CAIR: NY COALITION TO MARK 9/11 WITH DEFENSE OF CIVIL LIBERTIES - TOP
Rally to focus on recent allegations of NYPD spying on area Muslims
(NEW YORK, NY, 9/8/11) -- On Friday, September 9, the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) -- along with a coalition of elected officials, faith leaders, civil libertarians, and anti-war and community activists -- will mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks with a news conference and rally in defense of civil liberties on the steps of New York's City Hall.
WHAT: Coalition to Defend Civil Liberties in Post-9/11 Era
WHERE: Steps of Manhattan City Hall, Broadway and Park Place, New York, NY
WHEN: Friday, September 9, 3-4 p.m.
CONTACT: CAIR-NY Civil Rights Manager Cyrus McGoldrick, call/text: 203-206-6883, 212-870-2002, E-Mail: cmcgoldrick@cair.com
Participants in the Friday event will urge the protection of civil liberties in the post-9/11 era and will highlight concerns about recent allegations that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) is engaged in widespread religious and ethnic profiling and monitoring of Muslim communities and houses of worship in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
CAIR: New York Police Reportedly Spy on American Muslims (VOA)
"It is extremely important that we use this somber anniversary as an opportunity to reject fear and intolerance, and to reaffirm our support for the Constitution and the protections it offers to Americans of all faiths," said CAIR-NY Civil Rights Manager Cyrus McGoldrick.
Tonight, CAIR-New York will join the interfaith anti-Islamophobia coalition New York Neighbors for American Values at a vigil, called "Our Diversity is Our Strength," from 7-9 p.m. at Park Place and Church. On Sunday, September 11, CAIR-NY will join the "Rally for Unity & Solidarity" from 1-3 p.m. at Broadway and Park Place.
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, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com
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CAIR-LA TO MARK 9/11 WITH 'UNITY AND RENEWAL AWARD' TO INTERFAITH GROUP- TOP
(LOS ANGELES, CA, 9/8/11) -- The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today announced that it will present Los Angeles-based Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP) the "Unity and Renewal Award" to honor its 10 years of work following the 9/11 attacks.
The award, which includes a $2,000 grant, recognizes ICUJP's work "exemplifying the spirit of moving America forward from the national tragedy of 9/11" and will be presented at the "Urgency of 9/11/11: Challenging U.S. War-Making" multi-faith event at 7 p.m. on Sunday at All Saints Church in Pasadena.
"ICUJP is deeply grateful to receive the Unity and Renewal Award from CAIR, one of our most dedicated partners," said ICUJP Chair Stephen Rohde. "A pillar of our work has been our solidarity with Muslim Americans. Right after the 9/11 attacks, when mosques were being threatened and Muslims were being demonized, we knew right away there would be wholesale racial and religious profiling and bigotry towards the Muslim community. This wonderful award inspires us to continue our interfaith work seeking peace, justice and better understanding among all peoples."
CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush will present the award to both Rohde and ICUJP Founder George F. Regas.
"The Muslim community is grateful for committed friends like ICUJP, an organization that has worked tirelessly to support members of the Muslim community and to uphold our nation's ideals of freedom, equality and justice for all Americans," Ayloush said.
ICUJP was formed after the 9/11 attacks to respond to backlash against Southern California Muslims. In the past 10 years, the organization has spoken out consistently against civil liberty abuses such as Guantanamo Bay detentions, the use of torture, skyrocketing human and monetary costs of the immoral wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and promoting peaceful resolutions to the world's conflicts.
More information on the "Urgency of 9/11/11: Challenging U.S. War-Making" as well as the George F. Regas Courageous Peacemaker Award, which will also be presented that night, is available here.
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-LA Communications Manager Munira Syeda, Phone: (714) 776-1847, E-mail: info@losangeles.cair.com
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CAIR-TAMPA TO MARK 9/11 WITH 'UNITY AND RENEWAL AWARD' TO CHRISTIAN LEADERS - TOP
(TAMPA, FL, 9/8/02011) -- On Saturday, September 10, CAIR-Tampa will present Bishop Chuck Leigh of the Apostolic Catholic Church and Rev. Dr. Bernice Powell Jackson of the United Church of Christ with the "Unity and Renewal Award" in recognition of their "exemplifying the spirit of moving America forward from the national tragedy of 9/11." The award will be presented at 5:30 p.m. during the Islamic Community of Tampa's 9/11 Remembrance.
CAIR-Tampa said: "Bishop Leigh has consistently used his position and authority as a nationally-recognized Christian leader to advocate for fair and just treatment of all people. He seeks to redefine our nation as a place of justice and compassion, especially in these most difficult times. His efforts embody the ideals of liberty and unity that make America such a great nation.
"Dr. Jackson has been an activist on behalf of human and civil rights and women's rights and an advocate for peace with justice around the world for four decades. Her activism is an example of the ideals needed to unite our country against hatred, oppression, and injustice and keep America the safe and free nation we so cherish. "
WHAT: Presentation of 9/11 10 Year Anniversary Unity and Renewal Award
WHEN: Saturday, September 10, 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Islamic Community of Tampa, 5910 E. 130th Ave. Off of 56th Street
NOTE TO PHOTOGRAPHERS: Hand-held microphones and mic-stand/clips encouraged. News conference will take place outside on a public sidewalk and will include multiple speakers.
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: Hassan Shibly (CAIR Tampa) 813-541-4321 or hshibly@cair.com
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CAIR-MI: BILLBOARDS TRUMPET SERVICE OF MUSLIMS - TOP
Oralandar Brand-Williams, The Detroit News 9/8/2011
Hours following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Dr. Ali Taqi headed to New York City with a group of Troy firefighters to help out at ground zero.
"We were there for two days doing bucket brigade and search and rescue," said Taqi, 35, who is Muslim. "We helped out in any way we could."
His role that day and in the community since have earned him a spot on billboards around Metro Detroit highlighting contributions American Muslims have made to society. The "Remember Through Service" billboard campaign comes just days before the nation marks the 10th anniversary of the terror attacks.
The billboards sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Michigan are up in Wayne and Oakland counties.
A third billboard will be up this weekend on the Lodge near Seven Mile. They'll remain a month.
"As we reflect on the 10th anniversary of the national tragedy of 9/11, it is important for all Americans to recognize the positive contributions that Muslims have always made to our society," said Dawud Walid, CAIR-Michigan executive director. "Our fellow Americans need to know that we are first-responders, law enforcement officers and military veterans who serve and protect our nation like citizens of other faiths."
In addition to Taqi, the billboards feature a Detroit police officer, a Wayne County assistant prosecutor, an assistant principal at Canton Township public schools, a Vietnam veteran and a volunteer doctor at a free medical clinic in Wayne. (More)
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CAIR-ST. LOUIS: SEPT 11 EVENTS EMPHASIZE INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING - TOP
Pamela Dolan, STLtoday.com, 9/8/11
CAIR-St. Louis (the St. Louis chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations), working with the United Way, has reserved the Arch grounds to hold an interfaith prayer and remembrance program, on Sunday, September 11, beginning at 12 noon. More information is available on their website.
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CAIR-SV TO CO-SPONSOR 9/11 TENTH ANNIVERSARY MEMORIAL & RECEPTION -TOP
Myoho Pulai, Sacramento Buddhism Examiner, 9/8/11
Buddhist Church of Florin "9/11 Tenth Anniversary Memorial & Reception"
This Friday, September 9th, at 7:30pm, friends and community members are invited to join in the Interfaith Service at Buddhist Church of Florin to honor the victims of 9/11. This event is brought together in a joint effort to "urge unity among all Americans. The Japanese American survivors of the World War II concentration camps, will lead the memorial, (while reaching) out a hand in friendship to the Sikh, Muslim and Arab American communities."
This will be a very diverse gathering of people from Buddhist, Sikh, Muslim, Christian, Jewish and additional faith-based communities. The event will include memorial messages from some of the distinguished groups, ringing of the rin gong and a candlelight moment of silence.
For those who wish to help or contribute to this wonderful event can contact FlorinJACL@hotmail.com Refreshments such as fruit, desserts and finger foods to share, as well as donations to help cover the costs of the event would all be greatly appreciated.
The main event is being sponsored by the Florin Japanese-American Citizens League (Florin JACL), Sacramento Sikh Temple, Council on American Islamic Relations – Sacramento Valley (CAIR-SV), and the Buddhist Church of Florin, including additional endorsers.
Buddhist Church of Florin is located at 7235 Pritchard Road, Sacramento 95828 and the temple phone is 916-383-1831. (More)
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CAIR-CHICAGO: LINK BETWEEN 9/11, MUSLIM RELIGION MUST STOP - TOP
The head of a local Islamic-American organization says that after this year, except for remembering its victims, it's time for America to move on from the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
As WBBM Newsradio's Bernie Tafoya reports, Ahmed Rehab of the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations says many people still are under the false impression that Islam is a radical religion, and that its believers want to change the U.S. into an Islamic state.
Rehab says the United States needs to move on from that.
"It was always a gang of criminals, called al-Qaeda, who happened to be Muslim, who are trying to justify their acts through faith and through religion," Rehab said. (More)
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CAIR: OBAMA'S UNPRECEDENTED USE OF STATE SECRETS TO DEFEND RELIGIOUS PROFILING - TOP
Asraa Mustafa, Color Lines, 9/8/2011
In the summer of 2006, a French Syrian man known as Farouk al-Aziz publicly converted to Islam in front of a Friday prayer congregation at a large mosque in Irvine, Calif. Mosque leadership and attendants were quick to embrace al-Aziz as a new member of their faith. The Islamic center's imam asked a congregant to teach al-Aziz how to pray, and he quickly became a regular attendee at the mosque in Irvine and others in Orange County.
However, community members soon became wary of al-Aziz. He would often sit in on groups, listening to other Muslim congregants' conversations within the mosque, at family picnics or at a local gym. Most troubling to other attendees was his frequent, unusual questions about a violent form of jihad.
Community members say when al-Aziz began implying that he was contemplating violent action, boasting he knew where to get weapons and trying to gather people in a plot, congregants quickly brought the issue to the attention of mosque leadership. They obtained a restraining order against him and reached out to the local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which helped them report al-Aziz's actions to the FBI. (More)
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CAIR-FL: FEAR OF A REPUBLICAN MUSLIM - TOP
Justin Elliot, Salon, 9/8/2011
A Muslim leader in south Florida is seeking to form the first Muslim Republican club in the area, drawing intense opposition from some within the GOP.
Nezar Hamze is the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of South Florida. He is also, he tells me, a longtime registered Republican who wants to "fight the myth of the Muslim vote being Democratic."
He is also the latest flashpoint in a battle over Islam within the GOP, seen most recently in the criticisms of Rick Perry for his ties to the Texas Muslim community and in Virginia, where a Muslim Republican candidate for the House of Delegates has come under attack.
In August, Hamze, 35, submitted an application to become a voting member of the Broward Republican Executive Committee, a body within which he would like to organize the Muslim Republican club. (More)
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WORKPLACE BIAS AGAINST MUSLIMS SOARS IN POST-9/11 ERA - TOP
Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, 9/8/2011
Bias against Muslims in the workplace soared in the past decade, jumping 180% to 796 complaints nationally last year, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Muslims make up less than 1% of the U.S. population, but 21% of all religious bias cases at work.
The spike is one illustration of how Muslims and Arab Americans have increasingly faced bias in the post-9/11 era. Fifty-five percent of Muslim Americans say that being a Muslim in the U.S. has become more difficult since Sept. 11, 2001, according to a Pew Research Center survey released last week.
The case of Mazyn Barash, 53, is one example. (More)
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MUSLIM TEENS PUSH BACK AGAINST 9/11 BULLYING - TOP
Omar Sacirbey, Washington Post 9/7/2011
At first, Sarah O'Neal thought the older boy's comment was directed at the towel she was carrying to water polo practice.
"What are you looking at towel-head?" he said.
And that's when it sunk in. A freshman at Wilcox High School in Santa Clara, Calif., at the time, O'Neal, now 16, marched over and demanded the boy feel her Islamic headscarf. "Does that feel like a towel to you?" O'Neal snapped. The boy never bothered her again. (More)
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MN: COUNTY SETTLES CHARGE THAT IT DISCRIMINATED AGAINST SOMALI MUSLIM -TOP
Minnesota Department of Human Rights, 9/8/11
Rhamo Hashi is a Somali female who practices Islam. On October 10, 2008, she was applying for Emergency Assistance and meeting with a caseworker at Hennepin County's Century Plaza location, when she realized it was time for prayers, as required by her religion. She asked her caseworker for permission to pray in her cubicle, and the caseworker said that would be fine. But when she began her prayers, another caseworker began cursing at her, picked up her belongings, and tossed them around. The employee then grabbed Hashi, pushing and pulling at her. As Hashi struggled to continue her prayers, the employee started shouting: "Hey, listen, stop!" and "Talk to me when I'm talking to you, move, listen to me."
Although the first caseworker advised her coworker that Muslims "don't talk to you when they are praying," the second caseworker continued her hostile behavior. "I'm going to call the police - you can't pray here - why are you ignoring me?" the second caseworker demanded. "Stupid Somalis... what the hell is wrong with you," she allegedly yelled.
After finishing her prayers, Hashi opened her eyes and saw that a group of county employees had gathered around her, including a Hennepin County Sheriff. She asked the officer for help. "Shut your mouth or I'm going to arrest you," the officer responded. "Be quiet and leave the premises right now or in 5 seconds you're going to jail," he continued. "Don't talk to me, go!" (More)
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VIDEO: U.S. STUDENTS TRIED FOR ANTI-ISRAEL PROTEST (CAIR-LA) - TOP
Press TV
Watch the video.
A group of Muslim students are being tried in the US for protesting during a speech by Israel's ambassador to the United States in 2010, Press TV reports.
State of California prosecutors argued on Wednesday that the 10 Muslim university students broke the law when they repeatedly interrupted a speech by the Israeli envoy, Michael Oren, during a public meeting in the University of California, Irvine, in February 2010.
The Orange County District attorney alleged that the Muslim students, known as "Irvine 11", violated Oren's right to free speech by delaying his remarks for 20 minutes. (More)
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CAIR-CAN: CALGARY MAN BARRED FROM U.S. ENSNARED IN POST-9-11 BORDER TANGLE - TOP
Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press, 9/8/2011
OTTAWA - Hamoud can no longer travel to the United States, and the middle-aged Calgary businessman says he doesn't know why.
He's one of many Canadians who now think twice before they head to the U.S. - or can't go there at all - because of post-9-11 security restrictions.
"The whole thing has just been a nightmare, really," he said in an interview.
Hamoud spoke to The Canadian Press on condition his full name not be published out of fear it would only make his travel problems worse.
After going to the United States many times over the decades, he and his daughters had to cancel a spring 2010 vacation in New York and Florida because the U.S. Homeland Security Department did not clear him for entry.
Five days after returning home from the airport, Hamoud was visited by two Canadian Security Intelligence Service officers who asked lots of questions. But even they couldn't figure out why the U.S. had barred him.
He says he's not involved in criminal or extremist activity, and still has no answers from the Americans.
Hamoud has missed six business events in the U.S. - no-shows that are taking their toll on his company. He has also had difficulty flying within Canada, as Air Canada consults the U.S. no-fly list even for domestic flights. (More)
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CAIR-CAN: CANADIANS LESS TOLERANT AFTER 9/11, SAYS POLL - TOP
AMY CHUNG, POSTMEDIA NEWS, 9/8/2011
A majority of Canadians say society has become less tolerant of various ethnicities and faiths since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a new study shows.
Over half of Canadians surveyed in an Ipsos Reid poll for Postmedia News and Global TV said that Muslims are discriminated against more now than they were 10 years ago. However, Canadian Muslim groups say the impact of 9/11 was both good and bad on the Muslim community.
"On the good side, there has been the ability for Canadians to access their fellow citizens with Muslim backgrounds, to get to know them more, and essentially have the ability to get accurate information about Islam in the Muslim community which has been a great thing for those who want to have that information," said Kashif Ahmed, a national board member with the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations. (More)
