Displaying items by tag: justice
In Solidarity with Our African-American Brothers and Sisters
Dear CAIR Supporters, As-salaamu alaykum,
On behalf of the entire CAIR family, I write to express strong support for, solidarity with, and commitment to our African-American brothers and sisters, especially to families who have lost loved ones to police violence.
At CAIR, we are heartbroken over the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Steven Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Yassin Mohamed. They are simply the latest in a long line of Black men and women struck down by police officers who were sworn to serve and protect them.
As a diverse Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization dedicated to harnessing our values in service to our society, CAIR recognizes that justice for all in America cannot come to fruition without an unwavering commitment to achieving justice for Black Americans.
"O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even though it be against yourselves..." The Holy Quran, 4:135
To that end, CAIR condemns all forms of anti-Black violence, whether the culprits are police officers like Derek Chauvin in Minnesota or rogue individuals like Gregory and Travis McMichael in Georgia. We also unequivocally condemn all other manifestations of anti-Black racism, whether seen in our government, our society or even our communities.
However, we must do more than condemn. We must take concrete action.
That is why we at CAIR are establishing a special task force to help support, advance and amplify the policy reforms sought by Black American leaders and organizations.
As for what you and the broader community can do to help, we first urge individuals, mosques and Muslim organizations to learn more about anti-racism initiatives by partnering and training with organizations like the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative, the Muslim Wellness Foundation and others.
We also urge everyone to join and watch the Muslim Alliance of North America's (MANA) online event, "Finding the Prophetic Voice in Times of Crisis," which is scheduled for tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET.
We further uplift the following demands that we have heard from Black Muslim leaders inside and outside of CAIR:
- Public Statement: Muslim organizations, mosques and community centers should consider publishing letters of solidarity with the Black members of their community and in particular with Black families whose loved ones have been taken and impacted by police violence.
- Joint Events: Muslim individuals and organizations should support or participate in safe and peaceful local events condemning anti-Black racism and police brutality.
- Community Education and Empowerment: Muslim organizations, mosques and community centers should commit to learning about and addressing anti-Black racism in our society, and even within our own communities.
For example, we can:
- arrange events featuring Black elders and youth inside and outside the Muslim community, including Black scholars and imams, Black civil rights leaders, and Black activists
- engage in more courageous conversations across lines of race and culture that move us towards deepened partnerships, and
- ensure that the leadership of our organizations reflects the racial and ethnic diversity of the American Muslim community.
We know that our faith is incompatible with systems of racial hierarchy and we should all do more to put this knowledge into action.
We should redouble our efforts to do what our Prophet Muhammad (may peace, prayers and blessings be upon him) taught us to do: recognize, expose and reject racism, particularly the scourge of anti-Blackness.
The Prophet (pbuh) said: “Whosoever of you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then [let him change it] with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart - and that is the weakest of faith.” (Muslim)
Thank you for your support. Please feel free to reach out to us with additional ideas, and please reach out to us if we can assist your community in pursuing these efforts.
May Allah SWT guide and protect all of us.
With thanks,
Nihad Awad
National Executive Director
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
www.cair.com
Will Islamic scholar get fair trial?
The unjust incarceration of Dr Tariq Ramadan, professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University, demeans and disgraces the French legal system.
Ramadan has been detained in a solitary cell at Paris’s Fleury-Mérogis Prison since Feb 2.
It is alleged that he raped two women in Lyon and Paris in 2009 and 2012. A criminal investigation is being carried out to build a case against him.
He has no access to his family and is not allowed to communicate with them through the phone.
It should be emphasised that it was he who went to the police in Paris on Jan31 to answer the allegations against him. He has cooperated with the investigating authorities. And, yet, he has been treated harshly.
The way he has been treated should be weighed against the scurrilous allegations hurled at him.
In the Lyon incident, the accuser alleges that she was raped in a hotel in the afternoon of Oct 9, 2009.
Ramadan’s attorney has provided the prosecution with evidence that shows that his flight from London did not arrive in Lyon until 6.35pm and that he was in a hall by 8.30pm to deliver a lecture to hundreds of attendees.
The French police, which confirmed receiving this piece of evidence, later “claimed that it was “missing” from the case file because it had been “lost”. This in itself is a travesty of justice.
What makes it even more suspicious is a meeting between the accuser and high-ranking French magistrate Michel Debacq, in 2009 with the apparent intention of bringing a case against Ramadan, with the assistance of Islamophobes Caroline Fourest and Antoine Sfeir.
Debacq would thus appear to have unethically colluded with Fourest and “Christelle” (the accuser) against Ramadannine years ago.
Debacq, who serves in France’s Court of Cassation, did not disclose his involvement either with “Christelle” or the current case, which is illegal, according to French law.
The Paris incident, which allegedly took place in April 2012, further undermines the veracity of the claims made by Ramadan’s accusers. The accuser, one Hendra Ayari, “sent Ramadan no fewer than 280 messages via Facebook between June and August 2014”, more than two years after the alleged rape.
It has been disclosed that “Ayari recently admitted to French media that she did send these messages through a second Facebook account she had created after Ramadanblocked her first account because she was harassing him in the hope that she could seduce and entrap him”.
These revelations may be the reason why Ayari did not appear when French police summoned her last week.
Though allegations from both women appear baseless, the prosecution continues to detain Ramadan with the aim of dragging him to court.
The French media has been complicit in this. Not only does it present ludicrous allegations as facts, it has repeated lies about Ramadan to discredit him.
For instance, media outlets had reported that “Prof Ramadan has an Egyptian passport, which he might attempt to use to flee to Egypt”. Prof Ramadan does not have an Egyptian passport, and is a citizen of Switzerland only.
The French media’s smearing of Ramadan and the legal system’s skewed attitude reflect a larger problem.
Dominant French society does not take kindly to those who have the courage to criticise its bias against Islam and its followers.
This is what Ramadan has been doing for a long while. He has been forthright about how French state and society have discriminated against Muslims.
Islamophobia in Europe and the increasing marginalisation of the poor and powerless in the continent have also been abiding concerns of the man.
He has been vocal about the dogmatism of ultra-conservative Muslims and the authoritarianism of Muslim regimes.
In other words, there are different groups that would want to nail Ramadan to the wall.
This is why his persecution in France is not just about antagonism towards Islam and Muslims, and the drive to stifle rational voices that seek to expose French prejudice and bigotry.
It reveals the hypocrisy that surrounds the noble French and European ideal of the right to dissent, especially when it comes to certain fundamental issues.
Or, is Ramadan’s ordeal also related to Muslim authoritarianism and its ability to reach far beyond its own shores?
Given all these forces at work, how can we expect a fair and just trial for Ramadan? Hence the demand of the “Free Tariq Ramadan” campaign and civil society groups and people for his immediate and unconditional release.
Dr Chandra Muzaffar
Director and president, International Movement for a Just World Malaysia.
Published in: The New Straits Times, Tuesday 20 February 2018
Source: https://www1.nst.com.my/opinion/letters/2018/02/337111/will-islamic-scholar-get-fair-trial
Institusi Semak dan Imbang Negara (in Bahasa Malaysia)
SETIAP tahun, Sabtu pertama bulan Jun, negara kita menyambut ulang tahun keputeraan Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah dipilih oleh sembilan raja Melayu sebagai Yang di-Pertuan Agong sekarang, iaitu yang ke-14 pada Oktober 2011 dan menaiki takhta pada 13 Disember 2011. Tempoh lima tahun Tuanku Abdul Halim menduduki takhta jawatan itu akan tamat pada Disember tahun ini.....................Download the full article in pdf attachment (below)
Transgenders and justice in Islam
THE untimely death of Ashraf Hafiz Abdul Aziz at 26 and the difficulties he faced put many in a reflective mood as to what could have been done better to address his suffering when he was alive. By refusing to grant Ashraf his plea to change and register his name as Aleesha Farhana, the courts may have adhered to the letter of the law but it is questionable whether they were compassionate enough. If one were to learn a lesson, it would be to find better answers through suitable legislation and grant of flexibility in the adjudication of intensely humanitarian cases such as Ashraf's.......... Download the full article in pdf attachment (below)