Yes, it has started. You are now invited to join us with questions.
Name
Ghali
- Belgium
Profession
Question
What is the story behind this ad campaign that CAIR is undertaking on a national level?
Answer
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
It is part of CAIR's mission and daily work to help the American people understand Islam and Muslims.
In the past few months, we have witnessed a surge of written, spoken, published and broadcast attacks on Islam, its teachings and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). This ad campaign is an effort to publish accurate, simple information about Islam and Muslims. We hope you and others will join our effort to make it a success.
Name
Anisa
- Ghana
Profession
Question
What is the purpose of this national campaign? What does this campaign going to have? Where and when is it going to be published?
Answer
The first two installments of this ad campaign have been published in the Sunday edition of the New York Times newspaper. We hope in the coming days we can place the ads in nine other major national American newspapers.
We are making these ads available to local communities and organizations so that they may publish them locally across the United States.
There are 52 ads, with different messages, designed to be published weekly for the coming year. They will give basic information about Islam's principles, the identity and beliefs of Muslims.
Name
Rolla
-
Profession
Question
Actually I heard about the increasing anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States especially after the events of 9/11 and I can understand that this campaign is to present a true picture of Islam, but I didn’t get the chance to read some details about forms or types of this anti-Islamic rhetoric? Can you mention some of these anti-Islamic sentiments that the ad campaign is trying to counter?
Answer
Some politicians, political commentators, and religious figures have linked Islam to violence and "evil." Many have attacked the character and record of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Others advocate obliterating the civil rights of American Muslims. You can learn details by visiting CAIR's website at www.cair-net.org
Name
Hanadi
- Lebanon
Profession
Question
Are you planning to produce this ads on monthly basis or periodically?
Answer
The ads are designed to run weekly for 52 weeks.
Name
Omer
-
Profession
Question
As I read in www.americanmuslims.info, this advertising campaign is designed to foster greater understanding of Islam and to counter a rising tide of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the United States. Do you think that these ads are necessary at this time?
Answer
It is absolutely necessary to publish accurate information. We want to share the daily lives and views of Muslims with the public. In fact, by doing this we are responding to tens of thousands of emails from people of other faiths which came to our website after 9-11.
Name
Tracy - New Muslimah
- Canada
Profession
Question
As-Salamu `Alaykum, Mr. Nihad, how will this ad campaign take form, especially in Canada? Will the ads be televised, print, other forms?
Thank you.
Salam.
Answer
Local Canadian Muslims and Muslims in different parts of the world are welcome to contact CAIR at cair@cair-net.org or telephone (202) 488-8787 to learn how to join the ad campaign and publish these ads locally. They are designed for publication in newspapers. When we get more funding, we hope to move on to television and radio commercials. All are welcome to donate.
Name
Yahya
-
Profession
Question
Salamu`alykum Mr. Nihad. Nice to meet you on islamonline. I actually like that idea and I think by putting these ads in a famous newspaper like New York Times is going to have impact on the American society, insha'Allah. But I have an idea for you here. Why don't you make that on inter-faith basis; I mean you cooperate with neutral people of different faiths to get this message conveyed and spread among Americans who very little or even nothing about Islam?
Answer
I agree with you wholeheartedly. CAIR has been working with interfaith groups locally and nationally in the United States and Canada since its beginnings. They have helped to convey our positions to their various faith communities after 9-11. This ad campaign is another opportunity for us to cooperate.
Name
Taqi
- Pakistan
Profession
Question
May be this question will not be much related to the topic but I believe it is related somehow. Some newspapers have mentioned that around 30, 000 Muslims embraced Islam in the United States. Is this true? If so, what do you think the reason behind this?
Answer
There are several reports which talked about increased conversion to Islam in America in the past year and a half. We feel it everyday. It is very clear that many people sought out information about Islam at this time, and discovered that Islam is unlike the negative stereotypes and misinformation that they had previously been exposed to. In response to this demand, bookstores now carry many more books about Islam as well as translations of the Qur'an. CAIR is now responding to requests from libraries by offering a set of books and videos about Islam to all 17,000 public libraries in the United States. You can participate in this Library Project by visiting CAIR's website at www.cair-net.org.
Name
imsha
-
Profession
techer
Question
muslims are brothers all of the world,rofm any wehere part of world,OK ?
may be you know 22feb in a muslim country Pakistan city Karachi 9 or 10 muslim kild by other gunmem [muslim] 2 gropes of muslims .can you tell me what about that?thay men was goving for pray of GOD.
Answer
Editor:
We share you the pains and sorrow, and we pray to Allah SWT to relieve the suffering of this Ummah, but we apologize for not handling your question now as it does not relate to the subject matter of today's session. You may submit your question to a suitable page in the website.
Name
Funsho
-
Profession
Question
What impact do you think this can have on the course of fixing the distorted message daily spread by the Western media?
Answer
We do what we can. We are encouraged by the positive response we have received from the public.
Name
Ashoor
- Egypt
Profession
Question
What does CAIR really does to defend the civil liberties of Muslims in US. We have heard about lots of cases of sentiment, harassments, people expelled from America, etc. Does CAIR have a legal action in those acts or is it just a media action?
Answer
As a civil rights and advocacy group, CAIR has been overwhelmed by the number of cases submitted to our offices in the last year and a half. We first educate Muslims about their legal rights and how they themselves can act to protect these legal rights. We work with other civil liberties organizations to tackle some cases. We lobby members of Congress on important pieces of legislation. We work with government agencies, like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve some individual cases. We have met with some success but many challenges remain.
Name
Tareq
-
Profession
Question
Well, I wanted to know if these ads can be put on web sites as banners or scanned and customized for online use.
Answer
Yes, these ads can be put on other websites in different formats. Visit the ad campaign's website at www.americanmuslims.info to download whatever format you need. If you need further help, please send a message to the webmaster at www.cair-net.org.
Name
Naji
- Brazil
Profession
Question
As the US and UK are trying to garner support for the destruction of Iraq and other Muslim countries, do you have a plan in that campaign to mobilize the American society to confront the war and stand up for people's rights?
Answer
As American Muslims, our views on this issue are known. We ask for a diplomatic solution and no unilateral action by the United States.
This ad campaign is designed simply to educate people about Islam. Our political positions and activities with regard to a possible war are communicated through other forums: news releases, interviews, action alerts, and coalitions with like-minded organizations.
Name
Zaman
-
Profession
Question
After this huge propaganda about Islam and its linkage to violence, haven't the Muslims in the US realized and realistically worked on having a TV station to express their views and explain to all American what really they stand for? Do you think the ad campaign can do better than a TV station or radio? When are all the Islamic organizations and institution in America come together to launch a national and well-prepared station?
Answer
I understand your point and I wish such a TV station could begin broadcasting today. It would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to carry out such a project. At present, it is beyond our capabilities. National Muslim organizations in the United States do cooperate and coordinate their activities for the benefit of the community as a whole. There is always room for improvement.
Name
Mujahid
-
Profession
Question
As-Salamu Alaikum, First of all thank you and your organisation for doing a wonderful job since Sep 11. May your success increase. I have a suggestion. Please retain all your 52 ads on your web page in pdf and gif format. This will enable visitors to share this file with others. Jazakallah.
Answer
Thank you for your encouragement and your suggestion. The ads will appear in sequence on the website as they are released. All 52 ads will be published in a booklet at the end of the year, God willing. The ads are available on the website. If you need further help, please contact the webmaster at cair-net.org.
Name
Jordan
- United States
Profession
Journalist
Question
As-Salamu Alaykum,
Going along with the campaign to enlighten Americans and the West in general of Islam and its freedom-loving nature, why do we not have a major public-relations firms or organizations that specialize in Islam and Fiqh like a scholar. I have seen a trend of CAIR to work primarily on Muslim civil-liberty cases and Muslim discrimination cases. Can we have just an organization that watches the media and gives authoritative sources to news agencies whenever anything big happens concerning Muslims?
Answer
This is exactly what CAIR has been doing since it began in 1994. We work with thousands of media outlets in the United States and internationally. On issues of concern to Muslims, we contact reputable Muslim scholars and consult them for accurate Islamic legal opinions. We then share this information with the media through press releases and interviews. We publish Muslim opinions and statements of scholars on critical issues. The media is selective in what of this information they choose to convey, or broadcast. We are always available to build bridges between media and Muslims and vice versa.
Our focus on civil rights is one aspect of our work. It is driven by thousands of requests for help that we receive from Muslims in need of assistance.
Name
Ihsan
- Pakistan
Profession
Question
In the lack of national newspaper, TV stations, etc. what else can the Islamic organization can do to counter such an anti-Islam movement other than the ad campaign?
Answer
We encourage political awareness and civic participation. Voter registration is a major project for us. Empowering Muslims in America politically and socially is what we do on a daily basis. When we interact with our neighbors, and contribute positively to our society, this puts a human face on Islam and shatters stereotypes.
Name
Radi
-
Profession
Question
Are Muslims experiencing anti-Islam actions now like the days following 9/11 or the situation is improving?
Answer
Anti-Muslim attacks which took place immediately after 9-11 were spontaneous actions taken by misguided individuals. You can see this from the statistics published on our website. Now we see extremists, including the Christian Right and the pro-Israel lobby, carrying out a coordinated campaign against Islam and Muslims. The result of this is clearly apparent from the racist policies and practices being carried out by some branches of the U.S. government influenced by these groups, in contradiction to the assurances President Bush gave us on more than one occasion: that this war is not against Islam. We believe this anti-Muslim discrimination is contrary to the interest of our nation, the United States.
