CAIR Welcomes AG Holder's Statement on Muslim Civil Rights

Holder pledges 'return to robust civil rights enforcement and outreach'

WASHINGTON, June 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) today welcomed a statement by U.S. Attorney General Eric
Holder committing the Justice Department to protecting the civil rights of
American Muslims.

In the statement, which was released in conjunction with President Obama's
historic address in Cairo on Thursday, Attorney General Holder said:

"The President's pledge for a new beginning between the United States and the
Muslim community takes root here in the Justice Department where we are
committed to using criminal and civil rights laws to protect Muslim Americans.
A top priority of this Justice Department is a return to robust civil rights
enforcement and outreach in defending religious freedoms and other fundamental
rights of all of our fellow citizens in the workplace, in the housing market,
in our schools and in the voting booth.

"There are those who will continue to want to divide by fear - to pit our
national security against our civil liberties - but that is a false choice. We
have a solemn responsibility to protect our people while we also protect our
principles."

SEE: Statement of Attorney General Eric Holder on Department of Justice's
Outreach and Enforcement Efforts to Protect American Muslims
http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/speeches/2009/ag-speech-090604.html

"After eight years in which American Muslims saw their rights as citizens
curtailed, we welcome Attorney General Holder's pledge to renew civil rights
enforcement and outreach efforts," said CAIR National Board Chair Larry Shaw.
"We agree with the attorney general that our nation can and must be both free
and secure."

SEE: Calif. Police Investigate Mosque Graffiti as Hate Crime
http://tinyurl.com/okozdp

SEE ALSO: Florida Muslim's Deportation Trial a Test Case for Obama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbyiKt8JskM

Shaw said American Muslims and civil libertarians are particularly concerned
about Justice Department guidelines, implemented in the last days of the Bush
administration, which allow race and ethnicity to be factors in opening an
investigation.

Fact Sheet - New Attorney General Guidelines
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/37085res20081008.html

He said other civil rights concerns include FBI agent provocateurs sent into
American mosques, citizenship delays, politicized "terror" trials, and misuse
by the Department of Justice of the "unindicted co-conspirator" label. Many
American Muslims believe these past government actions negatively impacted the
ability to exercise their constitutional rights.

Yesterday, President Obama committed to working with American Muslims to
ensure that they can fulfill their religious obligation of charitable giving,
or zakat. Under the Bush administration, a number of American Muslim
charitable organizations had been shut down or prosecuted.

SEE: President Obama to American Muslims: I Will Ease the Impact of Post-9/11
Scrutiny of Charities
http://tinyurl.com/pyosyd

CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, has
35 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance
the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual
understanding.

CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787,
202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina
Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com; CAIR National
Legislative Director Corey Saylor, 202-384-8857, E-Mail: csaylor@cair.com

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations

Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR National Communications Director, +1-202-488-8787,
+1-202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com, Amina Rubin, CAIR Communications
Coordinator, +1-202-488-8787, +1-202-341-4171, arubin@cair.com, or Corey
Saylor, CAIR National Legislative Director, +1-202-384-8857, csaylor@cair.com