Meeting prompted by biased article on Ohio Muslim Charity

(CLEVELAND, OH, 1/19/06) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OHIO) recently hosted editors and reporters from The Plain Dealer at a meeting to discuss the paper’s coverage of Islam and Muslims.

The meeting, which brought together Muslim community leaders and The Plain Dealer editors and reporters, was called by CAIR in response a recent article on the Muslim charity KindHearts. The article angered local Muslims due to its near exclusive reliance on the infamous Islamophobe Steven Emerson.

At the meeting, CAIR officials presented a detailed analysis of The Plain Dealer’s 2005 coverage, citing marked improvement over the previous year. However, a number of concerns remained, including the lack of Muslim journalists at the paper, missed opportunities to present local Muslim reaction to crucial national and international issues, misuse of Islamic terms, sensationalism, factual inaccuracies and bias. CAIR urged The Plain Dealer to step up its role as government watchdog and faulted the paper for not investigating potential federal misuse of delayed notification warrants and overly broad search and seizure methods against local Muslim businesses.

Citing a lack of Muslim journalists in top journalism schools, The Plain Dealer pledged to work with CAIR and local mosques to host media seminars and career days. The paper also agreed to recruit Muslims for its job shadowing program.

Present at the meeting were community leaders from the Muslim Association of Cleveland East (MACE), The Islamic Center of Cleveland, Uqbah Mosque Foundation, First Cleveland Mosque, AACCESS, Peace in the Hood, IntraCity Muslim Action Network (IMAN), the Ansar Institute, as well as several Muslim attorneys and professionals. The Plain Dealer side included top editors as well as columnists and reporters who frequently cover issues relating to the Muslim community.

CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 30 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

To read CAIR’s Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to: https://www.cair.com/about-us/vision-mission-core-principles.html

CONTACT: Julia A. Shearson, 216.830.2247 or 216.440.2247, E-Mail: jshearson@cair.com; Ibrahim Hooper, 202.488.8787 or 202.744.7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com

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