Category: News

With nary a few days of rest after CAIR-Philadelphia’s sold-out annual banquet on March 9th, the breaking news last Friday morning from New Zealand hit like a thunderbolt and sent our office into a frenzy of activity. Within minutes, we circulated to mosque leaders and board members a mosque safety guideline and toolkit and urged mosque leaders to contact their local police departments. Next, we drafted a press release condemning the mass murder of Muslims in the two mosques and called attention to the rise of white supremacist violence worldwide, aided and abetted, we believe, by the irresponsible statements by the president himself.

More than 900 American Muslims, interfaith leaders, and social justice activists gathered at Springfield Country Club last Saturday, March 9th, for the 13th Annual Banquet of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. US Congresswomen Susan Wild, Chrissy Houlahan, and Mary Gay Scanlon were present, along with other political, community, religious and interfaith leaders, and imams and representatives from almost all of the Delaware Valley Islamic centers and mosques.

For many Muslims in America, myself included, 2018 was a difficult year, as we witnessed the growth off verbal and physical attacks on American Muslims and other minorities; all, no doubt, encouraged by the open and coded racist discourse emanating from the highest government officials in the land and spread maliciously throughout the internet and broadcast and print media. CAIR-Philadelphia’s response to this tide of ignorance was to further intensify its Education and Outreach programs during 2018. At CAIR-Philadelphia we developed several strategic initiatives to empower our communities, built coalitions with our partners and launched new programs.

The year 2018 is drawing to a close, with the past several months being particularly difficult ones for those of us committed to a pluralistic, peaceful, and just vision of America.

CAIR-Philadelphia wishes all of our Christian friends a joyous Christmas and a New Year of peace and justice — from Pakistan, to Palestine, to Pennsylvania.

Lo! The angels said “O Mary! Behold, God sends thee the glad tiding, through a word from Him, [of a son] who will become known as the Christ Jesus, son of Mary…”
Holy Qur’an, 3:45

An interfaith press conference about the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, hosted by CAIR-Philadelphia and Masjidullah at the Friends Center yesterday, received wide media coverage last night on radio, TV, and internet.

Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religious leaders at the press conference condemned the mass murder at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, as well as calling attention to the environment of racism, xenophobia, and calls to violence in which the anti-Semitic murders took place. Many speakers noted a climate of fear and divisiveness stoked by the irresponsible rhetoric of the president of the United States.

On Friday August 24, CAIR-Philadelphia — together with two other American Muslim organizations: Emgage Pennsylvania and MPower Change — organized a voter registration drive as part of National Muslim Registration Day (#NMVRD #mymuslimvote). The drive took place at Islamic Society of Chester County in West Chester, and CAIR-Philadelphia Executive Director Jacob Bender and Outreach and Education Director Ahmet Tekelioglu spent the afternoon registering many new Pennsylvania voters arriving for Jumma (Friday afternoon prayers).

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.