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  But the low-key reaction it drew was just as significant, said Ibrahim Hooper, a national spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR. Hooper called it "a good sign for the normalization of Muslims in the American political process." ... Hooper said. "The first of any kind of civic participation is newsworthy, but as more enter the political process, it becomes less newsworthy."
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CAIR Action Alert:

Ask Your Senators to Ease Transfer Provisions for Gitmo Inmates

(Washington, D.C., 11/20/13) On Friday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) joined 18 human rights and civil liberties organizations in calling on the Senate to support Guantanamo Bay detainee transfer provisions included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2014 (S. 1197).

SEE: Human Rights and Civil Liberties Coalition Urges Senate Support for New GTMO Transfer Rules (ACLU)

The coalition is urging the Senate to adopt without change Senate NDAA provisions (Sections 1031, 1032 and 1033), as adopted by the Senate Armed Services Committee, which will help protect American values and human rights and facilitate the end of indefinite detention without charge or trial at Guantanamo Bay.

Monday night, the Senate passed its first procedural vote on the NDAA and soon after approved a motion to advance to a voice vote. The Senate is expected to consider the NDAA throughout the remainder of the week with the goal of completing the act before the Senate's Thanksgiving recess.

SEE: Defense bill offers another chance for progress on Guantanamo

Specifically, the letter supports:

"Guantanamo provisions in the Senate NDAA [that] clarify and modify the executive's existing authority to transfer detainees to foreign countries and provide important additional flexibility to close Guantanamo responsibly. Specifically, the provisions in the Senate NDAA replace a cumbersome certification and waiver regime with a more sensible, factor-based standard designed to mitigate any risks related to transfer."

As of November, 164 detainees remain at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp without charge or trial, and many of them have been held for more than 11 years. Since 2010, 86 detainees have been approved for release by the Administration's Guantanamo Review Task Force, yet only 2 have been transfer in the past year.

Take action: Send this click-and-send letter addressed to your senator that supports the Guantanamo transfer provisions.

CAIR believes that the prison at Guantanamo has become a symbol of our government's erosion of civil liberties over the past 12 years. Only when we as a nation address the issue of indefinite military detention can we begin to restore those liberties and repair our international reputation as a country committed to the rule of law.

CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Manager Robert McCaw, 202-999-8292, rmccaw@cair.com