CAIR

Academics & Education

CAIR says Hamline University teacher is not Islamophobic The statement comes after CAIR's Minnesota chapter said the classroom viewing of a painting of the Prophet Muhammad was bigoted and disrespectful.

January 13, 2023   

(Religion News) The Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement Friday (Jan. 13), saying an art history instructor at Hamline University did not act with bigoted intent when she showed a 14th-century painting of the Prophet Muhammad in a class last semester. […]

Academics & Education

CAIR MN backs student who says she was hurt by instructor showing image of Muhammad At a press conference held by the Minneapolis chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the student said she was shocked and pained by an art history instructor.

January 11, 2023   

(Religion News) Hamline University senior Aram Wedatalla held back tears as she described how hurt she felt when her art history instructor informed the class she would briefly show a painting of the Prophet Muhammad last semester. Speaking at a news conference held […]

Academics & Education

Academic freedom vs. rights of Muslim students An instructor at Hamline U showed an image of Muhammad in an art history class. The president criticized the instructor for doing so. Another professor, who tried to explain the situation with an essay in the student paper, had his piece removed.

January 3, 2023   

(Inside Higher Ed) This fall, an instructor at Hamline University, in Minnesota, was teaching global art history. For one class, the instructor (who has not been named) was discussing Islamic art and included for a brief period (under 10 minutes) a screen […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Favourable view of Muslims in the US ticks up, even as Islamophobic incidents rise Number of Americans holding Islamophobic and antisemitic views has flatlined, and may actually be shrinking, even as hate crimes increase

December 30, 2022   

(Middle East Eye) The number of US residents holding Islamophobic and antisemitic views has flatlined, and may actually be shrinking, even as hate crimes increase, according to a 2022 poll conducted by Brookings Institute. Favourable views of Muslims in the US have […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Ron DeSantis: Republican rising star alarms Muslim, Palestinian communities As the Florida governor positions himself for a possible presidential bid, activists and organisers say DeSantis reminds them of bigoted rhetoric birthed in US-led 'war on terror'

December 5, 2022   

(Middle East Eye) In 2006, then-Navy officer Ron DeSantis was an appointed attorney supporting the US military’s mission at Guantanamo Bay. Not much is officially known about his months-long stint at the prison, which at its peak held nearly 800 Muslim men […]

Academics & Education

Why more Muslim Americans are choosing to send their children to Islamic schools Many Muslim parents are opting to send their children to Islamic schools because they feel secular schooling is heading in the wrong direction

November 14, 2022   

(Middle East Eye) Abdullah Khan attended public school his entire life. The truth is, his parents had wanted to send their kids to a private Islamic school, but they just couldn’t afford it — and Abdullah believes he suffered because of it. […]

Government & Politics

US Muslim organisations see bright future for community’s candidates Though there are no new Muslim faces in public office at the national level from the latest US midterms, organisers from Muslim groups expect that to change in the next decade.

November 12, 2022   

(New Arab) Looking at the long-term prospects of political leaders in their community, organisers with Muslim groups see a bright future for Muslim candidates. While this year’s midterms didn’t see the slew of wins for Muslims that the previous two elections did, […]

Government & Politics

Muslim Americans make historic gains in 2022 midterm elections 'When Muslims run for office today, in 2022 and beyond, ... it's rewarded by voters,' said Mohammed Missouri, executive director of Jetpac, a nonprofit that works to increase Muslim representation in US government and politics.

November 11, 2022   

(Religion News) Nabeela Syed made history in this year’s midterms when she defeated a Republican incumbent in Illinois’ 51st District, making her the youngest member of the Illinois General Assembly and among the first Muslims elected to the state Legislature. “It is […]

Government & Politics

In run-up to midterms, Muslim groups, mosques push for voter engagement 'The local work is allowing us to expand voting rights so more people can vote for our candidates,' said Nada Al-Hanooti, executive director of Emgage’s Michigan chapter.

November 5, 2022   

(Religion News) Community organizer Nada Al-Hanooti insists local city council politics hold just as much power as elections on the national and federal levels. As proof, she cites voter outreach efforts in southeast Michigan that in 2021 helped elect the city of […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

US may elect first Muslim senator. Why are few Muslims thrilled? Donald Trump-backed Mehmet Oz’s Senate bid fails to produce enthusiasm seen with previous Muslim firsts in US.

November 5, 2022   

(Al-Jazeera) The United States may elect its highest-ranking Muslim official next week — a Donald Trump-backed Republican who has questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 elections. Mehmet Oz, a television personality and retired surgeon of Turkish descent, is running in Pennsylvania against […]

Government & Politics

NGOs call for rejection of IHRA’s anti-Semitism definition in US county A coalition of NGOs are calling for the rejection of a resolution in Montgomery County in Maryland that could make criticism of Israel part of a definition of anti-Semitism, raising wider concerns over free speech.

November 1, 2022   

(New Arab) On a rainy Monday evening at the Montgomery County Council in Maryland, located near Washington, DC, a group of NGOs held a press conference calling on the Council to reject the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism, which would […]

Government & Politics

American Muslims in the midterms aren’t long-shot candidates anymore In 2018, a Muslim blue wave emerged in response to Trump. Four years later, many Muslim American candidates are prepping for long careers.

October 29, 2022   

(HuffPost) Abdelnasser Rashid was one of the dozens of American Muslims who ran for office in 2018. It was dubbed the Muslim blue wave, where more than 90 American Muslims ran for office up and down the ballot, emboldened to push back […]

Government & Politics

Muslims suing over watch-list status say U.S. tactics block scrutiny Those challenging the constitutionality of the ‘No-Fly List’ and Terrorist Screening Database say that when they sue, they get removed, making it impossible to have their concerns heard in court

October 16, 2022   

(Washington Post) Saadiq Long was only allowed to visit his mother after FBI agents questioned her. He was strip-searched at an airport in Amsterdam and arrested when visiting Turkey. He was banned from two Persian Gulf states and fired from a trucking […]

Academics & Education

CUNY pulls former CAIR staffer from anti-Zionism investigation Prof. Jeffrey Lax says choosing a former employee of the Council on American–Islamic Relations to conduct the probe showed 'at best, extremely poor judgment.'

September 28, 2022   

(JNS) The City University of New York (CUNY) has reversed course after it assigned a former employee of a vehemently anti-Israel NGO to investigate allegations of anti-Zionist discrimination. The probe came at the request of Prof. Jeffrey Lax, chair of the business […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Muslim groups are alarmed by new CNN boss’ first big hire John Miller resigned from the NYPD after lying about its Muslim surveillance program. Now he’s covering law enforcement for CNN.

September 7, 2022   

(HuffPost) CNN has hired John Miller, a former New York City Police Department official who lied about the department’s history of surveilling Muslims, to be its chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst — a move that has alarmed civil rights leaders and […]

Crime

Shia-Sunni communities hold joint press conference after Albuquerque Muslim killings Following days of tension in the US Muslim community following the killings of Muslim men in Albuquerque by a serial killer, a man was arrested on Tuesday in what appears to be murders by a Sunni motivated by anti-Shia hatred.

August 10, 2022   

(New Arab) Following the arrest of the main suspect in the killing of Muslim men in Albuquerque — an Afghan Sunni immigrant who allegedly murdered four Shia Muslims — the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) held a press conference Tuesday evening in […]

Government & Politics

Maryland CAIR chapter opposes IHRA definition of antisemitism Montgomery County is Maryland's most populous region, encompassing the heavily Jewish town of Silver Spring as well as several heavily populated places in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area.

July 26, 2022   

(Jerusalem Post) The Maryland chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on members of the Montgomery County Council on Sunday to oppose the county’s resolution to formally adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Association’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. Montgomery County is […]

Legal

US rights groups warn against travel to UAE 'Our fear is that the UAE might be involved in extraordinary rendition,' Nihad [Awad], executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told the New Arab.

July 25, 2022   

(New Arab) Rights groups in the United States are warning civil society activists against travelling or transiting through the United Arab Emirates after the detention of US civil rights attorney Asim Ghafoor. Ghafoor, a Virginia-based civil rights lawyer who represented murdered Washington […]

Academics & Education

US state Maryland gives Muslim students the legal right to wear hijab in sport The Inclusive Attire Act, which took effect earlier this month, gives legal protection to student athletes of all faiths who choose to dress modestly or wear their religious coverings while participating in sports.

July 8, 2022   

(New Arab) The US state of Maryland has passed a law that will protect the rights of hijab-wearing female athletes and others with faith-related head coverings to play sports, without concerns of exclusion. The bill, called the Inclusive Attire Act, which took […]