• He Set Out to Disprove Islam, Woo a Girl, Now He Loves Both (Herald)
  A relationship that began as a challenge, Sandoval admitted, changed his life. "Initially, I hated Islam. I tried to convince her she'd been brainwashed, that her religion was oppressive," he said. "I bought a Quran so I could read it and stump her with questions. The more I read, the more I learned, the more I came to appreciate Islam."
• CAIR-MI: Flint Family Fighting for Son's Release from Iranian Prison (Free Press)
  CAIR-MI's Dawud Walid said he told the Iranian government that he is willing to go to Iran and bring Hekmati home if they want to turn him over to his custody. He said he wants due process for Hekmati.
• CAIR-Chicago: Who Is My Muslim Neighbor?
• CAIR: Challenges Test American Muslims"We work every day to decouple Islam from ... a virtual cottage industry of Islam-bashers and fearmongers devoting their lives to promoting the notion that Islam is forever linked to violence," Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), told Desert News on Monday, May 20.
• CAIR: Muslim Day at the California State Capitol
• CA: Muslims Become Part of Bay Area Fabric (SF Chronicle)
  The Bay Area today boasts one of the highest concentrations of Muslims of any metropolitan area in the United States, according to a study released this monthby the Santa Clara University Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.
  • New Pew Study Finds Rise in Muslim Immigrants to U.S. (Orlando Sentinel)
• NYPD Messages to Muslim Informant: 'Get Pictures'

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CAIR Welcomes State Department's Recognition of Rising Islamophobia

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/20/2013) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed a new State Department report on international religious freedom, which recognizes that "[a]nti-Muslim rhetoric and actions were clearly on the rise -- particularly in Europe and Asia."

According to the report, "Government restrictions, which often coincided with societal animosity, resulted in anti-Muslim actions that affected everyday life for numerous believers."

The report, which covers the year 2012, also states:

"The impact ranged from education, to employment, to personal safety within communities. Government restrictions on religious attire also remained an issue, as Muslim women faced increasing restrictions on head coverings in schools, in public sector employment, and in public spaces."

Countries of particular concern included Burma (Myanmar), in which "Muslims in Rakhine State, particularly those of the Rohingya minority group, continued to be subjected to lethal violence and to experience severe forms of legal, economic, educational, and social discrimination."

REPORT: International Religious Freedom Report for 2012

"We welcome the recognition by State Department officials that anti-Muslim rhetoric is on the rise worldwide," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. "People of all faiths and backgrounds must work together to promote mutual understanding and to challenge the increasing hatred we see in many parts of the world."

"We hope there will now be serious effort by the Department of State to challenge the dangerous phenomenon of Islamophobia," said Awad.

Awad noted that just today, media reports indicate that Greek neo-Nazis are threateningto block construction of that nation's first mosque.

He said protection of minority communities and their rights is a religious obligation in Islam.

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.