• Thursday 14th
  • The group “Hands Against Hate” met at the Groton libraries. The group decided to postpone the march that was planned to take place on Sept 23 to a later date. The reason for this decision was the fact that there was not enough time to get the necessary permits from the city of Groton and the Department Of Transportation. The group, however, has many other projects on its list. Open house with discussion group, workshops on discrimination at various high schools in the region, and establishing the legal framework for “Hands Against Hate” as a nonprofit organization just to name a few.
• Friday 15th
  • I attended a dinner at Berlin masjid to welcome Dr. Mahmud Ayoub into the community. Dr. Ayoub will be teaching several courses at the Hartford Seminary. Several Muslim leaders were present at this event including Ingrid Matson president of ISNA. Dr. Ayoub spoke about the need of the Muslim community specially the leaders to reach across the ethnic and “mathhib” lines and work together toward the common causes.
• Saturday 16th
  • The new master calendar website will be called “CTislam.com.” The website was tested and few changes will be made before presenting it to the leadership meeting.

• Wednesday July 30th
  • The Unitarian Universalists All Souls Church in New London invited CAIR-CT to represent the Muslim community in our area in a night of prayer to remember those who died during the horrific incident that took place last week in Tennessee. The church leaders and many of its members expressed their gratitude and appreciation to ICNL and CAIR-CT for standing with them at these difficult times.
• Friday 1st
  • I delivered the Friday khutba at the Islamic Center of New London. The topic was the miraculous journey of Al Israa and Miaraj. I tried to emphasize the importance of Muslims assuming their role in our society and not shy away from leading the way if we are presented with the chance to do so. After the prayer I urged the community to register to vote. Two sisters from the youth group set up a table outside the prayer hall with the forms for registration. This effort will continue till November and will be duplicated at other masajids across Connecticut inshaAllah.
    Br. Ebad and I visited the Islamic center in Waterbury where Br. Ebad delivered a presentation titled “Know Your Rights.” As was the case with Hungerford Masjid, the presentation drew some questions and interesting discussions. We also showed the CAIR movie and I talked about the importance of supporting CAIR-CT.
• Saturday 2nd
  • I attended two meetings that took place at Masjid Al-Islam in New Haven. The first meeting was the leadership meeting during which a representative from The Islamic Relief gave a presentation about the organization and asked if we could help them schedule Friday Khutbas during the month of Ramadan. Tarik Farid from Wallingford briefed us about the situation of the application of the new Islamic center with the Town.
    The next town meeting is scheduled to take place on Sept 14th and a decision is expected to take place that night.
    The second meeting was the endorsing body for the chaplaincy in CT. during this meeting key issues were discussed regarding the criteria of the representatives of the board of the agency, the time table for electing the members of the board, and promoting this body throughout the Muslim community in Connecticut.
• Sunday 3rd
  • CAIR-CT held a meeting with several members of the Muslim community at ICNL to discuss issues and policy suggestions to be submitted to the Barak Obama campaign.
    The discussion focused on profiling of Muslims by law enforcing agencies specially Immigration and border police and customs, foreign policy issues relating to Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan, and creating ways of communication between Barak Obama and Muslims in America not only during the elections but more importantly after the elections if he gets elected. I would like to thank Br. Sajad Khan for sponsoring breakfast during this meeting.
    I visited burling masjid to attend a good-bye lunch for Br. Mazin Koumsia who is leaving the USA to teach at the university of Beit-Lahm in the West Bank. During the event the movie “This Land Speaks Arabic” was shown. After the movie and lunch (sponsored by the Palestinian Congress of CT) Mazin was presented with a plaque at a token of appreciation to his great work to advance the cause of justice to the people of Palestine.

• Tuesday 22nd
  • The “Beloved Community” group meeting featured a presentation by CAIR-CT Executive Director who spoke about the new guidelines that the Department of Justice is intending to implement by the end of this summer. During the presentation Br. Mongi highlighted the unconstitutionality of these guidelines and their ineffectiveness in preventing terrorist attacks.
• Thursday 24th
  • Finally the Groton group that sponsored the “Hate Crimes Forum” back in April found a name that reflects its commitment to fight hate and discrimination. The name “Hands Against Hate” was suggested by CAIR-CT and the rest of the group embraced it.
  • Sat Sept 27th 2008 was set as the day for the march against hate to take place. The march will start at 10am in Groton, and will end at 1pm in New London. Br. Mongi is in charge of obtaining the necessary permits from the New London and Groton police departments.
  • Pending the approval of the board of ICNL, CAIR-CT will host an open house at the masjid and will run discussion sessions about Islamophobia, racism, and other forms of discrimination.
• Friday 25th
  A meeting between three representatives of the Barak Obama campaign in CT and members of the Muslim community along with members of the group “We refuse to be enemies.” Dr. Ali Antar and his wife hosted the meeting at the Berlin Masjid. CAIR-CT was represented at this meeting by Br. Mongi. The following issues were discussed:
  • Palestine/Israel related issues especially the latest comments by Obama in relation to the conflict.
  • Mishaps and what followed at the Obama campaign in relation to rumors of him being a Muslim.
  • The wire tapping bill passed by congress and signed by the president.
  • New Department of Justice guide lines that allow ethnic and religious profiling.
  • How serious is Obama about involving Muslims in serious discussions in foreign and domestic policies.
  Val Macckal from the Obama campaign suggested that the Muslim community in CT should submit policy recommendations in writing to the national comity in charge of formulating Obama’s platform that he will adopt at the national convention in Denver.
• Saturday 26th
  • CAIR-CT was invited by MCCT to take part in an interview for a video tape aimed at shading some light at misconceptions about Islam and Muslims in America. The movie will be submitted to the Hartford Police department to enhance understanding of the Muslim community in CT.

- END –

• Tuesday 3rd
  • Br. Sami and I attended a meeting at the Groton public library with the group that previously organized “the Hate Crime“ event. This group is taking on three new projects. One is a march against discrimination from Groton to New London. Second, a social and an open house type of a program at the Islamic Center of New London. Third is a serious of training sessions that would be conducted at different High schools in the region and at different social clubs and other institutions that might benefit from them. A “sample” training will be conducted first for the group it self so that everybody would have a better understanding these training sessions and help advocate for them.
• Friday 6th
  • I prayed Jumuah at Medina masjid, and placed some of CAIR-CT brochures on the table. Again some of the previously placed CAIR material was missing.
  • The leadership meeting that was scheduled to take place the next day, Saturday was canceled. I spent some time at the office in Hartford where I prayed Asr.
• Saturday 7th
  • Even though the leadership meeting was canceled the “endorsing agency for chaplains” group decided to go ahead and meet as scheduled in New London. Imam Kashef and the rest of group focused on reviewing the information about all the masajids that was collected last month. The state of CT was divided into five different regions according to the political congressional districts. The location of each masjid was placed on the map. Each region was assigned to one person who will make the contact with the masajids Imams or leaders in that region and organize a meeting to select the representative on the Board of “the Endorsing Agency”.
  • After the conclusion of the meeting the group enjoyed lunch with a group of the ICNL community who came to welcome them into their masjid. Al hamdulillah, the meeting was a success. Many thanks to all who attended specially sister Nur and the brothers who drove a long distance on their day off to be there.

• Monday May 26th
  • CAIR-CT and ICNL members, along with hundreds of people from many other local organizations, took part in the Hope Week parade. Hope week was started two year ago by Dr. Christopher Clouette, the superintendent of New London Public Schools. We marched along the streets of New London wearing ICNL t-shirts and waving to the crowd that greeted us with timid clapping at times and loud cheers at others. Almost everyone we came in contact with expressed their pleasure to see the Muslim community at this event.
• Friday May 30th
  • I was asked by some ICNL board members to pray Jumah locally so I can meet the Friday Khatib who was visiting from Rhode Island, who might have been a candidate for the now-vacant Imam position.
  • After Jumuah I met with Sr. Nur who was visiting the Niantic Women Correctional Facility. I discussed with her the possibility of joining the CAIR-CT team as an office staff person in Hartford. Sr. Nur showed some interest and promised to give us an answer within a few weeks.
• Saturday 1st
  • I joined Masjid-Al-Islam members lead Dr. Jones in a block clean up (literally). Armed with push brooms and garbage bags, the brothers took over the entire block and picked up litter, broken glass, leaves, and anything in between. It was a beautiful effort and we all had a great time afterwards sharing pizza and drinks at the Masjid. GREAT JOB MASJID-AL-ISLAM! I prayed Asr at Hungerford Masjid.
• Sunday 2nd
  • A meeting with Yaser Tabara, Director of the Chapter Development Department at the National Office, took place at ICNL in Groton. Several topics were discussed at length in an action item list were put together. Br. Yaser promised another visit within two months to follow up on our progress. Thank you to all the brothers who made it and special thanks to Br. Gamal who came from Danbury. ICNL treated us to a barbeque after the meeting and as usual it was super.

• Wednesday 7th
  • A follow up meeting to the Hate Crime Forum took place at 7pm at the Groton Public Library. About 20 people attended the meeting. Br. Mongi gave a short presentation about CAIR and the different areas that we would like to work on with this group. A representative from the Justice Department was also at hand and he spoke at length about the various programs that they offer to the community. After the meeting, the perresentative fron the Justice Dept. indicated to Br. Mongi that CAIR-CT can play a major role in putting a team of Muslims from across CT that would be involved in the MAS (Muslims, Arabs, and Sikh) program. This program is designed by the justice department to educate law enforcement and, government agencies about Islam and Muslims, Arabs, and Sikh. He asked if CAIR-CT could attend one of the meetings in Mass of a similar group that he works with. Hopefully CAIR-CT could capitalize on this opportunity. Also Br. Sami had a conversation with Ivy Williams, one of the panelists from last week, about different ways CAIR-CT can work with her in coordinating some workshops for students at various schools in the region.
• Friday 9th
  • Due to bad directions and stormy weather Br. Mongi missed the Jumua Prayers at the Bosnian Islamic center in North Haven.
• Saturday 10th
  • Br Mongi attended the MCCT Annual banquet. He made several contacts with different community leaders Muslims and non Muslims especially from the Hartford Area. The program was held in honor of Ibrahim Abu Rabia who is leaving The Hartford Seminary for a new Position in Canada . The grand Mufti of Syria was one of several speakers.
• Sunday 11th
  

  

  
  • “Know Your Rights” session was held at Hungerford Masjid in Hartford. The event was delivered by Br. Ebad using a power point presentation. About 25- 30 people were present. Br. Ebad was very engaging and several brothers and sisters asked questions and were very pleased to see a Muslim organization like CAIR speak on heir behalf. Great job Br. Ebad and special thanks to Imam Kashif who once again demonstrated his hospitality and kindness to us.

• Wednesday Apr 30th
  • Hate Crime Forum took place at 7pm. Overall it was a successful event. The turnout especially from the local Muslim community not the high number we had hoped for. In future events we have to find ways to involve the community specially the leaders of ICNL (notable exception of Br. Kadri) who were the biggest disappointment. However we have to note that other Muslims who do not usually participate in regular community events did show up and were very appreciative of the effort that CAIR-CT put in this event. Special thanks to Dr. Jones who left a good impression on everybody who attended the forum and thanks to Br. Ebad for taking the time and showing his support.
• Friday May 2nd
  • Prayed Jumua locally at ICNL. Spoke with Br. Mahmud and Abu Omar about having them speak on the issue of Palestine or finding the right speakers on this issue from an Islamic perspective.
  • Called the national office on the issue of prison chaplains.
  • Spoke with Br. Mohammed Bouauina, an active board member, on hosting activities with CAIR-CT in West haven masjid. He mentioned that Sis. Khataba started a media project with the youth group there but more follow up is needed.
• Saturday 3rd
  • I attended the follow up meeting on the formation of the “Endorsing and Advisory Agency for Islamic Leadership and Muslim Chaplains.” The meeting focused this session on consolidating the lists of masajids and Islamic center in CT. 38 names were on the final list that the group could verify the names, addresses and phone numbers. The group started mapping the location of these masjids on a CT map so the five regions could be drawn during the next meeting. From each of those regions a representative will be chosen to be on the board of the agency.
  • The leadership meeting took place at 1:30pm. A representative from ICNA attended the meeting and gave a short presentation on the upcoming ICNA/MAS convention during the Fourth of July weekend. He asked for support from the local masajids in promoting this event. He mentioned that ICNA is offering a $25 to the local masjid for each registration that it receives through that masjid. The interfaith dinner that ICNA hosts every year was also discussed. Up to 100 people from various religious communities will be invited. This year ICNA also will host a lunch on Sunday July 6th for all Muslim leaders in CT. Other issues discussed included the creation of a website to host a master calendar for all CT Muslim community activities. Next meeting will be hosted by CAIR-CT and ICNL in New London on June 7th, 2008 starting at 11am.
• Sunday 5th
  • Attended a meeting of a group of community and religious leaders about the “Beloved Community Project.” in New London. Four churches, one synagogue, Uconn and Conn college representatives were among the group who attended the meeting. The discussion focused on join efforts on the issues of civil rights, discrimination, economic justice, and mutual understanding. Next meeting will take place Tue May 20th at 7pm in New London.

• Monday 21st
  • Attended the city of New London council meeting on the annual budget. I had a chance to speak with the chief of police for the city of New London and discussed with him the possibility of doing workshops for his department especially for the new police officers. I also used the example of the city of Las Vegas police department and CAIR-Nevada collaboration in creating a series of workshops that the new police officers have to attend to join the force. We agreed to follow up with a meeting to discuss this issue at length.
• Friday 25th
  • I visited masjid Madina for Friday prayer and as usual not much success with the leadership. I made some contact with some brothers from Madina masjid who want to hear our massage and some of them agreed to host lunch or dinner at their houses and invite friends to learn about CAIR and ask questions.
• Saturday 26th
  • I attended the follow up meeting about the formation of the “Endorsing and Advisory Agency for Islamic Leadership and Muslim Chaplains.” long discussion about the inclusion of “non masjid “organizations such as MCCT and CAIR-CT as supporting entities to give the agency more legitimacy. At the end and with the exception of Madina masjid everyone agreed on having these organizations mentioned on the document as supporters and backers of this agency.
  • I met with a leader of RI Muslim community and discussed with him the possibility of visiting RI and speaking about CAIR-CT. I was informed that RI chapter application was denied few years ago by the national office of CAIR. He indicated to me that there might be an interest in having an office in RI that works under CAIR-CT.

• Thursday 17th
  • Conn College professor invited a panel representing the three main active religious communities in the area. I represented CAIR-CT and I spoke about the various activities that the Muslim community participates in and the cooperation between the various religious groups. Many students during the question and answer session were Very engaging and wanted to know more about other issues like the way Muslims deal with some negative perception about Islam and how would the new generation of Muslims in America would deal with it. It was a great opportunity for CAIR-CT to establish some contacts with some active students who wanted to see us more involved in some college activities and events about race religion and cultural issues.
  • Attended the board of Ed meeting in New London.
• Friday 18th
  • The Youth group at ICNL that CAIR-CT has been working closely with raised funds this week after Jumua by offering lunch and dessert for a small fee. The money collected will be donated to Palestine. The same group along with some members of ICNL and CAIR-CT has been collecting donations for Habitat for Humanity by selling baseball tickets. Tickets are $8 each. Five Dollars of that will go directly into building a house for a family in New London.
  • I visited Hungerford Masjid and gave flyers about the Hate crime event that will take place in Groton on April 30th.
• Saturday 19th
  • I attended the leadership meeting at the Berlin Masjid. Several topics were discussed including the formation of an “Endorsing and Advisory Agency for Islamic Leadership and Muslim Chaplains.” A proposal was submitted and a follow up meeting will take place next Saturday. CAIR-CT presence at these meetings is extremely important.
  • Visited Madina masjid and left some flyers about the hate crime forum.
• Sunday 20th
  • Met with Stephen A. Hallquist and discussed with him the formation of a serious of workshops about effective letter writing and other media relations skills. Mr. Hallquist was the correspondence secretary for the Coalition to Save Fort Trumbull Neighborhood, the group that took the New London eminent domain case to the US Supreme Court in 2005.

EMPOWERING YOUNG AMERICANS

CAIR interns receive practical training in public and media relations, government relations, legal and civil rights, community outreach, research and leadership training. They work with skilled and dedicated mentors to gain first-hand experience in these fields.

Read More