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.

Detective Vwich's presentation covered tips for civilians on how to conduct themselves during encounters encounters with law enforcements such as during traffic stops, when stopped on the street, rights of law enforcement officers and rights of civilians.  His presentation was very well-received and the question and answer session extended to over a half hour.

The second part was delivered by CAIR-WA Executive Director Arsalan Bukhari and covered one's rights in situations including employment, at school, when encountering law enforcement and airports and at immigration checkpoints.

Arsalan emphasized the need for community members to go beyond learning their rights and to report incidents of discrimination to their local CAIR chapters, as it helps the organization track trends, pursue the appropriate remedying measures which can range from cultural sensitivity training for the perpetrating party to all out legal measures. We also record every case and release reports to educate the public about the civil rights plight of Muslims.

To read about your rights in various situations, visit CAIR-WA's Know Your Rights page here: www.cairseattle.org/know-your-rights

To report cases of discrimination, visit: www.cairseattle.org/report-discrimination or call 206-367-4081