CAIR-MI to Call for Due Process for Muslim Detained in Iran

MEDIA ADVISORY

CAIR-MI to Call for Due Process for Muslim Detained in Iran

(SOUTHFIELD, MI, 9/24/12) ­ On Tuesday, September
25, the Michigan chapter of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) will hold a
press conference in Southfield, Mich., on the eve
of Iran’s president speaking to the United
Nations to call for due process and mercy for a
Michigan Muslim being detained by the Iranian government.

WHAT: Press Conference Calling for Due Process
for Mich. Muslim Detained in Iran
WHEN: Tuesday, September 25 at 10 a.m.
WHERE: CAIR-MI Office, 21700 Northwestern Highway, Suite 815, Southfield, MI
CONTACT: CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid,
248-842-1418, E-Mail: dwalid@cair.com

Amir Hekmati, a U.S. military veteran from Flint,
Mich., has been detained by the Iranian
government since August 2011 on the accusation
that he is a CIA agent. He was subsequently given
the death penalty in January, but the conviction was later dismissed.

Hekmati’s family has not been able to communicate
with him for several months and no court date has been given for a retrial.

SEE: Flint Family Holds Out Hope for Release of Son (Free Press)
http://tinyurl.com/9pwtvpe

Hekmati’s mother, sister and brother-in-law will
also be at the press conference.

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.

– END ­

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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