(CINCINNATI, OH, 2/7/20) – The Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) today called for a woman who allegedly assaulted a Muslim Uber driver in Middletown, Ohio to be prosecuted under Ohio’s law on ethnic intimidation.
Author: CAIR-Ohio
Assalamu-Alaikum Community Members and Friends,
Just a few days after the third anniversary of the first Muslim Ban, the Trump administration has expanded its travel restrictions targeting even more Muslims and immigrants of color.
(CINCINNATI, OH, 1/29/2020) – The Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations today welcomed a decision by the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to fine Delta Airlines $50,000 for
(COLUMBUS, OHIO, 12/13/19) — On Sunday, December 8, CAIR-Columbus collaborated with 12 mosques in the Greater Columbus and Dayton area to organize the 2nd Annual Ohio Open Mosque Day.
(COLUMBUS, OH, 12/13/2019) – On Wednesday, December 4, CAIR-Columbus Administration and Communications Coordinator Mahnoor Khan
(COLUMBUS, OH, 8/15/19) – CAIR-Columbus today welcomed the removal of an offensive cutout from a storefront in Beverly, Ohio.
The object was a silhouetted wooden cutout of a Middle-Eastern figure riding on the back of a camel with a rifle in hand. It featured red targets in the center of the figure’s head and around the heart of the camel. This cutout, which was openly visible from the road, was prominently displayed outside a local business in Beverly, Ohio for many years until it caught the attention of a concerned passerby. The passerby immediately reported it to CAIR-Columbus.
CAIR-Columbus reached out to the business and requested the immediate removal of the offensive cutout from public view. CAIR-Columbus also expressed concern about the non-welcoming and discriminatory impact of this cutout on local Muslim and Arab residents.
Per Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, establishments that serve the public cannot curtail an individual’s right to “full and equal enjoyment of [its] goods … and services” based on the individual’s race, color, religion, or national origin.”
CAIR-Columbus encourages continued reporting of bigoted images or signs displayed in public. Report an incident to CAIR-Columbus here.
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. The CAIR-Ohio Affiliate has three chapters – Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati.
(COLUMBUS, OH, 4/18/19) – On Tuesday, April 16th, CAIR-Columbus hosted an Interfaith Prayer and Religious Liberty Luncheon event at the Ohio Statehouse.
The purpose of the event was to educate attendees about issues related to religious practice, accommodation, discrimination, and more. View the Facebook livestream of the event here.
The event featured a variety of speakers including –
- Usjid Hameed, Government Affairs and Development Coordinator for CAIR-Columbus, who opened the event;
- Rev. Deborah Lindsay, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and staunch advocate for interfaith harmony, who spoke about the importance of religious liberty; and
- Noorgul Dada, an American-Muslim community leader and former Chairman of Noor Islamic Cultural Center, who led the interfaith prayer.
Samir Gharbo was a long-time supporter of CAIR and dedicated to the causes of civil rights, justice, peace and interfaith understanding. After his passing earlier this year, CAIR-Columbus received many donations in his name. To honor his memory, CAIR-Columbus will use those donations for the Samir Gharbo Memorial Internship, which will help further CAIR’s work in the areas Samir was passionate about.
The application process for the internship is now open, and applications will be accepted until October 31, 2018. Details of the internship are below, and also can be downloaded in PDF.
The voter registration deadline is October 9. Early voting begins October 10. Don’t miss any important deadlines! Get more information about important dates at our voter guide: https://bit.ly/2O69QCu
The Columbus, Ohio, chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Columbus) announced today that it has successfully resolved another citizenship delay lawsuit.
The suit, filed in federal court for the Southern District of Ohio, was on behalf of a local female Muslim physician, who immigrated to the United States through her employer and had been a lawful permanent resident since 2011. USCIS initially fingerprinted her twice and scheduled her interview, but then cancelled her interview without explanation in August of 2017. After her interview was cancelled, she was unable to obtain any information as to the status of her application other than it was “pending security checks.”
“We are pleased to announce that since the filing of the lawsuit, we were able to successfully resolve the delay in adjudication, and our client has been officially sworn in as a United States citizen,” said CAIR-Columbus Executive Director Jennifer Nimer, one of the attorneys who filed the case.
“Muslim applicants are often subjected to lengthy delays in all types of immigration applications because they are viewed with suspicion by USCIS because of their country of origin, travel or other subjective criteria that does not actually bar them from qualifying for the immigration benefit they seek. Even despite not having any type of criminal background, they are judged by different standards than non-Muslim applicants, and this is something we will continue to challenge in court,” Nimer added.
CAIR-Columbus has reported an increase in immigration delays of all types and has filed immigration-related lawsuits for over 42 plaintiffs just since the beginning of 2017. The majority of those cases have already been successfully resolved in favor of plaintiffs.
Ohio Muslims who are facing similar delays are being urged to contact CAIR-Columbus for assistance by filing an incident report online at: https://www.cair-ohio.com/
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
CONTACT: Jennifer Nimer, CAIR-Columbus Executive Director, 614-451-3232, jnimer@cair.com
The Columbus, Ohio, chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Columbus) announced today that it has reached a settlement in a federal lawsuit with a national retail chain for wrongfully terminating four Muslim women of Somali origin.
In a span of two weeks in 2015 the company terminated seven Muslim women who all worked on the same shift. The women were working as housekeepers for the company and none of them had received any warning or discipline prior to being terminated.
At the time of their termination they were told that “your type of people are not welcome,” and that the supervisor was firing “all these people.”
“Our clients are very pleased that this matter was successfully resolved and that they have received a monetary compensation for the wrongful termination,” said CAIR-Columbus Legal Director Romin Iqbal. “It was clear to us that the company was engaging in direct discrimination by terminating all the Muslim employees on that shift. The law is very clear. Employers cannot take any adverse employment action, including termination, against employees based on religion, race or national origin.”
The Columbus, Ohio, chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Columbus) today announced the filing of a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of Ohio against the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the USCIS Nairobi Field Office, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), on behalf of a Columbus Muslim man and his wife — who is currently in a refugee camp in Kenya — who have been waiting on the wife’s visa to be approved since March, 2015.
Plaintiff Isse Ali immigrated to the U.S. as a refugee and after his marriage promptly filed a follow-to-join refugee application for his wife, Warsan. The application was approved by USCIS and sent to the Nairobi field office for interview and issuance of travel documents.
The petition has now remained pending in the Nairobi field office for more than four years – an extraordinary amount of time. During that time the couple has had two children together and has suffered the heartbreak of having their family continually separated. They have inquired dozens of times as to the source of the delay but have been unable to obtain any information as to why the Nairobi field office has not issued a decision on the application.
Contact Senate to Question SCOTUS Nominee Kavanaugh’s Support for NSA Spying on Americans, Stop and Frisk, Unchecked Executive Authority
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on all those who value Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure to contact their U.S. Senators, and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to ask that Supreme Court Nominee Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh be held to account on his support for NSA bulk collection of American’s phone records and stop and frisk searches.
Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee began its four-day confirmation hearing on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.
CAIR-Columbus announced today the successful resolution of a lawsuit against the U.S. embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, for unreasonably delaying immigrant visas for the four minor children of a U.S. legal permanent resident.
The applications sat unadjudicated for almost four years, causing the family to remain separated unnecessarily – with the parents living in the United States and the children remaining in Pakistan.
In June, CAIR-Columbus filed a mandamus lawsuit in the Federal Court for the Southern District of Ohio against the embassy and the U.S. Department of State in order to force the embassy to process the applications.
After two months of litigation, the lawsuit was successfully resolved with the children receiving their visas enabling them to travel to the U.S. to finally be reunited with their parents and brother. The family said they are extremely grateful that a nearly four year struggle is finally over.