Details and information about the Empty Bowls event)

 (CLEVELAND, OH, 11/10/2011)

On November 18 and 19, the Cleveland chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Cleveland) and the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms will host civil rights forums at the Islamic Center of Cleveland.

The events, titled "A Wake-Up Call for Civil Rights," will address anti-Muslim law enforcement training, preemptive prosecutions and ethnic and religious profiling.

WHAT: A Wake-Up Call for Civil Rights

WHEN: Friday and Saturday, November 18 and 19 6:30 - 9:30 PM

WHERE: Islamic Center of Cleveland, 6055 West 130th St. Parma, OH 44130

CONTACT: CAIR Executive Director Julia A. Shearson, 216-830-2247 or 216-440-2247, E-Mail: jshearson@cair.com

Speakers include: Thomas Cincotta, Esq., author of "Manufacturing the Muslim Menace: Private Firms, Public Servants, and the Threat to Rights and Security;" Stephan Salisbury, Philadelphia Inquirer reporter and author of "Mohamed's Ghosts: An American Story of Love and Fear in the Homeland;" Dr. Mel Underbakke, co-founder of the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms; Dr. Shamshad Ahmad, SUNY Albany physics professor and author of "Rounded Up: Artificial Terrorists and Muslim Entrapment after 9/11;" Sharmin Sadequee of Families United for Justice in America; Steve Downs, Esq. of Project SALAM; and George Friday of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee.

"If we, the American people, do not protect our cherished rights and freedoms we may wake up one day in an unrecognizable country with laws that deprive us of our privacy and liberty," said CAIR-Cleveland President Ahmad Banna.

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, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR-OHIO Executive Director Julia A. Shearson, 216-830-2247 or 216-440-2247, E-Mail: jshearson@cair.com  

FEEDING OUR NEIGHBORS FOOD BASKET PROJECT

CAIR-Cincinnati will collect and distribute food in the name of the Muslim community to hungry families in our area.

DONATE JUST $25 TO FEED A FAMILY IN NEED!

Contact (513) 281-8200 or info@cincinnati.cair.com for more information. VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED on

November 20th to help package and distribute food. Contact us for more information.

WINTER ESSENTIALS DRIVE

Donate NEW children's socks, scarves, gloves and hats (all items must be new) through November 25th

Drop off to: CAIR-Cincinnati, Islamic Association of Cincinnati (Clifton), or the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati (West Chester). Contact (513) 281-8200 for more information.

BY LUCY MAY

BUSINESS COURIER, 11/11/11

Since opening 16 years ago, the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati has welcomed more than 70,000 people curious to learn more about the religion, and the Muslims who live in the Tri-State.

Now the center, in West Chester, is focusing its efforts on the region's employers to help companies capitalize on the talents of their Muslim employees.

The center estimates that more than 25,000 people in the Tri-State are Muslims or are of Muslim heritage, said Shakila Ahmad, chair of the tours and talks committee at the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati. That's up from about 10,000 when the center opened in November 1995, she said.

Nationwide, 70 percent of American Muslims are white-collar professionals, she said.

"They're in our leading companies, educational institutions and in our major hospitals," said Ahmad, who also is director of business development and management at Allergy & Asthma Specialty Center in West Chester. "The focus of the work at the center is, how can we be a stronger region by capitalizing on the talents and skills we have in the region? Are we limiting ourselves based on our biases and preconceived notions?"

Nationwide, there's reason to believe the answer is yes. Since 9/11, American Muslims have had so many problems with religious bias at work that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission created a new category, Code Z, to track complaints, said Maha Elgenaidi, executive director of the Islamic Networks Group in San Jose, Calif.

READ MORE AT WWW.CAIROHIO.COM 

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/9/11)

A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization today welcomed a U.S. Army decision to review a policy of the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) that effectively bars participation by Muslim students who wear an Islamic head scarf, or hijab.

Last month, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) wrote to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta after a 14-year-old Muslim student at Ravenwood High School in Brentwood, Tenn., was forced to transfer out of a JROTC class when her commanding officers told her she could not wear hijab while marching in the September homecoming parade.

After being contacted by the student's family, CAIR contacted both the school district and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to seek constitutionally-protected religious accommodations for the girl and for future Muslim JROTC participants. (MORE) 

Have you been stopped and harassed at the border or any entry point (airports) coming into the U.S.?

Have you been put on the "No-Fly" List?

Can't get on a plane for an international flight or a domestic flight?

If so, CAIR-OHIO wants to know!

If you have experienced travel difficulties, whether at the airport or at the border, please contact your CAIR-Ohio office. We are planning on taking legal action on cases of "no fly" list, border or airport detentions and delays, harassment by Custom and Border Protection from 2001 up to the present.

Call or email the CAIR-Ohio office nearest you. If you are not sure, please contact us with your story and we will let you know.

Main Office (Columbus)

1505 Bethel Rd., Suite 200

Columbus, OH  43220

Phone: 614-451-3232

Fax: 614-451-3222

info@columbus.cair.com

Cincinnati Regional Office

10999 Reed Hartman Hwy, Suite 222

Cincinnati, OH  45242

Phone: 513-281-8200

Fax: 513-281-8666

info@cincinnati.cair.com

Cleveland Regional Office

 2999 Payne Ave., Suite 220

Cleveland, OH  44114

Phone: 216-830-2247

FAX: 216-830-2248

info@cleveland.cair.com

DO YOU KNOW YOUR RIGHTS WHILE TRAVELING?