(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/8/21) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today joined 48 other national and international faith community and rights organizations in a letter to the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee welcoming tomorrow’s markup of Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Jan Schakowsky’s Combating International Islamophobia Act (H.R. 5665) and calling for a swift and clean markup of the bill without the introduction of any amendments that would weaken it.
H.R. 5665 would establish a special envoy office at the U.S. State Department to monitor and combat international Islamophobia
WATCH LIVE: House Markup of H.R. 5665, Other Various Measures (Thur., Dec. 9, 1:00 P.M., ET)
READ THE LETTER: 53 Group Letter Urging Swift and Clean Approval of Combating International Islamophobia Act (H.R.5665)
https://www.cair.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/H.R.5665Markup.pdf
The 49 groups signing onto the letter endorsed the Combating International Islamophobia Act, affirming that: “We strongly support the creation of a special envoy position for combating and monitoring Islamophobia as instances of anti-Muslim hate crimes continue to rise in the U.S. and worldwide.”
The letter cautions that committee members voting in support of any amendment that would diminish the impact of this act or hurt the prospect of its final passage would be viewed unfavorably.
Following recent anti-Muslim and Islamophobic hate speech attacks targeting Muslim bill sponsor Congresswoman Omar by Reps. Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene, the letter also calls for the measure to be “discussed and debated with courtesy and respect.”
Groups endorsing the legislation and signing on to the letter to the House Foreign Affairs Committee include:
American Muslims for Palestine
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain
Americans for Justice in Palestine Action
Americans for Peace Now
Arizona Muslims Alliance
American Muslim Empowerment Network (AMEN)
Central Valley Islamic Council
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
Christian Reformed Church Office of Social Justice
Church World Service
Common Defense
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN)
Friends of Sabeel North America
Human Rights First
ICNA Council for Social Justice
Indian American Muslim Council
International Islamophobia Studies Research Association
Islamophobia Studies Center
Islamophobia Studies Journal
JAMAAT — Jews and Muslims and Allies Acting Together
Jetpac Resource Center
Jewish Voice for Peace Action
Just Peace Advocates/Mouvement Pour Une Paix Juste
Libyan American Alliance
Muslim American Society (MAS)
MPower Action Fund
MPower Change
Muslim Public Affairs Council
Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA)
National Immigration Law Center
Oxfam America
Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans
Peace Action
Poligon Education Fund
Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Secure Justice
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – Justice Team
South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)
Support Life Foundation
The Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign: Standing with American Muslims, Advancing American
Ideals
Together We Serve
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations
Veterans For Peace
Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center
Women Watch Afrika
Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND)
Yemeni American Merchants Association, Inc.
About the Combating International Islamophobia Act
Introduced on October 21, the act is currently co-sponsored by 47 Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives, including Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-NY), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Reps. Karen Bass (D-CA), Joaquin Castro (D-TX) and Albio Sires (D-NJ), who are subcommittee chairs of the Foreign Relations Committee.
In January, the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations sent a letter to the Biden Administration calling on the State Department to establish the special envoy position.
H.R. 5665 would compel the State Department to develop a more comprehensive approach to fighting the global increase of Islamophobia, increasing its capacity to monitor and confront state and non-state actors worldwide and ensuring a safer environment for American Muslims.
The two primary aims of the Combating International Islamophobia Act are:
- Establishing an Office to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia at the State Department headed by a Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Islamophobia.
- Amending the Foreign Assistance Act and International Religious Freedom Act to require annual reporting on Islamophobia in each foreign country and the steps taken by that country to combat it through educational programing and public awareness initiatives.
The United States currently monitors and combats religious persecution internationally. The Combating International Islamophobia Act would extend this mission to Islamophobia.
The act would also provide valuable information for understanding Islamophobia as a global phenomenon and give the U.S. a new tool to combat it.
While global Islamophobia, anti-Muslim state policies and hate incidents have increased, for the past two decades the American Muslim community has consistently called for the creation of a special envoy position to monitor and combat this rising tide of hate – the Combating International Islamophobia Act would make this special envoy position a reality.
Reasons to Support the Combating International Islamophobia Act:
In its 2021 annual report, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) identified three Countries of Particular Concern primarily for their treatment of Muslims.
Several additional countries listed by USCIRF were identified as having patterns of mistreatment and human rights violations against either their entire Muslim populations or particular sects of Muslims. This includes several Muslim-majority countries.
State acts of persecution and violence against Muslims can be found in India and Burma – in addition to China, which the United States recognized as committing a genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghur Muslims and other Turkic minority groups living the country’s Uyghur region.
Anti-Muslim rhetoric, bigotry and acts of violence also go together with the rise of political parties that outwardly attack the rights of Muslims, especially in France and other parts of Europe.
Transnational white supremacist and Islamophobic hate group networks have also inspired their followers to commit acts of anti-Muslim violence and terrorism, including but not limited to the tragic summer 2021 murder of a Muslim family in London, Ontario and the 2019 Christchurch, New Zealand Mosque shootings.
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 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