Wednesday, January 29, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Civil Rights Groups Welcome Legal Victory Against 'No-Fly' List
(SAN FRANCISCO, CA, 1/15/14) -- Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus (AAAJ-ALC) and the San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA) today welcomed a ruling issued yesterday finding that the government violated Dr. Rahinah Ibrahim's rights when it placed her on the "no-fly" list.
The lawsuit, filed by San Jose-based McManis-Faulkner in 2006 on behalf of the mother of four children and a PhD student at Stanford University, alleged that the government violated Dr. Ibrahim's due process rights when it placed her on the "no-fly" list. U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup ruled that Ibrahim had standing to challenge the government's actions, ordered the government to correct Ibrahim's position on the "no-fly" list and to disclose to her what is her current status on the "no-fly" list.
The lawsuit is the oldest of three currently being litigated to challenge the government's secretive "no-fly" list, which effectively bars individuals the government often mistakenly believes to pose a security threat from flying. The Obama administration vehemently opposed Ibrahim's lawsuit, sought to keep the December trial secret and is currently requesting that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals keep the ruling sealed.
AAAJ-ALC and CAIR-SFBA frequently receive complaints from and provide legal representation for American Muslims who face travel delays due to government watch lists, have been visited by the FBI and believe to have been placed on the "no-fly" list.
"Judge Alsup's ruling affirms that basic notions of transparency and accountability apply to even the U.S. government's 'no-fly' list. We welcome this ruling and look forward to further clarity as to how one can navigate the maze created by the 'no-fly' list and other similar listings," said AAAJ–ALC staff attorney Nasrina Bargzie.
"This victory has been a long time coming," said CAIR-SFBA Executive Director Zahra Billoo. "Each year our offices hear from hundreds of individuals who are visited by the FBI and face related travel issues. Many have lost hope about clearing their names, but this case will renew our collective desire to continue forward with the courts on our side."
Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus was founded in 1972 as the nation's first legal and civil rights Asian American organization. Recognizing that social, economic, political and racial inequalities continue to exist in the United States, ALC is committed to the pursuit of equality and justice for all sectors of our society, with a specific focus directed toward addressing the needs of low-income, immigrant and underserved Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
CAIR-SFBA is an office of CAIR, 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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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAIR: New DOJ Position on Religious Profiling a 'Step in the Right Direction'
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/16/14) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today said it is optimistic that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is taking "a step in the right direction" with the announcement that it will expand its definition of profiling to prohibit agents from considering religion and national origin in their investigations.
Guidance on racial profiling issued in 2003 by the Bush administration banned the practice of racial profiling but left loopholes that allowed profiling at U.S. borders and in cases relating to national security or terrorism. The guidance never addressed profiling based on religion, national origin, or other factors. NBC News has reported that the new DOJ policy will prohibit profiling in terrorism cases; it is not yet clear whether it will still allow the national security or border loopholes.
In a statement addressing the announced change in policy, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
"We have always believed that profiling based on race and religion is not only unconstitutional but is also an ineffective and counterproductive tactic that wastes law enforcement resources and alienates and marginalizes minority communities. Good law enforcement requires good leads, not dragnets that catch law abiding Americans who are simply living their lives.
"This new DOJ policy seems to be a step in the right direction, but the national security and border loopholes need to be removed for it to truly reflect American values. We look forward to reading the official policy when it is released, and will monitor its implementation, particularly as it applies to national security investigations."
Awad noted that for a number of years, CAIR and other civil liberties groups have called for such a policy change after receiving complaints that state and federal authorities targeted Muslims and Latinos based solely on their faith or national origin. Actions by the groups have included support for the End Racial Profiling Act (ERPA), for comprehensive immigration reform and for other initiatives designed to help end racial profiling by law enforcement agencies.
In 2012, CAIR submitted testimony to a Senate hearing on the issue.
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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  • Verse of the Day: Speak for Justice 
    "Show forgiveness, speak for justice and avoid the ignorant." Quran, 7:199
    The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Dispensers of justice will be seated on pulpits of light beside God." Sahih Muslim, Hadith 844
  • CAIR-WA: 500 Washington State Muslims Lobby Lawmakers on MLK Day
    Today, an estimated 500 Washington state Muslims from almost 40 state legislative districts are scheduled to meet with some 120 of their state lawmakers in Olympia as part of the annual "Washington State Muslim Lobby Day" organized by that state's chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-WA), the nation's leading Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization.
  • CAIR: GOP's Uncomfortably Anti-Muslim Committeeman from MichiganMichigan may not have a huge Muslim population, but it has a sizable Arab-American one which may not draw a distinction regarding intolerant remarks, saidCorey Saylor, with the Council on American-Islamic Relations. He said, "Christian Arabs feel just as put upon by Agema's comments as Muslims do."
  • CAIR-LA: Muslims to Pray for Rain Amid Drought, Fire (LA Times)
    People of all faiths are invited, according to the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic relations. The special prayers -- prompted by the Colby fire, which broke out Thursday and has consumed more than 1,900 acres -- are aimed at relieving "the ongoing drought impacting California residents and agriculture," the group said in a news release. "Islam's Prophet Muhammad offered similar prayers during times of drought," the release said, reciting some of the traditional supplications, including: "Oh God, give us a saving rain, good and productive, general and heavy, now and not later, beneficial and not harmful."
  • OH: Arabs-Americans, Others Feel Overlooked, Undercounted (Toledo Blade)
    The Blade begins a special project — Mideast in the Midwest — to document the people in the Toledo area who trace their heritage to the Greater Middle East, a region extending from Morocco in the west to Afghanistan in the east, Turkey in the north to Yemen and the Horn of Africa in the south.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAIR-FL Welcomes Textbook Supplement Prompted by Anti-Islam Campaign
(TAMPA, FL, 1/21/14) – The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) today welcomed a supplement to a world history textbook prompted by an anti-Islam campaign.
The Brevard County School Board committee tasked with reviewing the book presented its findings today and said concerns about the textbook's alleged "pro-Islam" bias proved unfounded. The supplement offers additional lessons that teachers can use, including videos, news articles and websites.
CAIR-FL representatives met earlier this month with Brevard County school officials to share the Muslim community's concerns and to review the supplement approved by the Brevard County School Board Teachers Committee.

Based on the review of the proposed supplemental material, CAIR-FL found that the teachers had adopted a balanced educational approach.
"The supplemental materials seem to incorporate an unbiased and academically rigorous approach to teaching that will help students connect with and understand key issues and trends in recent global history," said CAIR-FL Community and Government Relations Director Ghazala Salam, who met with school officials. "We commend the teachers for remaining neutral and exercising sound judgment in selecting resources that utilize a comprehensive and accurate approach, despite the stereotypes and anti-Islamic rhetoric promoted by the textbook's critics."

Salam noted that the anti-Islam hate group ACT! for America is responsible for this and similar manufactured controversies in school systems in Florida and nationwide.

CAIR Islamophobia Backgrounder: ACT! for America and 'Brigitte Gabriel'
CAIR-FL Joins Students, Dems, Moderate GOPers in Opposing Censorship of Textbook on Islam (Video)
Other school systems have rejected anti-Islam propaganda by voting to keep the current textbooks in use with no supplements.
CAIR recently assisted the Muslim community in Alabama in its challenge to an ACT! for America anti-Islam campaign targeting textbooks in that state. The Alabama State Board of Education last week dismissed allegations that 11 textbooks on the state's new list for social studies material are too pro-Islam.
"While we do not believe that concerns of known hate groups like ACT! for America should be given serious consideration, we are pleased to see that the school board has decided to offer a supplement that includes even more accurate information on Islamic history to reinforce the textbooks," said CAIR-FL Executive Director Hassan Shibly. "The more students know about the diverse faiths and cultures that make up the fabric of our society the better."
Shibly said he is pleased that anti-Muslim bigots have failed to censor textbooks and that academics, students and school boards from Volusia to Alabama have rejected "baseless concerns fueled by misinformation and xenophobia."

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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CONTACT: CAIR-FL Executive Director Hassan Shibly, 813-541-4321, hshibly@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Manager Amina Rubin, 202-341-4171, arubin@cair.com
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BREAKING:
Federal Judge Dismisses Thomas More Law Center's 'Frivolous' Lawsuit Against CAIR-MI, Executive Director
(SOUTHFIELD, MI, 1/22/2014) - The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) today announced that a federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Thomas More Law Center against the civil rights organization and Dawud Walid, its executive director.
In granting CAIR-MI's motion to dismiss at the lawsuit's earliest possible stage, the court said "Plaintiffs' allegations do not state a plausible constitutional deprivation."

The Thomas More Law Center filed the suit on behalf of four plaintiffs, including Republican National Committeeman Dave Agema, ACT! for America President Elizabeth Griffin, Mark Gurley, and Allegan County Commissioner Willis Sage.
"We welcome the decision of the federal judge to dismiss this frivolous lawsuit," said CAIR-MI Staff Attorney Lena Masri. "We intend to seek sanctions against the Thomas More Law Center for filing this meritless claim in an attempt to harass CAIR-MI and its executive director."

The lawsuit was also filed against the City of Allegan, the Allegan Public School District, and People for the American Way.
The Thomas More Law Center is a right-wing law firm that boasts of its use of litigation as a tool to "confront the threat of Islam." ACT! for America is an anti-Islam hate groupresponsible for manufacturing controversies in Michigan, Alabama, Florida and nationwide.
CAIR-FL Welcomes Textbook Supplement Prompted by Anti-Islam Campaign

Agema, who previously served as a Michigan state representative from Grandville, has a history of introducing anti-Muslim legislation and making racist and xenophobic comments. He introduced anti-Islam legislation under the guise of an anti-foreign laws bill and promoted an Arizona-style immigration bill claiming that Dearborn has "sleeper cells."

MI: GOP Leader Upsets State Leaders After Questioning What Muslims Contribute Positively to SocietyUnder Fire, Dave Agema a No-Show So Far at GOP Meeting in Washington
Betsy DeVos Says GOP Should Dump Agema
The suit was filed after an event hosting Kamal Saleem, a renowned Islamophobe whose real name is reportedly Khodor Shami, was cancelled after Walid and People for the American Way co-authored a letter to Allegan Public Schools asking them to drop the event.
Saleem has made a number of outlandish and unproven claims about his past as an "ex-terrorist." He told an audience in Michigan: "I came to the United States of America not to love you all. I came to be -- exactly -- to destroy this country as a terrorist. We crossed the Canadian border. We brought weapon caches right through cities, through Windsor."
He also claims to have been a member of both the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the Muslim Brotherhood when he came to the U.S. in 1979.
His bizarre claim that "in my family was the Grand Wazir of Islam" prompted Calvin College history professor Douglas Howard to investigate Saleem's background. [NOTE: The title "Grand Wazir of Islam" has never existed.] "I concluded this person is a fraud," said Howard after his investigation into Saleem's claims.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation reported in 2008 that Saleem worked for Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network for 16 years and in 2006 launched Koome Ministries with the mission to "expose the true agenda of [Muslims] who would deceive our nation and the free nations of the world."
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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GOOD NEWS ALERT
Federal Judge Says No-Fly List Creates 'Second Class Citizens'
Ruling allows CAIR lawsuit on behalf of Muslim traveler to go forward
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/22/14) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today applauded a ruling by a federal judge in Virginia that said placement on the government's no-fly list "transforms a person into a second class citizen, or worse."
That 32-page opinion, filed today, allows CAIR's lawsuit against the government on behalf of Virginia resident Gulet Mohamed to go forward.
"We applaud this decision as a clear rebuke of the government's use of the no-fly list as applied to Americans," said CAIR Staff Attorney Gadeir Abbas, the lead CAIR attorney on the case.
Abbas said Mohamed was prevented from boarding a flight to the United States in 2011 and has alleged that he was tortured while in detention in Kuwait and faced unconstitutional coercion to answer questions by FBI agents who ignored his repeated requests for legal representation.
CAIR filed a lawsuit against the government alleging violation of Mohamed's right to return to the United States and his right to challenge his placement on the no-fly list.
The decision includes a long explanation of the grave consequences imposed on those the government places on the no-fly list, noting that the list "implicates some of our basic freedoms and liberties as well as the question of whether we will embrace those basic freedoms when it is most difficult." 
Judge Anthony J. Trenga found that the inability to fly "effectively limits educational, employment and professional opportunities," and being placed on the list is "life defining and life restricting across a broad range of constitutionally protected activities and aspirations."
In allowing Mohamed's case to move forward, the court questioned the standards the government utilizes in placing people on the list, finding it "not difficult to imagine completely innocent conduct serving as the starting point for a string of subjective, speculative inferences that result in a person's inclusion on the No Fly List." 
The judge noted that the government has failed to produce any evidence of "past or ongoing unlawful conduct" and he also noted the "possibility, if not the probability, that [placement on the No Fly List] may be bound up with beliefs, personal associations, or activities that are perceived as threatening but are perfectly lawful in themselves, and may indeed be constitutionally protected."
The court rejected the government's attempt to dismiss Mohamed's claim based on his inability to return to the United States, holding that a "U.S. citizen's right to reenter the United States entails more than simply the right to step over the border after having arrived there."
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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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAIR-FL Seeks Halal Meals for Muslim Inmates After Kosher Ruling
(TAMPA, FL, 1/23/14) – The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) today welcomed a recent court ruling that kosher meals must be served to Jewish prison inmates and called on the state's Department of Corrections to extend this decision by serving halal (Islamically permissible) food to Muslim inmates.

[NOTE: Guidelines for halal food are similar to, but less restrictive than kosher practices. CAIR-FL has received numerous complaints from Muslim inmates seeking access to halal food.]
Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Florida for violating a 2000 law intended to protect inmates' religious rights. The judge in the case issued an injunction, forcing Florida to begin serving kosher meals by July. Only 15 states do not offer inmates a kosher diet.
CAIR-FL sees this as a step in the right direction to ensuring that all inmates are guaranteed their constitutional right to freely practice their religious beliefs.
"We welcome the decision as an important step in protecting religious rights of incarcerated individuals. It is only fair and equitable that if Jewish inmates receive kosher food, as they should, that Muslim inmates have access to halal meals," saidCAIR-FL Executive Director Hassan Shibly. "Muslim businesses in our state stand ready to offer the advice and services needed to provide halal meals to inmates."
Last year, CAIR's Michigan chapter filed a lawsuit on behalf of several Muslim inmates against the Department of Corrections for the denial of an adequate diet during the yearly month-long fast of Ramadan.
CAIR offers an educational toolkit called "A Correctional Institution's Guide to Islamic Religious Practices," to help correctional officers gain a better understanding of Islam and Muslims.
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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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
'Religious Freedom' Rep Says No to Muslims' Rights in Military
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/24/14) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to investigate one of its own members for seeking to deny religious rights to Muslim military personnel.
USCIRF Vice Chair Zuhdi Jasserappeared on Fox News to speak out against the Pentagon's recent broadening of religious rights for minority faiths. While supporting those broadened rights for Sikhs and Jews, Jasser decried the expanded rights as they applied to American Muslims. He claimed the Obama administration is "bending over backwards for political correctness," which will lead to what he called "litigation jihad."
In a letter to USCIRF Chairman Dr. Robert P. George, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad wrote in part:
"We are writing today to request that you initiate an investigation of USCIRF Vice Chair Dr. Zuhdi Jasser for seeking to deny religious rights to Muslim military personnel. Given his position on this and other issues regarding restricting Muslims' rights domestically, we find it difficult to imagine he can represent our nation's interest in protecting minority religions internationally with any integrity. . .Dr. Jasser's biased and agenda-driven views on religious accommodation are contemptuous of the First Amendment freedoms we all hold dear."
CAIR recently published a major report, "Legislating Fear: Islamophobia and its Impact in the United States," which identifies 37 organizations dedicated to promoting the type of anti-Islam prejudice that can lead to bias-motivated incidents targeting American Muslims.
Jasser was featured in that report as an enabler of anti-Muslim bigotry. The report noted that Jasser heads a group that "applauded" an amendment to Oklahoma's state Constitution that would have implemented state-sponsored discrimination against Islam.
Jasser also narrated "The Third Jihad," a propaganda film created by the Clarion Fund, which depicts Muslims as inherently violent and seeking world domination. Following revelations that the film was shown as part of training at the New York Police Department, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly called it "wacky" and "objectionable."
In 2012, a broad national coalition of 64 organizations and individuals sent a letter to Senators Inouye, McConnell and Durbin expressing "deep concern" at the appointment of Zuhdi Jasser to USCIRF.
In that letter, the coalition asked that Jasser's appointment be rescinded and noted that Jasser believes "operationally, Islam is not peaceful," supports measures that threaten and diminish religious freedoms within the United States, "applauded" an anti-Islam amendment to Oklahoma's constitution, opposed the constitutionally-protected construction of a Muslim community center in lower Manhattan, supported the New York Police Department's blanket surveillance of Muslims based on religion rather than evidence or suspicion of wrongdoing, and that he has extensive ties to virulently anti-Muslim groups and individual Islamophobes.
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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