The Philadelphia Chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Philadelphia) demands a comprehensive inquiry into Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s record on civil rights, religious freedom, the rights of immigrants, and the limitations on presidential powers prior to his confirmation.
On Wednesday, June 20, CAIR-Philadelphia and Historical Society of Pennsylvania co-hosted a panel and a concert at HSP to recognize the histories of Muslims in the Keystone State. The panel was organized and moderated by CAIR-Philadelphia’s Outreach and Education Director, Dr. Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu.
The press conference and rally was organized by the New Sanctuary Movement, and included speakers from over a dozen social justice organizations, including CAIR-Philadelphia.
Audio of Full Press Conference: Media Coverage: CBS Philly: Video…
On June 26, 2018 the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision in support of Trump’s bigoted Muslim Ban. This is bad but we will keep fighting. It’s more important than ever to know your rights despite this decision. Since December 4, 2017, the Muslim Ban has been in full effect for certain individuals from: Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. All are facing difficulty in their applications for visas to be united with family, study in the U.S., get medical treatment, or visit for tourism.
Essay by Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu
Published in Pennsylvania Legacies Magazine (Vol. 18, No. 1, Spring 2018).
It has been one of the foundational principles of democratic nations that the law exists as a guarantor of liberty. From the Magna Carta to the American Declaration of Independence, from the French Declaration of Rights of Man to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the march of history can be seen as the expansion of freedom to ever greater numbers of the Earth’s inhabitants.
Timothy Welbeck, a civil rights attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations and a Temple University Africology professor, said that history is the reason he, his wife and three children attended the festival.
