The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today responded to President Biden commuting the death sentences of 37 federal incarcarees by calling on Biden to show the same level of concern for the lives of Palestinian children facing death sentences in Gaza that he has shown for the lives of convicted child killers on death row.
Biden announced today that he is commuting the death sentences of 37 people federal death row, including several convicted of killing children.
The Israeli government has been using U.S. weapons to kill dozens of Palestinians, including children, on a nearly daily basis in Gaza. [NOTE: According to UNICEF, Israel has slaughtered 14,500 children in Gaza.]
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“Although our civil rights organization supports a nationwide moratorium on the death penalty because of systemic disparities in sentencing and the likelihood that innocent people face execution, President Biden’s partial death row commutations smack of moral inconsistency: he has used his power to spare convicted child killers on death row, but he refuses to use his power to spare the lives of Palestinian children facing a death sentence in Gaza.
“Instead, President Biden is actively enabling the murder of Palestinian children on a daily basis by funding Netanyahu’s war crimes, all in clear violation of U.S. law.
“Until President Biden stops enabling the slaughter of Palestinian children and others in Gaza, his concern for human life and the rule of law will continue to appear selective at best and hypocritical at worst.”
Earlier this month, CAIR responded to the White House’s release of a National Strategy to Combat Islamophobia by saying it was “too little, too late.”
CAIR emphasized that the dehumanizing anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim rhetoric used to justify the genocide in Gaza and silence its critics in America has fueled the largest rise in anti-Muslim incidents ever recorded, including the brutal murder of six-year-old Wadea in Chicago.
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.
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | TikTok | Website
Do you like reading CAIR press releases and taking part in our action alerts? You can help contribute to CAIR’s work of defending civil rights and empowering American Muslims across the country by making a one-time contribution or becoming a monthly donor. Supporters like you make CAIR’s advocacy work possible and defeating Islamophobia an achievable goal. Click here to donate to CAIR.
You are receiving this email due to your interest selection from commercial media databases. If you would like to join CAIR’s media list, please sign up here: https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters — For more information, email: info@cair.com, CC ihooper@cair.com
END
CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Director of Government Affairs Department Robert S. McCaw, 202-716-6242, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com