The Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations today called on the Marple-Newtown School District in Newtown Square, Pa., to allow a Sikh high school soccer player to compete while wearing his religiously-mandated head covering.
The Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, says the new travel ban is unconstitutional, just like the last one. “This is just another attempt to unlawfully restrict the immigration of people who practice Islam, and people who hail from different parts of the globe that the president has demonstrated some form of xenophobia towards,” said CAIR’s Timothy Welbeck.
The Philadelphia Chapter of CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) welcomes the Justice Department’s announcement of an agreement with Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania, which resolves a lawsuit alleging discrimination after the township denied zoning approval to allow the local Muslim community (“Bensalem Masjid”) to build a mosque.
The United States Justice Department recently announced it came to an agreement with Bensalem Township to resolve a dispute stemming from the township’s denial of zoning approval which would have permitted Bensalem Masjid to build a mosque on three adjoining parcels of land in the township.
CAIR-Philadelphia is pleased to welcome Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu as our new Outreach and Education Director. Ahmet Selim is an academic and a scholar of American religious landscapes. He brings to us several years of on-the-ground work with Muslim American communities.
Jacob Bender, CAIR-Philadelphia Executive Director, and Salima Suswell, CAIR-Philadelphia Executive Committee Member, travelled to Harrisburg on September 6th to attend the 2nd Annual Eid-al-Adha Dinner at The Governor’s Mansion. The dinner was hosted by Governor Tom Wolf and his wife Francis and was attended by about 60 Muslim leaders from around Pennsylvania.
One narrative technique of imaginative fiction is for the hero to wake up from a deep sleep in a strange time and place. From Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” to Mark Twain’s “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court,” from Dorothy’s sojourn in the Land of Oz” to Woody Allen’s “Sleeper” and episodes of “The Twilight Zone,” writers have utilized this literary device to hold up a mirror to their own times.
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees the right of American citizens and residents to freely practice religious beliefs and engage in any corresponding religious actions and/or rituals made in accordance with those beliefs. Additionally, federal law expressly prohibits workplace discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender/sex, or national origin.
On Sunday, August 20th at Italian Lake, Harrisburg, the Community Responders Network, a grassroots coalition committed to confronting and preventing incidents of bias in Central Pennsylvania, and the Harrisburg Mayor's Interfaith Advisory Council, organized a unity rally we called "Speak up for Unity, No Hate Here!” The purpose of the event was to affirm equality, non-violence, cross-cultural acceptance, and interfaith cooperation.
