CAIR-Washington State

Community groups got together at the Seattle University Law School on January 30, 2012 to celebrate the creation of a new Congressional District in which racial and ethnic minorities will form more than 50% of the population. CAIR-WA was represented at the gathering by Executive Director Arsalan Bukhari, accompanied by Journalism Volunteer Shijith Kunhitty.

The first such ‘majority-minority’ Congressional District in Washington, the 9th Congressional District would be comprised by South-East Seattle, S. King County, Bellevue and North-East Tacoma. (See map) The Congressional District had come about as a result of the growth in population in Washington State which meant the state would be assigned an additional Congressional seat. Learning about this development, community groups got together under the leadership of the coalition United for Fair Representation to persuade the Washington State Redistricting Commission , which is responsible for redrawing the boundaries every 10 years, to create a majority-minority district.

Officials from the US Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Washington met with various community groups on January 25, 2012 to consider ways of correcting various ‘structural deficiencies’ identified by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in its report on the Seattle Police Department (SPD). CAIR-WA was represented at the meeting by Executive Director Arsalan Bukhari. (Names have not been used in this article to ensure that views expressed by participants are not individually identifiable.)

While the US Attorney’s office was in touch with community groups throughout its investigation of the SPD, especially to find victims of excessive force, the office is now entering a new phase of its relationship with community groups by inviting input from them on how to structurally reform the SPD.

Seattle Police Department (SPD) Chief John Diaz and Mayor Michael McGinn met with minority groups at the El Centro De La Raza community center on January 9, 2012 to discuss ways of involving them in the implementation of the recommendations of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in their report investigating specific charges against the SPD. CAIR-WA was represented at the meeting by Executive Director Arsalan Bukhari, accompanied by Journalism Volunteer Shijith Kunhitty.

A report was issued by the DOJ after an eight-month investigation prompted by public protests over various actions of the SPD over the past few years. Read the full report here.

Representatives from different immigrant and minority groups met with the Mayor of Seattle at his City Hall office on January 6, 2012 to discuss the establishment of the new Office of Immigrant & Refugee Affairs. The meeting was held to consider the various views and demands groups have with regard to the office being created later this year. Attending were representatives from several local government agencies as well as organizations such as CAIR-WA, which was represented by Executive Director Arsalan Bukhari. (Note: Names have not been used to ensure that views expressed are not individually identifiable.)

CAIR-WA received the "Connecting Communities" award at Faith Action Network's December 3, 2011 banquet at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle.

CAIR-WA received the award for its work in "promoting wider understanding of Islam, creating opportunities for religious dialogue, battling civil rights violations and injustices based on religion, and engaging American Muslims in advocacy for the common good."

Employees at the nonprofit agency Senior Services were extremely moved-- with some even in tears-- at the end of an emotional training program conducted by CAIR-WA on December 19, 2011. Designed to improve cultural competency, the program in downtown Seattle was organized by CAIR-WA Volunteer Coordinator Kelsey Caudebec and Outreach Coordinator Bushra Rahim, along with Executive Director Arsalan Bukhari.

Immigrant groups took part in an African community engagement meeting at South Seattle Community College (SSCC) on December 7, 2011. Organized by the Office of Diversity and Retention (ODR) at SSCC with the aim of “sharing information, knowledge and resources,” various groups attended the meeting including Horn of Africa Services, One America, People of Color against AIDS and CAIR-WA, which was represented by Outreach Coordinator Bushra Rahim and Volunteer Coordinator Kelsey Caudebec. This is the third such community engagement meeting ODR has organized after an earlier one for the Chicano, Latino and Hispanic community and another for the Pacific-American community.

Senior citizens at the elegant Bayview Retirement Community in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood had a treat the evening of November 15, 2011 as members of the American Muslim community presented them with a glimpse into their lives and faith.

This came by way of a one-and-a-half hour discussion titled “Islam and the Seattle Muslim Community” that was organized by Bayview’s Pastoral Services in association with CAIR-WA. Around 75 residents, some of them in wheelchairs and walkers, attended the event, eager for something further to chew on after dinner.

In response to a well-publicized FBI presentation delivered to a group in Seattle on Sept 10, 2011, CAIR-WA Executive Director Arsalan Bukhari met with FBI-Seattle Special Agent In Charge Laura Laughlin to discuss some of the issues regarding the FBI's relationship with CAIR and the Muslim communities.

They first started by discussing FBI's relationship with CAIR, and the implications on community relations and trust of the directive sent to local offices by FBI's national office.

Regarding recent news of anti-Muslim FBI trainings in Quantico, VA, Bukhari offered to refer CAIR staff members or other credible experts to review any future FBI training materials to make sure the contents are accurate. Laughlin said this was unlikely to happen since they wanted only "academic" experts to review their training materials.

CAIR-WA was invited to deliver a "Know Your Rights" presentation to a women's group in South Seattle, at the newly-opened Mercy Association Center (MAC) in the Rainier Valley area.  The presentation was part of a larger series of presentations on civil rights and domestic violence related issues, held from 2pm-6pm on October 8, 2011.

The first portion of the know your rights presentation was delivered by Seattle Police Department Detective Yanal "Mark" Vwich, and revolved around interaction with local law enforcement officials from a law enforcement perspective.

The Seattle Police Department's (SPD) monthly Muslim, Sikh, Arab, and East African Advisory Council meeting was held on October 6, 2011.

Among the items discussed was a proposal by SPD to have the Council meetings held quarterly instead of monthly.

Another discussion item was a de-briefing of a law enforcement workshop held on Sept. 10, 2011, organized by the Council.

Continuing her practice of engaging the Muslim community and voicing our concerns, U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan invited representatives of various Muslim organizations and community groups to have them share their feedback on federal programs with her and her staff on October 5, 2011.

Among the discussed issues were law enforcement trainings, school bullying, transparency in collaboration and information sharing of federal and state agencies, and the need for Attorney Durkan's office to publicly work with Muslim organizations and leaders.

On October 5, 2011, FBI-Seattle Special Agent In Charge Laura Laughlin invited various Muslim community members and activists to FBI-Seattle headquarters to discuss concerns about a controversial FBI community presentation in Seattle on September 10, 2011 and reports of anti-Muslim training programs held at Quantico, VA.

Among the attendees of the Oct. 5 meeting were representatives from CAIR-WA, the Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS), American Muslims of Puget Sound (AMPS), the Sikh Community, the Iraqi Community Center, the Arab American Community Coalition (AACC), the Afrique Center, representatives from the US Attorney's office, and several members of FBI-Seattle's leadership .

Students and staff at University of Washington-Bothell (UW-B) took a look into the lives of those who served in the armed forces on November 11, 2011 as they attended a panel discussion held to commemorate Veterans Day. Titled “Diversity and the military”, the event was organized by the Students Veterans Association (SVA) at UW-B and had an enthusiastic audience curious to learn about the panelists.

The two speakers were Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry, a disabled National Guard veteran who spoke about his life as a Muslim in the armed forces and Arika Uesugi, a UW-B accounting major who talked about her experiences as a woman serving in the air force. A few weeks prior to the event, CAIR-WA was contacted by the SVA requesting a Muslim military veteran to speak at the event and Chaudhry was referred by CAIR-WA to them.

On September 15, 2011, CAIR-WA Executive Director Arsalan Bukhari, Civil Rights Coordinator Jennifer Gist and Communications Intern Tim Murphy joined local rabbis and other peace activists at a lunch with Rabbi Arik Ascherman, executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights. The event was held in a conference room at the law firm of Dorsey and Whitney, LLP in downtown Seattle.

Federal agencies and community groups made the most of a sunny afternoon during an otherwise gloomy day to meet at the Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS) center in Redmond on October 27, 2011.

They were taking part in the Quarterly Community Engagement Seattle Area Roundtable organized by the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL), a division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The roundtable, held periodically in various cities across the US, was established by the CRCL as a forum for groups involved with different minorities to meet and update each other on various pressing issues.

Interfaith relations in Tacoma took a huge step forward last Sunday (October 23, 2011) when the Tahoma Unitarian Universalist Congregation (TUUC) brought its members and local Muslims together for a talk on the commonalities and differences between Unitarian Universalism and Islam.

The talk took place as part of the congregation's regular Sunday services at 9:30 and 11:15 AM and saw 110 people in total attend.

The service was organized as part of the Building Bridges project which looks to establish better relations between Unitarian Universalists, Muslims and other religious communities. The project is run by members of Universalist Unitarian Churches at Eastshore, Edmond and Seattle as well as the Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS) based in Redmond and the Council on American-Islamic Relations - Washington State (CAIR-WA).

With all credit due to the connection initiated in February, 2011 by former CAIR-WA Outreach Coordinator Abigail Stahl, Asian Counseling and Referral Services (ACRS) contacted CAIR-Washington requesting an hour-long introduction to Islamic religious practices for their entire staff. Recognizing an increase in their Muslim clientele, ACRS reached out to CAIR-WA for education regarding religious practices, cultural practices/preferences common in different Muslim communities, and facts/myths about Islam and Muslims in order to better equip ACRS staff to engage sensitively with Muslim clients.

On Saturday, September 10, 2011, CAIR-WA joined forces with Americorps/Solid Ground and Habitat for Humanity to build community through service in remembrance of 9/11.  The project consisted of a day of moving gravel to help insulate a duplex remodel-in-progress in Federal Way.  In addition, activist and speaker Ayan Musse facilitated a discussion about what life has been like for American Muslims since 9/11.  

Then, on September 11, 2011, CAIR-WA staff and volunteers participated in a number of events to mark the 10th anniversary of the national tragedy.  Below is a digest of CAIR-WA participation in September 11, 2011 remembrance events:

• Flag raising ceremony at Space Needle: Upon the request of the Seattle Police Department, CAIR-WA arranged for former Muslim Students Association of UW member Zakiyah Qadir to participate in a flag raising ceremony at the top of the Space Needle.  

Click here to read an Op-Ed by CAIR-WA Executive Director Arsalan Bukhari, published on September 9, 2011 in The Seattle Times.  

Arsalan wrote about the national conversation, started by 9/11, about Islam's place in America, the constructive role that American Muslims continue to play in U.S. society and the shared ideals of all Americans and urged all Americans to redouble efforts to unite as one nation.