Wednesday, July 18, 2012


MEDIA ADVISORY
Fla. Coalition to Address Anti-Muslim Law Enforcement Training
Muslim civil rights group to hold news conferences in Tampa, Pembroke Pines
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 7/10/2012) -- On Wednesday, July 11, the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) will hold news conferences in Tampa and Pembroke Pines to release a letter from a coalition of Muslim organizations that asks the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to address its repeated use of a notorious anti-Muslim bigot as a counterterrorism trainer.
WHAT: CAIR-FL News Conferences on FDLE Use of Anti-Muslim Trainer
WHEN: Wednesday, July 11, 11 a.m.
WHERE: CAIR-Tampa Office, 8056 North 56th Street, Tampa, FL, 33617 || CAIR-South Florida Office, 1601 N. Palm Avenue, Suite 203, Pembroke Pines, FL 33026
CONTACT: CAIR-Tampa Executive Director Hassan Shibly, 813-541-4321, E-Mail:hshibly@cair.com; CAIR-South Florida Executive Director Nezar Hamze, 954-673-9459, E-Mail: nhamze@cair.com, CAIR National Legislative Director Corey Saylor, 202-384-8857, E-Mail: csaylor@cair.com
At the news conferences, CAIR-FL will release a letter sent to the FDLE requesting that the department no longer use Sam Kharoba of the Counter Terrorism Operations Center (CTOC) as a trainer on issues related to Islam and Muslims.
The coalition's letter asserts that Kharoba's training materials on Islam are riddled with inaccuracies, sweeping generalizations and stereotypes, that he is unqualified as a subject matter expert on either Islam or countering violent extremism and that his training has elicited disturbingly prejudiced responses from trainees.
That letter also asks that officers who received Kharoba's biased training be given accurate and unbiased retraining by credible experts and that the FDLE adopt a policy ensuring that those offering counterterrorism training be vetted for their academic credentials, operational experience and accuracy of course content.
Documents obtained by CAIR-FL reveal at least 21 separate trainings conducted by Kharoba in Florida from 2005-2012. In many cases, these trainings were sanctioned by the FDLE.
The documents were obtained through a nationwide effort in which CAIR chapters filed 87 separate public records requests about possible Islamophobic training of local, state and national law enforcement personnel.
Kharoba's main training manual, "A Law Enforcement Guide to Understanding Islamist Terrorism," combines vile accusations against Islam, sweeping generalizations targeting all Muslims and factual inaccuracies.
About the manual, the coalition letter states: "Objective readers of this material will walk away with a clear impression that Al-Qaeda and its ideological allies are representative of mainstream Islam and that all Muslims lie as a matter of routine."
The first chapter of Kharoba's training manual attacks the entire religion of Islam and attempts to prove, through selective evidence, that it is inherently violent. He writes: "Most of us have heard statements similar to 'Islam is a religion of peace' and that 'Muslim radicals hijacked, twisted and altered Islam to justify their Jihad against non-Muslims.' This book will provide definitive proof contradicting these statements and allegations."
In its 2011 investigative report, "How We Train Our Cops to Fear Islam," Washington Monthly quoted Kharoba: "'When I look at the life of Muhammad, I get a very nasty image,' said Kharoba ... 'And that is just to start off with. Anyone who says that Islam is a religion of peace,' he continued, 'is either ignorant or flat out lying.'"
CAIR also recently called on the Department of Defense to dismiss an instructor at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Va., who taught fellow officers that only a "total war" on Islam would protect America, that they should use "Hiroshima" tactics, target civilian populations, and abandon the Geneva Conventions. The instructor of that course was later relieved of his teaching duties.
The Washington-based Muslim civil rights organization has also called on the Obama administration, the Department of Homeland Security and Congress to provide oversight for apparently widespread anti-Muslim bias in the training of law enforcement, security and military personnel nationwide.
An 80-page report by Political Research Associates (PRA), titled "Manufacturing the Muslim Menace: Private Firms, Public Servants, & the Threat to Rights and Security," details a systemic failure to regulate content in counterterrorism training.
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-South Florida Executive Director Nezar Hamze, 954-673-9459, E-Mail: nhamze@cair.com; CAIR-Tampa Executive Director Hassan Shibly, 813-541-4321, E-Mail: hshibly@cair.com; CAIR National Legislative Director Corey Saylor, 202-384-8857, E-Mail: csaylor@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail:ihooper@cair.com


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MEDIA ADVISORY
NY Muslim Coalition to Boycott NYPD 'Pre-Ramadan Conference'
(NEW YORK, NY, 7/10/12) - A broad-based coalition* of Muslim community organizations, religious leaders and civil rights advocates announced tonight that they will boycott an annual NYPD function, citing lack of transparency, accountability and respect.
The NYPD event, billed the "Police Department's Annual Pre-Ramadan Conference"in a letter to community leaders from Chief Philip Banks, is scheduled to take place on Wednesday morning (July 11).
The announcement of a boycott comes in the wake of the Associated Press Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation into the NYPD's covert program of warrantless and comprehensive surveillance of American Muslim communities across the northeastern United States, including mosques, restaurants, businesses, and student groups.
Muslim community leadership has faced a wall of silence from the NYPD since revelations that the NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly gave an exclusive 90-minute interview to producers of the anti-Muslim propaganda film "The Third Jihad," and then denied both his role in the film as well as the extent to which the film had been used in NYPD counterterrorism training sessions. The film was played on a loop for several months, reaching more than 1500 officers.
At last year's NYPD pre-Ramadan event in July, Commissioner Kelly tried to dismiss claims that the film was used multiple times, and rejected offers of meaningful input from Muslim leadership. The NY Times caught Kelly and Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne in several misstatements of fact in January of this year.
Prominent academic Dr. John Esposito of Georgetown University also rejected an invitation to speak at the police event. His office offered the following explanation:"Esposito declined after his review and conclusion that the mayor and police commissioner's defense of NYPD's surveillance policy fails to distinguish between surveillance with probable cause of specific individuals or groups and the threat to and violation of the civil liberties of the mainstream majority of Muslims."
The Muslim American Civil Liberties Coalition noted that the NYPD has repeatedly refused to meet with community leaders, and declined an invitation to a town hall that would create space for a discussion of the NYPD's discriminatory policies. MACLC advocates for accountability and oversight in curbing civil and human rights abuses by law enforcement agencies, and encourages the New York city and state governments to pass proposed bills mandating an independent Inspector General position over the NYPD.
*SIGNING MEMBERS:
  • Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) ­ New York
  • Arab American Association of New York
  • DRUM - Desis Rising Up and Moving
  • Women In Islam, Inc.
  • Muslim American Society of New York
  • Muslim Consultative Network
  • Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund
  • Muslim Bar Association of New York
  • Muslim Progressive Traditionalist Alliance
  • CLEAR - Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility, Main
  • Street Legal Services, City University of New York School of Law
    SUPPORTERS:
    Arab Muslim American Federation (AMAF)
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CONTACT: CAIR-NY Civil Rights Manager Cyrus McGoldrick, text/call: 203-206-6883, E-Mail: cmcgoldrick@cair.com; MACLC blog
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAIR: Fla. Law Enforcement Asked to Drop Anti-Muslim Trainer
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 7/11/2012) -- The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) today held news conferences in Tampa and Pembroke Pines to ask the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to stop using a notorious anti-Muslim bigot as a counterterrorism trainer.
At the news conferences, CAIR-FL released a letter sent to the FDLE by a 30-member coalition of Muslim organizations and individuals requesting that the department no longer use Sam Kharoba of the Counter Terrorism Operations Center (CTOC) as a trainer on issues related to Islam and Muslims.
The coalition's letter to FDLE Commissioner Gerald M. Bailey asserts that Kharoba's training materials on Islam are riddled with inaccuracies, sweeping generalizations and stereotypes, that he is unqualified as a subject matter expert on either Islam or countering violent extremism and that his training has elicited disturbingly prejudiced responses from trainees.
It states in part:
"Sam Kharoba's training undermines the Building Communities of Trust (BCOT) initiative released by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Homeland Security and International Association of Chiefs of Police. It also directly contradicts the Line Training provided by the DOJ for our Law Enforcement Officers regarding SARS."
That letter also asks that officers who received Kharoba's biased training be given accurate and unbiased retraining by credible experts and that the FDLE adopt a policy ensuring that those offering counterterrorism training be vetted for their academic credentials, operational experience and accuracy of course content.
For more Background on Sam Kharoba, see:
Documents obtained by CAIR-FL reveal at least 21 separate trainings conducted by Kharoba in Florida from 2005-2012. In many cases, these trainings were sanctioned by the FDLE.
The documents were obtained through a nationwide effort in which CAIR chapters filed 87 separate public records requests about possible Islamophobic training of local, state and national law enforcement personnel.
SEE: CAIR Files Multi-State Records Requests on Anti-Muslim Law Enforcement Trainings

Kharoba's main training manual, "A Law Enforcement Guide to Understanding Islamist Terrorism," combines vile accusations against Islam, sweeping generalizations targeting all Muslims and factual inaccuracies.
About the manual, the coalition letter states: "Objective readers of this material will walk away with a clear impression that Al-Qaeda and its ideological allies are representative of mainstream Islam and that all Muslims lie as a matter of routine."
The first chapter of Kharoba's training manual attacks the entire religion of Islam and attempts to prove, through selective evidence, that it is inherently violent. He writes: "Most of us have heard statements similar to 'Islam is a religion of peace' and that 'Muslim radicals hijacked, twisted and altered Islam to justify their Jihad against non-Muslims.' This book will provide definitive proof contradicting these statements and allegations."
In its 2011 investigative report, "How We Train Our Cops to Fear Islam," Washington Monthly quoted Kharoba: "'When I look at the life of Muhammad, I get a very nasty image,' said Kharoba. . .'And that is just to start off with. Anyone who says that Islam is a religion of peace,' he continued, 'is either ignorant or flat out lying.'"
CAIR also recently called on the Department of Defense to dismiss an instructor at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Va., who taught fellow officers that only a "total war" on Islam would protect America, that they should use "Hiroshima" tactics, target civilian populations, and abandon the Geneva Conventions. The instructor of that course was later relieved of his teaching duties.
The Washington-based Muslim civil rights organization has also called on the Obama administration, the Department of Homeland Security and Congress to provide oversight for apparently widespread anti-Muslim bias in the training of law enforcement, security and military personnel nationwide.
An 80-page report by Political Research Associates (PRA), titled "Manufacturing the Muslim Menace: Private Firms, Public Servants, & the Threat to Rights and Security," details a systemic failure to regulate content in counterterrorism training.
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-Tampa Executive Director Hassan Shibly, 813-541-4321, E-Mail: hshibly@cair.com; CAIR-South Florida Executive Director Nezar Hamze, 954-673-9459, E-Mail: nhamze@cair.com, CAIR National Legislative Director Corey Saylor, 202-384-8857, E-Mail: csaylor@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail:ihooper@cair.com
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAIR Urges U.S. Muslims to Share Ramadan with Neighbors
Fast-breaking 'iftars' designed to enhance interfaith understanding
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 7/12/12) -- A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization today urged Muslim communities nationwide to reach out to their neighbors of all beliefs by inviting them to take part in an interfaith "iftar," or fast-breaking meal, during the upcoming month-long fast of Ramadan.
Ramadan is the month on the Islamic lunar calendar during which Muslims abstain from food, drink and other sensual pleasures from break of dawn to sunset. It is estimated to begin July 20 this year.
To assist local Muslim community leaders, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has produced a "Sharing Ramadan Resource Guide 2012" that offers step-by-step advice on hosting an interfaith iftar.
A CAIR video promoting the campaign notes that the resource guide includes instructions on forming a "Sharing Ramadan" committee, a sample media advisory for an iftar, advice on reaching out to local media, an advertisement for the event, text for a "Welcome to Our Ramadan Fast-Breaking" brochure, frequently-asked questions about Ramadan, and a sample event program and newspaper advertisement.
The video also notes that education and outreach help decrease anti-Muslim prejudice in American society.
"In order to enhance interfaith relations, it is imperative that American Muslims reach out to their neighbors of all beliefs to offer balanced and accurate information about Islam and the Muslim community," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad.
He cited a 2009 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, which stated that those who know a Muslim or are familiar with Islam and Muslims are "most likely to express favorable views of Muslims and to see similarities between Islam and their own religion."
Awad also noted that Islam's Prophet Muhammad said Ramadan "is the month of sharing with others." (Al-Tirmidhi)
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 National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail:ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Manager Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAIR Asks Sec. Clinton to Help End Violence in Syria, Myanmar
Muslim civil rights group also seeks to avoid 'unnecessary' conflict with Iran
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 6/13/2012) -- A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization today called on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to take concrete steps to help stop the killing of civilians in Syria and Myanmar and to avoid an unnecessary conflict with Iran.
That call by the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) comes following increased violence by the Syrian dictatorship that left more than 200 civilians dead in that regime's latest massacre and after communal violence targeting almost a million Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar (formerly Burma) in which many people have been killed or injured.
CAIR's request for firmer action by the Obama administration also comes following an apparent deadlock in talks between the so-called P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) and Iran on the issue of nuclear enrichment.
CAIR's letter to Secretary Clinton stated in part:
"As a world leader, our nation cannot stand on the sidelines while civilians are slaughtered in nations like Syria and Myanmar. More forceful actions must be taken to end the violence.
"We also should not let the partisan politics of an election season distract from the real need to resolve outstanding issues with Iran without resorting to unnecessary and counterproductive military adventurism.
"Increased pressure must be brought to bear on the Syrian dictatorship and the government of Myanmar to end attacks on civilians and to bring true representative government to both nations. Concern for the safety of innocent civilians in the Gulf region also necessitates increased diplomatic efforts to resolve all outstanding issues with the government of Iran based on mutual respect and reciprocity of actions."
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 National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail:ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Manager Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAIR Seeks Nominations for National Muslim Community Service Award
Award to be presented Sept. 29 at 18th annual CAIR banquet in Arlington, Va.
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 7/16/2012) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is seeking nominations for a national award honoring the community service initiatives of Muslim leaders, activists and institutions in the United States.
The recipient of the "2012 National Muslim Community Service Award" will be announced at CAIR's 18th annual banquet on Saturday, September 29 in Arlington, Va. [NOTE: A day-long leadership skills training conference is scheduled to precede the banquet.]
"We wish to recognize and honor those individuals and institutions serving both the Muslim community and our nation," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad.
The nominated individuals and institutions will be judged based on the quality and positive impact of their educational initiatives, interfaith outreach, social service campaigns, or other proactive efforts serving the local community.
A representative of the institution or the individual awardee will be flown to Washington, D.C., to receive the award and CAIR will produce a short video highlighting the recipient's achievements.
To nominate a specific individual, mosque, Muslim nonprofit group or institution for the 2012 National Muslim Community Service Award, click here.
The nomination deadline for the award is September 1, 2012.
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 National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail:ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Manager Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com


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