CAIR-Washington State

People of various faiths got together at Olympia on February 14, 2012 for Interfaith Advocacy Day organized by Faith Action Network (FAN) and co-sponsored by a host of groups including CAIR-WA. Many around the world may have been celebrating Valentine’s day, but expressions of love for their significant others was quite possibly the last thing on the minds of lawmakers in Olympia as they faced a cut-off day.

The cut-off is the last day in the legislature to consider bills in the house it originated in, be it the Senate or the House of Representatives, before it moves on to the other house. (Read more about the state legislative process in Olympia here.) In the midst of all this, participants at the Interfaith Advocacy Day looked to make themselves heard by their legislators, especially with regard to proposed cuts by the Governor in various critical services for vulnerable sections of the populace.

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, advocates for various religious and cultural groups met in Lacey, Washington on February 14, 2012 to resolve concerns raised by these groups. Instigated and organized by Ms. Joenne McGerr, head of Religious Programs with the Department of Corrections (DOC), the meeting brought together advocates from the Jewish, Native American, Christian, Mormon, Buddhist, Wiccan, and Muslim communities who had concerns about the services and accommodations provided for religious and cultural programming in state prisons.

Surprisingly, many of the issues that have been reported to CAIR-WA by Muslim inmates were echoed by representatives of other religious and cultural groups as well. In attendance was CAIR-WA Civil Rights Coordinator Jennifer Gist, with a long list of issues to address.

The Washington Immigrant Rights Coalition got together at OneAmerica’s offices in Seattle on February 14, 2012 to discuss how they should organize themselves better moving forward.

Originally founded as the Washington Immigration Reform Coalition with the aim of bringing in changes in existing legislation, the organization is comprised by more than 60 immigrant rights advocacy groups around the state of Washington. CAIR-WA was represented at the meeting by Strategic Partnership Intern Emily Gonzales.

People from all over Seattle came together at the city’s port on February, 13 2012 to support Seattle port truck drivers who had been striking for three weeks until then. The strike was organized to draw attention to safety issues regarding the trucks that were being driven as well as the need for fairer treatment from their employers. The drivers had been getting meager benefits with their jobs in what is an extremely prosperous industry.

Members of the Woodinville Unitarian Universalist Church (WUUC) got an introduction to the parallels between Unitarian Universalism and Islam as speakers from CAIR-WA and the Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS) came over to speak at Sunday services on February 12, 2012.

The service was another in the series of efforts by the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) to make congregations around the state aware of the issues faced by American Muslims. UUSC believes that Muslims in the US have been subject to unwarranted discrimination and persecution as a result of a misinterpretation of their religion and political beliefs.

The series, called ‘Building Bridges’, looks to correct any false impressions by organizing workshops where Muslims and UU church members get together to discuss their respective faiths. Carol Bowers, worship associate at the Woodinville service, spoke about the involvement of her church on this occasion. Said Carol, “Given our denomination’s tradition of tolerance for other religious groups, it is incumbent on us to reach out to people of Islam.”

As part of an ongoing effort to convey concerns and suggestions to the Seattle Police Department (SPD), CAIR-WA has been an active part of several coalitions and working groups to debrief the Department of Justice (DoJ) findings regarding excessive use of force, and brainstorm creative ways to improve the relationship between Seattle's diverse communities and the police department.

On Tuesday, February 7, 2012 CAIR-WA Civil Rights Coordinator Jennifer Gist attended the Office of Professional Accountability Review Board (OPARB) report back on Phase I of their attempt to collaborate with community members to move forward in light of the DoJ’s findings.

CAIR-WA staff met with their counterparts from OneAmerica on February 1, 2012 as part of a fortnightly discussion on National Security and Surveillance held at the OneAmerica office.  Executive Director Arsalan Bukhari, Civil Rights Coordinator Jennifer Gist, and Journalism Volunteer Shijith Kunhitty were present at the meeting.

Kendra Anderson, Lead Organizer at OneAmerica, explained the need to bring the two organizations together. “(In December 2011) Jennifer and I saw each other in San Francisco for the Securing our Rights Conference and I left reenergized, after understanding many new things about surveillance and the intersections between what the Arab Muslim Community is facing on many levels and what the immigrant community is facing with increased enforcement, especially in the border areas. I really believe this is an important discussion for us to have with our staff at OneAmerica.”

Community groups got together at the Seattle University Law School on January 30, 2012 to celebrate the creation of a new Congressional District in which racial and ethnic minorities will form more than 50% of the population. CAIR-WA was represented at the gathering by Executive Director Arsalan Bukhari, accompanied by Journalism Volunteer Shijith Kunhitty.

The first such ‘majority-minority’ Congressional District in Washington, the 9th Congressional District would be comprised by South-East Seattle, S. King County, Bellevue and North-East Tacoma. (See map) The Congressional District had come about as a result of the growth in population in Washington State which meant the state would be assigned an additional Congressional seat. Learning about this development, community groups got together under the leadership of the coalition United for Fair Representation to persuade the Washington State Redistricting Commission , which is responsible for redrawing the boundaries every 10 years, to create a majority-minority district.

Members of the Asian and Asian Pacific Islander communities got a chance to communicate their concerns on several matters of federal legislation to Representative Adam Smith of the 9th Congressional District in a meeting at Tukwila City Hall on January, 27, 2012. Notable attendees included Celso Tolman of the Filipino Community Center, Akemi Matsumoto of the Asian Pacific Islander Americans for Civic Empowerment and Diane Narasaki, the Executive Director of the Asian Counseling and referral service as well as the Executive Director of CAIR-WA, Arsalan Bukhari.

Much of the discussion of the meeting was around two pieces of legislation pending in DC, the DREAM (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) act, which offers permanent residence to children of undocumented immigrants if they enlist in the armed forces or attend college, and the Due Process Guarantee Act.

Minority groups and federal agencies met at the US Attorney’s office in Seattle on January 26, 2012 as part of the quarterly community engagement roundtable organized by the office of civil rights and civil liberties (CRCL). Kareem Shora, head of community engagement at CRCL, described the roundtable as “a very informal conversation, but agenda driven. The idea is to try and answer as many questions as we can, gain an understanding of certain policies and work together on improving things in these areas.” Last held in Seattle in October, 2011, on the agenda this time were several issues raised by CAIR-WA in relation to the citizenship applications of Muslim applicants.

Officials from the US Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Washington met with various community groups on January 25, 2012 to consider ways of correcting various ‘structural deficiencies’ identified by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in its report on the Seattle Police Department (SPD). CAIR-WA was represented at the meeting by Executive Director Arsalan Bukhari. (Names have not been used in this article to ensure that views expressed by participants are not individually identifiable.)

While the US Attorney’s office was in touch with community groups throughout its investigation of the SPD, especially to find victims of excessive force, the office is now entering a new phase of its relationship with community groups by inviting input from them on how to structurally reform the SPD.

Around 250 people braved heavy snow and freezing temperatures to take part in CAIR-WA’s Annual Muslim Lobby Day on January 16, 2012. Organized for the fifth year running, the event had American Muslims from all over Washington coming to Olympia to meet with their state Representatives and Senators. Held appropriately on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, participants took inspiration from Dr. King’s fight for the civil rights of an American minority to put across the demands of the American Muslim community.

Seattle Police Department (SPD) Chief John Diaz and Mayor Michael McGinn met with minority groups at the El Centro De La Raza community center on January 9, 2012 to discuss ways of involving them in the implementation of the recommendations of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in their report investigating specific charges against the SPD. CAIR-WA was represented at the meeting by Executive Director Arsalan Bukhari, accompanied by Journalism Volunteer Shijith Kunhitty.

A report was issued by the DOJ after an eight-month investigation prompted by public protests over various actions of the SPD over the past few years. Read the full report here.

Representatives from different immigrant and minority groups met with the Mayor of Seattle at his City Hall office on January 6, 2012 to discuss the establishment of the new Office of Immigrant & Refugee Affairs. The meeting was held to consider the various views and demands groups have with regard to the office being created later this year. Attending were representatives from several local government agencies as well as organizations such as CAIR-WA, which was represented by Executive Director Arsalan Bukhari. (Note: Names have not been used to ensure that views expressed are not individually identifiable.)

CAIR-WA received the "Connecting Communities" award at Faith Action Network's December 3, 2011 banquet at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle.

CAIR-WA received the award for its work in "promoting wider understanding of Islam, creating opportunities for religious dialogue, battling civil rights violations and injustices based on religion, and engaging American Muslims in advocacy for the common good."

Employees at the nonprofit agency Senior Services were extremely moved-- with some even in tears-- at the end of an emotional training program conducted by CAIR-WA on December 19, 2011. Designed to improve cultural competency, the program in downtown Seattle was organized by CAIR-WA Volunteer Coordinator Kelsey Caudebec and Outreach Coordinator Bushra Rahim, along with Executive Director Arsalan Bukhari.

Immigrant groups took part in an African community engagement meeting at South Seattle Community College (SSCC) on December 7, 2011. Organized by the Office of Diversity and Retention (ODR) at SSCC with the aim of “sharing information, knowledge and resources,” various groups attended the meeting including Horn of Africa Services, One America, People of Color against AIDS and CAIR-WA, which was represented by Outreach Coordinator Bushra Rahim and Volunteer Coordinator Kelsey Caudebec. This is the third such community engagement meeting ODR has organized after an earlier one for the Chicano, Latino and Hispanic community and another for the Pacific-American community.

Senior citizens at the elegant Bayview Retirement Community in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood had a treat the evening of November 15, 2011 as members of the American Muslim community presented them with a glimpse into their lives and faith.

This came by way of a one-and-a-half hour discussion titled “Islam and the Seattle Muslim Community” that was organized by Bayview’s Pastoral Services in association with CAIR-WA. Around 75 residents, some of them in wheelchairs and walkers, attended the event, eager for something further to chew on after dinner.

Students and staff at University of Washington-Bothell (UW-B) took a look into the lives of those who served in the armed forces on November 11, 2011 as they attended a panel discussion held to commemorate Veterans Day. Titled “Diversity and the military”, the event was organized by the Students Veterans Association (SVA) at UW-B and had an enthusiastic audience curious to learn about the panelists.

The two speakers were Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry, a disabled National Guard veteran who spoke about his life as a Muslim in the armed forces and Arika Uesugi, a UW-B accounting major who talked about her experiences as a woman serving in the air force. A few weeks prior to the event, CAIR-WA was contacted by the SVA requesting a Muslim military veteran to speak at the event and Chaudhry was referred by CAIR-WA to them.

Federal agencies and community groups made the most of a sunny afternoon during an otherwise gloomy day to meet at the Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS) center in Redmond on October 27, 2011.

They were taking part in the Quarterly Community Engagement Seattle Area Roundtable organized by the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL), a division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The roundtable, held periodically in various cities across the US, was established by the CRCL as a forum for groups involved with different minorities to meet and update each other on various pressing issues.