CAIR: Policy, Not Geography Key to Obama’s Muslim Outreach
When President Obama visits Turkey early next month, some observers are expecting he will use the occasion to deliver on his promise to deliver a major foreign policy speech from a Muslim nation in his first 100 days. But indications are that he will not give the speech in Turkey. The White House and State […]
Senate Questions FBI Director About Muslim Relations
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/26/2009) – At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing yesterday, FBI Director Robert Mueller was questioned about a statement by the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT), a coalition of major national Islamic organizations, suggesting that the groups are considering suspending outreach relations with the FBI over recent incidents in which […]
CAIR-NY Celebrates Women’s History Month
(NEW YORK, NY, 3/24/09)- On March 26, a representative of the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) will participate in a panel discussion entitled “Empowering Women of Faith” at New York University. The panel is part of a series of initiatives hosted by Shuruq, an organization at NYU dedicated to promoting […]
Guantanamo Guard Embraces Islam
Army specialist Terry Holdbrooks had been a guard at Guantánamo for about six months the night he had his life-altering conversation with detainee 590, a Moroccan also known as “the General.” This was early 2004, about halfway through Holdbrooks’s stint at Guantánamo with the 463rd Military Police Company. Until then, he’d spent most of his […]
NH: State’s First Mosque Goes Up Bit by Bit
From a quiet perch overlooking Lake Massabesic’s northern tip and hazy, blue hills to the south, history is unfolding. The concrete foundation of the state’s first mosque rises behind a chain-link construction fence. Relatively small in scale, the project is epic in scope. Not only did it take more than a dozen years of planning […]
CAIR-FL: Ad for Islam on Buses May Lead to Ban
In the wake of controversial bus ads saying Jesus followed the principles of Islam, Broward County commissioners are considering a ban on advertising religious messages on public transportation and all other government property.The new policy would still permit churches and other religious organizations to place general ads promoting activities such as services or fairs. An […]
FBI Role Alleged in American Muslim’s Detention in UAE
One day last July, Naji Hamdan was summoned to the U.S. Embassy in the United Arab Emirates. He drove two hours through the desert heat from Dubai to answer questions from FBI agents who had arrived from Los Angeles, where Hamdan had gone to school, started a family, built a successful auto-parts business and become […]
CAIR: Muslim Groups Weigh Breaking Ties with FBI
Relations between Muslim American groups and the FBI have approached a breaking point in the wake of news last week that the bureau has severed formal ties with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest Islamic advocacy group in the U.S. Amid debate over whether such organizations should even work with the FBI, a nationwide […]
CAIR-LA: FBI Creates Climate of Fear
Supporters of the Patriot Act and other expansive efforts to fight the “war on terror” often mock claims by civil libertarians that aggressive federal spying powers within the United States undermines civil liberties. We’ve often heard conservatives ask critics to name anyone who has lost any freedoms because of the government’s post-9/11 powers. Yet such […]
1000 Turn Out for CAIR-MI Banquet
(SOUTHFIELD, MI, 3/23/09) – Some 1000 people turned out yesterday for the 9th annual fundraising dinner of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) in Dearborn. Attendees included community activists, elected officials, interfaith leaders, and media representatives. Jameel Jaffer, national litigator of the ACLU, was the keynote speaker at the event. Michigan […]