Over a dozen groups plan to call for action to address hotspots of anti-Muslim bigotry
On Friday, March 15, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, plans to unite with a coalition of more than a dozen Muslim civic organizations around the world to mark the UN’s Second International Day to Combat Islamophobia by issuing a joint statement highlighting key hotspots of Islamophobia around the globe.
Journalists should expect to see a joint international statement and social media posts commemorating the day.
WHAT: 2nd UN International Day to Combat Islamophobia
WHEN: Friday, March 15, 2024
CONTACT: CAIR Research and Advocacy Director Corey Saylor, 202-384-8857, csaylor@cair.com; CAIR Research and Advocacy Coordinator Farah Afify, fafify@cair.com@cair.com
NOTE: Ramadan, Islam’s holy month of fasting and reflection, began this week. During the latter part of Ramadan, CAIR plans to release “Fatal: The Resurgence of Anti-Muslim Hate,” the 2024 edition of its annual report on the status of Muslim civil rights in the U.S.
Last year, Muslim advocacy organizations operating in more than 30 countries pledged to cooperate in struggle against global Islamophobia.
In the United States, CAIR has already documented a “staggering” wave of Islamophobia that erupted in the last months of 2023.
SEE: CNN’s CAIR records ‘staggering’ 3,578 complaints of bias in the US since October 7
BACKGROUNDER:
The UN General Assembly established the International Day to Combat Islamophobia after a report concluded that international Islamophobia has reached “epidemic proportions.” The date coincides with the fifth commemoration of the Christchurch, New Zealand massacre when 51 New Zealand Muslims were murdered by an agent of hate. Member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation first commemorated the day in 2021 and subsequently pushed for UN recognition.
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CONTACT: CAIR Research and Advocacy Director Corey Saylor, 202-384-8857, csaylor@cair.com; CAIR Research and Advocacy Coordinator Farah Afify, fafify@cair.com@cair.com; 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 Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com