Watch: Vandalized California Mosque to Hold Open House (CAIR-SV) Watch: CAIR-SV Rep Says Vandalized Mosque Seeks to Educate Others Watch: Calif. Mosque Seeks to Keep Worshippers Safe After Vandalism (CAIR-SV) Watch: CAIR-SV Asks FBI to Investigate Hate Crime Targeting Mosque CAIR-SV: Hate Crime Probe Launched After Vandals Deface Manteca Mosque(LA Times) CAIR-SV: Police Say Vandalism at Islamic Center a Hate Crime (Stockton Record) CAIR-DFW Supports Walk Against Islamophobia Watch: Florida Muslim Student Harassed Over Hijab These Are the Faces of Islam in America In a gorgeous series titled "The Converts," photographer Claire Beckett captures portraits of the American men and women who have chosen to convert to Islam. Muslims, Our Natural Allies by Robert P. George (First Things) I am a Catholic. My Church teaches me to esteem our Muslim friends and to work with them in the cause of promoting justice and moral values. I am happy to stand with them in defense of what is right and good. Why Sochi Has No Mosques (Mother Jones) The city's lack of accommodations for Muslims is in part a product of a dark regional history. The Russian government is largely deferential to Islamic customs in historically Muslim areas, but although Sochi is in the foothills of the Caucasus mountains, a Tsarist purge in the 19th century killed hundreds of thousands of ethnically Circassian Muslims and displaced many more. CAIR Sends Letter to Tunisian President Welcoming New Constitution (WASHINGTON, D.C., 2/5/14) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, has sent a letter through the Ambassador of Tunisia in Washington, D.C., congratulating President Mohamed Moncef Marzouki for ratifying a new constitution. In the letter, CAIR National Executive Director wrote in part: "On behalf of the American Muslim community and the freedom-loving people of the United States of America, the Council on American Islamic-Relations offers its warmest congratulations to the Republic of Tunisia for ratifying a new constitution. ... "At a time where Muslims in the United States face the challenges of Islamophobia, Tunisia has demonstrated that the principles of democracy and the tenets of the great religion of Islam are in harmony. Respect of human rights and equal treatment of men and women are deeply rooted in Islam's teachings. This profound message resonates well beyond the borders of Tunisia and for that we are grateful." 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. - END - CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Manager Robert McCaw, 202-488-8787, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@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