CAIR-MI Holds Successful Town Hall
CAIR-MI recently held a successful town hall forum discussing pressing civil rights issues affecting American Muslims and Arab-Americans at the Islamic Center of Detroit.
Brief presentations given at the "Community Rights Town Hall" focused on concerns regarding agent-provocateurs and informants spying in houses of worship, detentions during re-entry into the country and laptop seizures, and the chilling effect upon Muslims paying Zakat (mandatory charitable donation) to Islamic charities.
Speakers at the event included Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad, Wayne State Criminal Justice Professor Irshad Altheimer, ACLU-MI Field Director Mary Bejian and ADC-MI Advisory Board Member Ihsan Alkhatib.
Also in attendance were representatives from the faith relations office of Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and the Archdiocese of Detroit.
Some 150 community members were also in attendance.