Mayor Jim Kenney joined a midday prayer service, Jummah, at the Muslim American Society Mosque in North Philadelphia on Friday morning. Speaking before the prayer, Kenney and other local officials praised the mosque for its volunteer work and promised to defend the congregants against Islamophobia.
It is easy to get depressed these days, and become weary at the thought of four more years under this Administration, as we struggle to defend all the social justice progress of the past century.
Yet I remain an optimist. I am filled with hope at the presence of our courageous Mayor and other elected officials here among us; I am filled with hope at the sight of thousands of our fellow Americans streaming into airports across the country to defy the bigoted Executive Order of the President; and I am filled hope because of the warm welcome that I, a Jew, have received from all quarters of the Philadelphia Muslim community since coming to work for CAIR three years ago.
The mayor — a longtime defender of the Muslim community — pointed at more than 100 Muslims who gathered for afternoon prayers and told them: “You are America. Hopefully, a generation from now this will be a bad memory… I am telling you: We will get through this.”
The past few days have been a nightmare for those of us who believe in the fundamental values of this country: inclusivity, tolerance, and religious freedom. CAIR-Philadelphia, together with CAIR chapters around the country, has been working day and night to defend the American Muslim community against the actions of the new administration in Washington which, of course, follow from the most hateful and divisive presidential campaign rhetoric in living memory.
Jacob Bender was interviewed by Barbara Grant on 900AM-WURD (Talking Drumline) about CAIR's actions and the Muslim community's response to recent executive orders by President Trump.
Date: January 29, 2017 Time: 2:00 PM Location: Philadelphia International Airport (map) Visit the Facebook event page for latest updates. Less than 24 hours after Holocaust Remembrance Day, U.S. border officials at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) have begun implementing Donald…
As the protesters chanted, Philadelphia City Council was busy at their first session of 2017. They unanimously passed a resolution introduced by council members Helen Gym and Curtis Jones Jr. to uphold the city’s “support for and protection of Muslim communities.”
Tomorrow, January 27, 2017, CAIR-Philadelphia will join Nationalities Service Center, HIAS-PA, ACLU-PA, and the Public Interest Law Center for a press conference in response to President Trump's recent executive orders regarding the border wall with Mexico and ban on immigration from Muslim-majority countries.
