(OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, 1/19/10) Over a hundred people of all faiths turned out Friday for a town hall meeting hosted by the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OK at the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City (ISGOC). The meeting was called to discuss issues of concern to the Muslim community, including airport profiling, youth empowerment and civic engagement.
“We are thankful to the members of the interfaith, civic and Muslim communities for attending the town hall meeting and for voicing their concerns on the issues that really matter to them,” said CAIR-OK Executive Director Razi Hashmi. “This is what makes a grassroots organization successful – the constructive input of the community.”
See Also: CAIR and Racial Profiling (Video in Spanish)
"As a representative of the Latino community, I come here to offer my solidarity to the Muslim community to praise what CAIR is doing in Oklahoma and the United States. As a member of a minority group, we can feel together as brothers," said Franco Cevallos, President of Hispanic Action Coalition. "We will be with the Muslim community as one. The Latino community will be with you and the African-American community will be with you."
"CAIR is very close partners with the ACLU of Oklahoma. As someone who works shoulder to shoulder with them on a weekly basis, I have seen good things that CAIR has done," stated ACLU-OK Deputy Director C.S. Thornton.
"Muslims are part of the fabric of America. Muslims have a responsibility to reach out to their neighbors. We should come out forcefully and condemn it [acts of terror and cowardice]," said another man.
Earlier last week, a right-wing Republican candidate for Congress had called for a protest against the town hall meeting. The protest failed to attract people except a few individuals who showed up at the wrong location. Hashmi added, “This was a desperate candidate seeking to score cheap political points at the expense of the American-Muslim community.”
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.
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