CLEVELAND, OH – 1/27/2023) – The Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) commends Beachwood City Schools for adding three new holidays – Eid Al-Fitr, Lunar New Year, and Diwali – to the academic calendar.

Beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, these holidays will be recognized as days off for students when they fall on a school day.

SEE: Three Holidays Added to Academic Calendar

Eid al-Fitr (“feast of fast breaking”) marks the end of Ramadan – a holy month of fasting, worship, and good deeds – and occurs on a different date each year as it is based on the lunar calendar. Typical festivities for Eid al-Fitr include congregational prayer, gatherings with family and friends, and community events.

Lunar New Year celebrates the beginning of the new lunisolar calendar year. Lunar New Year is celebrated by the Asian community worldwide.

Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights, is a religious festival originating from India.

In Beachwood City Schools’ news release, the Assistant Superintendent Ken Veon discussed the district’s decision:

“I’m hopeful, through this simple recognition of the holidays, that people from other cultures will know about the holidays, seek more information and an understanding about them, and most importantly, respect the practices of people who celebrate them to help develop a culture of inclusiveness and acceptance.”

CAIR-Ohio, Cleveland and Northern Ohio’s Interim Executive Director Faten Husni Odehlauded Beachwood City Schools announcement:

“As a someone that has been both a student and an educator in the public-school system, having to choose whether to go to school or work instead of spending time with family to celebrate religious holidays was always difficult. It is welcome news that Beachwood City Schools is adding these three holidays to the school calendar. I am hopeful that other school districts will follow their lead so that students of diverse faiths will not have to choose anymore.” 

By including these three holidays on their academic calendar, Beachwood City Schools sets an example for school districts nationwide for promoting diversity and inclusion.

“I commend Beachwood City Schools for adding these holidays to their academic calendar. While certain political leaders throughout the nation attempt to impose their beliefs and ideas on the education system to cause division and alienate certain groups, Beachwood City Schools has chosen to go in the opposite direction. I hope that more school districts throughout Ohio and the United States will follow the lead of Beachwood City Schools to be more inclusive and accepting of the various cultural and religious backgrounds of their students,” said CAIR-Ohio, Cleveland chapter’s Paralegal Areege Hammad.

SEE: Beachwood City Schools add 3 new holidays

SEE: Beachwood students get 3 new academic holidays off

Many other school districts nationwide are also adding Eid holidays to their calendars.

Washington, D.C., based CAIR offers a booklet, called “An Educator’s Guide to Islamic Religious Practices,” designed to help school officials provide a positive learning environment for Muslim students.

CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.

La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.

Become a Fan of the Cleveland chapter of CAIR-Ohio on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CAIRCleveland

Subscribe to the Cleveland chapter of CAIR-Ohio’s Twitter Feed
https://twitter.com/CAIRCleveland

Subscribe to the Cleveland chapter of CAIR-Ohio’s YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@caircleveland

Follow the Cleveland chapter of CAIR-Ohio on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/cairohiocleveland/

Donate to the Cleveland chapter of CAIR-Ohio
https://caircleveland.com/donate/

– END –

CONTACT:  CAIR-Ohio, Cleveland Chapter Interim Executive Director Faten Odeh, 216.830.2247, fodeh@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202.744.7726, ihooper@cair.com

December 29, 2022

As-Salaamu Alaikum. May God’s Peace and Blessings Be Upon You.

As we have known for some time, our beloved Sr. Julia Shearson will be stepping down from her role as the Executive Director of CAIR-Ohio, Cleveland, at the start of the new year. She has served our chapter and our community with dedication and care since the founding of the Cleveland office in 2003. I have been blessed to work with her first as a volunteer and then as a board member and chair of the Board Effectiveness Committee. She has taught me invaluable lessons and skills that I hope to apply in my new role as the incoming interim executive director.

I am grateful to the CAIR-Ohio, Cleveland Board for entrusting me with this honor and for granting me the opportunity to give back to the community I love. My top priority will always be to serve with honesty and integrity.

CAIR’s vision and mission resonate deeply with me. I hope to apply my 22 years of experience in community work to take our efforts to the next level in fulfilling CAIR’s mission. Some of the goals I hope to achieve include increasing our staff, building on the existing services and establishing new programs that reach out to our youth, strengthen ties with our interfaith allies and enhance community engagement, inshaAllah.

In the coming months, inshaAllah, as part of our strategic planning process, I hope to reach out to you to gather input, advice, support and participation. This is important because what you share will help drive our work.

As we venture on this new journey together, I ask for your support and guidance. This is new territory, and I will continue to nurture and grow the seeds Sr. Julia has planted. With much patience and kindness, she has shared her wisdom and taught me many skills that I will cherish forever.

Although I cannot promise perfection, I can promise that Islam will always be my guiding light, inshaAllah. Having the privilege of being a board member and working closely with Sr. Julia, I am aware of the hard work and responsibility this position holds. In this role I will be fulfilling my civic duty as an American and meeting my life’s obligations as a Muslim. This work is an amana from Allah, and to do this job with excellence is an act of worship.

I ask you to make duaa for me and allow for grace as I embark on this new journey.

Sincerely,

Faten Husni Odeh

CAIR-Ohio, Cleveland Board Member, 2019-2022

Chair of the Board Effectiveness Committee

December 29, 2022

As-Salaamu Alaykum. May God’s Peace and Blessings Be Upon You.

I am writing on behalf of the CAIR-Ohio, Cleveland Chapter Board to update you on the next generation of leadership that will be stepping forward to lead CAIR in the Cleveland and Northern Ohio region. As you may know, we have been working closely with our current Executive Director, Sr. Julia Shearson, on our succession plans to ensure that we have a smooth transition as we go forward.

After an extensive executive director search process, the Board decided that promoting leadership from within our ranks was the best way to preserve institutional memory and ensure continuity of efforts.

As such, we are pleased to announce officially that Sr. Faten Odeh has accepted the Board’s request to serve as our incoming Interim Executive Director. Her candidacy was advanced via an independent review process by our Executive Search Committee who determined that she possesses the passion, commitment, and skills to lead our office forward as part of the CAIR-Ohio team.

In light of the transition, Sr. Faten has stepped down from her role on the CAIR-Ohio, Cleveland chapter Board where she had served since 2019 and more recently as the Chair of the Board Effectiveness Committee. Sr. Faten will be working alongside Sr. Julia for a short period to help ensure a smooth hand-off of the reins.

Sr. Faten has plans to focus on further program development, capacity building, and educational outreach with a special focus on youth development. Her skills as an educator will serve her well in this role. Sr. Faten has degrees in communications and political science as well as an advanced degree in the field of education. In addition, she has a certification in fundraising management (CFRM) from the Center for Muslim Philanthropy at Indiana University. This certification will serve her well as she works on the capacity building and fund development aspect of the executive director role.

As President of the Cleveland chapter Board, I ask that you continue to support our organization through this transition. We are grateful to Sr. Julia for all her service to the community. We are excited and hopeful regarding the next stages of our organizational growth.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Sr. Faten or members of our Board.

May Allah (swt) reward you for your continuing support and prayers.

Sincerely,

Ahmad Banna, MD FACC

CAIR-Ohio, Cleveland Chapter President

cc: CAIR-Ohio, Cleveland Chapter Board: M. Isam Zaiem, Treasurer; Aisha Samad, Secretary;

Faheem Shaikh, ED Search Committee Chair; Wali A. Shariff; Dr. Ihsan Ul-Haque; Humera Khan;

Dr. Yasser Armanazi; Melaak Rashid; Abdinor Abdullahi

Muslim civil rights group calls on CWRU president to ‘apologize, retract his false statement, and meet with students’

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/10/2022) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and its Cleveland chapter (CAIR-Cleveland) today called Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) President Eric Kaler’s response to a student government resolution seeking divestment from companies that provide support to the Israeli government’s system of apartheid “dishonest, dangerous and defamatory.”

Editorial: President Kaler has created far more division than USG ever could 

https://observer.case.edu/editorial-president-kaler-has-created-far-more-division-than-usg-ever-could/

CAIR, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, also called on President Kaler to “immediately apologize, retract his false statement, and meet with students.”

Case Western Reserve University’s Undergraduate Student Government (USG) passed a resolution demanding the university divest from companies that “directly provide weaponry, security systems, prisons, or military support for the illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories” within two years.

USG voted 35-17-7 last night to approve Resolution 31-15, which calls on the university to “fully divest its assets from Israeli apartheid.”

READ THE RESOLUTION.

SEE: USG’s “Students for Justice in Palestine” bill garners controversy 

Following its passage, CWRU President Eric Kaler issued a message to students and staff condemning the resolution. In his message, Kaler falsely claimed the foundation of the resolution was “profoundly antisemitic.”

In response to President Kaler’s statement, CAIR-Ohio, Cleveland Chapter Executive Director Julia Shearson said:

“In his message to students and faculty on the passage of the resolution, President Kaler conflates the legitimate grievances of the Palestinian people with antisemitism and hate. In doing so, he commits the logical fallacy of attacking a straw man. Moreover, he dismissively erases the perspective of the Palestinian students on campus, many of whose immediate families are directly impacted by the Israeli occupation.  

“If President Kaler wants to promote the university’s stated core values, he should stop denigrating Palestinian students and instead reach out to them and their allies on campus and listen with an unbiased ear to their perspectives.”    

In a statement, CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:

“We strongly condemn President Kaler’s dishonest, dangerous and defamatory attack on students at Case Western Reserve University.  

“By slandering students for expressing support for Palestinian human rights and calling on the university to divest from companies that provide military support for the Israeli apartheid government’s human rights abuses, President Kaler has endangered the very students he is supposed to protect. 

“Students at Case Western Reserve University have every right to state widely-known facts that have been attested to by numerous human rights organizations and the United Nations.  

“President Kaler must immediately apologize, retract his false statement, and meet with students he targeted to begin repairing the damage he caused.” 

He noted that last month, CAIR welcomed an investigation by a UN commission of inquiry into the Israeli government’s system of apartheid against Palestinians.

Mitchell cited a recent open letter by five former European ministers that labeled Israel’s policies against Palestinians as “the crime of apartheid.”

He added that Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Presbyterian Church USA have recently labeled Israel an apartheid state.    

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing also recognized that Israel is committing apartheid against Palestinians. 

CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.

La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.

Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational

Subscribe to CAIR’s Email List

https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters

Subscribe to CAIR’s Twitter Feed

http://twitter.com/cairnational

Subscribe to CAIR’s YouTube Channel

http://www.youtube.com/cairtv

Follow CAIR on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/cair_national/

Donate to CAIR

https://action.cair.com/a/donate

Do you like reading CAIR press releases and taking part in our action alerts? You can help contribute to CAIR’s work of defending civil rights and empowering American Muslims across the country by making a one-time contribution or becoming a monthly donor. Supporters like you make CAIR’s advocacy work possible and defeating Islamophobia an achievable goal. Click here to donate to CAIR.

If you would like to join CAIR’s media list, please sign up here: https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters — For more information, email: info@cair.com, CC ihooper@cair.com

END

CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com