The Islamic Maryland Action Network (IMAN) and the Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today announced that formal letters were hand-delivered to leadership at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMDSOM) including Dean Mark Gladwin, following multiple reports that phone calls and emails from faculty, staff, students, and community members attempting to contact administrators were blocked or left undelivered.
The letters, signed by IMAN Network representing more than 30 statewide mosques and Muslim organizations representing over 200,000 Marylanders, urge the School of Medicine to rescind its invitation to an Israeli military official scheduled to present at Surgery Grand Rounds tomorrow morning.
Thousands of letters have been sent by community members over the last 48 hours urging administrators to protect its standards of ethics and rescind its invitation to an Israeli Defense Forces general representing a government that is actively engaged in genocide and responsible for grave atrocities against medical professionals and civilians as this contradicts the mission of saving lives and advancing care.
SEE: ACT NOW: Demand UMD School of Medicine Drop Israeli Military Rep. as Grand Rounds Speaker
In a statement, CAIR said:
“We have received a large volume of messages from Maryland residents who have tried to reach university leadership to express their concerns. Many report that their emails are bouncing back or their calls are not being answered. It’s deeply troubling that community voices are being effectively silenced at a public institution that should be fostering open dialogue, not suppressing it.”
“Transparency, accountability, and open access are essential to the integrity of any university,” CAIR added. “Our hope is that UMDSOM will demonstrate its commitment to these principles by responding promptly and engaging constructively with Maryland’s diverse communities.”
CAIR has requested a meeting with UMDSOM leadership to ensure that community concerns are acknowledged and addressed transparently, and that faculty, staff, and students are able to communicate freely without obstruction.
This invitation comes at a time when both the United Nations and international and Israeli human rights organizations including Amnesty International and B’Tselem have definitively declared that Israel is actively committing genocide in Gaza.
According to the World Health Organization, Israel has deliberately targeted and bombed at least 33 of the 36 hospitals in Gaza and has for months blocked all foreign healthcare workers seeking to serve medical missions in the Strip. The United Nations has reported finding mass graves evidencing war crimes at the sites of several hospitals including the largest in Gaza, Al-Shifa Hospital.
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 Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry, zchaudry@cair.com, 410-971-6062; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, 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