CAIR Condemns Trump's Bigoted Remarks, Asks Imams to Offer Friday Sermons Urging Rejection of Racism

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following President Trump's most recent racist remarks, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, is calling on imams (Islamic religious leaders) nationwide to reiterate Islam's rejection of racism in their sermons (khutbas) for today's weekly congregational prayers (jummah). 

In a statement reacting to Trump's racist comments targeting Haitians and immigrants from African countries, CAIR said:

"CAIR and the American Muslim community strongly condemn the racist and white supremacist beliefs reflected in President Trump's remarks. It is disturbing to hear a president of the United States reject the dignity and humanity of whole communities that have made invaluable contributions to our nation. The president's latest anti-immigrant comments are a repudiation of American values of acceptance and inclusion, and will inevitably harm our nation's image and interests worldwide."

CAIR is urging imams to refer to the many Islamic texts rejecting racism and bigotry in all its forms, including:

• The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "All people are equal as the teeth of a comb."
  
  
• In his last sermon, the Prophet Muhammad said: "All humankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab. Also, a white person has no superiority over a black person, nor does someone who is black have any superiority over someone who is white -- except by piety and good action."
  
  
• The Prophet once told a companion: "You are not better than people (of other races) unless you excel them in piety."
  
  
• In the Quran, Islam's revealed text, God states: "O humankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes that you may know each other (not that you may despise each other). Verily, the most honored of you in the sight of God is the most righteous of you." The Holy Quran, 49:13
  
  
• Islam's holy text promotes gender equality when it states: "So their Lord answers their prayers, saying: 'I will never let the (good) work of any of you, whether male or female, be wasted. You are members one of another.' (The Holy Quran, 3:195) The Quran also states: "The believers, men and women, are protectors, one of another." (Quran 9:71)
  
  
• A person once asked the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): "What is partisanship (asabiyyah)?" The Prophet replied: "(It means) helping your own people in an unjust cause."
  
  
• As God states in the Quran: "Let there arise from among you a community (of people) inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong; they are the ones who will be successful." The Holy Quran, 3:104

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.

La misión de CAIR es mejorar la comprensión del Islam, fomentar el diálogo, proteger las libertades civiles, capacitar a los musulmanes estadounidenses, y construir coaliciones que promuevan la justicia y la comprensión mutua.

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CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

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