Monday, September 10, 2012


CAIR: Record Number of Muslim Delegates at DNC
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 9/4/12) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today said that this year's Democratic National Convention (DNC) will host a record number of American Muslim delegates representing some 20 states.
CAIR said recent estimates place the number of Muslim delegates at more than 100, up from 43 Muslim and Arab-American delegates at the 2008 Democratic convention, and 25 at the 2004 convention.
"The more than doubling of Muslim delegates at this year's Democratic National Convention is a direct result of their hard work and grassroots organizing within the Democratic Party," said CAIR Government Affairs Coordinator Robert McCaw. "It is also a sign of the American Muslim community's growing civic engagement and acceptance in the Democratic Party."
He said that only a handful of Muslim delegates attended this year's Republican National Convention (RNC), during which the RNC adopted a platform plank targeting the religious practices of Muslims.
On September 6, the American Muslim Democratic Caucus will hold a press conference at the convention. The event will be co-hosted by Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN).
CAIR recently announced the formation of a national partnership with the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) to coordinate voter empowerment and election activities.
In the run-up to the election, CAIR has engaged in a year-long political empowerment campaign focused on ensuring that American Muslims are actively participating in the 2012 election cycle and are connecting with candidates, volunteering in campaigns, registering to vote, hosting candidate forums, and mobilizing community members to vote.
McCaw noted that with large concentrations of Muslim voters in key swing states such as Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, the American Muslim community has the potential to be influential in determining the next president of the United States.
* In the 2000 election, a Muslim political action coalition encouraged Muslims to vote for then-candidate George W. Bush, in part because of his public stand against the use of secret evidence in the nation's courts.
* In 2004, Muslims concerned about the erosion of civil rights in the post-9/11 era were urged to vote for Sen. John Kerry.
* In 2008, an American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT) poll indicated that almost 90 percent of American Muslim voters picked Barack Obama.
Past surveys indicate that Muslim voters are religiously diverse, well integrated in American society, politically active, and support candidates of any party who address their concerns.
Domestic issues listed as most important by American Muslim voters include education, civil rights, health care, and the economy.
[NOTE: CAIR is a non-partisan, tax-exempt organization that does not endorse candidates, but does encourage voter registration, voter education, get-out-the-vote campaigns, and other forms of positive engagement in our nation's political process.)
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 Government Affairs Coordinator Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, E-Mail: rmccaw@cair.com; 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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CAIR
CAIR Action Alert:
ISNA Attendees: Tour CAIR's Capitol Hill HQ, Meet Board Members
Register for CAIR conference/banquet at ISNA booth, get free Quran
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 8/30/12) -- On Friday evening, members of CAIR's national board and staff will host an informal reception and offer tours for supporters at our Capitol Hill headquarters in Washington, D.C. (Light refreshments will be served.)
Those wishing to meet CAIR board members and take a tour of the national headquarters must RSVP to info@cair.com (include name and phone number) before noon on Friday and then meet at our Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) bazaar booth (number 1012 and 1014) at 5:45 p.m. that day to be shuttled to CAIR's office by a Zohery Tours bus for the 6 to 8 p.m. reception and tour.
Those taking their own transportation to the reception should arrive at 453 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, D.C., 20003, at 6 p.m.
ALSO: The first 50 people who register at CAIR's booth at the ISNA convention for our September 29 leadership training conference and annual banquet in Arlington, Va., will receive a FREE high-quality copy of the Quran.
[NOTE: This is the same copy of the Quran that members of the American Muslim community have sponsored for distribution through CAIR's "Share the Quran" educational initiative to tens of thousands of ordinary Americans of all faiths and to local, state and national leaders.]
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED:
1. Meet with CAIR's national board and tour our headquarters by sending an RSVP to info@cair.com (include name and phone number) by noon on Friday and then meeting at CAIR's ISNA booth at 5:45 p.m. to be taken on the 10 minute ride to the Capitol Hill office for the 6 to 8 p.m. event.
2. Register online TODAY for CAIR leadership training conference and annual banquet on September 29 in Arlington, Va.
Registration for the banquet and the leadership skills training conference is available here.

Banquet tables for a family, business, mosque, or other group, can be reserved by calling 202-488-8787 or by emailing banquet@cair.com. Space in the program book is available for advertisements to reach all banquet attendees. Email banquet@cair.com for a sponsorship form.
3. Register in person at CAIR's booth during the ISNA convention this weekend in Washington, D.C., and receive a FREE copy of the Quran
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United against Poverty


CAIR
  • CAIR-MI Asks Feds to Probe Hate Crime Against Jewish Student
    CAIR-MI today called for a federal probe into a recent hate crime allegedly targeting a Jewish student of Michigan State University (MSU) in East Lansing.
    • CAIR-St. Louis: Muslims Concerned by Nationwide Hate Crimes
      "This is a very troubling trend, that we have so many hate crimes going on in such a short period of time," said Faizan Syed, executive director of CAIR-St. Louis. "This is very troubling for the Muslim community, and also for the larger community, because what is the future? What is going to happen with all these crimes going on right now?"
  • CAIR-CT: United Against Poverty
    United Against Poverty Conference, September 29, 2012, Stamford, CT
  • Kris Kobach: GOP will Inspire Laws Targeting Imaginary Sharia Threat
    Kobach cited a new Kansas law combating the fictional and manufactured threat of Sharia as a reason the Republican Party Platform Committee endorsed his anti-Sharia proposal, telling Grandy that the "unequivocal intent" of the committee's decision was to encourage other states to "take a firm stand against Sharia law."
    • Speaking Urdu or Bengali a Cause for Police Suspicion in NYC (NY Times)
      "'I'm seeing Urdu,' Assistant Chief Galati said of the data generated by his eight-person demographics unit," Mr. Powell wrote, "which has eavesdropped on thousands of conversations between Muslims in restaurants and stores in New York City and New Jersey and on Long Island."
  • Visit CAIR's Booth at ISNA: This is a reminder that the ISNA convention is this Labor Day weekend at the Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Today is the last day to register online for the convention.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAIR-AZ Asks State GOP to Repudiate Candidate's Hate Speech
(PHOENIX, AZ, 8/28/12) ­- The Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-AZ) today called on Republican Party leaders in that state to repudiate remarks by a GOP congressional candidate who said she does not want "Middle Easterners" in America "either legally or illegally."
Gabriela Saucedo Mercer, self-proclaimed "Tea Party" candidate for U.S. Congress in Arizona's District 3, is shown in a video interview stating: "If you know Middle Easterners, a lot of them, they look Mexican. . .and they mix. . .those people, their only goal in life is to cause harm to the United States, so why do we want them here, either legally or illegally."
"We urge responsible leaders of the Republican Party in Arizona and nationwide to repudiate Ms. Mercer's bigoted comments," said CAIR-AZ Board Member Imraan Siddiqi. "Her un-American and intolerant remarks are an insult to the millions of Americans of Middle Eastern heritage who have contributed so much to this great nation."
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-AZ Board Member Imraan Siddiqi, 480-415-4652, E-Mail: isiddiqi@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAIR Distributes Muslim Voter Registration Toolkit, State Voting Guides
Muslim civil rights group announces partnership with American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee to empower voters
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 8/22/12) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations(CAIR) today released a Muslim voter registration toolkit and state-specific voting guides as part of its ongoing campaign to empower Muslims and increase their political capacity and presence in the 2012 elections.
CAIR also announced the formation of a national partnership with the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) to coordinate voter empowerment and election activities. The two national organizations will work together on hosting voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives, phone banks, town hall meetings, and candidate forums.
"CAIR is proud to partner with ADC in helping to strengthen the political voice of the diverse American Muslim and Arab-American communities in the November elections," saidCAIR Government Affairs Coordinator Robert McCaw. "The political empowerment of minority communities can only be accomplished through positive civic engagement and by building coalitions with other Americans who seek social justice."
ADC Legal Director Abed Ayoub said: "ADC welcomes the partnership with CAIR and is committed to strengthening the voice of our respective communities and constituents. The past few weeks have shed light on the discrimination and hate which still exists in this country. It is only through such partnerships and coalitions that a united voice can rise against the hate and bigotry."
McCaw said CAIR's voter registration toolkit offers step-by-step instructions for carrying out voter registration drives in mosques, Islamic centers and community gatherings.
CAIR's state-specific voting guides are designed to inform American Muslim voters about polling times and locations, how to register to vote, how to cast an absentee ballot, and about voter rights in each state. The Washington-based organization also released an updated presidential voter guide to ensure that Muslims are knowledgeable about the candidates and their positions on a variety of issues.
CAIR's year-long political empowerment campaign focuses on ensuring that American Muslims are actively participating in the 2012 election cycle and are connecting with candidates, volunteering in campaigns, registering to vote, hosting candidate forums, and mobilizing community members to vote.
SEE: CAIR's Rock the Vote-Sponsored Online Voter Registration Tool 
CAIR National Twitter Account (We're using the hashtag #MuslimsVote)
In July, ADC relaunched its Voter Protection Unit (VPU), a special unit dedicated to protecting Arab and American Muslims from attempts to intimidate or prevent their right to vote. To increase ADC-VPU's reach, CAIR will advertise ADC's voter protection services throughout the election.
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.
ADC is a civil rights organization committed to defending the rights of people of Arab descent and promoting their rich cultural heritage.
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CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Coordinator Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, E-Mail: rmccaw@cair.com; 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, arubin@cair.com


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CAIR Asks GOP to Reject Anti-Islam Platform Plank


CAIR
  • Video: CAIR-OK Launches Muslim Voter Registration Drive
  • CAIR: Mosque Plan Divides a Diverse Mich. Town (WSJ)
    At the meeting, planning commissioner Jim Manna asked Dr. Suliman whether his group received any funding from national or international groups. Dr. Suliman said no. Mr. Manna then asked what would happen in the future if Saudi Arabia offered the Islamic center $1 million. "The spirit of such questions, we believe, has nothing to do with the planning commission" and its functions, said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Michigan.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAIR Asks GOP to Reject Anti-Islam Platform Plank 
Muslim civil rights group releases 'Islamophobe profile' of man whose hate campaign inspired plank
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 8/24/2012) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today asked the Republican Party to reject a newly-adopted platform plank that includes a section supporting a ban on foreign law, which its sponsor admits targets the religious principles of American Muslims.
CAIR noted that the plank appears to be modeled on dozens of bills introduced in state legislatures nationwide based on draft legislation promoted by David Yerushalmi, an infamous Islamophobe with a history of bigoted statements targeting women, African Americans and people of the Jewish faith.
[NOTE: CAIR today released an "Islamophobe profile" of Yerushalmi, the first in a series of such reports. See below for details.]
On Tuesday, the anti-Islam plank was adopted without argument or debate during a meeting of the Republican Party's platform committee. The policy statement was introduced by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, an anti-immigration activist who also wrote Arizona's controversial SB 1070 "papers please" law.
Kobach told the platform committee:
"I'm not aware of any court that's actually accepted the argument, but in cases involving either spousal abuse or assault or other crimes against persons, sometimes defenses are raised that are based in Sharia Law. We actually put a provision to this effect in Kansas statute this year and I think it's important to say that foreign sources of law should not be used as part of common law decisions or statutory interpretation by judges in the lower state courts as well."
The Kansas law Kobach spoke of at the platform committee meeting, which CAIR challenged as unconstitutional and discriminatory, was derived from Yerushalmi's template and legislator's in that state acknowledged that the bill targeted Muslims.
Of that bill, Sen. Chris Steineger, a Kansas City Republican, said: "[T]his was not presented as protecting the Kansas Constitution. The proponents of this measure, clearly by the literature they gave me and by the video link they directed me to, they presented this as protecting us against Sharia law. Despite the fact that this doesn't mention Sharia, that's how this whole issue was presented."
"This plank is part of a nationwide trend to marginalize Muslims and keep them from having the same rights and access to the courts as Americans of other faiths," said CAIR Government Affairs Coordinator Robert McCaw. "The plank is irrelevant, since the Constitution's Supremacy Clause ensures that no foreign law can replace it, and only serves as a smoke-screen for anti-Muslim bigotry."
"We wish Kobach and the Republican Party had as much confidence in the Constitution as we do," said McCaw.
In 2011 and 2012, 78 bills or amendments aimed at interfering with Islamic religious practices were considered in 31 states and the U.S. Congress. Seventy-three of those bills were introduced by Republicans and 62 contained language copied from David Yerushalmi's American Laws for American Courts model legislation. So far, anti-Muslim laws have been adopted in Arizona, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Klobach's own Kansas.
Yerushalmi is head of the anti-Islam hate group Society of Americans for National Existence (SANE), which once offered a policy proposal that would make "adherence to Islam" punishable by 20 years in prison, called for the immediate deportation of all non-citizen Muslims and urged Congress to declare war on the "Muslim Nation," which SANE defined as "all Muslims." The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) named Yerushalmi a member of the "anti-Muslim inner circle."
Outside of his anti-Islam activism Yerushalmi is notable for saying, "There is a reason the founding fathers did not give women or black slaves the right to vote." He has also claimed that people of the Jewish faith "destroy their host nations like a fatal parasite."
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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CAIR Calls for Release of Pakistani Girl Held for 'Blasphemy'


CAIR Calls for Release of Pakistani Girl Held for 'Blasphemy'
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 8/23/12) – A national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization today called on the government of Pakistan to release Rimsha Masih, a Christian girl who is being held on blasphemy charges after she was accused of burning pages from a textbook that included verses from the Quran. Human rights organizations report that the girl, who is a minor, may have Down syndrome.
In a statement, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said:
"It is imperative that the government of Pakistan immediately release Rimsha Masih and ensure her safety and that of her family and their community. The arrest of such a young person, especially if she has a mental disability, is a serious violation of Islamic principles.
"Human rights violations like this must be condemned and challenged not only because of their great injustice against vulnerable people, but also because they are falsely committed in the name of Islam.
"It is reported that an angry mob played a role in inciting this arrest, and we ask Pakistani officials to investigate those circumstances. The reports of media and human rights organizations depict actions by local officials and extremist leaders that are unjust and contradictory to Islamic teachings.
"In this incident it is not the girl who violated Islam's teachings but the extremists who seem to have fueled this unfounded anger.
"We recognize that President Zardari has ordered local officials to explain the arrest, but we urge more concrete actions to protect minorities and other vulnerable members of society."
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.
CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Manager Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, arubin@cair.com


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