The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), a chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called for an end to anti-Muslim hate rhetoric after receiving death threats at its office.
The threats come amid what the Washington Post described as a wave of anti-Muslim rhetoric online following Abdul El-Sayed’s electoral victory.
SEE:El-Sayed’s win triggered wave of anti-Muslim rhetoric online, Post analysis shows – Washington Post
“Death threats directed at a civil rights organization are an unacceptable, and inevitable, result of manufactured anti-Muslim hate,” said Amy V. Doukoure, CAIR-MI Lead Staff Attorney. “Political disagreements and public debate must never be used to justify threats of violence against Muslims, Muslim institutions, or those who defend the rights of American Muslims. We urge elected officials, community leaders, media figures and members of the public to reject inflammatory rhetoric and make clear that hate and intimidation have no place in Michigan or anywhere in our nation.”
CAIR-MI said its office regularly receives harassing emails and direct messages on social media, often multiple times each day. The harassment escalated significantly last week, when the organization received three specific death threats on three consecutive days, shortly after the appearance of white nationalist agitator Jake Lang in Dearborn. CAIR-MI reported the threats to local law enforcement, and they are currently under investigation.
CAIR-MI urged law enforcement to take threats against its office seriously and investigate any credible threats in accordance with applicable law. The organization also called on public officials and community leaders to condemn anti-Muslim rhetoric and efforts to intimidate Muslim Americans and their advocates.
BACKGROUNDER: CAIR recently responded to a number of anti-Muslim hate incidents nationwide.
CAIR’s Maryland office condemned the reported harassment of multiple Muslim women wearing Islamic headscarves, or hijabs, at a market in Montgomery County.
CAIR’s Los Angeles office recently condemned the violent online threats responding to an online anti-Muslim smear campaign targeting the Islamic Center of Irvine (ICOI).
In New York, CAIR called on local, state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate reported hate vandalism targeting a mosque site on Long Island as a possible hate crime.
CAIR’s Florida chapter welcomed charges for an alleged plot to carry out a mass shooting at a mosque.
Its Michigan chapter welcomed federal charges against an Alaska man accused of making threats to injure and murder Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud and issuing violent, Islamophobic threats against Muslims.
Its Pittsburgh and Philadelphia chapters welcomed the City of Erie’s response to reported threats targeting the local Muslim community and urged authorities to remain vigilant in protecting residents from anti-Muslim hate and intimidation.
CAIR also welcomed the federal indictment of a Utah man on a hate crime charge for allegedly stabbing a Muslim man at the West Valley Mall in West Valley City, Utah.
CAIR’s latest civil rights report documented 8,683 anti-Muslim bias complaints in 2025 – the highest number ever recorded by the organization since it began publishing civil rights reports in 1996.
CAIR-MI’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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
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CONTACT : CAIR-MI Immigration and Civil Rights Attorney, Jad Salamey (PHONE NUMBER) [email protected]; CAIR-MI Lead Staff Attorney, Amy V. Doukoure (586) 943-8823, [email protected]