The Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MA), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today expressed support for the ACLU of Massachusetts in calling on the City of Worcester to restore the Worcester Multifaith Coalition’s Gaza Ceasefire Resolution to the City Council agenda.
As noted in the ACLU’s letter to Worcester City Officials, the exclusion of this resolution from the October 22, 2024, meeting represents an instance of unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.
The resolution was barred under the guise of City Council Rule 11, which states that the City Council will not consider matters that are unrelated to city government. Yet just a year earlier, in October 2023, the Council considered a resolution on the Israel/Hamas war.
In a statement, CAIR-MA Executive Director Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, Esq. said:
“This discriminatory treatment by the Worcester City Council is part of a broader trend that CAIR-MA has observed since the onset of the war on Gaza. We have received an unprecedented number of reports of Islamophobic incidents, alongside cases of punitive actions against those advocating for Palestinian human rights. These patterns are deeply troubling and, when undertaken by a municipality, undermine the fundamental freedoms enshrined in our Constitution that allow us to criticize a foreign government’s actions as well as the U.S. government’s complicity.
“We join the Worcester Multifaith Coalition for a Gaza Ceasefire Resolution and the ACLU in urging the City of Worcester to give this resolution the fair hearing it deserves. We commend the Worcester Multifaith Coalition for their steadfast advocacy for Palestinian human rights and their refusal to be silenced. Their efforts, backed by more than 1,500 Worcester residents, exemplify the spirit of community-led action in the fight for justice. We further call on city officials and leaders across Massachusetts to take concrete steps to uphold free speech rights and address rising Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian discrimination in our communities.”
From January to June 2024, CAIR documented 4,951 incoming bias complaints nationwide, a 69 percent increase over the same period in 2023.
SEE: New CAIR Data Shows Anti-Muslim, Anti-Palestinian Hate Remain Elevated in First Half of 2024
Earlier this year, CAIR’s national office released its 2024 civil rights report, which revealed the highest number of complaints it has ever received in its 30-year history. Titled “Fatal: The Resurgence of Anti-Muslim Hate,” the report documented 8,061 complaints. Nearly half of all complaints received in 2023 were reported in the final three months of the year.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR-MA Executive Director Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, Esq., 413 206 9839; CAIR-MA Legal Director Barbara J. Dougan, 781-281-9992, bdougan@cair.com