CAIR-Cleveland & Northern Ohio

Category: News

  • CAIR-Ohio Hosts Muslim Day at the Capitol Event, Lobbies Against ‘Lunch Shaming’ and School Bullying

    CAIR-Ohio Hosts Muslim Day at the Capitol Event, Lobbies Against ‘Lunch Shaming’ and School Bullying

    (COLUMBUS, OHIO, 11/2/17) — On Tuesday, October 31, CAIR-Ohio hosted its “Muslim Day at the Capitol” event at the Ohio Statehouse.

    The event focused on empowering Ohio’s American Muslim community and advocating for legislation that would positively impact all Ohioans.

    Participants attended 28 meetings with different members’ offices to discuss Senate Bill 172, The Hunger Free Students’ Bill of Rights Act, which aims to end the practice known as “lunch shaming” and for House Bill 360, the Ohio Anti-Bullying and Hazing Act, which aims to take a firm but rehabilitation-focused approach to bullying.

    Opening remarks and the advocacy training were conducted by CAIR-Columbus Public Affairs Coordinator Usjid Hameed. Following the training, a panel focused on the importance of diverse voices in the policy process took the stage. Panelists included Assistant Senate Minority Leader Charleta Tavares, Columbus City Councilmember Jaiza Page, Assistant House Minority Whip Amelia Sykes, and Kelly Capatosto, Senior Research Associate at the Kirwan Institute. Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko addressed participants during lunch.

    After lunch, the almost 70 attendees – including many Ohio students — broke into groups to meet with various members’ offices.

    “It is critical in our current political climate for American Muslims to continue being engaged,” said Hameed. “This event provided an excellent opportunity for concerned citizens in the American Muslim community to enhance their understanding of the political process while urging Ohio lawmakers to address the issues of lunch shaming and bullying.”

    CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization.  The CAIR-Ohio affiliate has three chapters in Ohio – Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati.  Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

    – END –

    CONTACT: CAIR-Columbus Public Affairs Coordinator Usjid Hameed, uhameed@cair.com, 614-451-3232

  • CAIR Welcomes Federal Judge’s Decision to Block Trump’s ‘Muslim Ban 3.0’

    CAIR Welcomes Federal Judge’s Decision to Block Trump’s ‘Muslim Ban 3.0’

    Muslim civil rights group calls on Trump administration to withdraw proposed rules

    (WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/17/17) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, is welcoming a decision today by a federal judge in Hawaii to block the Trump administration from implementing “Muslim Ban 3.0,” the latest version of the president’s controversial travel ban.

    Judge Derrick K. Watson’s decision means that the administration cannot restrict the entry of travelers from six of the eight countries targeted by the ban, which was to go into effect tomorrow.

    SEE: Federal Judge Blocks Trump’s Third Travel Ban

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/federal-judge-blocks-trumps-third-travel-ban/2017/10/17/e73293fc-ae90-11e7-9e58-e6288544af98_story.html

    Read the full Hawaii Opinion HERE:

    The Hawaii court found that the Muslim ban “lacks sufficient findings that the entry of more than 150 million nationals” from the Muslim majority countries would be “detrimental to the interest of the United States.”

    Recognizing that “national security” is pretext for the Muslim ban, the court determined that it contains “internal incoherencies that markedly undermine its stated ‘national security’ rationale.” The court concluded that the ban contradicted its stated “national security” rationale and that many of its provisions were not supported by any verifiable evidence.

    “We are thankful that the judiciary has once again blocked President Trump’s attempt to undermine our nation’s laws and Constitution,” said CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri. “President Trump should do the right thing and withdraw his latest Muslim ban, which represents nothing more than an irrational, illegal and unconstitutional attempt to fulfill a bigoted campaign pledge.”

    She noted however that the judge’s decision only blocks the ban for 14 days.

    On October 18, CAIR will join a coalition of national and local American Muslim and civil rights organizations at the #NoMuslimBanEver rally and march outside the White House in Washington, D.C.

    The event is designed to protest discriminatory policies that unlawfully target and hurt American Muslim and immigrant communities across the country and are part of the administration’s xenophobic, white supremacist agenda.

    WHAT: #NoMuslimBanEver Rally and March

    WHEN: Wednesday, October 18, 11:30 a.m. [MEDIA NOTE: Members of the media should sign in by 10 a.m. at the press risers in Lafayette Square.]

    WHERE: Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C.

    11:30 a.m. – March begins at Lafayette Square with speeches by a member of Congress, American Muslim leaders and impacted individuals

    1:30 p.m. – March to the Trump International Hotel via Pennsylvania Avenue

    3:30 p.m. – Program will end with march up to the doorstep of the enforcers of the Muslim ban, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

    CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com

    SEE: https://www.nomuslimbanever.com/

    The #NoMuslimBanEver campaign, a coalition of national and local civil rights and Muslim advocacy groups, is mobilizing and organizing events around the country to help lead the fight against President Trump’s latest unconstitutional Muslim ban, as well as other discriminatory immigration policies that criminalize and negatively impact American Muslim communities across the country.

    Earlier this month, CAIR announced the filing of a federal lawsuit on behalf of six individuals challenging the lawfulness of President Trump’s most recent attempt to implement a Muslim ban. A federal court hearing on that and other related lawsuits took place today in Maryland.

    VIDEO: CAIR Joins Other Civil Rights Organizations at News Conference Outside Federal Court in Maryland

    https://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational/videos/10155231767967695/

    That lawsuit was the latest CAIR legal filing challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to implement its Muslim Ban.

    In September, CAIR — with the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and Profeta & Eisenstein — filed an amicus brief with U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of seven American Muslims.

    READ Amicus Brief

    https://www.cair.com/images/pdf/170918_-_Trump_v_Hawaii_-_Amicus_Brief_FINAL.PDF

     These groups also filed an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit in August.

     Read CAIR’s Amicus Brief

    https://www.cair.com/images/pdf/17-16426-Hawaii-v-Trump—Brief-of-Amici-Adam-Soltani-et-al.pdf

  • CAIR-Cleveland Presents on Understanding Islam & Muslims: Focus on Muslim Women for AAUW Meeting

    CAIR-Cleveland Presents on Understanding Islam & Muslims: Focus on Muslim Women for AAUW Meeting

    Medina AAUW presents program on Muslim women in America

    Julia Shearson, executive director of the Cleveland chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, will speak on what it's like to be a Muslim woman in America at a special dinner meeting of the Medina County Branch of the American Association of University Women on Sept. 28. She is shown here at the Women's March on Cleveland last January.
    Julia Shearson, executive director of the Cleveland chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, will speak on what it’s like to be a Muslim woman in America at a special dinner meeting of the Medina County Branch of the American Association of University Women on Sept. 28. She is shown here at the Women’s March on Cleveland last January.(Thomas Ondrey/The Plain Dealer)

    MEDINA, Ohio – What is it like to be a Muslim woman in the United States?

    Julia Shearson, executive director of the Cleveland Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), will share her perspective at a dinner and talk Sept. 28 at the A.I. Root Community Room, 623 Liberty St.

    Her talk is a program of the Medina County branch of the American Association of University Women.

    The evening will start with dinner at 6 p.m., followed by Shearson’s presentation at 7:15 p.m. Her talk is free and open to the public. The dinner, catered by Miss Molly’s Tea Room, is $19 per person.

    Shearson has headed the Cleveland chapter of CAIR, the largest Muslim civil rights advocacy organization in the United States, for 13 years.

    During that time, she has won awards and recognition for her work promoting diversity and mutual understanding.

    The AAUW works to advance equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research.

    For reservations or more information about the program, call 330-725-4950 or email programs.reserve@zoominternet.net.

  • CAIR-Ohio Continues the Fight to Keep Your Phone Safe at the Border

    CAIR-Ohio Continues the Fight to Keep Your Phone Safe at the Border

    August 7, 2017

    Today, CAIR-Ohio joined the Electronic Frontier Foundation, CAIR chapters from California, Florida, and NY, along with Asian Americans Advancing Justice and several other leading civil rights organizations, to file a brief in federal court asserting that the search of cell phones and other electronic devices at the border is unlawful. (more…)

  • Action Alert: Urge Congress to Oppose Bill Slashing Legal Immigration

    Action Alert: Urge Congress to Oppose Bill Slashing Legal Immigration

    The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, is calling on all Americans of conscience to urge their members of Congress to not support the Trump administration-endorsed RAISE Act (Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment Act), that slashes legal immigration in half from 1 million to 500,000 new Green Card holders and favors English speakers. (more…)

  • ACTION ALERT: Tell Congress to Protect Free Speech, Oppose Unconstitutional ‘Israel Anti-Boycott Act’

    ACTION ALERT: Tell Congress to Protect Free Speech, Oppose Unconstitutional ‘Israel Anti-Boycott Act’

    The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, today called on all Americans who value the Constitution to contact their elected representatives in Congress to urge them to oppose the “Israel Anti-Boycott Act.”

    CAIR and other civil rights organizations say that proposed legislation would violate the constitutionally-guaranteed free speech rights of American business owners and individuals who participate in the international boycott of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine territories. (more…)

  • CAIR Decries Trump Administration’s New ‘Muslim Ban’ Guidelines, Promises Legal Challenge

    CAIR Decries Trump Administration’s New ‘Muslim Ban’ Guidelines, Promises Legal Challenge

    The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today decried the Trump administration’s new “Muslim ban” guidelines as a violation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling, and promised to file legal challenges to the rules if implemented. (more…)

  • CAIR to Represent Family of Murdered Virginia Muslim Teen Nabra Hassanen

    CAIR to Represent Family of Murdered Virginia Muslim Teen Nabra Hassanen

    (WASHINGTON, D.C., 6/21/17) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today said it is representing the family of a Virginia Muslim teen who was murdered Sunday.

    Nabra Hassanen, 17, of Reston, Va., was abducted after leaving the All Dulles Area Muslim Society mosque in northern Virginia allegedly by a man who was later arrested on suspicion of murder. CAIR has called for a thorough investigation of a possible bias motive in the case.

    CAIR: Muslims Question Whether Girl’s Killing was Road Rage (AP)
    CAIR: Killing of Muslim Teen Stirs Questions About Hate Crime Prosecutions (Washington Post) (more…)

  • CAIR Asks Muslim Community to Step Up Security Measures for End of Ramadan Activities After Recent Attacks

    CAIR Asks Muslim Community to Step Up Security Measures for End of Ramadan Activities After Recent Attacks

    The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on Muslim communities nationwide to step up security measures for end-of-Ramadan activities following a terror attack on Muslims outside a mosque in London, the murder of a Muslim teen near a Virginia mosque and the murder of two men who defended a Muslim being harassed in Oregon.   (more…)

  • Record Number of Muslim Delegates Lobby Congress on National Advocacy Day

    Record Number of Muslim Delegates Lobby Congress on National Advocacy Day

    CAIR reported today that more than 400 delegates from 30 states, including a large delegation from Ohio, met on Monday and Tuesday with some 230 elected officials and congressional staffers during the record-breaking third annual “National Muslim Advocacy Day” on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

    (more…)