SEE ALSO:

New Yorkers to Rally June 30 for Muslim Holidays This Wednesday, June 30th, at 11 am, hundreds of New Yorkers. . .will stand on the steps of City Hall to deliver one message to Mayor Bloomberg: We want Muslim school holidays and we want them now! Contact: Faiza N. Ali: 212-870-2002, 718-724-3041; fali@cair.com

CAIR to Survey ISNA Attendees on Impact of Islamophobia Visitors to CAIR's booth at convention will be asked for input 

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 6/29/10) --

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today said visitors to its booth at the annual Islamic Society of North American (ISNA) convention on July 4th weekend in Chicago will be asked to fill out short surveys on the impact growing Islamophobia in our society has on their lives. [CAIR's booth is number 306-308.]

"I encourage American Muslims from around the nation to stop by our booth in the ISNA bazaar and offer input on how the rising level of Islamophobia is affecting their lives and how it can best be challenged and reduced," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. "It is up to each of us to do what we can to confront this disturbing phenomenon."

He said CAIR is conducting the survey in part as a response to a long list of recent incidents targeting American Muslims, including the bombing of a mosque in Jacksonville, Fla.

Awad noted that CAIR yesterday called on the FBI to investigate a threat made Sunday to bomb a proposed mosque in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.

He said other mosques in New York also faced hate rhetoric by opponents, as did several mosques in Tennessee. A Houston radio host made a controversial on-air call for the bombing of a proposed mosque and community center in New York City.

CAIR Video: Hate Groups Promoting Islamophobia in America

CAIR’s Iowa chapter reported that a Muslim teen in that state had his jaw broken after being called a “raghead” and “sand n**ger.”

Other recent anti-Muslim incidents nationwide have included the targeting of a Muslim family in Oklahoma with Islamophobic lawn signs, vandalism of a Washington State van with advertisements about Islam on its exterior that was smeared with feces and remarks by a GOP congressional candidate in Tennessee who claims the construction of a new mosque poses a threat to that state's "moral and political foundation."

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CONTACT:

CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, 202-488-8787,

 E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com;

CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171,

E-Mail: arubin@cair.com