Category: News

Happy New Year from CAIR-Philadelphia A Final Opportunity to Help Dr. Ahmet Help You DONATE NOW (if you encounter errors,

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.

Alhamdulillah, CAIR-Philadelphia has four very talented individuals working for us: Jacob Bender our executive director, Timothy Welbeck, Esq., our staff attorney, Dr. Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu, our outreach and education director, and Leena Jaffer, our operations manager. They have been able, due to your continuous and generous support, to provide our community and the general public with an unprecedented level of services, all the more important in these perilous times.

Now is not the time for silence or lethargy, but of activism and commitment. Let CAIR be your voice, from the public arena to the courthouse, from the pulpit to the halls of power. So please help CAIR help you. This Ramadan, give generously to CAIR-Philadelphia; your donations are tax-deductible and zakah-eligible. You will be making an investment in the future of the Philadelphia Muslim community and the healing of our nation.

Join CAIR-Philadelphia and the New Africa Center/ICPIC as we honor the life and legacy of slain civil rights icon and Black liberation leader Malcolm X. Malcolm Little, Detroit Red, Malcolm X, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, whom many affectionately called “Brother Malcolm,” would have celebrated his 93rd birthday next month had he not been brought “too soon to death” at the hail of the assassin’s bullets.