Nihad Awad - Can Muslims Co-Exist Peacefully and Justly with Other Faith Communities?

Nihad Awad - Can Muslims Co-Exist Peacefully and Justly with Other Faith Communities?

Breaking News: CAIR Welcomes Mubarak’s Departure as Step Toward Freedom

Muslim civil rights group calls for ‘clean break’ from authoritarian rule

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 2/11/11) –- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today welcomed the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as a “first step toward freedom” and said there must now be a clean break with authoritarian rule and a swift transition to an open and transparent civilian government.

In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:

“We welcome the departure of President Mubarak as a first step toward freedom in Egypt. We urge our own government and the international community to now support a swift transition to a civilian administration that operates in an open and transparent manner and is representative of all segments of Egypt’s diverse society.

“The struggle for freedom that began in Tunisia and spread throughout the region should be an example to all oppressed people and should help re-focus American policies in the Middle East and the Muslim world on positively engaging civil societies to promote democracy.

“We call on all those whose courageous actions in recent weeks brought about such historic changes to maintain peaceful pressure until all vestiges of past political repression and the denial of human rights are removed.

“Only through a clean break from dictatorship will the Egyptian people be able to begin the process of building a free and prosperous society in which minority rights are protected and the rule of law is maintained.

“Once again, people in the Muslim world are defying the myths and stereotypes about Islam, democracy and the peaceful expression of a universal desire for freedom and justice.”

Awad said CAIR also welcomed President Obama’s statements in support of a “genuine transition” to democracy in Egypt.

“President Obama demonstrated that he is on the right side of history by supporting the will of the Egyptian people,” said Awad.

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.

Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

CAIR Asks Secs. Napolitano, Gates to Drop Muslim-Bashers as Trainers

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/28/2010) –- A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization is urging the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Defense Department (DoD) not to use anti-Muslim extremists to train counterterrorism officials.

That request by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) comes following a Washington Post investigative report on post-9/11 government surveillance, which stated: "Seeking to learn more about Islam and terrorism, some law enforcement agencies have hired as trainers self-described experts whose extremist views on Islam and terrorism are considered inaccurate and counterproductive by the FBI and U.S. intelligence agencies."

SEE: Monitoring America (Wash. Post)
CAIR-MI: Billions Used to Spy on Americans


CAIR made its requests in letters to DHS Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Last week, the Washington-based Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization sent a similar request to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.

Video: CAIR Decries Anti-Muslim Police Trainers


The Post's report cited cases of individuals who lack formal training "teaching classes on terrorism and Islam to law enforcement officers all over the country."

SEE: Islam-Bashing Bigots Train Counterterrorism Agents


The Post also noted that the Center for Security Policy, an extremist right-wing think tank – headed by Frank Gaffney Jr. -- that recently published an inflammatory report targeting American Muslims, has spoken to many law enforcement forums.

According to the Post: "Government terrorism experts call the views expressed in the center's book inaccurate and counterproductive."

"It is important that the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security have access to accurate and balanced information about Islam and Muslims," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad.

Awad added that a coalition of Muslim, Sikh, Asian-American, and other civil liberties groups recently called on FBI Director Robert Mueller to explain why Robert Spencer, a leader of an anti-Islam hate group, was invited to train state and federal law enforcement officers.

SEE: Coalition Letter to Director Mueller


Earlier this year, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) acknowledged that an anti-Islam film should not have been used in training offered to security personnel by that military law enforcement agency.

CAIR contacted NCIS after receiving a report that a three-day NCIS surveillance detection course at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., included the viewing of a propagandistic anti-Islam film.

SEE: CAIR Seeks Probe of Anti-Islam Bias in Military Training


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 National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, or 202-488-8787, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

CAIR Asks DOJ to Review Use of Muslim-Bashers as Terror Trainers

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/20/2010) -- A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization today called on Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to review Justice Department policies on the reported use of anti-Muslim extremists to train counterterrorism officials nationwide.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said an investigative report on post-9/11 government surveillance published in today's Washington Post states: "Seeking to learn more about Islam and terrorism, some law enforcement agencies have hired as trainers self-described experts whose extremist views on Islam and terrorism are considered inaccurate and counterproductive by the FBI and U.S. intelligence agencies."

SEE: Monitoring America (Wash. Post)

The Post's report cites cases of individuals who lack formal training "teaching classes on terrorism and Islam to law enforcement officers all over the country." One such trainer tells all his students that Muslims in the United States "want to impose sharia law here."

Another trainer, a former Muslim who converted to Christianity, told the Post he warns officers that "you need to look at the entire pool of Muslims in a community." He recommends that law enforcement authorities "monitor Muslim student groups and local mosques and, if possible, tap their phones."

The Post also noted that the Center for Security Policy, a right-wing think tank that recently published an inflammatory report targeting American Muslims, has spoken to many law enforcement forums.

According to the Post: "Government terrorism experts call the views expressed in the center's book inaccurate and counterproductive."

"The use of ill-informed and agenda-driven 'experts' will inevitably result in law enforcement practices that are based on misinformation, not on our nation's legitimate security needs," wrote CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad in a letter to Attorney General Holder.

He said the attorney general recently told American Muslims that "law enforcement has an obligation to ensure that members of every religious community enjoy the ability to worship ... free from intimidation, violence or suspicion."

SEE: Holder Calls Terrorism Sting Operations 'Essential' (NY Times)

"Those who view American Muslims as a suspect community should not be training local, state or federal law enforcement agencies," said Awad.

He added that another recent investigative report outlined what the writer termed the "Great Islamophobic Crusade" by a growing network of groups and individuals "obsessively fixated on the supposed spread of Muslim influence in America."

A coalition of Muslim, Sikh, Asian-American, and other civil liberties groups recently called on FBI Director Robert Mueller to explain why Robert Spencer, a leader of an anti-Islam hate group, was invited to train state and federal law enforcement officers.

In its letter to Mueller, the coalition outlined Spencer's bigoted views on Islam and Muslims, including Spencer's reference to Islam's Prophet Muhammad as a "con man."

SEE: Coalition Letter to Director Mueller

Nihad Awad: Judge Bars Certification of Okla. Anti-Islam Amendment

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/29/2010) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today applauded a strongly-worded ruling by a federal judge in Oklahoma granting an injunction that bars certification of an anti-Islam state ballot measure (SQ 755) passed in the November 2 election.


If it had been certified, SQ 755 would have amended that state's constitution to forbid judges from considering Islamic principles or international law when deciding a case.

Today's ruling by Chief Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma ordered a preliminary injunction to block the certification of the amendment by the Oklahoma State Board of Elections until a final determination is made based on the merits of a lawsuit against SQ 755 filed by Muneer Awad, executive director of CAIR's Oklahoma chapter (CAIR-OK).

In her ruling in support of Awad's legal arguments, Judge Miles-LaGrange wrote:

"This order addresses issues that go to the very foundation of our country, our (U.S.) Constitution, and particularly, the Bill of Rights. Throughout the course of our country's history, the will of the 'majority' has on occasion conflicted with the constitutional rights of individuals, an occurrence which our founders foresaw and provided for through the Bill of Rights. . .

"Having carefully reviewed the briefs on this issue, and having heard the evidence and arguments presented at the hearing, the Court finds plaintiff has made a strong showing of a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of his claim asserting a violation of the Free Exercise Clause.

"As set forth above, plaintiff has shown that the actual language of the amendment reasonably, and perhaps more reasonably, may be viewed as specifically singling out Sharia Law (plaintiff’s faith) and, thus, is not facially neutral.

"Additionally, as set forth above, the Court finds that plaintiff has shown that there is a reasonable probability that the amendment would prevent plaintiff’s will from being fully probated by a state court in Oklahoma because it incorporates by reference specific elements of the Islamic prophetic traditions.

"Further, plaintiff has presented evidence that there is a reasonable probability that Muslims, including plaintiff, will be unable to bring actions in Oklahoma state courts for violations of the Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act and for violations of their rights under the United States Constitution if those violations are based upon their religion.

"Finally, the Court finds that defendants have presented no evidence which would show that the amendment is justified by any compelling interest or is narrowly tailored."

"We applaud today's ruling and welcome the opportunity it offers to demonstrate that Oklahoma's Muslim community simply seeks to enjoy the civil and religious rights guaranteed to all Americans by our Constitution," said Awad.


Awad's lawsuit, based on his own faith-based will, says SQ 755 violates the First Amendment's Establishment Clause that bars government bodies from making laws “respecting the establishment of religion.”


"Today marks another day in American history in which our courts have defended the Constitution against those who would deny its protections to a minority community," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad (no relation to Muneer Awad). "We agree with Judge Miles-LaGrange and the U.S. Supreme Court that 'fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote.'"

Awad added that he hopes the ongoing legal process will expose the campaign of misinformation about Islam targeting Oklahoma voters that was used to promote SQ 755.


He said CAIR plans an education campaign in Oklahoma to offer state residents accurate and balanced information about Islamic beliefs and practices and about the American Muslim community.

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Nihad Awad: CAIR to Launch PSAs Featuring Muslim 9/11 First Responders

Public service announcements designed to challenge bigotry, Florida Quran burning

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 8/31/2010) -- On Wednesday, September 1, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will hold a news conference in Washington, D.C., to launch a national public service announcement (PSA) campaign featuring Muslim 9/11 first responders and designed to challenge the growing anti-Muslim bigotry sparked by opposition to the planned Park51 project in Manhattan.
CAIR's campaign will also include a PSA that features interfaith leaders offering an implicit challenge to the Florida church that plans to burn copies of the Quran, Islam's revealed text, on September 11.

WHAT: CAIR to Launch Muslim 9/11 First Responder PSA Campaign
WHEN: Wednesday, September 1, 2010, 10:30 a.m.
WHERE: National Press Club, Zenger Room, 13th Floor, National Press Club Building, 529 14th Street N.W., Washington, D.C.
CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com

"The stepped-up rhetorical and physical attacks on the American Muslim community and Islam require a positive, proactive response that will help counter the almost hysterical campaign of misinformation by a vocal minority of bigots," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. "These public service announcements have the potential to reach millions of Americans with a message of religious inclusion and mutual understanding."

SEE: Fire at Tennessee Mosque Site: Part of a 'Perfect Storm'?
Two of the three PSAs, which will be distributed to television stations nationwide and online through social media sites, feature Muslim first responders to the 9/11 terror attacks, with the theme "9/11 happened to us all."
The third PSA features Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders describing the "golden rule" as expressed by their respective faiths –- and ends with the phrase, "We have more in common than we think." That PSA is designed to show the commonalities between faiths and to challenge those who –- like the members of a Florida church who plan to burn Qurans on September 11 –- would divide American along religious lines.

Other national American Muslim organizations will take part in the news conference to outline each group's individual and joint initiatives designed to promote religious freedom, challenge growing anti-Muslim bigotry in American society and to mark the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.
SEE: Muslim Leaders Seek to Unify Community in Wake of Hostility, Mosque Controversy (Washington Post)

The other American Muslim organizations taking part in the news conference include: (in alphabetical order)
• Coordinating Council of Muslim Organizations in the Washington Area (CCMO)
• Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA)
• MAS Freedom

Earlier this month, CAIR released an online toolkit designed to help Muslim communities organize proactive local educational and outreach initiatives tied to events such as a "National Day of Unity and Healing" on the upcoming anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.

The toolkit, called a "Teachable Moment Community Response Guide," offers guidance, tools and resources to help Muslim communities respond to specific current events such as the end of Ramadan Eid al-Fitr holiday occurring near September 11, the upcoming "Burn a Koran Day" by a church in Florida, the anti-Muslim bigotry generated by the smear campaign against a planned Islamic community center in Manhattan, and the ongoing tension and misunderstanding surrounding the building or expansion of mosques nationwide.

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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Nihad Awad: U.S. Muslims to Pray for End to Gulf Oil Spill

Americans of all faiths asked to join nationwide spiritual efforts

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 6/9/10) -- A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization today called on mosques and other houses of worship across the nation to offer prayers for an end to the Gulf oil spill and the environmental disaster it is causing.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is urging prayer leaders (imams) in the nation's more than 2,000 mosques to use sermons at congregational prayers this Friday to offer special supplications for a speedy end to the oil spill crisis.

Mosque officials are also being asked to encourage community members to volunteer to assist in Gulf Coast relief efforts as part of CAIR's ongoing "Muslims Care" volunteerism initiative.
CAIR is requesting that religious leaders of other faiths offer similar prayers and supplications based on their own traditions.

"Engineers, officials and residents of the Gulf Coast are doing their best to mitigate this environmental disaster and people of faith must also do what they can to seek divine intervention when human efforts fall short," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. "Along with the prayers, we ask American Muslims to volunteer their time and talents to assist in the massive clean up effort."

He cited the Quran, Islam's revealed text, which states: "O you who have attained to faith! Seek aid in steadfast patience and prayer: for, behold, God is with those who are patient in adversity." (2:153)

Awad said CAIR chapters around the nation will encourage interfaith partners to join the spiritual effort along with local mosques.
"This nationwide spiritual effort could have the added benefit of strengthening bonds between Americans of all faiths," said Awad.

SEE: Calif. Muslim, Jewish Leaders Discuss Shared Values

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.

NIHAD AWAD OFFERS WAYS TO CHALLENGE ISLAMOPHOBIA

Nihad Awad spoke at recent OIC conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 6/7/10) -- Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) recently took part in a conference hosted by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Brazil, at which he discussed ways to reverse the rising level of Islamophobia in Western societies.

The 17th Session of the Committee for the Coordination of Joint Islamic Action, held last week in Sao Paulo, was convened by OIC Secretary General Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and attended by representatives from some 40 nations. Brazilian government officials also took part in the conference.

In a panel discussion on Islamophobia and empowerment of Muslim communities in the West, Awad outlined the primary sources of Islamophobic rhetoric, described how Islamophobes seek to marginalize Muslims and demonize Islam, and focused on education and civic engagement as the most productive ways to challenge growing anti-Islam sentiment.

"Our research indicates that knowledge about Islam and Muslims is at a low level in the West, and that lower levels of knowledge correlate with increased anti-Islam prejudice," said Awad. "Education and engagement are key to challenging the growing phenomenon of Islamophobia."

The OIC is the second largest world inter-governmental organization after the United Nations and serves as the collective voice of the Muslim world. Its membership currently includes 57 Muslim-majority nations.

By Nihad Awad: A Muslim Response to 'Draw Muhammad Day'

Word Count: 932

I will be the first to defend anyone's right to express their opinion, no matter how offensive it may be to me. Our nation has prospered because Americans value and respect diversity.
But freedom of expression does not create an obligation to offend or to show disrespect to the religious beliefs or revered figures of others.
In reaction to the recent controversy over a depiction of Islam's Prophet Muhammad in an episode of Comedy Central's "South Park," a Seattle cartoonist apparently declared May 20th to be "Everybody Draw Muhammad Day."

I say "apparently" because cartoonist Molly Norris -- the creator of the cartoon showing many objects claiming to be a likeness of the prophet -- now says she never intended to launch "Draw Muhammad Day."

On her web site, she has since posted a statement that reads in part: "I did NOT 'declare' May 20 to be 'Everybody Draw Mohammed Day.'...The cartoon-poster, with a fake 'group' behind it, went viral and was taken seriously...The vitriol this 'day' has brought out, of people who only want to draw obscene images, is offensive to the Muslims who did nothing to endanger our right to expression in the first place...I apologize to people of Muslim faith and ask that this 'day' be called off."

Norris even visited a mosque at the invitation of the local Muslim community.
The creator of a Facebook page dedicated to the day also repudiated the "inflammatory posts" it inspired. He said, "I am aghast that so many people are posting deeply offensive pictures of the Prophet...Y'all go ahead if that's your bag, but count me out."

Despite the cartoonist's and the Facebook page creator's seemingly sincere attempts to distance themselves from the fake event, Muslim-bashers and Islamophobes made sure the call to "draw Muhammad" went viral on the Internet. They are hoping to offend Muslims, who are generally sensitive to created images of the Prophet Muhammad or any prophet.

[The majority of Muslims believe visual representations of all prophets are inappropriate in that they distract from God's message and could lead to a kind of idol worship, something forbidden in Islam.]

So how should Muslims and other Americans react to this latest attempt by hate-mongers to exploit the precious right of free speech and turn May 20 into a celebration of degradation and xenophobia?


Before I answer that question, it must first be made clear that American Muslims value freedom of speech and have no desire to inhibit the creative instincts of cartoonists, comedians or anyone else.

The mainstream American Muslim community, including my own organization, has also strongly repudiated the few members of an extremist fringe group who appeared to threaten the creators of "South Park." That group, the origins and makeup of which has been questioned by many Muslims, has absolutely no credibility within the American Muslim community.
I, like many Muslims, was astonished to see media outlets broadcasting the views of a few marginal individuals, while ignoring the hundreds of mosques and Muslim institutions that have representatives who could have offered a mainstream perspective.

Next, one must examine how the Prophet Muhammad himself reacted to personal insults.
Islamic traditions include a number of instances in which the Prophet had the opportunity to retaliate against those who abused him, but refrained from doing so. He said, "You do not do evil to those who do evil to you, but you deal with them with forgiveness and kindness."

Even when the prophet was in a position of power, he chose the path of kindness and mercy. When he returned to Mecca after years of exile and personal attacks, he did not take revenge on the people who had reviled him and abused and tortured his followers, but instead offered a general amnesty.

In the Quran, Islam’s revealed text, God states: "Invite (all) to the way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching, and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for your Lord knows best who have strayed from His Path and who receive guidance." (16:125)
Another verse tells the prophet to "show forgiveness, speak for justice and avoid the ignorant." (7:199)

This is the guidance Muslims should follow as they express concern about an insulting depiction of the Prophet Muhammad, or of any other prophet of God.

Instead of reacting negatively to the bigoted call to support "Draw Muhammad Day," American Muslims -- and Muslims worldwide -- should use that and every other day as an opportunity to reach out to people of other faiths and beliefs to build bridges of understanding and respect.
The best and most productive response to bigoted campaigns like "Draw Muhammad Day" is more communication, not less communication -- including not restricting the free flow of ideas with measure like banning Facebook.

Research has shown that anti-Islam prejudice goes down when people interact with ordinary Muslims and have greater knowledge of Islam.

Therefore, the best reaction to those who would mock the Prophet Muhammad (or the religious symbols of any faith) might be a mosque open house for the local interfaith community, a community service activity organized by Muslims and involving people of other faiths, or a newspaper commentary describing the life, legacy and personal character of the prophet, which is the opposite of the calumny some people fabricate about him. This should be of concern to all decent and objective people.

We will all benefit if each of us -- whether Muslim, Jew, Christian, Buddhist, or Hindu -- exhibits the common human decency required by our respective faiths.

[Nihad Awad is national executive director for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil liberties organization. He may be contacted at: nawad@cair.com ]