CAIR Banquets in NY, Chicago Were Sold-Out Events
Almost $400K raised to support group's civil rights work

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/18/11) -- Over the weekend, hundreds of community and interfaith leaders, activists and public officials turned out for the sold-out annual banquets of the New York and Chicago chapters of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY/CAIR-Chicago).

Some 400 people heard Muslim scholar Dr. Tariq Ramadan offer the keynote address for CAIR-NY's banquet, while the more than 1,000 attendees at CAIR-Chicago's dinner heard from civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson.

The banquets raised almost $400,000 in contributions to support CAIR's civil rights work.

"It was another successful event that capped another successful year," said CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab. "We are grateful to God first and foremost, and to our community for its broad and unending support."

"We are grateful for the tremendous support CAIR continues to receive from the American Muslim community and from all those concerned about the protection of constitutional rights," CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. "We congratulate our New York and Chicago chapters on the well-deserved success of their annual banquets."

Awad noted that CAIR-Cleveland will hold a similar banquet on May 7th featuring a keynote address by Stanford law professor and former head of Amnesty International USAChip Pitts.

SEE: Chip Pitts to Speak at CAIR-Cleveland 9th Annual Banquet May 7

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.

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