Author: Monuza Ashraf

On Sunday, March 11, more than 400 people turned out for the Council on American-Islamic Relations Columbus chapter’s (CAIR-Columbus) 21st Annual Banquet to support the advocacy organization’s civil rights work.

Guest speakers included Dr. Altaf Hussain, Imam Suhaib Webb, and comedian Jeremy McClellan.

CAIR-Columbus received documents of recognition from Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, Columbus City Council, Columbus City Mayor Andrew Ginther, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, and Ohio State Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko.

Senator Brown also recorded a message for the occasion:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To view the banquet photos click here

From Thursday, November 30 through Saturday, December 2, the Columbus, Ohio, chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Columbus) organized two crisis response trainings and three women’s self-defense trainings. The trainings, which were attended by 200 people over the three-day period, were conducted by Nezar Hamze, the Deputy Director of CAIR-Florida.

Hamze covered a wide array of topics including how to use self-defense weapons, such as pepper spray, and during the women’s self-defense trainings, taught participants hand-to-hand self-defense tactics.

(COLUMBUS, OHIO, 12/13/17) – Today, CAIR-Columbus’ Feeding Families Project volunteers distributed holiday gift cards to the residents and staff at the YWCA Family Shelter. The Feeding Families Project volunteers have been providing meals at the shelter on the second Friday of each month since the shelter opened in 2005.

For the past few years, CAIR-Columbus volunteers have also sought donations for gift cards around the holidays in an effort to bring some extra cheer to the families at the shelter.

“This year, especially with all the negativity in the media, we really wanted to make an effort to show the positive side of the Muslim community, the importance of charity in our religion, and to emphasize that we care about everyone in need regardless of religion or background,” said CAIR-Columbus Executive Director Jennifer Nimer. “We truly hope this small act of kindness will not only help these families through the holidays, but also let them know that their Muslim neighbors and friends care about them. We also included the staff because we see how hard they work and how much they truly care about the residents at the shelter.”

(COLUMBUS, OHIO, 11/21/2017) — The Columbus, Ohio, chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Columbus) announced today it has successfully resolved another citizenship delay lawsuit.

The suit, filed in Federal court for the Southern District of Ohio, was on behalf of two Iraqi green card holders who had been waiting for decisions on their naturalization applications for over two and a half years.  The applicants, a husband and wife, had no criminal history and no reason was given by USCIS for the extreme delay in adjudication.  Until the lawsuit was filed, USCIS failed to even schedule interviews for the couple, despite their repeated inquiries into the nature of the delay.

(COLUMBUS, OHIO, 12/13/2017) — The Columbus, Ohio, chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Columbus) announced today that it has reached a settlement with a local company for wrongfully terminating a Muslim man.

The Muslim man was wrongfully terminated in May 2015 for asking for a prayer accommodation. He worked for the company for close to a decade. He was an excellent employee with no work performance issues. Every evening he would take a short break to perform his evening prayers. However, after a change in management, he was told that he could not take the short break to perform his prayers anymore. The taking of this break has not caused any problems for the company. When he insisted on his right to get a religious accommodation, he was terminated by the company.

CAIR Action Alert: Contact Your Elected Representatives About Jerusalem

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, as part of a wide coalition of Jewish, Christian and other American interfaith groups is calling on all Americans to urge their elected representatives in Congress to denounce President Trump’s plan to recognize, on behalf of the United States, Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

President Trump’s actions will alter previous decades of U.S. policy on the holy city by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a move that could harm America’s role the Mideast peace process. CAIR believes that the U.S. must strive to maintain a status of impartiality as it seeks to find a peaceful resolution between Israeli and Palestinian leaders and their peoples.

 

On Monday and Tuesday, November 13 -14, CAIR-Columbus Public Affairs Coordinator Usjid Hameed and Interim Youth Director for NICC Amina Barhumi spoke about Islam at Columbus State Community College to students preparing to become American Sign Language interpreters.

During the presentation, Hameed discussed the diversity of beliefs in Islam, dispelled myths about Muslims, examined the many similarities between Islam and other Abrahamic faiths, and fielded questions from the class. 

On Sunday, October 1, CAIR-Columbus Public Affairs Coordinator, Usjid Hameed, and Operations Coordinator, Monuza Ashraf, spoke at Boulevard Presbyterian Church in Grandview to a study group focused on learning more about Muslims and the Islamic faith.

During the event, Hameed and Ashraf discussed the overlaps between Christianity and Islam, the diversity among Muslims both within Central Ohio and around the globe, as well as how individuals can safely intervene when witness to someone verbally attacking another person who appears to be Muslim.