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Anti-boycott laws are a dystopian nightmare

Anti-boycott laws are a dystopian nightmare

The right to boycott was once enshrined by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1982, but the recent passing of anti-BDS laws in several U.S. states shows how fragile basic civil rights have become.

A Mondoweiss Exclusive Article

Published October 4th, 2022 | By Hamzah Khan

Few things have as much bipartisan support in the U.S. as unconditional support for Israel. Ironically, while criticisms of the U.S. government are protected by the First Amendment, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have made it nearly impossible to criticize Israel without facing tangible consequences like public smearing, and even financial loss. Across the U.S., 34 states — from “blue” states like California and New York to “red” states like Texas and South Carolina — have passed some form of legislation that makes it illegal for the state to contract with businesses and individuals who participate in Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS), a grassroots movement founded by Palestinian civil society that seeks to pressure Israel to abide by international law.

Boycotting now carries a price

Under the various iterations of anti-boycott laws across the U.S., individuals and businesses that do partake in the BDS movement risk financial retaliation, like Unilever did in New Jersey, or public smear campaigns and accusations of antisemitism. Proponents of the anti-boycott law claim that it combats antisemitism, but most of the laws explicitly target the BDS movement, which condemns antisemitism. These anti-BDS laws have been wielded to disastrous effect, with state governments targeting individuals and companies alike who seek to exercise their right to boycott an apartheid state. By punishing boycotts of Israel, U.S. legislators encroach on Americans’ First Amendment rights.

Many of the state anti-BDS laws require anyone contracting with the state or any federal employees to sign a non-boycott pledge. Just weeks ago, in June, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an anti-BDS law in Arkansas, the first and most senior court to do so thus far.

A local newspaper, The Arkansas Times, was required to sign a pledge not to boycott Israel in order to run ads with the University of Arkansas, a state-funded public university. The newspaper refused to sign the pledge on grounds that it violated free speech. Initially, The Arkansas Times won their case in the district court. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, however, reversed the decision and upheld the law. If the Supreme Court agrees to hear the Arkansas case or even a similar one in the next few years, there is a high probability that the conservative majority will concur with the conservative Eighth Circuit’s opinion and uphold these laws, permanently crippling free speech in this country.

In Georgia, just a few states east of Arkansas, journalist Abby Martin was required to sign a non-boycott pledge in order to speak at a public university, which she refused. And in Arizona, Dr. Hatem Bazian and the American Muslims for Palestine, a grassroots advocacy group dedicated to educating the American public on Palestine, were required to sign a non-boycott pledge in order to hold an event at Arizona State University. The Council on American Islamic Relations filed separate lawsuits on behalf of both plaintiffs. In both cases, the courts struck down the anti-BDS laws on free speech grounds.

In Kansas and Texas, individuals contracting with public schools were also required to sign the pledge.

One Kansas woman, Esther Koontz, sued Kansas Commissioner of Education Randall Watson after she was required to sign a pledge to not participate in boycotts of Israel. The state refused to contract with her when she did not sign the pledge.

In Texas, victims of Hurricane Harvey were required to sign the anti-BDS pledge in order to receive aid from the government. Phil King, the Republican lawmaker who sponsored the bill, later apologized for the way the law was implemented, calling it a “misunderstanding.” But just about a year later, Bahia Amawi, a child language pathologist, lost her job after nine years of employment when she refused to sign a new contract that included an addendum that would prohibit her from boycotting Israel.

Both Kansas and Texas later amended their laws: in Kansas, the anti-boycott certification requirement no longer applies to individuals or sole proprietors — now only applying to companies if they conduct more than $100,000 worth of business with the state.

However, companies that conduct more than said amount of business with the state are required to sign a certification stating that they are “not engaged in a boycott of goods or services from Israel that constitute an integral part of business conducted or sought to be conducted with the state.” Similarly in Texas, the anti-boycott law now excludes companies with nine or fewer full-time employees and contracts under $100,000. Both CAIR and its Houston chapter sued the state of Texas last year to expand the definition of a “company” to “between a governmental entity and a company with 10 or more full-time employees, and has a value of $100,000 or more that is to be paid wholly or partly from public funds of the governmental entity.” The state has appealed the temporary injunction granted, and it is now up to the Fifth Circuit this November.

Many states have also passed laws that pose financial burdens on organizations that allegedly boycott Israel through the creation of blacklists, pension fund divestments, and prohibition of business contracts. Most of the laws target companies that states deem to be engaged in a boycott of Israel, regardless of whether they actually are. In Illinois, the state created blacklists of companies, not only for boycotting Israel on political grounds, but for even refusing to do business with Israel for commercial reasons. Many of the companies on the list were perplexed as to why they could no longer contract with the state as they held no political positions against Israel.

In New Jersey and New York, both states divested state pension funds from Ben & Jerry’s parent company, Unilever, after the ice cream maker announced that it would no longer operate in illegal Israeli settlements. Interestingly, this action was considered a boycott of Israel despite the fact that Ben & Jerry’s continued to operate in the rest of the country.

In Houston, the Council on American Islamic Relations sued the city and Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, on behalf of A&R Engineering, a firm that frequently contracted with the city but refused to sign the anti-BDS pledge. The suit was successful, and they won an injunction against the city to waive the requirement. The fact that this clear political act was punished by so many states shows that the government can use the full force of the state to stifle political dissent and find applause within both parties. The majority of anti-BDS laws prohibit states from investing in companies that boycott Israel, significantly hindering the ability of activists to pressure companies to support human rights.

The fact that so many U.S. states have decided to fall on the side of apartheid is a dystopian foreshadowing of the ease with which fundamental rights can be taken away.

While most of the anti-BDS laws have been struck down in court when challenged, the latest ruling from the Eighth Circuit may represent a disturbing shift towards stricter government enforcement against movements that support Palestinian rights. Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton recently introduced an anti-BDS law in Congress that would make it easier for states to implement stricter anti-BDS laws.

Seeing that anti-BDS laws have broad bipartisan support, the likelihood of this bill becoming law is very high.

The right to boycott was protected by the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark case NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co in 1982, in which the court upheld the right of the NAACP to boycott primarily white institutions that segregated between whites and people of color.

Boycotts have long been instrumental to political movements from the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. to the anti-apartheid boycotts of South Africa. The fact that so many U.S. states have decided to fall on the side of apartheid is a dystopian foreshadowing of the ease with which fundamental rights can be taken away.

US Hindu nationalist groups: What could this mean for Muslims and minorities?

US Hindu nationalist groups: What could this mean for Muslims and minorities?

A The New Arab Exclusive Article.

Published September 27th, 2022 | By Dina Sayedahmed and Hamzah Khan

As millions of Muslims in India face the threat of genocide under Modi’s government, Dina Sayedahmed and Hamzah Khan warn about the dangerous impact of affiliated Hindu nationalist groups on minorities in New Jersey, US.

With pockets of Middlesex County in New Jersey dubbed “Little India,” the area has long boasted of a thriving Indian American population. As a whole, New Jersey is home to at least 10% of US migrants from India, according to a study by Migration Policy. Middlesex County, specifically, is among the top four counties where immigrants from India have resettled, second only to Santa Clara County in California.

Not only has the Indian American diaspora brought forth a rich diversity to the region’s cultural and business centres, but schools in the area also rank in the top percentages in the state of New Jersey. Real estate networks sell Edison as a town with a booming economy, progressing from being a manufacturing city to one that offers technological and innovation-based business ventures.

More recently, however, the area’s politics and cultural hubs have been overtaken by Hindutva groups — a political ideology that refers to the predominant form of Hindu nationalism in India. This has deepened a rift between Middlesex County’s Indian American diaspora, and yielded a less optimistic future, from cultural and heritage celebrations in the area to local elections.

 ”Hindu nationalist groups hosted then-Republican nominee Donald Trump in Edison for a charity event in the weeks before the 2016 election. At the event, he praised India for helping fight terrorism, a phrase that has become code for institutionalising Islamophobia through crackdowns on Muslims.”

Following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election in 2014, Hindutva has steadily risen to prominence in India. His ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), stokes hatred of Muslims and other minority groups in India through its policies and rhetoric.

One of the BJP’s former social media heads, Arun Yadav, had likened one of Islam’s holiest sites, the Kaabah in Makkah, to an ice cube in a glass of whiskey. Another former BJP leader, Nupur Sharma, who was a spokesperson for the party, made anti-Islamic remarks on a televised debate that triggered demonstrations across the globe. Though both BJP leaders were consequently suspended, the comments themselves are a window into the prevailing culture within the BJP, which has traveled to and infiltrated some pockets of the Indian American diaspora through groups like the Hindu American Political Action Committee (HAPAC), the Overseas Friends of the BJP (OSFBJP), the Indian Businesses Association in NJ (IBA), and the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS).

One group in particular, the IBA, has been especially active in New Jersey’s Middlesex County. During the India Independence Day parade, an annual event organised in the area – which is normally a celebration of Indian culture and heritage – the IBA decided to include a bulldozer decorated with images of known Hindu nationalists and BJP leaders, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. What may seem like an awkward but otherwise unproblematic place for a construction vehicle, bulldozers carry different implications in the context of India.

Over the past few months especially, bulldozers have become a vehicle of injustice in India and a symbol of anti-Muslim animus. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, specifically, is infamous for ruthlessly implementing “bulldozer justice,” a term coined by Amnesty International that refers to India’s unlawful demolitions of minority groups’ homes. His supporters refer to him as “Baba Bulldozer.”

In the wake of the parade, and after mounting pressure from advocacy groups including CAIR-NJ, both NJ senators, Bob Menendez and Cory Booker, condemned the IBA’s actions. However, Edison council member Ajay Patil — who is also a Vice President of the IBA — dismissed the anti-Muslim animus behind the use of the bulldozer.

While the inclusion of a bulldozer at the India Independence Day parade sounded alarms across the state, the infiltration of Hindutva into local NJ communities long predates this event. The OFBJP and HSS have a history of operating in New Jersey and funding Hindutva groups in India. A report by the South Asia Citizen Web detailed the financial information and expenditures of 24 Hindu nationalist-affiliated groups. The report found that seven Sangh-affiliated charitable groups spent nearly $160 million on their programming, which includes sending funds to Hindu nationalist groups in India.

Just weeks ago, the New Jersey chapter of Param Shakti Peeth of America, a charitable non-profit, organised a fundraiser at a Ridgewood church featuring Hindu nationalist ideologue Sadhvi Rithambara. The church reverend, Robert Miller, cancelled the event just days in advance after learning of Rithambara’s background. Last year, New Jersey legislators went as far as honoring the World Hindu Council/Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHP), a group that has continually tried to downplay its links to Hindu nationalists in India despite organising — and then cancelling after facing pressure — a series of events hosting known Hindu nationalists.

In 2020, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation into Indian IT firm, Nityo Infotech, following a recruiter’s email specifying to not recruit Muslims. Local school board races have also seen Hindutva influence: Two Hindu-American locals and a New Jersey board of education member, Nitang Patel, signed onto anti-Muslim flyers that were later distributed to Gujarati households in Piscataway, a suburb of Middlesex County, in the lead up to the town’s 2019 Democratic primary. A School Ethics Commission later found that Patel should be censured for violating multiple provisions of the School Ethics Act.

In another instance, Audrey Trushcke, a professor of South Asian history at Rutgers University in New Jersey, came under fire for pointing out that Hindutva groups in NJ were inspired by fascists and Nazis.

Hindu nationalist groups also hosted then-Republican nominee Donald Trump in Edison for a charity event in the weeks before the 2016 election. At the event, he praised India for helping fight terrorism, a phrase that has become code for institutionalising Islamophobia through crackdowns on Muslims. The Pennsylvania chapter of the VHP hosted a “Modi Victory Celebration Dinner” in 2014, a sharp contrast to its claims of being a benign group with no political leanings.

“We must prepare to either kill or be killed,” Hindu nationalist and religious leader Swami Prabodhananda Giri said last year at a conference in New Delhi, prompting an investigation by India’s Supreme Court — a court that is predominantly occupied by Hindu judges. Muslims and other minority groups in India have faced existential threats since Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi consolidated power with his reelection in 2014, and Genocide Watch has warned of an impending genocide of Muslims in India.

At its core the Hindutva movement, which has been broiling since the colonial partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947, is both a Hindu nationalist as well as an anti-Muslim movement that goes largely unchallenged by democracies around the world. In the US, elected officials wine and dine with Hindutva-affiliated groups like the Hindu American Political Action Committee (HPAC), and in New Jersey, specifically, elected officials like Frank Pallone march and shake hands with Hindutva-leaning groups like the IBA.

If democracies around the world continue to ignore the rising threats of Hindutva, India’s 204 million Muslims could face ethnic cleansing. As its influence grows among New Jersey’s Indian diaspora, communities that once boasted of success risk creating a hostile environment and an increase in anti-Muslim attacks and harassment.

Dina Sayedahmed is the Communications Manager at CAIR-NJ, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties organisation.

Hamzah Khan is the legal research intern at CAIR-NJ and a student of international relations at Seton Hall University School of Diplomacy and International Relations.

Anti-boycott laws are an affront to free speech. They also don’t address antisemitism

Anti-boycott laws are an affront to free speech.     They also don’t address antisemitism.

A NorthJersey.com exclusive article.

Published July 26th, 2022 | By Hamzah Khan

In a world where there are hundreds of companies manufacturing and selling the same product, the freedom to choose a brand is, under ordinary circumstances, basic. But in New Jersey, legislators have taken that right away.

For years, the New Jersey Legislature has wielded undue influence over political discourse regarding boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS), a grassroots movement launched by Palestinian civil society to pressure Israel to comply with international law. In 2016, the state Assembly approved an anti-boycott bill, after it passed unanimously in the Senate, requiring the state to divest its pension funds from any company involved in a boycott of the state of Israel. Critics at the time warned of the violations to free speech that this posed for New Jersey residents, but then-Gov. Chris Christie nevertheless signed it into law.

Six years later, this law has been used multiple times to punish companies that choose to boycott Israel due to humanitarian concerns, with Unilever being one of the most recent cases. After a two-year campaign by multiple advocacy groups, Unilever’s subsidiary, Ben & Jerry’s, announced last year that it would no longer sell its ice cream in the illegally occupied Palestinian Territories, including Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying that it was inconsistent with the company’s values to have its ice cream sold in Occupied Palestine.

After the announcement, New Jersey officials moved quickly: Within two months, they announced that the state would divest its pension fund from Ben & Jerry’s Englewood Cliffs-based parent company, Unilever. By December, New Jersey officials began to divest nearly $182 million in Unilever stocks and bonds. Fearing significant financial loss, Unilever changed course last month and sold its Ben & Jerry’s brand and trademark rights in Israel so that the company can continue to sell ice cream in Occupied Palestine, in direct contradiction to what the original ice cream company founders, Bennett Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, wanted.

In 2018, the same anti-BDS law was also used against Danske Bank, the largest bank in Denmark, which held around $44 million of New Jersey’s state pension fund. The Danish bank refused to do business with two Israeli military contractors, Elbit Systems and Aryt Industries, because of their operations in Israeli settlements, which violated the company’s social policies. Danske Bank stated that they were not boycotting Israel as a whole, but only those two companies. As was the case with Unilever, even though Danske Bank argued that it was not boycotting the state of Israel, the generality of the New Jersey anti-boycott law still allowed the state to punish the bank.

New Jersey is one of more than 30 states that passed anti-BDS laws. Defenders of these laws say they are meant to stop antisemitism, but advocacy groups, including Anne Frank House, differentiate between criticisms of the Israeli government and antisemitism, with the former being political and human rights-focused and the latter being condemnable. Others have warned that conflating the two — criticisms of Israel and antisemitism — is an encroachment on free speech and an attempt to stifle political debate and advocacy for Palestinian human rights. In adopting an anti-boycott law, New Jersey is blatantly attempting to flag any criticism of Israel as unacceptable, even if it goes against the U.S. government’s own classification of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The New Jersey Legislature should do more to stop actual antisemitic hate crimes rather than target a nonviolent grassroots political movement aiming to pressure a foreign government to end its human rights abuses. The reality is that these laws prohibit criticisms of Israeli government policies. In an ironic turn of events, New Jerseyans can criticize their own government, but not the Israeli government.

Boycotts have been instrumental in human rights campaigns both within the U.S. and around the world. Boycotts played a prominent role in ending segregation in the U.S. during the civil rights movement and were even protected by the United States Supreme Court. Supporters of the BDS movement, which was started by Palestinian activists, note that it is modeled after the boycott movements against South Africa, which helped end the apartheid regime in that country.

The state of New Jersey is employing a glaringly obvious double standard when it engages in sanctions against Iran and Russia on the grounds of human rights abuses, yet continues to support Israel even though reputable human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, find the country guilty of crimes against humanity. The state recently invested $20 million in Israel bonds as an “affirmation” of its confidence in the state of Israel and its economy, Gov. Phil Murphy said at the time.

At the end of the day, the right to boycott is essential to free speech, and the state’s hypocrisy only serves to strengthen human rights abusers abroad while diminishing freedoms at home.

Hamzah Khan is a legal intern at the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ New Jersey Chapter.

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LATEST press releases

CAIR-NJ 2023 Annual Civil Rights Report Shows 46 Percent Increase in Cases  

CAIR-NJ 2023 Annual Civil Rights Report Shows 46 Percent Increase in Cases  

(SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ, 5/22/2023) – The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today published its annual civil rights report, Beyond the Courts, showing a 46 percent increase in the number of discrimination cases.  

The number of cases reported to CAIR jumped from 104 in 2021 to 152 in 2022. 

SEE: Beyond the Courts

The largest category of complaints is employment and workplace discrimination, which includes hostile work environments, explicit bias, and employer retaliation. School-related complaints are a top second and include curricula with anti-Muslim undertones, teacher biases, student bullying, and lack of religious accommodations for Muslim students. Unlike previous years, the report’s findings also note an increase in Hindutva-related incidents.   

FBI and law enforcement surveillance complaints sharply decreased, consistent with CAIR National’s 2023 Civil Rights Report findings. The sharp increase in school-related incidents, from just nine in 2021 to 27 in 2023, is also consistent with CAIR National’s findings. 

SEE: Progress in the Shadow of Prejudice   

In a statement, CAIR-NJ Executive Director Selaedin Maksut said:    

“While we’ve seen a 46 percent increase in the number of cases we’ve fielded over the last year, it’s also important to note that we’ve drastically increased our chapter’s capacity.    

“So, while it is a possibility that anti-Muslim bigotry is on the rise, what is more likely is that we are slowly reaching the demand of the New Jersey Muslim community.”   

In a statement, CAIR-NJ Operations Coordinator and the report’s principal author Dyaa Terpstra said: 

“The face of anti-Muslim bigotry is evolving. In the years immediately after 9/11, civil rights groups saw cases of outright bigotry where Muslims were called racial slurs or explicitly told to ‘go back where they came from’ in the workplace, classroom, and in public.  

“More than 20 years later we still see such cases, but on a smaller scale. What is more common now is implicit bias, which is why we are taking on a more proactive approach to empowering American Muslims as opposed to reactive. 

“We’re spending less time in the courts and more time writing op-eds, putting on community programming, and engaging government officials at the municipal and state level.” 

In a statement, CAIR-NJ Communications Manager Dina Sayedahmed said:   

“There is an African proverb that says, ‘Until the lion tells the story, the hunter will always be the hero.’   

“Over the years, as modern narratives of American Muslims took on an inaccurate and even anti-Muslim approach, it has become increasingly important and even necessary that Muslims be the primary authors and documenters of their own stories and histories. The primary mission of our work here at CAIR-NJ is to do just that: to record and tell the Muslim story in New Jersey with the nuance that such a diverse and layered community demands.”     

Moving into 2023, CAIR-NJ continues to take on a proactive approach to civil rights advocacy, becoming a leading and credible Muslim voice in media, engaging lawmakers and elected officials at all levels of New Jersey governance, and building socially and politically conscious communities. Some of the campaigns that CAIR-NJ is focusing on are religious accommodations in public schools, Eid advocacy, and sensitivity trainings for schools and companies. 

 

CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims. 

END   

CONTACT: CAIR-NJ Communications Manager Dina Sayedahmed, 551-221-5592, dsayedahmed@cair.com 

CAIR-NJ, NJ Mayors to Announce Resolution in Response to Secret Service Banning Mayor Khairullah from White House

MEDIA ADVISORY 

CAIR-NJ, NJ Mayors to Announce Resolution in Response to Secret Service Banning Mayor Khairullah from White House   

(SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ, 05/18/2023) — The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ) will convene with mayors and elected officials across New Jersey on Friday, May 19, in a call to action urging the White House and Secret Service to provide a detailed explanation of their sudden and baseless revocation of Mayor Mohamed T. Khairullah’s White House Eid event invitation earlier this month.     

Elected officials are expected to announce a resolution, in addition to a sign-on letter, at the call to action.   

Mayor Mohamed T. Khairullah and former Prospect Park Mayor William Kubofcik will be in attendance. Mayors Mike Pagan and Richard Rigoglioso of Teaneck and Garfield, respectively, will also attend, among others.   

WHEN: Friday, May 19, at 6:30 p.m.            

WHERE: Darul Islah Mosque, 320 Fabry Terrace, Teaneck, NJ 07666 

CONTACT: CAIR-NJ Communications Manager Dina Sayedahmed, 551-221-5592, dsayedahmed@cair.com 

LIVESTREAM: facebook.com/CAIRNewJersey 

Moments before Mayor Khairullah was set to arrive at the White House Eid celebration, he received a call from the White House Social Secretary informing him that because he had not been cleared for entry, his invitation to the White House was effectively revoked.    

SEE: CAIR-NJ Condemns Secret Service for Baselessly Banning NJ’s Longest Serving Muslim Mayor from White House Eid Event 

SEE: CAIR Urges FBI to Stop Distributing Secret Terror Watchlists After Leaks Show ‘Almost Entirely Lists of Arabic and Muslim Names’   

It later became clear that Mayor Khairullah is on an illegal U.S. watchlist. The list was leaked to CAIR in January 2023 and includes 1.5 million others. They are almost entirely Arabic or Muslim names.   

Mayor Khairullah was previously stopped and interrogated at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York for three hours and questioned about whether he knew any terrorists. He was also forced to hand over his phone in the same incident.  

  

CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.                     

END    

CONTACT: CAIR-NJ Communications Manager Dina Sayedahmed, dsayedahmed@cair.com, 551-221-5592 

CAIR-NJ Joins USCMO for 8th Annual National Muslim Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill

CAIR-NJ Joins USCMO for 8th Annual National Muslim Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill 

MEDIA ADVISORY 

(SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ, 05/11/2023 The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ) today announced that it will join the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO) and the American Muslim community for the 8th annual National Muslim Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C.

The event will be held onMonday, June 12, and Tuesday, June 13 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.   

WHEN:Monday, June 12-Tuesday, June 13, 2023   

WHERE: Capitol Hill, E Capitol St. & 1st St. NE Washington, DC 20004  

CONTACT: CAIR-NJ Communications Manager Dina Sayedahmed, dsayedahmed@cair.com, 551-221-5592             

Among the issues that CAIR-NJ and USCMO delegates will advocate for is the reintroduction of Representatives Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Jan Schakowsky and Senator Corey Booker’s Combating International Islamophobia Act legislation to address the rise in incidents of Islamophobia worldwide. Delegates will also discuss the long-contested watchlist.  

In a statement, CAIR-NJ Government Affairs Manager Madina P. Ouedraogo, MPA-PNP, said:  

“National Muslim Advocacy Day is an opportunity for American Muslims nationwide to meet with their elected officials and their staff to discuss issues pertinent to the American Muslim community.  

“The goal is to establish basic rapport and encourage civic engagement among American Muslims, because democracies can only thrive when constituents are consistently engaged.   

“It is imperative that American Muslims, especially as an underrepresented demographic in the U.S., have opportunities to advocate for themselves and that they make their voices heard and presence felt in decision-making spaces. We are hopeful that this event can be an encouraging catalyst for the everyday American Muslim to be vocal and civically engaged.”  

Over 300 American Muslim delegates from 20 different states met with more than 200 elected officials and their staff last year during the 7th Annual National Muslim Advocacy Day. Interested participants are encouraged to register at least one month before the event, and no later than Sunday, June 4. Photos from previous years can be found under the hashtag, #MuslimHillDay.      

 

CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.            

END        

CONTACT:  CAIR-NJ Communications Manager Dina Sayedahmed, dsayedahmed@cair.com, 551-221-5592 

CAIR-NJ Thanks Sens. Booker and Menendez, Rep. Pascrell for Demanding Answers Over Mayor’s Ban from White House Eid Event

CAIR-NJ Thanks Sens. Booker and Menendez, Rep. Pascrell for Demanding Answers Over Mayor’s Ban from White House Eid Event

(SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ, 5/2/2023)The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ) today thanked Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and U.S. Congressman Bill Pascrell’s (D-NJ-9) for their letter to the White House, and called on the Biden administration to issue a public apology to Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed T. Khairullah, in response to U.S. Secret Service abruptly disinviting him from the White House Eid celebration due to security concerns.

Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and U.S. Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-NJ-9) today wrote a letter to the U.S. Secret Service and the President’s Deputy Assistant and Social Secretary calling on them to provide “substantive reasons” explaining why Mayor Khairullah was denied entry to the White House for the annual Eid celebration.

Their letter states in part:

“We ask for you to provide our offices with information in a format and classification level that facilitates a detailed explanation of what occurred and why.”

SEE: Pascrell, Menendez, and Booker Ask Secret Service Why North Jersey Mayor Denied Entry into the White House

Separately, Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued a statement expressing disappointment, saying “I was so profoundly disappointed that Mayor Khairullah — whose effective leadership and passion for public service has made him beloved in New Jersey — would be rejected from entering one of our nation’s more important civic spaces: our White House.”

SEE: Booker Statement on Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed Khairullah Being Disinvited to the White House Eid al-Fitr Celebration  

In a statement, CAIR-NJ Executive Director Selaedin Maksut, said:

“We thank Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez, as well as Congressman Bill Pascrell for pursuing answers from the Secret Service and the White House. The government must provide an explanation for the abrupt revocation of Mayor Khairullah’s invitation to the White House and ensure this never happens to him again. 

“We thank them for standing by the mayor and calling for a detailed explanation. Senator Booker has been especially swift in responding to our calls. We appreciate him and his team for their astute attention to this important matter. 

“In addition, we strongly urge the government to stop using the unconstituonal watchlist to target innocent people. While Mayor Khairullah is at the epicenter of this incident, it has been abundantly clear for several years now that expansive watchlists with no due process or transparency carry very real consequences, some of which cannot be reversed. This is long overdue.”

In a statement, Mayor Mohamed T. Khairullah said:

“I express my gratitude and appreciation to the many elected officials who stood by me, including Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, and Congressman Bill Pascrell, but it’s important to note that this issue goes beyond an invitation to the White House, or even myself as an individual.

“There are at least 1.5 million people on that watchlist, the majority of whom have Muslim and/or Arab names. It’s a disgrace that these sorts of lists exist, especially because there is no actual recourse for people like myself who are blacklisted. I ask the Biden administration to do what’s right and dismantle these lists entirely.”

During a press conference today, CAIR-NJ again called on the Biden administration to issue a public apology to Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed T. Khairullah and re-invite him to the White House to discuss the tangible consequences of the watchlist during a press conference today, and echoed Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and U.S. Congressman Bill Pascrell’s (D-NJ-9) demand for answers.

SEE: CAIR-NJ NEWS CONFERENCE 

Several members of New Jersey Governor Murphy Intergovernmental Affairs team along with various coalition partners, including the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, the New Jersey Muslim Lawyers Association, the Center for Security, Race and Rights, the American Friends Service Committee, Faith in New Jersey, Justice for All, and the Palestinian American Community Center also attended CAIR-NJ’s press conference in support of CAIR-NJ’s asks and Mayor Khairullah.

SEE: CNN Interviews NJ Mayor Mohamed T. Khairullah About Being Barred from White House Eid Event

SEE: CAIR-NJ Condemns Secret Service for Baselessly Banning NJ’s Longest Serving Muslim Mayor from White House Eid Event

CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.

END

CONTACT:  CAIR-NJ Communications Manager Dina Sayedahmed, dsayedahmed@cair.com, 551-221-5592; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726ihooper@cair.com, CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280iallison@cair.com

CAIR-NJ to Hold Press Conference in Response to U.S. Secret Service Barring Muslim Mayor from White House Event

Muslim civil rights group will call for apology, invitation to White House for mayor, discussion of ‘tangible harms that watchlists have caused’ 

(SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ, 05/02/2023) Later today, the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ) will hold a news conference with Muslim community leaders in South Plainfield, N.J., to respond to the Secret Service’s “sudden and baseless” revocation of Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed Khairullah’s White House Eid event invitation due to “perceived profiling.” 

Mayor Khairullah is expected to join CAIR-NJ and the community leaders at the news conference.

While Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the U.S. Secret Service, reportedly said that they are unable to offer comment on their “specific protective means and methods,” CAIR-NJ is concerned that the mayor’s invitation was revoked due to his status on the illegal government watchlist leaked to CAIR.   

SEE: CAIR-NJ Condemns Secret Service for Baselessly Banning NJ’s Longest Serving Muslim Mayor from White House Eid Event 

SEE: CNN Interviews NJ Mayor Mohamed T. Khairullah About Being Barred from White House Eid Event

At the news conference, CAIR-NJ plans to call on the Biden administration to apologize to Mayor Khairullah and invite him to the White House, to meet with members of the Muslim community to discuss the tangible harms that watchlists have caused and continue to cause, and, ultimately, to disband such watchlists. 

WHEN: Tuesday, May 2, 2 p.m.            

WHERE: CAIR-NJ Office, 4475 S. Clinton Ave, South Plainfield, N.J., Suite #202 

CONTACT: CAIR-NJ Communications Manager Dina Sayedahmed, 551-221-5592, dsayedahmed@cair.com 

LIVESTREAM LINK: https://www.facebook.com/CAIRNewJersey/ 

BACKGROUNDER:

SEE: Muslim Mayor Says Being Denied Entry to WH Event “Reeks of Islamophobia” (Axios)

SEE: Muslim Mayor Blocked from White House Eid Celebration (AP)

SEE: Muslim Mayor Abruptly Disinvited from White House Eid al-Fitr Celebration

Mayor Khairullah was previously stopped and interrogated at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York for three hours and questioned about whether he knew any terrorists. He was also forced to hand over his phone in the same incident. 

Khairullah had helped the New Jersey Democratic Party compile names of local Muslim leadership to invite to the White House’s Eid celebration. He is believed to be the longest-serving Muslim mayor in New Jersey and was sworn into his fifth consecutive mayoral term in January.     

 

CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.

END

CONTACT: CAIR-NJ Communications Manager Dina Sayedahmed, dsayedahmed@cair.com, 551-221-5592; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com, CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com

 

CAIR-NJ Condemns Secret Service for Baselessly Banning NJ’s Longest Serving Muslim Mayor from White House Eid Event

BREAKING NEWS:   

CAIR-NJ Condemns Secret Service for Baselessly Banning NJ’s Longest Serving Muslim Mayor from White House Eid Event 

(SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ, 5/1/2023) —The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ) today condemned the United States Secret Service’s perceived profiling of New Jersey’s longest-serving Muslim mayor, Mohamed T. Khairullah of Prospect Park, and the revocation of his invitation to the White House Eid celebration.   

Khairullah, who was sworn into his fifth consecutive mayoral term in January, had helped the New Jersey Democratic Party compile names of local Muslim leadership to invite to the White House’s annual Eid celebration.    

Moments before he was set to arrive at the White House for the annual Eid celebration, he received a call stating that because he had not been cleared for entry, his invitation to the White House Eid celebration was effectively revoked.   

SEE: ‘Biases can be melted.’ Muslim mayor to be sworn in for unprecedented 5th term. 

SEE: CAIR-NJ to Join Community Members at Swearing-In Ceremony of New Jersey’s Longest-Serving Muslim Mayor   

In a statement, CAIR-NJ Executive Director Selaedin Maksut, said:     

“That a well-respected Muslim leader would effectively be disinvited from the White House Eid celebration, just hours ahead of time, is wholly unacceptable and insulting.    

“Only months ago, Khairullah was praised by elected officials across the state as one of the longest serving Muslim mayors in the country, and the longest in New Jersey. Today, in an affront to the Muslim community and the American public at large, and in what could be perceived as a continued use of the secret watchlist, the Secret Service denied Mayor Khairullah entry, on the basis that he was not cleared by security.    

“This incident lacks transparency and reeks of government overreach. We call on the White House to override the Secret Service and reinstate the mayor’s invitation, disband the secret watchlist, and issue an apology to the Mayor. If these such incidents are happening to high-profile and well-respected American-Muslim figures like Mayor Khairullah, this then begs the question: what is happening to Muslims who do not have the access and visibility that the mayor has?”   

Maksut also noted that Mayor Khairullah was previously stopped and interrogated at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York for three hours and questioned about whether he knew any terrorists. He was also forced to hand over his phone.   

This past weekend, Mayor Khairullah was among New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s distinguished guests at the governor’s mansion in Princeton, New Jersey   

SEE: ‘Did you meet with terrorists?’ NJ mayor says officers questioned him at airport, took his phone   

CAIR has previously today called on the Biden administration to suspend the FBI’s dissemination of two of their secret lists, which leaked copies show to be “almost entirely lists of Arabic and Muslim names.”     

SEE: CAIR Urges FBI to Stop Distributing Secret Terror Watchlists After Leaks Show ‘Almost Entirely Lists of Arabic and Muslim Names’ 

  

CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.                  

END 

CONTACT:CAIR-NJ Communications Manager Dina Sayedahmed,dsayedahmed@cair.com,551-221-5592.

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Zakat Eligible

Numerous Muslim scholars have confirmed that Zakat is payable to organizations that exist to serve the Muslim community by protecting their rights. This is because the work done by CAIR (and other such organizations) can be classified as fi-sabilillah, which is one of the eight categories of Zakat recipients detailed in the Quran (Chapter 9, Verse 60).

Zakat Eligible

Numerous Muslim scholars have confirmed that Zakat is payable to organizations that exist to serve the Muslim community by protecting their rights. This is because the work done by CAIR (and other such organizations) can be classified as fi-sabilillah, which is one of the eight categories of Zakat recipients detailed in the Quran (Chapter 9, Verse 60).

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Recognitions

American Muslims in New Jersey have much to celebrate. For many years the American Muslim community has added to the rich cultural diversity we greatly value in New Jersey. The Council on American-Islamic Relations is an important vehicle for recognizing the accomplishments of New Jersey's Muslims.
Cory Booker
U.S. Senator New Jersey
CAIR is not for that stranger. CAIR is for you. Even as mayor I was stopped and harassed at JFK along with my wife and four children. My phone was confiscated. CAIR was there to stand up for me and retrieve my phone. Supporting CAIR means making sure that they are there for you when you need them in the future.
Mohamed T. Khairullah
Mayor Prospect Park
Since its inception, CAIR's New Jersey Chapter has been committed to advancing its parent organization's mission to provide necessary services to Muslim Americans that have contributed to their personal and professional wellbeing. CAIR-NJ has long been a champion for the interests of its community, striving to protect their civil liberties and offering them numerous educational opportunities.
Chris Christie
Former Governor of New Jersey
As Governor, I commend the leadership and volunteers of CAIR-NJ for their hard work and dedication to advance civil liberties for countless individuals and for their unwavering dedication to endure the wellness of our society.
Phil Murphy
Governor New Jersey
The work of CAIR and its partners ensures that the rights of all Americans remain protected. Now, more than ever, it is our duty to expose and dismantle Islamophobia and to push back against all types of hate.
Bonnie W. Coleman
Member of Congress
I commend your commitment to engage, embrace and value all communities and I am confident that your efforts will bring greater understanding and tryst to our communities. I look forward to continuing to work with you and the Muslim community in mu district in this endeavor.
Frank Pallone Jr.
U.S. Senator New Jersey