ACTION: TELL CONGRESS TO PASS THE DREAM ACT - TOP

(WASHINGTON, DC, 11/30/2010) -- CAIR today called on American Muslims and other people of conscience to urge their elected officials to support the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act.

If the bipartisan bill becomes law it will create a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States prior to their 16th birthday. Young people would be required to complete two years of college or two years of military service with an honorable discharge.

The U.S. House and Senate are expected to vote on the bill this week.

"Young people should have an opportunity to contribute to our nation and succeed based on their personal merit," said CAIR Legislative Affairs Director Corey Saylor. “This legislation is an easy fix for one aspect of our broken immigration system.”

IMMEDIATE ACTIONS REQUESTED:

1) CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS and ask them to vote in support of the Dream Act.

TO CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, GO TO: www.congress.org

On the right-hand side of the page, enter your ZIP code. On the resulting page, click the names of your U.S. Representative and two U.S. Senators. Click the “contact” tab on the resulting page for your officials’ phone numbers.

2) PUT YOUR CELL PHONE TO GOOD USE. Call all of your friends and family members and ensure that they contact their elected officials. Act as a facilitator. You can enter their zip code into the congress.org website and help them get the phones numbers they need to call.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Director Corey P. Saylor, (202) 384-8857 or E-Mail: csaylor@cair.com

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LOCAL MUSLIM LEADERS SEE PORTLAND TERROR PLOT ARREST AS POSSIBLE ENTRAPMENT - TOP
http://www.ktvu.com/video/25955864/index.html

KTUV, 11/29/10 -- Local Muslim leaders said Monday they were concerned the Portland terror plot arrest over the holiday weekend could be possible entrapment by the FBI -- Maureen Naylor reports

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-OHIO: MOSQUES TO HOST FORUMS ON CIVIL RIGHTS, NATIONAL SECURITY -TOP
Former FBI whistleblower to address targeting and profiling of the Muslim Community

(CLEVELAND, OH, 11/30/2010) – The Cleveland Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OHIO), together with the Islamic Center of Cleveland, the Islamic Society of Akron and Kent, the Shurah Council of Greater Cleveland, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU-Ohio), will host two forums on domestic surveillance and civil liberties in the national security context. The featured speaker is Michael German, a 16-year veteran of the FBI and whistleblower who currently serves as national policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.

German will speak about the 2008 Department of Justice Guidelines for FBI investigations which permit suspicionless investigations of American citizens, as well as other controversial programs such as fusion centers, geo-mapping, suspicious activity reporting, the watch lists, and the FBI’s use of immigration laws and informants to target the Muslim community.

Also present will be Imam Dawud Walid from CAIR-Michigan who will address the controversial FBI killing of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah and CAIR Staff Attorney Romin Iqbal who will offer a statewide perspective on civil rights for Muslims in Ohio.

WHAT: Profiling in the National Security Context

Friday, December 3, 2010 6:30 PM
Islamic Society of Akron & Kent
152 East Steels Corners Road
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio 44224'

Saturday, December 4, 2010, 6:30 PM
Islamic Center of Cleveland
Community Hall
6055 West 130th Street
Parma, Ohio 44130

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.

Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook

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CONTACT: CAIR Executive Director Julia A. Shearson, 216-830-2247 or 216-440-2247, E-Mail: jshearson@cair.com

Homeland Security officials today defended airport screening procedures amid a backlash of complaints that they are too invasive, but officials said that changes to some tactics will be made soon.

[Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano] emphasized that the government has "an open ear" and is also considering changes to address issues raised by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which issued a travel advisory for airline passengers and is particularly concerned about the physical pat down of women wearing hijabs. (More)

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WEST SAC CABBIE ATTACK SPURS CIVIL RIGHTS GROUP ACTION - TOP
News 10, 11/30/10

SACRAMENTO-- A Muslim civil rights group is asking the FBI to investigate an attack on a Sikh cab driver in West Sacramento who apparently was mistaken for a Muslim.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations' Sacramento Valley chapter said in a statement Monday that it wants the FBI to determine whether the beating of Harbhajan Singh by two men early Sunday in West Sacramento was racially motivated.

"He told them he wasn't Muslim, they continued to attack him. this was a clear biased attack on this individual," Basim Elkarra, of CAIR. (More)

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‘DEATH OF AN IMAM’ DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES TONIGHT AT UM-DEARBORN - TOP
Press and Guide, 11/30/10

DEARBORN-- A documentary made by two Michigan State University faculty and a doctoral student that examines the controversial shooting of a Detroit-area Muslim leader will premiere tonight in Dearborn.

The film, “The Death of an Imam,” will be presented at 7 p.m. in 1600 Social Sciences Building on the campus of the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

The film was made by Geri Alumit Zeldes, an MSU School of Journalism faculty member; Salah Hassan from MSU’s Department of English; and Brian J. Bowe, an MSU media and information studies doctoral student and visiting assistant professor at Grand Valley State University.

The filmmakers will introduce the 17-minute documentary. After the screening, a panel featuring, among others, Dawud Walid from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and Niraj Warikoo, a Detroit Free Press reporter, both of whom appeared in the film, will provide updates on coverage and be available for questions. (More)

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JUDGE BLOCKS OKLAHOMA’S BAN ON USING SHARIAH LAW IN COURT - TOP
JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr., New York Times, 11/30/10

An Oklahoma constitutional amendment aimed at stopping the use of Islamic law in its courts was dealt a serious blow on Monday when a federal judge temporarily blocked the state from putting it into effect.

The amendment would forbid state judges from considering Islamic or international law in their decisions. Known as State Question 755, the measure passed with 70 percent of the vote during the Republican landslide on Nov. 2, and has generated bitter debate.

Muslims claim the state is discriminating against their religion, while supporters — many of them Christian conservatives — say the amendment is needed to thwart what they maintain is an effort by radical Muslims to impose Shariah law in the United States.

Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange of Federal District Court in Oklahoma City, however, said in her decision to grant a preliminary injunction on Monday that the measure did not appear to pass constitutional muster.

It conveys a message, she said, that the state favors one religion or particular belief over others. The federal courts have long held that such a message violates the First Amendment’s clause prohibiting the establishment of a state religion, she said.

“While defendants contend that the amendment is merely a choice-of-law provision that bans state courts from applying the law of other nations or cultures — regardless of what faith they may be based on, if any — the actual language of the amendment reasonably, and perhaps more reasonably, may be viewed as specifically singling out Shariah law, conveying a message of disapproval of plaintiff’s faith,” the judge wrote.

The judge barred the State Election Commission from certifying the results of the election until she makes a final ruling. She set no timetable for her decision.

Muneer Awad, the executive director of the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, had sued to block the amendment, arguing that the state was condemning his religious beliefs.

“We are definitely satisfied,” Mr. Awad said. “She is recognizing the majority vote cannot be used to take away my constitutional rights.” (More)

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MUKIT HOSSAIN, MUSLIM ACTIVIST IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA, DIES - TOP
Emma Brown, Washington Post, 11/28/10

Mukit Hossain, a former Northern Virginia telecommunications executive and grass-roots activist who was instrumental in encouraging fellow Muslims to become more politically engaged after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, died Nov. 27 of a heart attack. He was 54.

Mr. Hossain died at his farm in Spotsylvania County, where he and his family had moved two years ago to escape the faster pace of Washington's suburbs. He had recently started a business raising goats to yield meat that is both naturally raised and halal, or in accordance with Islamic law.

His death shocked members of the Muslim community, who knew Mr. Hossain as a tireless community organizer and advocate of civil liberties.

"He was just an embodiment of what one person can do by himself," said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "He had a fire in his belly." (More)

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