Victory for the U.S. Constitution in OK

DawudWalid 1 Comment

It’s official; CAIR is without a doubt a major player in the civil rights landscape of America with this historic victory in court today.

As our forerunners at the NAACP, National Lawyers Guild and the American Civil Liberties Union continue to do, we have taken a stance against discrimination and won within the parameters of the United States Constitution.

For disgruntled youth in our community, this is proof that the system works.

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BREAKING CAIR NEWS: Judge Bars Certification of Okla. Anti-Islam Amendment

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/29/2010) — The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today applauded a strongly-worded ruling by a federal judge in Oklahoma granting an injunction that bars certification of an anti-Islam state ballot measure (SQ 755) passed in the November 2 election.

 

SEE: Judge Rules in Favor of Muslim Man on State Question 755

http://newsok.com/article/3519080

 

If it had been certified, SQ 755 would have amended that state’s constitution to forbid judges from considering Islamic principles or international law when deciding a case.

 

Today’s ruling by Chief Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma ordered a preliminary injunction to block the certification of the amendment by the Oklahoma State Board of Elections until a final determination is made based on the merits of a lawsuit against SQ 755 filed by Muneer Awad, executive director of CAIR’s Oklahoma chapter (CAIR-OK).

 

In her ruling in support of Awad’s legal arguments, Judge Miles-LaGrange wrote:

 

“This order addresses issues that go to the very foundation of our country, our (U.S.) Constitution, and particularly, the Bill of Rights. Throughout the course of our country’s history, the will of the ‘majority’ has on occasion conflicted with the constitutional rights of individuals, an occurrence which our founders foresaw and provided for through the Bill of Rights. . .

 

“Having carefully reviewed the briefs on this issue, and having heard the evidence and arguments presented at the hearing, the Court finds plaintiff has made a strong showing of a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of his claim asserting a violation of the Free Exercise Clause.

 

“As set forth above, plaintiff has shown that the actual language of the amendment reasonably, and perhaps more reasonably, may be viewed as specifically singling out Sharia Law (plaintiff’s faith) and, thus, is not facially neutral.

 

“Additionally, as set forth above, the Court finds that plaintiff has shown that there is a reasonable probability that the amendment would prevent plaintiff’s will from being fully probated by a state court in Oklahoma because it incorporates by reference specific elements of the Islamic prophetic traditions.

 

“Further, plaintiff has presented evidence that there is a reasonable probability that Muslims, including plaintiff, will be unable to bring actions in Oklahoma state courts for violations of the Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act and for violations of their rights under the United States Constitution if those violations are based upon their religion.

 

“Finally, the Court finds that defendants have presented no evidence which would show that the amendment is justified by any compelling interest or is narrowly tailored.”

 

SEE: Judge Miles-LaGrange’s Ruling

http://www.cair.com/Portals/0/pdf/oklahoma_ruling.pdf

 

“We applaud today’s ruling and welcome the opportunity it offers to demonstrate that Oklahoma’s Muslim community simply seeks to enjoy the civil and religious rights guaranteed to all Americans by our Constitution,” said Awad.

 

SEE: Intolerance and the Law in Oklahoma (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/29/opinion/29mon1.html

 

Awad’s lawsuit, based on his own faith-based will, says SQ 755 violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause that bars government bodies from making laws “respecting the establishment of religion.”

 

SEE: Full Text of Awad’s Lawsuit

http://www.cair.com/Portals/0/pdf/argument.pdf

Oklahoma Surprise: Islam as an Election Issue (NYT)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/15/us/15oklahoma.html

 

“Today marks another day in American history in which our courts have defended the Constitution against those who would deny its protections to a minority community,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad (no relation to Muneer Awad). “We agree with Judge Miles-LaGrange and the U.S. Supreme Court that ‘fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote.'”

 

Awad added that he hopes the ongoing legal process will expose the campaign of misinformation about Islam targeting Oklahoma voters that was used to promote SQ 755.

 

CAIR Video: SQ 755 Sponsor Explains Purpose of Amendment on MSNBC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ybvivrs_MH0

 

He said CAIR plans an education campaign in Oklahoma to offer state residents accurate and balanced information about Islamic beliefs and practices and about the American Muslim community.

 

CAIR Q&A on Oklahoma Anti-Islam Ballot Measure

http://tinyurl.com/2asddqp

 

Hate messages have been received by Muslim institutions in Oklahoma following the passage of SQ 755.

 

Video: Rachel Maddow Details Hate Messages Received by Okla. Muslims

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYCoXWFghAo

 

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.

 

Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational

Subscribe to CAIR’s E-Mail List

http://tinyurl.com/cairsubscribe

Subscribe to CAIR’s Twitter Feed

http://twitter.com/cairnational

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http://www.youtube.com/cairtv

 

– END –

 

CONTACT: CAIR-OK Executive Director Muneer Awad, 405-248-5853, E-Mail: mawad@cair.com; CAIR Staff Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, or 202-488-8787, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171,E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

DawudWalid

Dawud Walid is currently the Executive Director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), which is a chapter of America's largest advocacy and civil liberties organization for American Muslims and is a member of the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) Imams Committee. Walid has been interviewed and quoted in approximately 150 media outlets ranging from the New York Times, Wall St Journal, National Public Radio, CNN, BBC, FOX News and Al-Jazeera. Furthermore, Walid was a political blogger for the Detroit News from January 2014 to January 2016, has had essays published in the 2012 book All-American: 45 American Men on Being Muslim, the 2014 book Qur'an in Conversation and was quoted as an expert in 13 additional books and academic dissertations. He was also a featured character in the 2013 HBO documentary "The Education of Mohammad Hussein." Walid has lectured at over 50 institutions of higher learning about Islam, interfaith dialogue and social justice including at Harvard University, DePaul University and the University of the Virgin Islands - St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses as well as spoken at the 2008 and 2011 Congressional Black Caucus Conventions alongside prominent speakers such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Congressman Keith Ellison. In 2008, Walid delivered the closing benediction at the historic 52nd Michigan Electoral College in the Michigan State Senate chambers and gave the Baccalaureate speech for graduates of the prestigious Cranbrook-Kingswood Academy located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Walid was also a featured speaker at the 2009 and 2010 Malian Peace and Tolerance Conferences at the University of Bamako in Mali, West Africa. He has also given testimony at hearings and briefings in front of Michigan state legislators and U.S. congressional representatives, including speaking before members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in Washington, D.C. Walid has studied under qualified scholars the disciplines of Arabic grammar and morphology, foundations of Islamic jurisprudence, sciences of the exegesis of the Qur’an, and Islamic history during the era of Prophet Muhammad through the governments of the first 5 caliphs. He previously served as an imam at Masjid Wali Muhammad in Detroit and the Bosnian American Islamic Center in Hamtramck, Michigan, and continues to deliver sermons and lectures at Islamic centers across the United States and Canada. Walid was a 2011 - 2012 fellow of the University of Southern California (USC) American Muslim Civil Leadership Institute (AMCLI) and a 2014 - 2015 fellow of the Wayne State Law School Detroit Action Equity Lab (DEAL). Walid served in the United States Navy under honorable conditions earning two United States Navy & Marine Corp Achievement medals while deployed abroad. He has also received awards of recognition from the city councils of Detroit and Hamtramck and from the Mayor of Lansing as well as a number of other religious and community organizations.

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One Comment

  1. Once again, Oklahoma is in the forefront by attempting to stop something that hasn’t even happened … And again, a minority comes to America and does its level best to make this a satellite of where they came from.

    A hollow victory at best.

    Why Muslims or Islam citizens be any different than any other American citizen, why do they have to have their own law? The democratic process and our way of law is still in place. We didn’t need this, what we have has worked for almost 200 years without it.

    You want your own laws, move to where they are enforced. Don’t impose them on other people.

    DS

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