CAIR-GA: Emory community ‘ashamed’ after police detain students at pro-Palestine encampment – Emory Wheel
The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Georgia) released a statement shortly after the protest was terminated, condemning the police for using tasers and irritant gas to break up the pro-Palestine demonstration. The Wheel was unable to speak with officers to confirm if the gas used was tear gas.
CAIR-GA: Emory student newspaper: Police using ‘gas’ on protesters – USA Today
The Council on American–Islamic Relations in Georgia condemned the use of force at Emory.
Video: CAIR-LA Condemns USC’s Violent Crackdown on Student Protesters
CAIR: Biden sparks backlash for banning TikTok before calling for Gaza ceasefire
CAIR: How Global Media Covered Narendra Modi’s Hate Speech in Rajasthan – The Wire
“It is unconscionable, but not surprising, that far-right Hindutva leader Narendra Modi would target Indian Muslims with a hateful and dangerous diatribe despite his role as the leader of a nation with such a diverse religious heritage,” CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad told TIME.
CAIR-SFBA: Bill pushes to double fines for protesters who block highways – KRON
Zahra Billoo, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, is speaking out against the bill.
“Frankly, I’m appalled that our legislators are using the pretense of transportation and public safety to quell First Amendment activity,” she said. “Our lawmakers have lost the plot. California has urgent needs and our country is funding a war abroad.”
CAIR-NY: Cancelled classes, protests, and arrests: The flaring tensions at US universities, explained
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), meanwhile, criticised the use of police force to stifle dissent, saying it undermined academic freedom.
“So does defaming and endangering Jewish, Muslim and Palestinian … students based on suspiciously inflammatory remarks that a few unidentified, masked individuals have made outside of campus,” Afaf Nasher, executive director of CAIR in New York, said in a statement.
CAIR-Texas: Man indicted, but not charged with hate crime, in stabbing of Palestinian supporter – Austin American-Statesman
On Wednesday, CAIR said it welcomed the indictment but called for the U.S. Department of Justice to file federal hate crime charges against Baker.
“If shouting racial slurs at a group of Palestinian-Americans and ripping the Palestinian flagpole off their car before stabbing one of them is not a hate crime, then nothing is a hate crime,” CAIR said in a statement published on its website.
CAIR-Texas: Texas Gov. Abbott faces backlash after mass arrest at UT Austin pro-Palestine protest – The Hill
Earlier this month, three men assaulted a Muslim student wearing traditional dress while mocking him in “fake Arabic,” according to a complaint filed by the Council of American-Islamic Relations.
CAIR-Texas: Police arrest multiple protesters during pro-Palestinian demonstration at UT Austin – KUT
CAIR-Texas: State troopers intervene during University of Texas at Austin protest amid Gaza conflict, reports of arrests – Dallas Morning News
Law enforcement must prioritize deescalation tactics and constructive dialogue during peaceful demonstrations, Shaimaa Zayan, operations manager of the Council on American-Islamic Relations chapter in Austin, said in a statement.
CAIR-LA: USC closes its campus as LAPD arrests at least 93 pro-Palestinian protesters – CBS
The Council on American-Islamic Relations denounced the university’s actions.
CAIR-LA: Dispersal Order Issued, Arrests Made After Pro-Palestine Protesters ‘Occupy’ USC – City News Service
CAIR-LA: LAPD arrests 93 people at USC amid Israel-Hamas war protests – LA Times
“It is deeply concerning that USC’s response to students demonstrating peacefully in solidarity with Palestine is forcible suppression of free speech and assembly,” said CAIR-LA Legal Director Amr Shabaik. “This mirrors a nationwide trend of colleges and universities attempting to censor pro-Palestine advocacy on campuses.
CAIR chapter in Austin condemns “unnecessary and excessive force” by officers arresting protesters – CNN
Shaimaa Zayan, operations manager of CAIR Austin, stressed that law enforcement should prioritize de-escalation and dialogue when handling peaceful protests.
“Sending in a massive armed police force to arrest students advocating for peace sends the wrong message and only exacerbates tensions further,” Zayan said in a statement.
CAIR: Protests on US campuses widen – Dawn
CAIR-NJ: U. hit with 57-page Title VI complaint citing discrimination against Palestinian, Muslim, Arab communities – Daily Targum
CAIR-NJ: Rutgers discriminates against Palestinian and Muslim students, federal complaint alleges
The complaint was filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s civil rights office by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and the Council on American-Islamic Relations-New Jersey. It accuses the state university of “an ongoing pattern and practice of direct and indirect discrimination” and indifference to a hostile learning environment the students face on campus.
“University administrations have effectively enabled this climate of hostility and unsafe environment when they repeatedly refused to act and respond with appropriate urgency to Muslim and Palestinian students’ concerns,” said Selaedin Maksut, the executive director of CAIR-NJ.
CAIR: Biden signs law securing billions in US aid for Ukraine, Israel – Al Jazeera
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said Biden “passed the moral point of no return” by signing the bill.
CAIR: ‘Biden has betrayed the soul of our nation’: Muslim rights group – Al Jazeera
“By signing legislation that gives Benjamin Netanyahu another $17bn blank check for his genocide, President Biden has betrayed the soul of our nation and disregarded the will of the American people, who overwhelmingly support a ceasefire and oppose unconditional aid to Israel,” CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement.
CAIR-CA: Fullerton City Council Proclaimed April as American Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month
Incidences of hate continue to impact the Muslim community; last year, CAIR California received over 500 incidents claims ranging from hate crimes, mosque vandalism, school bullying, workplace and housing discrimination, and hate speech targeting Muslims.
CAIR-LA: Pro-Palestine students, supporters occupy park on USC campus – San Bernardino Sun
CAIR-San Diego: Invisible Hate: Anti-Muslim Hate Incidents Going Unreported – Voice & Viewpoint
Tazheen Nizam, Executive Director of CAIR San Diego, says their office saw a 300 percent increase in complaints in 2023 from the prior year. 45 complaints were filed in the months following the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel. These complaints, she says, include harassment of Muslim or Palestinian-owned businesses and two incidents outside of the Islamic Center of San Diego.
“They were done with the intent of instilling fear and hate in our community,” Nizam said.