CAIR-NET: CAIR Muslim Community Safety Kit

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

CAIR ACTION ALERT #372

CAIR MUSLIM COMMUNITY SAFETY KIT
Step-by-step guide to community safety if America attacks Iraq

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/17/03) - As it becomes increasingly clear that America
will attack Iraq in the next few days, CAIR has put together a "Muslim
Community Safety Kit" for Muslims, Arab-Americans and those perceived to be
"Middle Eastern" who may be targeted by religious or ethnic profiling or
bias-related hate crimes. According to the FBI: "A U.S. war with Iraq or
another terrorist attack could trigger a wave of hate crimes against
Muslims and Arab-Americans in the United States." (Associated Press, 3/12/03)

Dear Imam, activist, community leader, brother or sister:

As-salaamu alaykum. Peace be to you. This "Muslim Community Safety Kit" has
been developed to assist you and your community in the event of a war
against Iraq and any resulting anti-Muslim backlash. The 9-page kit is
designed to better equip you with the knowledge necessary to protect
against anti-Muslim or anti-Arab bigotry or attacks, and to secure your
basic legal rights. Below are suggestions for pro-active steps you can take.

HOW TO USE THIS RESOURCE KIT:

1. Read this kit carefully.
2. Circulate to your friends and family.
3. Photocopy relevant portions and post in your local mosque, Islamic
center or organization.
4. Contact CAIR if you have any questions, or if you do not understand any
part of this kit.

MUSLIM COMMUNITY SAFETY KIT TABLE OF CONTENTS:

* Report Suspicious Activity in Your Community
* Develop a Legal Contact List
* Developing Positive Relationships with Law Enforcement Agencies
* Meet with Elected Representatives to Discuss Community Concerns
* Building Coalitions with Interfaith and Minority Groups
* Meet with Local School Principals to Discuss Student Safety
* Building an Emergency Contact List
* Hold a Community Meeting to Inform Others of Safety Guidelines
* Build a Community Support Network
* Reacting to Incidents of Anti-Muslim Hate
* Reacting to Acts of Discrimination
* Your Rights as an Employee
* Your Rights as an Airline Passenger
* Your Rights as a Student
* Mosque Safety Guidelines
* Responding to Bomb Threats
* Bomb Threat Check List
* Suspect Letters and Packages
* Know Your Rights if Contacted by the FBI
* CAIR Local Chapters

REPORT SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY IN YOUR COMMUNITY

Muslims must do their part to ensure the safety and security of our nation.
If anyone notes suspicious persons or activities in their community, they
should report it immediately to the local Field Office of the FBI. SEE:
http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm

DEVELOP A LEGAL CONTACT LIST

Develop a list of attorneys who are willing to be consulted by the Muslim
community in response to backlash incidents. Ask Muslim attorneys to
volunteer their services to community members during this time of crisis.

DEVELOPING POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

Community leaders should immediately coordinate meetings between
representatives of the Muslim community and local state and national law
enforcement agencies. These meetings should focus on ways in which the
community can help national security and on how authorities can protect
Muslims and Arab-Americans from harassment and discrimination.

MEET WITH ELECTED OFFICIALS TO DISCUSS COMMUNITY CONCERNS

Delegations of Muslim representatives should schedule meetings with local,
state and national elected representatives or their key staff to discuss
community concerns. To find out who represents your area on the national
level, go to: http://www.capwiz.com/cair/home/

BUILDING COALITIONS WITH INTERFAITH AND MINORITY GROUPS

Similar meetings should be coordinated with representatives of local
interfaith and minority groups. These meetings should focus on building
lines of communication and support, and hearing from these groups how they
deal with discrimination and bigotry.

MEET WITH LOCAL SCHOOL PRINCIPALS TO DISCUSS STUDENT SAFETY

Representatives of the Muslim community should meet with local school
administrators to discuss safety plans for students and to sensitize the
administrators to harassment of Muslim students.

Ask for a "zero tolerance" policy for harassment of Muslim students. An
example of a letter that a school board might send to local school
administrators may be found at:
http://www.cair-florida.org/ViewArticle.asp?Code=PR&ArticleID=73

Obtain copies of CAIR's "Educator's Guide to Islamic Religious Practices"
by contacting CAIR or e-mailing: [log in to unmask]

BUILDING AN EMERGENCY CONTACT LIST

Community leaders should develop emergency e-mail and phone contact lists
to be used in case of an incident that threatens the community's safety.
Local imams, Islamic center board members, and Muslim activists should be
on the lists.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~