One hundred years ago, 680,000 Americans died in the Spanish Flu Pandemic that ravaged the United States, with Philadelphia being the worst hit city in the nation. Among the dead was my grandfather Yitzhak Bendersky, who had emigrated from Russia to America only a few years before in search of a better life for his family and himself.
American Muslim civic engagement is the foundation upon which we can secure our community’s long-term interests and make our contributions to the broader community. Our many successes could not have happened but for your generous support that sustained CAIR-Philadelphia even throughout this pandemic-infected year.
Science, critical thinking, and skepticism is the cornerstone of any developed nation and our success lies in disseminating a scientific way of thinking and analysis. Various strata of society can contribute to and reinforce scientific thinking.
Every year, CAIR-Philadelphia updates you about how our chapter organizes against Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-black racism, white supremacy, and all forms of bigotry. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic imposed unique challenges for all of us, requiring greater flexibility in how we navigated.
Racism, divisions, and divergence are an inherent part of every country and every society. But in the past few years, these (and so many more) have bubbled to the surface rearing their monstrous head. The behavioral manifestations of these entrenched rifts are on display every day: acting out at kitchen tables, at political rallies, in the rise of vitriolic language, in the disintegration of relationships and the lowering of the national discourse. What are some of the reasons of this deep divide?
After a long and contentious election season the country still seems to be reeling and the schisms are deep and acute with no signs of respite. The situation feels perilous and unprecedented: we have an outgoing president proclaiming fraud while his own agencies are asserting a secure election and a staunchly divided populace teetering towards a deluge…
Our new updated CAIR-Philadelphia blog will be launching on Monday, December 7th. Every Monday we will spotlight American Muslim perspectives on the issues that impact our communities. We invite you to celebrate with us next Monday when our first blog post is posted on our website and shared on Facebook.
“No one can stand up against the authority of truth, and the evil of falsehood is to be fought with enlightening speculation.” ― Ibn Khaldun, “The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History” What better description of the times we live in than these words, penned six centuries ago by Ibn Khaldun, the towering genius of the medieval Arab world, indeed of any age. In the end, Ibn Khaldun is telling us, the tyrant will always fall, and the truth will always prevail.
This video by CAIR-Philadelphia Executive Director Jacob Bender was first screened at CAIR-Pittsburgh’s Virtual Banquet on Oct 3rd.
In one of his most famous speeches, aptly entitled Who Taught You to Hate Yourself, Malcolm X spoke to an unfortunate truth, “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman…the most unprotected person in America is the black woman.”
Jacob Bender
Executive Director
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Timothy Welbeck, Esq.
Civil Rights Attorney
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Durriya Ahmed Shamsi
Advisory Board Member
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Nevan Hamid
Advisory Board Member
See All Posts by Nevan
Guest Authors:
Nada Abuasi
Irfan Patel
Views and opinions expressed in this blog belong solely to the author and do not represent the positions of institutions, organizations, or individuals that the author may be associated with in a professional or personal capacity, unless explicitly stated.
