The wonderful and talented Ameena Qazi, Deputy Director and Staff Attorney from CAIR LA, graced Seattle and CAIR WA with her presence earlier this month.  Ameena's schedule was packed for the few short days she had here, and her first engagement was at the University of Washington School of Law on May 5th. Community Outreach Coordinator Abigail Stahl and Executive Director Arsalan Bukhari worked with the Assistant Dean for Public Service & Executive Director of the William H. Gates Public Service Law Program, Michele Storms, to plan and coordinate the event.  The topic of the speech was FBI surveillance of the American Muslims, including advocacy and litigation strategies.

Click here to view photos from the event

Ameena delivered a thorough presentation to the law students and community members in attendance, including a history of federal surveillance laws and procedures, as well as historical challengers -such as the ACLU and CAIR - leading up to the present state of law surrounding authorized surveillance, including what is allowed under the Patriot Act and additional laws.

She also delved into several cases that she has worked on at CAIR-LA, including a class action lawsuit filed jointly with the ACLU of California for unconstitutional surveillance of Muslims. Finally, she touched on various ways to deal with such cases and some of the challenges of working with federal agencies. Many attendees lingered after the presentation concluded to ask Ameena more questions, one saying that they will: "...try to spread the word to other students about this important work".