CLICK HERE to download the full 2011 Civil Rights Report (pdf -1MB)

Executive Summary

While CAIR-National has released an annual report on The Status of Muslim Civil Rights in the United States since 1996, 2012 is the first year in which a report has been gathered exclusive to the Northwestern states including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska.1 In 2011, CAIR-Washington processed 202 civil rights cases from the entire Northwest assisting American Muslims with complaints of employment discrimination, bullying, lack of reasonable religious accommodations, profiling by government agencies, and more. In CAIR-WA’s first year with a full time Civil Rights Coordinator, the caseload jumped 108 percent from 2010 (97 cases were processed that year).

Among the 202 cases processed in 2011, the following report illustrates the number of cases reported by case category, gender of complainant, city and county of incident, quarter reported, and case outcome. Most notably, the data reveal noticeable trends, which may reflect the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of CAIR- WA’s outreach efforts. For example, over 70 percent of all cases reported to CAIR-WA in 2011 involved male complainants. This gender disparity reveals a great need for increased outreach among women’s groups and networks, as much of CAIR-WA’s community outreach is performed at Friday prayers which women are less likely to attend.

Further, data revealed great geographical disparity in likelihood of reporting. Fifty-nine percent of all cases reported to CAIR-WA in 2011 (excluding prison cases) occurred in King County. While this undoubtedly reflects both the large population and the high level of CAIR-WA’s activity in King County, it also calls to attention the importance of increasing CAIR-WA’s outreach efforts outside of King County in the coming year.

After reviewing the data from 2011, CAIR-WA has developed goals for the 2012 year to improve our services to the Muslim community, increase outreach among all Muslim communities, and encourage reporting of all anti-Muslim incidents around the state. Our goals for the year 2012 include increasing outreach among female-specific communities and organizations, mobilizing Community Action Groups to encourage reporting cases, increasing Know Your Rights workshops, particularly among youth and women, and increasing engagement with law enforcement agencies to assist in the adoption of model policies and training modules.

The report concludes with a set of recommendations to the Muslim community to address ongoing patterns of Islamophobia and ignorance in our communities:

• Document and report acts of anti-Muslim discrimination

• Write letters to editors of local media outlets

• Ensure the safety and security of Muslim institutions

 

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Web site: www.cairwa.org/report-discrimination