‘The Nakba’ Rings Loudly in the Halls of Congress

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) successfully hosted a packed Capitol Hill event on May 11, recognizing 75 years since the “Nakba,” the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their homeland. The event took place despite Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s attempt to cancel.

“Let the headlines read ‘McCarthy tries to erase Palestine but fails,’” said Tlaib.

CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad called upon Congress members to condemn “Speaker McCarthy’s reprehensible attempt to silence the voice of the first Palestinian-American U.S. representative and to erase Palestinian history. Such behavior is un-American and perpetuates the ongoing suffering of the Palestinian people.”

During the event, which CAIR co-sponsored alongside with various Jewish, Palestinian Christian and other human rights groups, Rep. Tlaib announced that she had introduced a House Resolution Recognizing the Ongoing Nakba and Palestinian Refugees’ Rights.

The term “Nakba” is an Arabic word meaning “catastrophe,” and is used to describe the large-scale ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their homes and homeland from 1947 to 1949.

In addition to recognizing the ongoing Nakba and Palestinian refugees’ rights, the resolution urges the U.S. to maintain its support for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). This organization offers critical social services to a significant portion of the 7 million Palestinian refugees. The resolution also calls for the implementation of the rights of Palestinian refugees, as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and UN General Assembly Resolution.

Kabir grew up in Bangladesh and lived in the U.K. and Canada before moving to College Park 20 years ago. He works for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He served on the council for 12 years, and has previously worked as an adjunct professor teaching cybersecurity at the University of Maryland.

White House Reinstates Muslim Liaison Position

On April 14, civil rights attorney Mazen Basrawi was appointed Senior Adviser and White House liaison to the Muslim American community. This position had been eliminated during the Trump Administration. He will also continue in his current position of Director of Partnerships and Global Engagement at the National Security Council (NSC).

Earlier this week, CAIR called on community members to urge lawmakers to support Congresswoman Betty McCollum’s (D-Minn.) recently reintroduced “Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act.”

The event was sponsored by the Institute for Middle East Understanding, Americans for Justice in Palestine Action, Project 48, Democracy for the Arab World Now, U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, Jewish Voice for Peace Action, American Friends Service Committee, Virginia Coalition for Human Rights, Emgage Action, JVP Action, and co-sponsored by Justice Democrats, American Muslims for Palestine, CAIR, Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), Institute for Policy Studies, The Jerusalem Fund, Arab Center Washington DC, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP), Hindus for Human Rights, and the Arab American Institute.

The resolution, cosponsored by Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), Cori Bush, Betty McCollum, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and Ilhan Omar D-Minn.), is endorsed by Jewish Voice for Peace Action, Institute for Middle East Understanding, Americans for Justice in Palestine (AJP Action), Project48, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), Virginia Coalition for Human Rights (VCHR), Emgage Action, American Muslims for Palestine, The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Hindus for Human Rights, and The Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development. ih attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. He successfully defended the right of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro in Tennessee to open their mosque in the case of U.S. v. Rutherford County, Tennessee.

After joining the 2008 Obama presidential campaign and inaugural committee, Basrawi was appointed as a special counsel to Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez at the civil rights division.

Basrawi, who is visually impaired, was appointed by Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe to the Virginia Board for the Blind and Vision Impaired, where he has served as chairman since June 2020.

Basrawi (BA, Univ. of Virginia; Charlottesville Va., JD, University Of California, Berkeley) previously served as a trial

Before working in the federal government from 2004 to 2006, Basrawi was an Equal Justice Works Fellow for Disability Rights Advocates.

Muslim Soccer Players Can Now Break their Fast on Time

Major League Soccer finally agreed to a league wide “Drinks Break” policy during Ramadan, that allows players who fast during Ramadan to quickly break their fast along the sidelines during a game stoppage just after sunset.

This is a shift from years past when Muslim players were expected to wait until halftime or after the game to break their fasts. Now, referees can briefly stop play during evening games involving Muslim players. They did so during an April 1 game between the Columbus Crew and Real Salt Lake, which involved two Crew players, Mohamed Farsi and Steven Moreira.

The old approach was challenging, since each half of an MLS game lasts at least 45 minutes. Players who hadn’t eaten or had a drink since sunrise would have to remain hungry and thirsty long after the sun went down. In the U.K., both the Premier League and English Football League allow referees to pause games during Ramadan to allow fasting players to eat and drink.

The National Women’s Soccer League has also adopted a “Drinks Break” policy for Ramadan, but referees have not yet needed to use it due to a lack of Muslim players. However, elsewhere, Muslim players continue to face pushback when they request religious accommodations during Ramadan. In Ligue 1 in France, for example, fasting players are sometimes benched and referees are told not to allow Ramadan-related breaks in play.

In other sports, Muslim players are generally able to break their fasts without any help from referees. Basketball players, for example, can take advantage of frequent substitutions or later start times for games.

NJ Muslim Inmates Can Keep Hijab On

On April 17, the New Jersey Department of Corrections’ (NJDOC) announced its new policy allowing incarcerated people to wear hijab for intake mugshots that are publicly available.

The department’s decision came after almost two years of advocacy spearheaded by CAIR-NJ civil rights attorney, Nina Rossi.

The NJDOC said it respects the sincerely

Disney and Netflix Employees Host Iftar

First Woman to Chair CAIR-Houston

On March 30, the Pillars Fund and the Muslim employee resource groups at The Walt Disney Company and Netflix, held their first-ever iftar for Muslim employees and filmmakers at Netflix headquarters. 150 people in the industry gathered to break their fast.

“Pillars is excited to be in community with Muslim creatives and entertainment professionals at the forefront of industry change. It was an honor to break our fasts together during such a sacred time, and we are eager to continue building power with Muslim artists throughout the year,” said Arij Mikati, Managing Director of Culture Change, Pillars Fund

The program kicked off with welcome remarks, a presentation from Pillars on culture change in Hollywood, followed by iftar, prayer, and dinner. Guests traveled from the East Coast and even Canada to attend the inaugural event. ih held religious beliefs of the incarcerated population. The department affords incarcerated persons the right to exercise those beliefs so long as they do not impose an undue burden on the safety of staff and/or other inmates or orderly operations of a facility. As such, incarcerated persons may request to have to wear their religious head coverings for those photographs that are posted publicly.

“Muslim women who wear hijab (head scarves) or niqab (face veils) now have the option to request a ‘Photo Religious Exemption’ form, which would allow them to wear their hijab or niqab in any publicly posted photos,” said Selaedin Maksut, CAIR-NJ Executive Director.

In July 2021, CAIR-NJ, filed an OPRA (Open Public Records Act) request asking about the NJDOC’s policies regarding intake photos. CAIR continued to follow up with NJDOC and in Sept. 2021, NJDOC agreed to revisit their policy. In Jan. 2023, NJDOC produced the current version of its policy.

Rawan Harirah was elected as the new board chair and president of the board of directors of CAIR-Houston. She is the first woman to hold this position. Harirah oversees CAIR-Houston’s strategic direction and leads the organization in its mission to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower Muslim Americans, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

She has been involved with CAIR-Houston for several years. She first learned about the organization when she filed a discrimination case against Schlitterbahn Water Park in Galveston, TX for denying her access to all water slides due to her hijab. She later interned for CAIR-Houston before joining the board of directors in 2017 and serving as the secretary before being elected board chair. ih

Achievers

Imam Saffet Catovic, Director of United Nations Operations for Justice For All (www.justiceforall.org) spoke at a special Ramadan Iftar program at the Association of Bosniaks of Delaware Valley - Mosque in Delran, N.J. The program included a keynote speech by Hafiz Dr. Safvet ef. Halilovic, professor of Quran at Islamic Faculty in Zenica and envoy of Riyasaet and Reis al Ulema (Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina) to the Bosniak diasporic community in the U.S. for Ramadan.

Imam Catovic was presented with the Certificate of Recognition by the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Islamic Community of North American Bosniaks (the official religious organizations of Bosnian Muslims). It was to recognize his efforts and dedication in making Muslim