The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today marked the 30th anniversary of the civil rights and advocacy organization’s founding on June 1, 1994, and invited all community members to save the date for its upcoming 30th anniversary gala, set to be held on the evening of November 22nd.
WHAT: CAIR 30th Anniversary Gala
WHEN: November 22, 2024
WHERE: Washington, D.C. (Specific address to be announced)
CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@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
In a statement, CAIR National Board Chair Dr. Manal Fakhoury said:
“We thank our friends, partners, clients, and community members for supporting our civil rights and advocacy work over the past 30 years, and we invite everyone to celebrate our 30th anniversary with us this fall. Founded in 1994 in a tiny K Street office with just a fax machine and a telephone, CAIR is now our nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization with dozens of chapters and satellite offices and 500 staff and board members dedicated to protecting civil rights, promoting justice, educating the public about Islam, and empowering American Muslims.
“CAIR’s attorneys, policy experts, and media professionals have made systemic change: strengthening religious freedom in schools and workplaces nationwide, defeating anti-Muslim laws and policies at the local and federal level, significantly increasing understanding of Islam in the public eye, and changing biased media narratives.
“In 2024, CAIR’s work led to a historic moment in our fight against structural Islamophobia: one of our civil rights attorneys argued against the FBI’s watchlist abuses before the U.S. Supreme Court for the first time — and won a unanimous 9-0 verdict.
“Today, as we expand our presence to new states, we are strengthening our capacity to unlock American Muslim power during and beyond the 2024 elections. In the coming years, we must build up our legal, media and political power to protect free speech and religious freedom in schools and workplaces, fully dismantle structural Islamophobia like the government’s secret Muslim watchlist and reorient American foreign policy in a just and humane direction, especially on the issue of Palestine.”
“Throughout the past three decades, CAIR was successful – through empowerment, advocacy and legal work – in helping create a totally different narrative about Islam and American Muslims in society, media, and public and government spaces,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. “Our partnership with the American Muslim community, donor, and allies has been the foundation for this growth and progress. There is a lot to celebrate and a lot of work yet to be done toward budling a strong community.”
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@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