(CLEVELAND, OH, 10/5/23) – On Wednesday, September 27th, the Cleveland chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) hosted the leadership of several chapters of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) from local universities for a special dinner at the CAIR office.
The gathering kicked off with introductions from all of the attendees and an opening prayer by the president of Cleveland State University’s MSA, Afnan Haque.
Haque noted the importance of the gathering and how efforts were made in past by the local MSAs to gather via Zoom but plans fell through due to scheduling conflicts. He continued to pray for the blessings for CAIR and the work of the community.
A presentation of CAIR-Ohio’s mission, vision and services was given by Interim Executive Director, Faten Odeh. Odeh expressed the unique work of CAIR to preserve the rights of Muslim Americans and highlighted the fact that there are efforts in the State House to do away with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives such as organizations like MSAs and courses that teach diverse perspectives.
Chance Zurub, CAIR-Ohio’s staff attorney, explained the type of legal cases that come through and the relationship between advocacy legal work at CAIR.
Gia Hamed, CAIR-Ohio’s intern, and Arselan Rekhif, CAIR-Ohio’s administrative assistant presented a collaboration opportunity for the student organization: Elevating Rights, Inspiring Unity.
Hamed said, “The older generation before us put in the efforts to establish CAIR and preserve our rights and now it is our turn to take on the responsibility to keep it going.”
At the conclusion of the dinner, Odeh expressed to the attendees, “This CAIR office is your CAIR office. I want to see you in here and support your efforts on campus and in the community. I hope to see you all stopping by in your free time, lending a hand and keeping us connected. My hope for this gathering was not to just inform you about CAIR and let you know we are here for you but also to connect all of you together so that we can network, learn from one another and support each other.”
The dinner was attended by the leadership of the MSAs from Case Western Reserve University, Baldwin Wallace University, University of Mount Union, John Carroll University, the University of Akron, Cleveland State University, and Kent State University.
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CONTACT: CAIR-Ohio, Cleveland Interim Executive Director Faten Odeh, 216.830.2247, fodeh@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202.744.7726, ihooper@cair.com
(CLEVELAND, OH, 9/21/23) – On Monday, September 11th, the Cleveland chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) joined Global Cleveland and other local faith leaders for the United Church of Christ’s virtual interfaith service for Global Cleveland’s Welcoming Week 2023.
n and Kent where they were facilitating voter registration and providing comprehensive insights into Issue 1.
CAIR-Ohio, Cleveland & Northern Ohio Interim Executive Director Faten Odeh said, “My father was born in 1947 in Palestine. He is older than the state of Israel, so how can some say that the land of Palestine was a land without a people? This rhetoric of erasure is unacceptable. Just like the indigenous Native American population, we were there, we are still there, and we will not be erased.”