NEW DATE: CAIR, UC Berkeley Center to Release Report Exposing Funding of Islamophobic Groups in America

WASHINGTON, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Monday, June 20, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Center for Race and Gender at UC Berkeley will release a report detailing the more than $200 million provided to 33 Islamophobic groups nationwide in recent years.

[NOTE: The news conference will be live-streamed on CAIR's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational/ ]

The report, titled "Confronting Fear," also documents the negative impact of Islamophobia on American society and offers a four-point strategy designed to push back against the well-funded and well-coordinated promotion of anti-Muslim sentiment.

WHAT: Release of 'Confronting Fear' Report on Funding of Islamophobic Groups
WHEN: Monday, June 20, 11 a.m.
WHERE: CAIR's Capitol Hill Headquarters, 453 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, D.C. 20003
CONTACT: CAIR Department to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia Director Corey Saylor, 202-384-8857, [email protected]

Other issues covered in the report include the campaign to introduce anti-Islam bills in state legislatures, the laws passed in several states to change the way textbooks are approved based on anti-Islam campaigns, the recent spike in anti-mosque incidents, so-called "Muslim-free" businesses, and armed anti-Islam demonstrations at American mosques.

"The counter-Islamophobia strategy presented in 'Confronting Fear' offers specific advice on how to push back against the well-funded effort to promote and exploit anti-Muslim bigotry nationwide," said Corey Saylor, director of CAIR's Department to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia. "By advocating positive action on issues that are not necessarily directly about Muslims, but are nevertheless about the preservation of justice and human dignity, we remind our nation that Islam is a force for good in the society. The contributions of Muslims to America are significant, and we plan to expand that positive work."

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. 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.

The Center for Race and Gender (CRG) is an interdisciplinary research center at the University of California, Berkeley that fosters explorations of race and gender, and their intersections. CRG cultivates critical and engaged research and exchange among faculty and students throughout the university, between the university and nearby communities of color, and among scholars in the Bay Area, in the U.S., and around the globe.

CONTACT: CAIR Department to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia Director Corey Saylor, 202-384-8857, [email protected]; Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project at the Center for Race and Gender at UC Berkeley Director Dr. Hatem Bazian, 510-914-6722, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR Communications Coordinator Nabeelah Naeem, 202-341-4171, [email protected]

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

Related Links

http://www.cair.com