(Cleveland, OH, 7/7/05) – The Cleveland office of CAIR-OHIO recently met with Cuyahoga County Commissioner Tim Hagan to discuss a range of issues concerning the Muslim community. The meeting was part of a broader outreach effort undertaken by CAIR to acquaint area civic leaders and elected officials with the Muslim community. The outreach program, entitled “100VIPs,” is designed to promote interaction among Muslims and various community leaders across Ohio.

CAIR officials highlighted the diversity among Muslims in Cuyahoga County and provided background on the level of professionalism and entrepreneurship among the Muslim population, citing the plethora of doctors, researchers, engineers and Muslim business owners who contribute to economic development in the County.

Also in attendance was Principal Loretta Abbasi of Al-Ihsan School of Excellence. Abassi highlighted the need to support education in order to attract more Muslim professionals to the area. Al-Ihsan’s bid to expand into one of the closing Cleveland Public School buildings was discussed.

CAIR-Cleveland Director, Julia Shearson, said that the school’s expansion could be an asset to the region. “Having an exemplary Muslim school located here in Cleveland would be a testament to the City’s commitment to diversity and religious pluralism. It would also promote the kind of cosmopolitan climate that attracts secondary immigration, which itself spurs economic development,” Shearson said. CAIR officials pointed to studies that link economic dynamism with the percentage of new immigrants in a given area.

Isam Zaiem, Chair of CAIR-Cleveland, told Hagan that certain government policies instituted since 9/11 had negatively impacted local Muslims and had created a culture of distrust and targeting of immigrants. Zaiem expressed the need to hold future meetings with city and county leaders to discuss ways to offset the damage.

Hagan expressed empathy for the status of Muslims in America, pointing to the hardships his grandparents endured as Italian-Americans who arrived at the turn of the century. Hagan said discrimination was unacceptable and expressed his strong commitment to diversity and equality.

“Commissioner Hagan came through as genuinely sympathetic. One can tell he has a heartfelt interest in helping people, and I appreciate how much he values diversity,” Principal Abbasi said. “Our Al-Ihsan School of Excellence is like a mini United Nations, and that’s our greatest strength. He understood this and offered practical advice to aid our school’s expansion plans.”

For more information about CAIR or the 100VIPs program, contact Julia A. Shearson, 216.830.2247 or 216.440.2247, jshearson@cair.com; or Dr. Ahmad Al-Akhras, 614.989.5916, ahmad@cair-ohio.com.