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"Islamophobic stereotyping and bias are most often based on ignorance and unfamiliarity with the American Muslim community, Awad
said"
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WASHINGTON,
June 17 (IslamOnline.net) – A leading American Muslim group has
launched a new nationwide television and radio campaign to help reduce
anti-Muslim discrimination and stereotyping.
The
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said the campaign will
include 30- and 60-second public service announcements featuring
American Muslims of European, African and Hispanic heritage.
Each
person states how he/she and their families have served America and
end by saying, "I am an American Muslim", the group said in
a press release on Wednesday, June 16.
"Our
experience shows that Islamophobic stereotyping and bias are most
often based on ignorance and unfamiliarity with the American Muslim
community," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.
"Tolerance
and mutual respect will flourish if Americans of all faiths get to
know each other as real human beings, not as religious or ethnic
stereotypes."
Awad
said the announcements are a result of growing demand for accurate and
objective information about Islam and Muslims in America.
In
its annual report on the status of American Muslim civil rights, CAIR
revealed a disturbing 70
percent increase in anti-Muslim incidents nationwide
during 2003.
A
recent Senate report said the US Muslim community has
taken the brunt of
the Patriot Act and other federal powers applied in the aftermath of
the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Other
CAIR projects designed to meet that demand include sending
Islam-related materials to public libraries and publishing ads in
newspapers nationwide.
The
new campaign also ties into CAIR's recent "Not
in the Name of Islam" online petition designed to
disassociate Islam from the violent acts of few Muslims.
On
Wednesday, May 26, CAIR also published a full-page advertisement in
the Los Angeles Times titled "No to terrorism, No to
bigotry."
Also
in May, several US Muslim organizations embarked on an anti-terror
campaign, vowing to
cooperate with authorities in tracking down any suspicious activities.
