SEE Complaint: Complaint for Mandamus and Injunctive Relief (pdf)

SEE Motion to Withdraw: Motion to Withdraw Complaint as Moot (pdf)

CAIR-Philadelphia is not an immigration law firm, and we do not handle routine immigration cases. We do, however, litigate cases against the Government which broadly affect the Muslim community. We took on this case for three main reasons. 1. Civil and human rights groups have expressed growing concern that Muslims and those emigrating from Muslim-majority countries are experiencing lengthier delays in the adjudication of their immigration petitions. 2. It is well documented that the FBI has increasingly targeted the Muslim community, including unlawful interference in Muslim applicants’ immigration proceedings. 3. CAIR-Philadelphia has made it a priority to legally challenge federal agencies that we believe are unfairly targeting American Muslims.

SEE Documents:

• CAIR-Los Angeles: The FBI’s use of Informants, Recruitment and Intimidation within Muslim Communities

• Center for Human Rights and Global Justice: Under the Radar, Muslims Deported, Detained and Denied on Unsubstantiated Terrorism Allegations

This particular case has not only helped one individual, but it calls attention to a deeper matter. Through the filing of this federal lawsuit, CAIR-Philadelphia has sent a strong message to both agencies that we will stand against unlawful “fishing expeditions” in the Philadelphia-area Muslim community.

We see it as our duty, as Americans, to ensure that the rule of law is applied fairly and equally to all Americans, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or national origin. This case is only one example of CAIR-Philadelphia’s work in this area. We have written previously about our recent legal success against the U.S. Department of Justice in a case which tested whether rules relating to security clearance levels were being unfairly applied to a federal employee in Pennsylvania. The case we describe above tests whether immigration proceedings are being unfairly applied to our community. In the upcoming weeks, we will describe our significant litigation efforts to ensure that federal criminal law is being fairly applied to Philadelphia-area Muslims.

As a result of our litigation efforts, a new CAIR-Philadelphia has emerged. We are an agency firmly dedicated to protecting the legal equality of American Muslims. Please support the new CAIR-Philadelphia as we continue to fight for your right to be treated fairly and equally by your Government.

A week after the cruel attack on the Boston Marathon, our nation is still trying to answer that piece of the — who, what, and why — puzzle. Despite our lack of information as to the “why,” we do know some facts as to “what” happened. We know that when the suspects placed their bombs amongst the crowd of joyous spectators, they did not check for the race or religion of their potential victims. Instead, they coldly sought a body count.We know that three young people lost their lives — an 8-year-old boy who once held up a sign “no more hurting people,” an outgoing restaurant manager, and an immigrant who had traveled far from northeastern China to seek an education in our land. We also know that over 150 people were injured, and many more witnesses were traumatized by this event.

The victims of this horror represented a wide spectrum of American society: white, brown, citizen, immigrant, Christian and, yes, even Muslim. Muslims, like their fellow Americans, attended the Boston Marathon as runners and spectators. When the bombs went off, their bodies were torn by the same shrapnel and their hearts raced with the same fear. Unfortunately, in the immediate aftermath, these individuals were further victimized by a public search that dug up prejudices running through our society. Dark skin, compounded with Muslim heritage, led the media and internet sleuths to seize upon certain spectators — an injured Saudi Arabian and a Moroccan-American high schooler — as “suspects.” Tragically, this lynch mob mentality ensnared a Radnor Township family already suffering from the month-long disappearance of their son Sunil Tripathi. For a brief time, Sunil’s name, because of his skin tone and Indian-American heritage, was trending on the Internet as one of the bombing suspects.

Rather than being chastened by these serious blunders, the discovery of the religion of the Tsarnaev brothers will likely embolden the “all Muslims are terrorists” or its analog “all terrorists are Muslims” chorus. The problem with this mantra is that, once again, it is wrong. Since the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995, the Southern Law Poverty Center has documented over 100 plots and attacks by right-wing domestic terrorist groups. It has been estimated that 56 percent of domestic terrorist attacks and plots in the U.S. since 1995 have been perpetrated by right-wing extremists, 30 percent by eco-terrorists, and 12 percent by Islamic extremists. The stark reality, and continuing danger, of right-wing domestic terrorism was brought to the public’s attention last year when Wade Michael Page, a Neo-Nazi skinhead, killed six people at a horrific massacre at a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisc., on August 5, 2012.

Despite the prevalence of right-wing domestic terrorism, the public reaction to this violence is often muted and more measured. Unlike terrorism involving Muslim suspects, Wade Page’s religion and ethnicity were not vilified. Christians and Caucasians were not tarred and feathered by an affiliation with terrorism, done apparently, in their interests. The same cannot be said for the Muslim American community who, despite frequent condemnations of terrorism and extremism, are assigned collective guilt. Aside from the plain injustice of this double standard, it is also fundamentally unproductive.

The reality is that Muslim Americans, like other minority communities, have a nuanced relationship with law enforcement. While we seek protection of our civil rights and liberties, we often work alongside law enforcement to address potential threats to our community.

In the aftermath of this national tragedy, let us continue to work together to oppose threats to our collective freedom whether they emanate from individuals empowered by racial superiority, religious extremism, or anti-government ideology. Let us recognize the old adage, proven by the complex history of our own country, that individuals, not religions or ethnicities, commit violence. The same religion which inspired the Klu Klux Klan’s terrorism also motivated a Georgia preacher, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., who moved our nation forward on a message of justice and unity. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that,” proclaimed the Georgia preacher. Let us heed these wise words and resist the attempt to usurp a tragedy to service a platform of hate and fear, to turn American against American based on race, ethnicity, and religion.

The darkness of April 15, 2013, cannot snuff out the beauty of the Boston Marathon, an event that brought together the wondrous diversity of a nation. This is the promise of America; it is worthy of protection.

OSAMA AL-QASEM

Executive Committee Member
CAIR-Philadelphia

Tragic events of the Boston bombings have left many Americans in a state of confusion, wondering about possible motives of the two perpetrators. Since Monday, CAIR-Philadelphia has been monitoring the ongoing investigation. We have reached out to the public via local media to ensure that a rational, well-informed voice is represented. Many right-wing media outlets have taken the opportunity to vilify Muslims; however, CAIR-Philadelphia’s goal is to bring forward a national conversation that leads to results, not to react to individuals and groups whose sole purpose is to profit from demonizing others.

It is a priority during this unsettling time to reaffirm our commitment to peace, justice and unity. We invite you to join us this Sunday for the 10th Anniversary of Philadelphia’s Interfaith Peace Walk. The Walk is a grassroots movement involving individuals, activists, faith-based organizations and faith congregations that aim to increase dialogue and understanding across traditional divisions of religion, culture and race. The Peace Walk is an opportunity for interfaith and cross-cultural dialogue, and it is not intended to be a protest or a demonstration.
We will keep you updated on information surrounding the investigation, and look forward to seeing you this weekend.

Sincerely,

CAIR-Philadelphia Executive Committee and Staff

Since the bombings in Boston last week and the subduing of the suspects responsible, there’s been a lot of speculation in the national media regarding the motives of Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, both of whom are Muslims originally from the Chechnyan region of Russia.

On Fox News, “liberal” commentator Bob Beckel suggested Muslim students should now be barred from coming to the United States. Fox and Friends host Brian Kilmeade seems to believe the U.S. should implant “listening devices” in mosques around the country and Bill O’Reilly shouted down the head of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Nihad Awad, who noted the two brothers were not representative of all of Islam.

With that in mind, Philadelphia Weekly caught up with Rugiatu Conteh, Outreach and Communications Director at Council on American-Islamic Relations Philadelphia, for her take on the matter.

PW: Some of the mainstream media have taken a big hit with regard to the Boston bombings of last week – like the New York Post publishing several rumors about a Saudi national, and publishing the now-infamous “Bag men” pictures. What do you think about the way the media’s covered the story so far?

Conteh: The underlying question posed to media professionals who decide to engage in speculation, especially during an ongoing investigation - is it best practices to circulate rumors rather than to report factual information? When we received calls from some media outlets asking about responses from the Muslim community, there was already presumption or a slant of backlash against Muslim community members.  This sentiment is coming from a genuine place, but if you ask any person of conscience about initial thoughts during a national tragedy he or she would say that my heart goes out to the victims.  Muslims in our community are no exception. When I first heard about the bombings, I thought about the victims and their families.  How their lives have been disrupted by senseless acts of violence, and how the people of Boston felt insecurity and fear in the search for the suspects.

Obviously, talk radio and slanted media have taken upon themselves to label this as Islamic extremism. Drudge referred to it as a “Boston jihad” and I’ve heard at least one Philly radio host call it that already. Are you worried about people coming to conclusions about the attackers’ motivations before any real evidence comes out?

We have reached an unfortunate point in our national discussion that conclusions are made without facts.  It is still unclear whether, and to what extent the perpetrators were motivated by extreme elements of their religion.

There has already been reports of Muslims being targeted in attacks as retaliation. Was this expected after the attacks occurred Monday? Have you received any complaints from local Muslims being harassed in Philadelphia yet?

There is considerable concern in the Muslim community on how the possible motive of 2 individuals will affect the way fellow Americans view 2.6 to 6 million Muslims living in this country. We have not heard or received any reports in our area of harassment, crimes or discrimination in association with the bombings.

Based on past experiences, do you expect there to be any backlash against local members of the Muslim community in Philadelphia?

Based on the motive, which is still unclear, I am most concerned with public perception of Muslims and how this perception will influence federal policies that affect us all.

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The brothers suspected of committing the Boston Marathon bombings appear to be self-radicalized men, on a jihad against enemies of Islam.

But Muslims say Dzhokar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s alleged views and actions don’t accurately represent their faith, and people should be wary of stereotypes about Islam.

“I think that a lot of stereotypes are that Muslims are violent or terrorists or criminals,” said Rugiatu Conteh, the communications and outreach director for the Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. When a suspect in a crime or act of terrorism is Muslim, she said, “I think for a lot of people, it kind confirms those stereotypes.”

A few days after the marathon bombings — before the suspects had even been named — two Muslim women outside of Boston, both wearing hijabs, were assaulted while walking with their children.

Heba Abolaban told Malden Patch that a man punched her shoulder and began shouting: “He was screaming ‘F-you, Muslims! You are terrorists! I hate you! You are involved in the Boston explosions! F-you!’”

No reports of discrimination or vandalism at mosques have surfaced in the Philadelphia region since the bombings, Conteh said. She said area Muslims are “concerned about what could possibly happen” but hopeful that no incidents will occur.

Fears of a backlash against Muslims began immediately after the explosions, which killed three people and injured more than 200.

Just hours after the explosions, one Muslim woman posted on Twitter, in a message that has now been retweeted hundreds of times, “Please don’t be a ‘Muslim.’”

The bombings are contrary to Islam’s teachings, York imam Majahid “Rick” Ramos said at a service last week, according to the York Daily Record.

“It is prohibited for Muslims to kill anybody,” he said. “Justice should be administered by the people in authority. It is not for you to take that matter into your own hands.”

He later told the newspaper that such an event “solidifies the stereotype” that Islam is a violent faith.

National organizations, too, are cautioning people to avoid stereotypes.

“We strongly urge all Americans to reject scapegoating groups or targeting innocent Americans based on their racial, ethnic or religious identity,” Farhana Khera, executive director of Muslim Advocates, said in a statement.

Conteh said her organization is doing outreach to counter such beliefs.

“Just because there is some sort of association to being Muslim, that doesn’t mean you can really generally say that Muslims are violent,” she said. “People just need to be aware that there’s good and bad people in all faiths.”

Again and again the grainy FBI videos flickered across TV screens Thursday, and the whole nation leaned in to study two nameless young men in backpacks.

But their faces and clothing revealed nothing as they strolled toward the site of the Boston Marathon bombings. The alleged killers looked like two ordinary Americans in baseball caps.

Then, overnight, came their names, news of a high-speed police chase, a fatal gun battle, and clues to their identities. They were immigrants. Ethnically Chechen.

They were Muslim.

“Unfortunately, there’s a double standard in the public’s view when an atrocity like this hits,” said Qasim Rashid, national spokesman for the national Ahmadiyya Muslim community.

“Who asked what religion Adam Lanza was?” asked Rashid, referring to the young man who mowed down 20 schoolchildren and six adults in Newtown, Conn., last year.

“If a non-Muslim commits an act of terrorism, they are thought of as responsible only for themselves. But when a Muslim, the entire Muslim community is brought in.”

Rashid’s was a view echoed Friday by local and national Muslim leaders.

“A terrorist is a terrorist. A killer is a killer,” said Quresh Dahodwala, a nuclear physicist who lives in Cherry Hill. “To identify them with their religion is not fair.”

“I am appalled. My heart goes out to all the victims” of the Boston bombings, said Dahodwala, a leader in the South Jersey Muslim community who helped create mosques in Cherry Hill and Voorhees.

“But it is a human tragedy,” he said. The religion of the alleged bombers “cannot be an issue in this whole story.”

Law enforcement officials have given no indication that religious faith or extremist views motivated the bombings that 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his 19-year-old brother, Dzhokhar, are alleged to have committed.

The two came to the United States in 2002 from a mountainous region of Central Asia that had seen more than a decade of grisly separatist warfare as the predominantly Muslim Chechen area fought for independence from Russia.

Based on their social media postings, both men appear to have endorsed Chechen nationalism, but acquaintances in the Boston suburb of Cambridge say they rarely talked politics.

“I don’t have a single American friend. I don’t understand them,” Tamerlan, an aspiring boxer who did not smoke or drink, reportedly wrote in an essay several years ago. He was killed in a police shoot-out late Thursday, possibly by a bomb he was wearing.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who on his social media page listed his world view as “Islam,” was reportedly failing many of his courses at a state college.

Rugiatu Conteh, outreach director for the Philadelphia office of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said Friday her office had not received any calls from community members or mosques reporting harassment since the Tsarnaevs’ faith was made public.

“But we generally don’t get that in our area,” she said. “People are generally tolerant in Philadelphia.”

Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR’s national spokesman in Washington, said the Boston bombings had “brought out the usual hate-mongers” on the Internet who “exploit these kinds of incidents to further their anti-Islamic agendas.”

“But I believe we as a nation have matured [since the 911 attacks] past the point where most people react reflexively to these kinds of incidents.”

Dahodwala said he hoped that religious faith did not motivate the ghastly killing spree. But if so, “they were misguided,” he said. “God doesn’t tell anybody to kill your brother.”

by Vince Lattanzio

Perceptions about the Boston Marathon bombing suspects have some worried

The local chapter of a national Islamic advocacy group wants members of the Philadelphia Muslim community to be extra aware of potential backlash from the Boston Marathon bombings

Even before the full background of bombing suspects Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, and his now deceased 26-year-old brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev have been fully reported, rumors have been swirling about their connection to Islam. A notion that is concerning to Rugiatu Conteh of the Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

“We do tell people to be extra vigilant and to ensure that they have their eyes out and are aware of the situation,” she said. “Thankfully, we haven’t heard of any sort of incidents coming in the Muslim community in the Pennsylvania area.”

Conteh tells NBC10.com CAIR-Philadelphia is considering sending out an alert to its members as to ensure they’re prepared for any possible issues.

There are an estimated 200,000 Muslims in the Philadelphia metropolitan area and 60 to 70 major mosques in Pennsylvania, according to the organization. Conteh says in the past, they’ve seen incidents against individuals and vandalism against mosques and community centers.

“We could have hate crimes of those persons who look visibly Muslim. For example, Muslim women who wear a hijab, a headscarf, or those women who cover their face,” she said. Men who keep a beard could also become targets.

“I wear hijab. I’m not going to take off my hijab, but I’m just going to be extra aware of the fact that there might be some crazy people that will look at me and associate me with those suspects.”

The Tsarnaev brothers are accused of planting two bombs made from kitchen pressure cookers at the Boston Marathon Monday. The bombs, filled with shrapnel, detonated in the middle of the race, killing three people and maiming and injuring 176 others. A massive manhunt has been underway for the two since officials identified them using surveillance video.

Conteh says incidents typically increase when national crises occur and where the suspect is perceived to be Muslim.

“We’re hoping that nothing happens and usually in our area….generally speaking people are tolerant, but you know what, you can never tell,” Conteh said.

The brothers have ties to Chechnya, a volatile part of the Russian Republic, according to NBC News. Since they were identified, people have been drawing conclusions that the brothers have ties to Islam. A lot of the chatter has been happening on social media, something that can be especially troublesome for young Muslims who are engrossed in the internet.

“There were a lot of really heinous things that were said on Twitter, Facebook and social media,” she said. “[Young Muslims] are in a stage right now where they’re forming an identity…and a lot of times when I’m speaking to the youth they tell me it’s hard to go to school because people are looking at them funny.”

As more information continues to be uncovered about the Tsarnaev brothers, Conteh says she hopes people will remember that two do not speak for all.

“I think we need to get to a point now that when anyone, whether they’re Muslim, Christian or Jew commits a crime, that we need to look at the individual person and not attribute it to their faith and ethnicity.”

The Interfaith Peace Walk draws over 600 participants from various faith traditions that visit different houses of worship while engaging in conversation, song, prayer and reflection.  It offers the public a soulful alternative to violence in Philadelphia’s neighborhoods. Through chanting, prayer and conversation, the Walk facilitates dialogue on the urgent need for peaceful change.

Click here for more information on the Walk