrimination - evident through extended administrative reviews, naturalizations interviews being postponed or canceled and queries regarding religious affiliations - involving Muslims has emerged over the years, bringing a new meaning to the concept of ‘second-class citizen.’ The degradation of our naturalization process must end and the integrity of our immigration system fully restored."

Additionally, the ACLU/SC today sued the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service for denying the naturalization application of a 50-year-old Riverside Muslim man, Tarek Hamdi, based on misleading FBI files and questionable tactics. This disturbing denial is part of what CAIR-LA, the ACLU/SC, and the NILC believe is a broader pattern of racial and religious profiling in the naturalization process aimed at blocking citizenship for individuals of Muslim countries and coercing them to become FBI informants.

SEE: Riverside Man Files Suit Alleging He was Denied Citizenship Because He is a Muslim from Egypt

CAIR-LA had consulted with Hamdi and referred him to ACLU attorneys to handle his appeal.

CAIR-LA continuously advocates on behalf of immigrants who have experienced problems in the processing of their applications or have not acquired their citizenship in a timely manner. Last year, clients assisted by CAIR-LA were granted citizenship.

Also in 2006, CAIR-LA along with the ACLU/SC and the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project filed suit on behalf of Muslims who had been waiting for a long time to get their citizenship.

SEE: CAIR-LA Applauds Decision to Grant Muslims Citizenship

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-LA Communications Manager Munira Syeda, 714-776-1847, info@losangeles.cair.com

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CAIR-NY ACTION: URGE MAYOR TO INCLUDE MUSLIM HOLIDAY IN NYC PUBLIC SCHOOLS -TOP

(NEW YORK, NY, 6/16/10) – On the one year anniversary of the city council vote (50-1) in favor of Muslim holidays, CAIR-NY, as part of a diverse coalition of more than 80 interfaith, civic and labor groups is urging the NY community to attend a rally and demand that Mayor Michael Bloomberg incorporate Eid in NYC public schools.

See: Eid in NYC NOW!

The Coalition of Muslim School Holidays, the group whose advocacy effort lead to the passage of Resolution 1281 on June 30, 2009, is expecting hundreds to turnout in support, including elected officials.

WHAT: Muslim Holidays Rally and Press Conference
WHEN: Wednesday, June 30th at 11 a.m.
WHERE: Steps of City Hall

Take the 4, 5, 6 to City Hall/ Brookyln Bridge or 2, 3 Park Place or A, C, to Chambers or R, W trains to City Hall

Contact: For more information, contact fali@cair.com or meligyxxi@yahoo.com.

Immediate ACTION REQUESTED: (Please post, copy and distribute widely)

1. Demand. Join us on June 30 to demand that Mayor Bloomberg incorporate Eid in the NYC public school calendar.
2. Support. Make announcements at your local mosque and community centers urging them to come out to the rally.
3. Share. Invite your friends and family to do the same by posting this message on Facebook and Twitter.

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WTC MOSQUE OPPONENTS MADE THREATENING PHONE CALLS TO COMMUNITY BOARD -TOP
Julie Shapiro, DNAinfo, 6/17/2010

Community Board 1 has received threatening phone calls since members backed a controversial plan to build a mosque near the World Trade Center.

Shortly after the board voiced support for the Cordoba House, a 13-story mosque and community center two blocks north of the World Trade Center site, the community board office and at least one board member received menacing calls, and notified the NYPD. (More)

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CAIR-OKLAHOMA RECEIVES 2010 CENSUS PARTNER APPRECIATION AWARD - TOP

(OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – 6/16/10) - On Saturday June 12th, the U.S. Census Bureau recognized CAIR-Oklahoma with the 2010 Census Partner Appreciation Award.

In an award ceremony at the Oklahoma State Capitol in the Governor's Blue Room, diverse partners from Oklahoma's interfaith, ethnic and civic communities were recognized for support in raising awareness of and inspiring participation in the 2010 Census.

CAIR-OK Executive Director Razi Hashmi received the award from Dr. Robert Groves, Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, on Saturday on behalf of CAIR-Oklahoma.

"We were humbled to be recognized for this award, and believe it is the civic responsibility of every American to partake in the census so that everyone is counted," stated Hashmi. "It is especially important in an economic crisis that we can guarantee that funding is allocated equitably nationally and within our state."

CAIR chapters nationwide were actively involved as partners in the 2010 Census.

See: Action: CAIR Asks Muslims to Participate in "Census Day"

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-OK Executive Director Razi Hashmi, 405-248-5853, E-mail: rhashmi@cair.com; CAIR-OK Chair Michael Aziz Gipson, E-Mail: mgipson@cair.com

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CAIR-OK: OK STATE REP. SAYS 'DANGEROUS FOOLS' WANT TO IMPOSE SHARIA LAW IN U.S. COURTS - TOP
Jillian Rayfield, Talking Points Memo, 6/16/10

Oklahoma State Rep. Rex Duncan (R) is worried that "dangerous fools in black robes" are going to impose sharia law on the U.S. court system.

And Fox News' Brian Kilmeade is right there with him.

Duncan is pushing a ballot measure to prohibit courts from considering international or sharia law when handing down decisions, something he called a "commonsense" proposal on Fox News today. (More)

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CAIR-CA: MAN ATTACKED FOR BEING MUSLIM, PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIAL SAY - TOP
By Lisa Fernandez, Mercury News, 6/15/10

Sunnyvale public safety officers are trying to track down two young men who struck someone in the face on a busy street, apparently simply for being a Muslim man who was wearing a black cap and holding a Koran...

The attackers approached the 40-something man on El Camino Real at Sycamore Terrace on Friday. He was waiting for a ride to pick him up and take him to a 1:30 p.m. prayer service, called a Juma'ah, according to Zahra Billoo, program director at the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Santa Clara. (More)

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CAIR VIDEO: MUSLIM MAN'S BEATING IN SUNNYVALE INVESTIGATED AS HATE CRIME -TOP
Foxreno.com, 6/17/10

Police are investigating the beating of a Muslim man in Sunnyvale last week as a hate crime and are seeking two suspects in the case.

At about 1 p.m. on Friday, the victim was on El Camino Real near Sycamore Terrace waiting for a friend to pick him up when two males approached him and asked if he was Jewish, Department of Public Safety Capt. David Verbrugge said. (More)

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CAIR NEWS CONF. VIDEO: AG HOLDER ASKED TO HELP MUSLIM CITIZENS BARRED FROM U.S. - TOP

Watch the press conference here.

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 6/16/10) --- A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization today released a letter it sent to Attorney General Eric Holder calling for the return to the United States of American Muslim citizens barred from returning home from trips overseas and subjected to FBI pressure tactics that are being called a form of "extraordinary rendition." (More)

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CAIR: US STUDENT ADDED TO NO-FLY LIST, STUCK IN EGYPT (AP) - TOP
Associated Press, 6/16/10

A Virginia man, stuck in Egypt for the last 6 weeks living in a cheap hotel and surviving on fast food, said Wednesday his name was placed on a U.S. no-fly list because of a trip to Yemen. (More)

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CAIR: FAIRFAX MAN RETURNING FROM YEMEN STRANDED IN CAIRO AFTER LANDING ON NO-FLY LIST - TOP
Peter Finn, Washington Post, 6/17/10

...Yahya Wehelie, 26, said Wednesday that after landing at the airport in Cairo in early May, he was told he would not be able to board his connection to New York and would have to go to the U.S. Embassy for an explanation. Embassy officials later told Wehelie and a younger brother with whom he was traveling that they would have to wait for FBI agents to arrive from Washington...

Civil liberties groups say the case is part of an emerging pattern in which American citizens are barred from flying to the United States so they can be questioned overseas by U.S. agents without counsel. The Council on American-Islamic Relations cited Wehelie's case and that of other Americans stranded abroad in a letter to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. this week. (More)

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CAIR: CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS DECRY US MUSLIM'S NO-FLY PLIGHT - TOP
Michelle Ruiz, AOL News, 6/16/10

U.S. civil liberties groups are protesting the case of a 26-year-old Muslim-American man who was placed on the no-fly list and barred from returning to the States after spending 18 months in Yemen. (More)

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CAIR: AMERICAN STRANDED IN EGYPT DUE TO NO-FLY LIST (AP) - TOP
Paul Schemm, Associated Press, 6/16/10

A Virginia man, stuck in Egypt for the last six weeks living in a cheap hotel and surviving on fast food, said Wednesday his name was placed on a U.S. no-fly list because of a trip to Yemen...

"How can he travel home if he can't fly?" Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in an interview with AOL News. "We're just concerned that this is part of a pattern of government officials stopping Muslim travelers, American Muslim citizens, to pressure them to give up the constitutional rights that they would normally have if they were on American soil." (More)

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CAIR: US CITIZEN BARRED FROM RETURNING FOLLOWING YEMEN - TOP
Democracy Now, 6/17/10

A US citizen says he’s been prevented from returning to the United States after ending an eighteen-month stay in Yemen...

The Council on American-Islamic Relations says the no-fly list is being used as a form of "extraordinary rendition" and is calling on the Obama administration to intervene. (More)

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CAIR: FBI ACCUSED OF USING NO-FLY LIST TO KEEP SOME MUSLIM AMERICANS ABROAD - TOP
Jerome Socolovsky, VOA News, 6/17/10

U.S. authorities have beefed up enforcement of a no-fly list after several recent terror plots nearly succeeded. Now, an American Muslim group says the authorities are using the no-fly lists to prevent some Muslim Americans from returning to their country...

"We are witnessing what appears to be a new policy by the Obama administration of barring American citizens from coming home based on suspicions," said Nihad Awad. (More)

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CAIR VIDEO: FBI PREVENTS VA. MUSLIM FROM RETURNING TO U.S. - TOP
NBC4, 6/16/10
A local Muslim organization is calling on the FBI to release a 26-year-old Virginia man, who was detained and put on the no-fly list while on his way back from Yemen. (More)

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CAIR VIDEO: MUSLIM STUDENT UNION BANNED ON CALIF. CAMPUS - TOP
ABC7, 6/15/2010

The Council on American-Islamic Relations calls the controversial and unprecedented action "heavy-handed."

"What they would be doing is sending a very wrong message that will stifle free speech, not only at UCI but probably on campuses around the country," said Hussam Ayloush, Southern California executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. (More)

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CAIR: FAMILIES OF TERROR SUSPECTS SERVE AS KEY INVESTIGATIVE TOOL FOR ASSISTING FBI - TOP
Star-Ledger Staff, NJ.com, 6/16/10

Wiretaps. Informants. Financial records. All play vital roles in U.S. government investigations to prevent terrorist attacks.

But during the past six months, another investigative tool has received increased attention -- cooperation from suspects’ families.

Also in December, the FBI arrested five Virginia men in Pakistan after their families, concerned the men were in Pakistan to join a terrorist group, alerted the Council on American-Islamic Relations. CAIR then persuaded the relatives to contact the FBI, said Ibrahim Hooper, a CAIR spokesman. (More)

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NEWBURGH TERRORISM CASE MAY ESTABLISH A LINE FOR ENTRAPMENT - TOP
William Glaberson, New York Times, 6/15/10

When four Muslim converts from Newburgh, N.Y., were charged last year with planning to bomb Bronx synagogues and shoot down military planes at Stewart International Airport, officials described the plan as a chilling effort to commit local terrorism. (More)