(CLEVELAND, OH, 3/29/06) – Representatives of the Cleveland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OHIO) met recently with the Mayor of North Olmsted, Thomas O’Grady. The meeting focused on fostering increased civic participation by the Muslim community, issues of police community relations, and the status of civil rights in America.
The Mayor exhibited a sincere understanding of the Muslim community’s concerns. As a former American history teacher, the mayor referred to the detention of Japanese Americans during WWII and equated some provision of the current anti-immigrant legislation under consideration in Congress as reminiscent of to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. He said his greatest heroes in American history were Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King.
In January, Mayor O’Grady was lauded in the press by members of the Muslim community after he sent a clear signal of inclusion, commitment to diversity, and respect for religious pluralism during his inauguration. Mayor O’Grady had invited Muslims to attend the event and arranged for Imam Abbas Ahmad, a prominent African-American Imam to offer the invocation, with Rev. Neil Kookoothe of St. Clarence Catholic Church giving the benediction. In a letter to The Plain Dealer Zahid Siddiqi, General Secretary of the Islamic Center of Cleveland, applauded and thanked the mayor “for his support of racial and religious diversity and harmony” at time when “Islamophobia is running rampant, and people in general disassociate and distance themselves from anything to do with Islam.”
The meeting is part of an ongoing project to help acquaint the community with their elected officials and prominent civic leaders. Other recent CAIR-OHIO meetings have included Robert Bennett, Ohio GOP Chairman; Ken Blackwell, Republican candidate for Ohio Governor; US Congressman Ted Strickland, Democratic candidate for Ohio Governor; Tim Hagan, Cuyahoga County Commissioner; Ron Richards, President of the Cleveland Foundation; Mark Mallory, Mayor of Cincinnati; Cecil Thomas, Cincinnati City Councilman; John Bruce, Westchester Township Chief of Police, and many others.
CONTACT: Julia A. Shearson, 216.830.2247 or 216.440.2247, E-Mail: jshearson@cair.com; Adnan Mirza, 614.451.3232, E-Mail: director@cair-ohio.com; Karen Dabdoub, 513.281.8200, E-Mail: kdabdoub@cair.com.