• Religious Freedom Commission Accused of Anti-Muslim Bias (Wash. Post)
  The lawsuit, which follows an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint that Ghori-Ahmad filed in 2010, lays blame on several longtime commissioners, including Nina Shea, an attorney and writer who focuses on religious freedom crises abroad, particularly the plight of Christian minorities. The suit quotes Shea as writing that "hiring a Muslim like Ms. Ghori-Ahmad to analyze religious freedom in Pakistan would be like 'hiring an IRA activist to research the UK twenty years ago.'"
  • Backgrounder: Coalition Opposes New Religious Freedom Appointee
    A broad national coalition of 64 organizations and individuals today sent a letter to Senators Inouye, McConnell and Durbin expressing "deep concern" at the recent appointment of Zuhdi Jasser to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
• CAIR-LA: Workplace Religious Freedom Act Passes Calif. Assembly
  Yamada's legislation is co-sponsored by the Sikh Coalition, the Hindu American Foundation and the Council on American Islamic Relations, along with several other civil rights organizations.
• CAIR-MN: Delays May Be Over for Islamic Center (Star Tribune)
  Lori Saroya, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said that proposed mosques or Islamic centers have met opposition in Plymouth, Bloomington and Willmar, Minn., as well as St. Anthony in the past year. While mosques are primarily used for worship, Islamic centers can have multiple uses, including worship, dining and other events. Governments have eventually moved ahead on approving them, she said.
  • Muslim Heroes: Lori Saroya (Executive Director, CAIR-MN)
    Under Lori's leadership, CAIR-MN has had incredible success. It was named a 2010 "Difference Maker" by the St. Cloud Times and received the 2011 MN Council of Nonprofits Mission and Excellence Anti-Racism Award. Last year, CAIR-MN assisted over 400 individuals and was quoted in the media more than 115 times. Last month, CAIR-MN created an interfaith coalition and led the effort to remove an "anti-Sharia," discriminatory bill introduced in the Minnesota Senate.

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