CAIR-MI Launches 9/11 'Remember Through Service’ Campaign
Billboards and website highlight positive contributions of Michigan Muslims
(SOUTHFIELD, MI, 9/7/2011) - The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) today launched a billboard and Internet campaign designed to mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11 terror attacks by highlighting the service of Michigan Muslims to the nation.
The CAIR-MI "Remember Through Service" campaign is designed to tell the stories of Michigan Muslims who have given back to our country and to provide an accurate depiction of how Muslims contribute to the broader society.
The "American Muslims: Remembering Through Service" billboards, located along two major highways, showcase a doctor who was a first responder at Ground Zero on 9/11, a Detroit police officer, a Wayne County assistant prosecuting attorney, an assistant principal in a Canton public school, a Vietnam veteran, and a volunteer doctor at a free medical clinic in Wayne.
Billboard: American Muslims: Remembering Through Service
/multimedia/photo_gallery/remember_through_service
Brief videos featuring the Michigan Muslims appearing on the billboards may be viewed at the Remember Through Service website:
http://rememberthroughservice.com/
SEE: Remember Through Service Promotional Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCC1mg8Guw8
Remember Through Service: 9/11 First Responder
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f-Hu3v0aYE
Remember Through Service: Law Enforcement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzk4VBVTwXw
Remember Through Service: Justice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9azOXgvTHg
Remember Through Service: Education
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvYviIlzYHU
"As we reflect on the 10th anniversary of the national tragedy of 9/11, it is important for all Americans to recognize the positive contributions that Muslims have always made to our society," said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid. "Our fellow Americans need to know that we are first responders, law enforcement officers and military veterans who serve and protect our nation like citizens of other faiths."
CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
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CONTACT: CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid, 248-842-1418, E-Mail: dwalid@cair.com, CAIR-MI Outreach Coordinator Raheem Hanifa, 248-559-2247, E-Mail: rhanifa@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com
Support The Work Of CAIR-MI During Ramadan
CAIR-MI wishes you a blessed month of Ramadan.
Please click here to watch brief video update from CAIR-MI Staff Attorney Lena Masri.
Make your Ramadan donation to CAIR-MI by giving on our secure website by clicking here or by writing a check or money order to:
CAIR-MI
21700 Northwestern Highway
Suite 815
Southfield, MI 48075
CAIR-MI Joins Immigration Rally With Rep. Conyers
The ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee Congressman John Conyers, Jr. held forum on 6/301/11 to address recent actions of Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) against immigrants, legal residents and U.S. citizens in Metro Detroit.
Community members gave public statements regarding being negatively effected by ICE interactions.
CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid made statements during the hearing which can be seen here.
CAIR-MI Safe Spaces Coordinator Job Opening
CAIR-MI is hiring a Project Coordinator for a paid position to execute the SAFE SPACES project, designed to create a mutually beneficial environment between employers and Muslim employees.
The Safe Spaces Coordinator will work with schools, employers, and government agencies to produce and adopt policies that positively affect the Muslim community.
The Safe Spaces coordinator will work proactively with institutions, corporations, universities, schools and other entities to implement "Muslim Friendly" policies that will have a constructive outcome for both the Muslim and greater non-Muslim community.
JOB DESCRIPTION:
The project coordinator is expected to work with corporations, organizations, schools, universities and government agencies to implement "Muslim friendly" policies relating to dress, dietary requirements, prayer, holidays, and other accommodations as well as diversity trainings and similar workshops.
The coordinator will reach out to Michigan-based corporations and organizations to set up meetings with staff within the human relations departments and present the information in the handbook Safe Spaces handbook.
SAFE SPACES is aimed at organizations with at least 50 employees.
The coordinator will initially be hired for one year. In that time, we expect to reach at least 20 large employers and implement the SAFE SPACES trainings.
We are looking for those with experience in or public policy, public relations, communications, management, human resources or related education and work experience with adequate knowledge of Islam, Muslim culture and lifestyle.
Send cover letter and resume to info@cairmichigan.org Please contact the CAIR-MI office for any other details 248-559-2247
CAIR-MI Participates In Michigan Muslim Capitol Day
'Muslim's for a better Michigan' is the theme of Muslim Capitol Day this year. Dozens from the Muslim community came to Lansing Wednesday to meet with state representatives and senators.
Organizers say the event gives Muslims an opportunity to talk about how they can enhance Michigan and also voice their concerns.
"Given that there's a lot of frustration and even some fears within the Muslim community concerning the rhetoric that's going on in politics regarding the Muslim community, so we really felt that this was the time to do something more effective and proactive," said Raheem Hanifa, Muslim Capitol Day Co-Chair.
Muslim Capitol Day is organized by a group of non-partisan organizations, including the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan, and the Council of American Islamic Relations of Michigan.
Click here for video of CAIR-MI speaking on the event.
Click here for Capitol Day Video Slideshow.
Congressman Gary Peters Opposes King Hearings
Congressman Gary Peters objects to King Hearings. CAIR-MI thanks Congressman Peters for standing against the targeting of the American Muslim community and the bias of King's hearings.
Click here for the letter sent to Rep. King by Rep. Gary Peters denouncing hearings.
Representative Hansen Clarke Defends CAIR-MI During Congressional Hearings
During the congressional hearings on "Radicalization of the Muslim Community" Represenative Clarke (D-MI) defended CAIR-MI against the false allegations that CAIR-MI. Click here to see his remarks.
California man arrested with explosives outside of the Dearborn Islamic Center
Jennifer Chambers / The Detroit News
Dearborn - An ex-Army veteran from California who is accused of driving to Metro Detroit's largest mosque with a trunk full of explosives is behind bars after being charged with making a terrorist threat.
Roger Stockham, 63, is charged with one count of a false report or threat of terrorism and one count of explosives-possession of bombs with unlawful intent after Dearborn police arrested him Monday outside the Islamic Center of America, one the largest mosques in North America.
Stockham, a resident of Imperial Beach, Calif., is being held on a $500,000 cash bond. He will be in court on Friday for hearing on the charges before 19th District Court Judge Mark Somers.
FBI special agent Sandra Berchtold confirmed today the FBI is investigating an incident referred to the federal agency by Dearborn police.
Police said Stockham was in possession of class C fireworks, a 15-year felony, when he was arrested Monday outside the center. The terrorism charge is a 20-year felony.
On his MySpace page, Stockham said, "Proud of my kids. Happy with how much I've lived. Ready for it to be over, but have a policy I contend with often: So long as I am alive, I can't play dead."
At a website for a VFW post, Stockham posted a photograph and said he joined the U.S. Army in 1965 and served in Vietnam in 1968. Based in Pleiku, Stockham said he flew with an assault helicopter company. He says he has two children and a grandchild.
Dearborn Mayor John B. O'Reilly Jr. said the suspect, who drove from California to Michigan last week, was in possession of high-end fireworks outside the 70,000-square-foot-mosque which has a 150-foot dome height and 10-stories tall minarets.
"The kind that are illegal here and if used in a building would cause tremendous harm," O'Reilly said today.
Dawud Walid, executive director of CAIR's Michigan chapter, said he learned from police that the suspect had been drinking in a Detroit bar on Monday when he threatened to do harm to a mosque in Dearborn. A bar employee followed the man outside and wrote down his license plate and called Detroit police who in turned contacted authorities in Dearborn, Walid said.
Dearborn police began searching areas around mosques in the city and allegedly found Stockham inside his vehicle outside the Islamic Center of America, Walid said, with a load of M-80s in his trunk and other explosives. Inside more than 500 members had gathered for a funeral service, Walid said. It was not known whether the suspect knew a funeral was underway.
Members of the Islamic Center of America were alerted to the threat during Friday's prayer service, Walid said.
"We thank law enforcement authorities for their quick and professional actions in this troubling incident," Walid said. "The increased number of bias incidents targeting American Muslim institutions must be addressed by local, state and national officials and law enforcement authorities."
Investigators chose to keep the arrest quiet during the week while detectives determined whether Stockham was acting alone or with others, O'Reilly said. Police worked with the mosque's Imam during the investigation, he said. O'Reilly said it appears Stockham was acting alone.
"People asked why they didn't know about this earlier: why is because it's based on who needs to know. There was no threat to anyone else and no one else was in danger," O'Reilly said.
(313) 222-2269
jchambers@detnews.com
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110130/METRO/101300320/California-man-arrested-with-explosives-outside-Dearborn-Islamic-center#ixzz1Db1QT5nt
Superficial Safety
Detroit Free Press, 1/1/11
The Dec. 26 story "Foiled bomb: Lesson for U.S." failed to question Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano about the stated impetus of heightened screening in airports after the failed Christmas Day attack of 2009.
Given that the "underwear bomber" apparently did not coordinate his lone wolf attack with anyone residing in the states, the rationale has yet to be presented regarding the expenditure of millions of taxpayer dollars for deploying more full body scanning machines that have limited effectiveness in even distinguishing between human flesh and plastic explosives.
Every person flying through an American airport could have walked through a full body scanner, and it still would not have prevented the attack of last Christmas.
We want privacy and safety concerns balanced, not measures that make us believe that we are safer.
Dawud Walid
Executive Director Council on American-Islamic Relations - Michigan (CAIR-MI) Southfield
Detroit Free Press, 1/1/11
Lawsuits Coming In Death of Imam
Robert Snell / The Detroit News
A civil rights group is expected to file state and federal lawsuits today on the one-year anniversary of the killing of a Detroit mosque leader who died during a shootout with the FBI.
The lawsuits, expected by noon, are being filed because the FBI and state Attorney General have failed to turn over audio and video surveillance footage showing the death of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah, who was killed Oct. 28 at a Dearborn warehouse, said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Michigan (CAIR).
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Reviews by state Attorney General Mike Cox's office and the civil rights division of the U.S. Justice Department found no laws were broken in Abdullah's killing.
"We still need to review the information based upon the unanswered questions that we have regarding this case, as well as discrepancies that we have seen in the reports," Walid said.
Abdullah was shot 20 times by FBI agents after he allegedly fired a weapon and killed an FBI dog. The barrage of gunfire and arrests of 10 Abdullah cohorts prompted complaints from civil rights groups and others.
Walid said there is no forensic evidence linking Abdullah to a firearm and no evidence proving he fired a weapon that day.
The gunfire occurred during an attempted arrest in connection with an indictment involving dealing in stolen goods and other alleged crimes.
Walid's group also filed Freedom of Information Act requests for documents relating to the raid.
From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20101028/METRO/10280443/1361/Lawsuits-coming-today-in-death-of-imam#ixzz13n2on4Bu
http://www.detnews.com/article/20101028/METRO/10280443/1361/Lawsuits-coming-today-in-death-of-imam
Authorities Investigate Koran Burning at Islamic Center
EAST LANSING -- A burned Quran with pages covered in feces was found early Saturday morning outside an East Lansing mosque.
“To have a the Quran burned at a mosque is equivalent to having a cross burned at a black church,” said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid.
Click the link above for more info.
CAIR-MI Announces PSA Campaign To Challenge Growing Islamophobia
Public service announcements feature Muslim 9/11 first responders, interfaith leaders
(SOUTHFIELD, MI, 9/1/2010) -- The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) today a national public service announcement (PSA) campaign featuring Muslim 9/11 first responders and designed to challenge the growing anti-Muslim bigotry in American society.
Muslim group files more suits in slain imam probe
Associated Press - August 9, 2010 3:44 PM ET
DETROIT (AP) - A Muslim civil rights group has sued more police agencies for failing to release information about the killing of a Detroit mosque leader during a shootout with the FBI.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations' Michigan chapter said it filed lawsuits Monday in Wayne County Circuit Court against Detroit and Dearborn police departments.
Click the link above for more details
Independent Autopsy: Dog Mauled Imam
Southfield --A Muslim advocacy group released a report today claiming an imam was mauled by an FBI dog during a raid and may have fired at it to stop the attack.
The finding comes from an independent autopsy retained by the Council of American-Islamic Relations, whose leaders discussed the report during a news conference this afternoon at their Southfield offices.
Click the link above for the full story
Vandals Hit Downriver Mosque Twice Within A Week
Brownstown Township -- Police are investigating two incidents of vandalism that happened within a week at a local mosque.
Windows were broken and doors were smashed at the Masjid Umar-bin-Khattab Mosque on May 9 and again on Saturday, with the second attack caught on videotape, said spokesman Muhammad Khan.
Muslim Woman Denied Job at McDonalds Files Complaint
ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (WXYZ) - A Rochester Hills McDonald's is the target of a federal complaint. 19-year-old Naseehah Barlaskar says she was discriminated against when she applied for a job.
Click the link above for the complete story and video interview
Some 1,000 people yesterday attended the 10th annual banquet of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) in Dearborn, Mich.
Several government officials including Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero as well as Jewish, Catholic and Baptist clergy members were present.
Click here for Detroit Free Press article regarding CAIR-MI 10th Anniversary Banquet
Keynote speaker Rev. Jesse Jackson, founder of Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, discussed the need for coalition building among various ethnicities and religious groups to address contemporary challenges within our society such as the housing foreclosure crisis and the rise of bigotry in America seen within radical elements of the Tea Party movement. Rev. Jackson also addressed the need for repealing provisions within the USA PATRIOT Act that run counter to civil liberties.
CAIR-MI Welcomes Police Commissioners Resolution on Imam's Shooting
(SOUTHFIELD, MI, 2/8/10) The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) today welcomed a recent resolution from the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners calling "for objective scrutiny and resolution to the fatal shooting of Cleric Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah," which took place on October 28 of last year in Dearborn.
Click the link above for more details
CAIR-MI Condemns Attempted Terror Attack
(SOUTHFIELD MI, 12/28/09) - The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) along with Nigerian-American Muslim leaders will hold a news conference tomorrow to condemn Al-Qaeda's reported involvement in a failed airline attack on December 25th by a Nigerian national on a inbound flight to Detroit.
Click the above link for more details
Full Press Conference of Attempted Terror Attack Condemnation
Testimony of Full Blown Police Raid at Masjid Al-Haqq
A security officer present at the police raid of Masjid Al-Haqq has recently testified before the Detroit Board of Police Commisioners about the details of the police raid. The raid took place on the night of the death of Imam Luqman Abdullah. CAIR-MI has raised this issue with political and law enforcement officials calling for an investigation into this event. See below for CAIR-MI official inquiry into police raid, as well as affidavit of security officer and mosque member who was present during the raid.
Click the link above for official inquiry into the police raid and more details.
School District Apologizes for Bible Study Forms
CAIR-MI said today that a Detroit-area school district has apologized for handing out permission slips for Bible study classes to elementary school students.
CAIR-MI sent a letter to Roseville Public Schools after receiving a complaint from two parents of children who attend Huron Park Elementary School about distribution by teachers of permission slips for the Bible classes at a local Baptist church.
Click the link above for more details
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Lawsuit Against Judge For Hijab Ban in Court
The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) scheduled a news conference Wednesday, August 26th to announce the filing of a federal lawsuit against Wayne County Circuit Judge William Callahan. The Muslim plaintiff says she felt so intimidated by the judge's repeated demand that she eventually removed her headscarf.
Click the above link for more info.
CAIR Seeks Clarification on Hijab Ruling in Michigan Courts
CAIR recently called for clarification of a new administrative rule adopted by Michigan's Supreme Court that, if broadly interpreted, might allow judges to demand that witnesses remove religious head coverings during testimony in their courtrooms.
Click the link above for more info.
CAIR-MI To Give Presentation on Historic and Current Civil Rights Issues
On Friday June 19 at the Muslim Unity Center, CAIR-MI will give a presentation titled"Connecting Contemporary Muslim Civil Rights Issues With American History" The presentation will comparing and contrasting the history of civil rights struggles in America with the current issues facing American Muslims.
Click the link above for more details.
On June 12th at the Islamic Center of Detroit on Tireman Rd. from 6pm-8pm, CAIR-MI will be hosting a Community Town Hall. The issues that will be addressed, but not limited to, include the FBI and federal law enforcement agents' involvement in coercing individuals at mosque to spy on mosque worshippers, detainment and laptop seizures at the border, and the scrutinizing of Muslim charities and their donors.
Click the link above for more details.
Join CAIR-MI and thousands of others as we "Race for the Cure" on Saturday, May 30th. Join the Muslim team, "Muslims for the Cure" and participate in an event that will help you raise money for breast cancer research and awareness, perform an act of daw'ah, and get fit!
CAIR-MI's Broadcasting Islam, Analysis and Critique
Part 2 of Presenting Islam to Fellow Americans (PITFA) workshop deals with developing new strategies in communicating to Non-Muslims about Islam, through the help of a Non-Muslim social activist and other presentations dealing with Muslim perception in society, and engaging the media on Muslim issues.
2009 Annual Banquet
Thank you for a successful banquet! Although attendance approached the thousand person mark, we still fell slightly short, approximately $12,000 short, of our fundraising goal. For those of you who were not able to attend the banquet but would still like to express your support for CAIR-MI, you may give an on-line donation by clicking on the “donate” button above. We thank you for your continued and generous support!