Interview

CAIR's Care & American Muslims

Interview With Executive Director of CAIR, Mr. Niahd Awad

CAIR's Executive Director, Mr. Nihad Awad

IslamOnline.net (IOL): First of all, we would like to start with a brief description of CAIR in order to shed more light on its activity. When was it launched and how has it evolved?

Mr. Nihad Awad: CAIR stands for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in the United States and Canada. It was launched in 1994 and the basic principle behind its establishment is to enhance the understanding of Islam, promote dialogue, protect civil liberties, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

It has evolved from simple and humble beginning; Myself, Ibrahim Hooper, and Omar Ahmed founded the organization in Washington, DC  And, the formula was clear and simple from the beginning of CAIR's establishment. The formula is construction, engagement, communication, and the mobilization of the Muslim community with the wider society. We started in Washington, D.C past the White House with a small office. Today, we have more than 34 offices in the United States and Canada, and CAIR stands to be the largest Muslim American civil rights

CAIR's Main Goal

IOL: What is the main goal of CAIR?

Awad: The goal is to enhance the understanding of Islam because the reality of Muslims and Islam are being severely misunderstood in the United States. It was incompetent on Muslims to step up to the plate, define themselves, and present Islam as it is.

It is crucial to help people of other faiths in the media, in public, and in office to establish direct and genuine relationship with Muslim community instead of allowing self-proclaimed experts on Islam or "terrorism" to push their agendas framing Islam in a negative political and social light as has been the case for decades.

Today, American Muslims define themselves with their institutions; I believe CAIR has contributed tremendously to this reality. There is a huge sense of identity and belonging to Islam and America. I think CAIR has contributed to crystallizing this American Muslim identity on the bases that you can be a Muslim and you can be an American.

Under the rule of law, American Muslims have equal opportunities and equal challenges. In fact, Muslims have more challenges as a minority, but also they are blessed that they have the task to give Americans a better understanding of Islam and to give a chance to non-Muslims to discover the beauty of Islam and Muslim life.

So, it has been a challenge and a reward at the same time; that is a unique experience and many Muslims are blessed to be passing through it.

Effective Mechanisms

Awad: Above all, it is God Almighty's help and support that pushed us where we are now in terms of effectiveness, visibility, and presence. From the beginning, we intended to use professionals in the field. And to be effective in our work, we have to use professional people and we need adequate human and financial resources.

We worked as full-timers; CAIR has been our lives, our mindset, and our main interest. We have given it all we could in terms of energy, interest, concern, and devotion. And also, a group of people of Muslim activists joined in.

They started to see the result of a professional presentation of Islam, of taking a balancing way of judging issues and taking steps that guarantee this balance showing that our formula is moderate.

We like being respectful of Islam, adherent of Islam, and respectful of others although you disagree with some of them. Building coalitions with so many people, truly, proofs that the majority of people are good people on both sides; this is the discourse that should be. All of these together have shown Muslims in America that this is the best way and the Islamic way to approach issues.

Also, by using scientific and systematic tools of technology and means of communication by training people, experience is not limited to few people. We have managed to build a culture and a new generation of some activists nationwide who adopt and endorse this way of work.

All together, we feel that CAIR's experience has been an American success story; an American Muslim success story that Muslims are proud of. They are also proud of this organization that achieved its success in terms of support.

People love the organization; they respect it and want to be part of it because CAIR is part of their life and  their experience. It is not disconnected; it deals with the grassroots; it builds the community from the bottom up.

Categories and Sub-divisions of CAIR

Awad: The first part of CAIR's work is the protection of civil rights within the US constitution, and that takes the biggest chunk of our works offering free services in terms of counseling, representations, and defending people's rights.

The second part is training people to understand the law, not only in knowing and understanding their rights, but also knowing their responsibilities as citizens or non-citizens. This is very crucial because we do not just complain about confiscation and violation of these rights, but we sometimes complain about the lack of activism in the community, and, the two go hand in hand. You cannot just complain about your rights; you have to be involved, you have to volunteer, and you have to offer services.

You have to be there at the table to negotiate your presence, proving your validity, your competency, and your benefit to the society before you ask for your rights, because you have sometimes to give.

The second component is media communications. It has been one of the most effective and important mechanisms of CAIR's work to communicate Islam, Islamic issues, and Muslim positions with the wider society through mainstream media.

CAIR has enjoyed great credibility with media outlets in cities, towns, and on the national level. We have worked with major networks from CNN, NY Times, and Washington Post.

IOL: CAIR's headquarter is in Washington, DC and you have regional offices, what about the number of subdivisions?

Awad: We have divisions in almost 19 states. In some states, we have more than one office due to the significant presence of Muslim population there. For example, in California we have more than four offices; in Ohio we have about three offices; Florida and Texas, we have more than one office in each. The states where there is a big Muslim population there are more than one office to fulfill people's needs.

In 2001, we had only head offices. After 9/11, we added more than 22 offices, which was in response to the demands of American Muslims who believed that they needed an institution like CAIR to defend them. But also, CAIR needed strong presence in the community to show the representation and the presence of our work. The general public needed institutions like CAIR in cities and states where ignorance is prevalent.

We needed to build relationships at the grassroots level, which helped CAIR nationwide. We needed to have some political institutions because we work with local, state, and federal representatives who all have constituencies in towns and cities. American Muslims live there, but they cannot have strong representation unless they have institutions that are able to organize and mobilize people to draw this relationship with the society. So, CAIR's strength initially comes from the grassroots and its wide presence in the United States. Our hope and aim is to have a strong office in every city and state of the union.

The Post-9/11-CAIR

IOL: Regarding post-9/11-CAIR — if I can use that term — in light of the lot of challenges facing Muslims with the spread of Islamophobia in the United States, how do you see CAIR in the post-9/11 era?

Awad: CAIR is not only seen the way we see ourselves. It is seen as the Muslim ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) because every group of people, minority, and community needs an institution that defends its rights and promotes its vision.

I believe that CAIR is seen as the institution that fulfills those aspirations, but also CAIR is not the only organization. There are other organizations that honorably serve the Muslim community. CAIR sees itself as a sister of those organizations and it works in coordination with other Muslim entities in the country.

Muslim American Activism

From the right: Mr. Nihad Awad, Mr. Kamal Badr, Mr. Ibrahim Hooper (CAIR's director of national communications)

Awad: The challenges facing American Muslims are the ones really facing the United States itself, one of which is the sheer and deadly ignorance about Muslims in the country. The majority of people in the United States know nothing or little about Islam. Even, what they know about Islam comes from sometimes biased or unqualified sources that are selective in their depiction of the reality of Muslims or some hotspots in the Muslim world reflective on American Muslims. 

This has cost American Muslims tremendous suffering and isolation and cost the American society and government a loss of utilizing American Muslims and understanding true Islam and Muslims.

Eventually, we are faced with this tsunami of ignorance, but also a tsunami of interest in learning about Islam, because the majority of people in our society are good and open people; they respect multiculturalism and respect freedom of religion which was the first and basic foundation on which this country was based upon.

So, in dealing with ignorance you need sophisticated discourse and institutions able to communicate Islam and help American Muslims rise to the challenge to meet their responsibilities with fellow Americans. Lobbying is a daily effort and it is not just one entity to go and advocate on your behalf.

The best way of lobbying is when you have a collective societal expression — a true and genuine reflection of what you believe in and who you are dealing with, like politicians, media, and your neighbors. The best and most effective lobbying is to show your reality by making people feel that reality.

Now, in terms of specifics, some causes need special advocates in Washington and nation-wide to work with politicians to convince them with your perspective. Today in Washington, they are huge detractors of Muslims. Islamophobia is prevalent in society, and it is increasing and on the rise. It threatens Muslims, relationships between Muslims, and the relationship between the United States and the Muslim world.

The detractors of Islam and Muslims in America are small, but effective. They are well-funded and determinant. They are ignorant and some of them are politically-driven, so we are faced with these challenges. The best way is to build coalitions and even to reach out to some of these people, trying to respond to their issues and open dialogue with them.

Eventually, I see that the presence of Muslims in Washington will help not just lobby the government, it will help make sure that Islam is understood and Muslims are understood in America. We are not a lobbying organization although some of our work require us to deal with politicians and communicate other issues. 

Towards a Strong Muslim American Lobby

Awad: I believe the growth of the Muslim presence in Washington, DC is not only to come from the growth of Muslim institutions themselves although it is a first step. There is a lack of numbers of Muslims organizations and also development of Muslim entities.

The very concept of having an organization for only lobbying would require huge amount of financial resources. I have been working in Washington for 15 years, and I understand emotional aspect of people who always question when we are going to have a Muslim lobby in the United States.

It is not like that simple. We need to develop Muslim activism in Washington in order to be effective and utilize our existing resources to upgrade performance, which will definitely create organizations that are working full-time in Capitol Hill and build relationships with policy makers, legislators, and law-makers. It is important to show them the Muslim American perspective that is fair and containing of all the values we all cherish. It is also important to defend the interest of the United States from a perspective that is caring about the society and our [Muslim] values collectively.

To be specific, the Muslim community organizations are working with congressmen and the administration. But, in order to have full-time entities working on relations with congressmen and US administration, you would require human financial resources that are going to be devoted for this.

You will be surprised that — contrary to common knowledge — when people think about those who are lobbying against Muslims and Islamic issues in Washington or in the whole country, they are not only a few visible institutions that you can name. In Washington, there are hundreds of organizations lobbying against Muslims that do not carry specific ideologies, but they have pseudo-names. And, I would refer you to the book called Stealth Pacs: How Israel's American Lobby Seeks to Control US Middle East Policy by Richard Curtiss.

More than one hundred political action committees are just working on one issue, in support for the state of Israel. So, this is not an emotional approach to a serious matter. It would require growth and development. I think the Muslim community goes in there because it is a natural growth.

I just warn against too much pushing of the Muslim world against the Muslim community [to have strong Muslim lobby]. I am afraid that too much pressure against American Muslims  from the outside world, as well as from inside, will abort Americans from experience.

I think the Muslim world is at fault; when I say the Muslim world, I do not mean the Muslim Ummah, but those who are in a position of responsibilities. They have not had a clear vision or strategy on how to deal with the United States, even with American Muslims. They have not leveraged the relationships that are there with the United States. They did not utilize the relationship that they could have with American Muslims.

So, American Muslims are somehow isolated from the Muslim world. People in the Muslim world are sending American Muslims just hopes and demands, but there is no investment in the relationship — the same investment of the relationship we see with other communities and with other nations.

All we get from the Muslim world sometimes are hopes, demands, and wishes.

The Muslim world is at the crossroads in its relationship with the West and the United States, and I would like to see serious investments in that kind of relationships: practical, relationships, not just statements. I would like to see constructive action that can rebuild the relationship for the future. We have been lucky so far that even the confrontation has been limited.

But, I am afraid if we do not take care of that relationship, we are going to lose it to the few extremists in both sides who just trade in fear and profit from clashes between societies and countries.

While the majority is silent, the majority seems to be either indifferent or it feels it is sufficient just to complain.

American Muslims and the Muslim world

Awad: I believe that we need a line of thinking and hope that remain within Islamic ethics and universal values. I believe that as Muslims we just have to rise up to the challenges and meet our responsibilities. We need to believe that ignorance is treatable and reform is also needed in thought and behavior.

I hope that in the next few months or years we are going to witness a reform and a resurgence in terms of an approach to solving issues.

Peace is very important to all of us as humans and Muslims worldwide and we have to work for it. We have to rectify the course that we are in — not change it. The same way that we ask the US government and the new administration to correct their actions and build bridges instead of building walls, we ask our Ummah, our Muslim community in the United States and everywhere, to take also mutual steps towards building this relationship; we ask them also to prepare new generations of leaders who are hopeful of working towards building this relationship and looking to the West as a partner rather than an adversary.

This is the message that we are trying to promote in the United States: look at the Muslim world as a partner, not as an enemy.

Look for people who are hundreds of millions who are ready to hear you; cultivate this relationship by taking some goodwill gestures and initiatives to communicate the message of hope, tolerance, and coexistence.

I hope that at one point you will see serious nationwide, and sometime worldwide, initiatives led by credible Muslims and people of other faiths working in sincerity to accomplish their goals.

Media Engagement

This is the message that we are trying to promote in the United States: look at the Muslim world as a partner, not as an enemy.

Awad: I think that we are filling a wide gap that has been growing. Today, all networks in the United States know that if they want to learn about the Muslim perspective they should go to Muslim spokespersons or Muslim organizations, local or national.

Today the American Muslim community is known to be present and able to interact with the society and with the media — contrary to what it used to be, may be 15 years ago.

In other words, if the media is interested in learning about Islam and Muslims, there are many Muslim organizations, and we have, for example, 34 offices nationwide ready to be part of the story and to make it in the news. However, we cannot fix the perception that is wide and prevalent in the public. Through the media, we continue to be depicted only through the actions of the few. We are always being framed in the negative news that comes from Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and all these places.

Most of the news about Islam and Muslims in the Western media is negative. We occasionally see positive stories about Muslim contributions to the United States and the world, but this unfortunately does not make the news all the time. It comes once in a blue moon, as we say, and this is not sufficient to communicate the right perspective of the reality of Muslims.

We need to have our media outlets and CAIR has been the most successful in this way.

We have built relationships with reporters and media nationwide. It is not sufficient to be a guest on a program when you have to defend Islam all the time or you have to explain or condemn the actions of some Muslims; this will keep the negative and incorrect perception about Islam.

What we have to do — and we started to see results — is to encourage young Muslims to pursue the field of journalism, political science, and law. And, we started to see now some Muslims in some networks, newspapers, and radio stations talking about the economy and reporting about news, health care, and other issues.

That is to be one step towards changing the perception. Besides, in order to alleviate the negative perception, we shall work with alternative media and create our own.

Muslims in the Recent Elections

Awad: I think that American Muslims through their organizations has worked to show that they are fully engaged in the political process and along civil lines.

CAIR, along with other organizations, has been busy in registering Muslims to vote, educating voters about issues, and mobilizing American Muslims to volunteer and run for public offices. CAIR worked with candidates and on campaigns to make sure that Islam and Muslim issues and voices are known.

If you look at the results, 95 percent of eligible Muslim voters have voted, and this is a record and unprecedented percentage. The results pointed out that American Muslims believe in working inside the system. 89 percent of Muslims voted for change and voted for Obama, compared to two percent for John McCain.

However, despite the fact that there have been orchestrated and systematic campaigns to defame Islam and even to scare the public from Barack Obama because he has a Muslim middle name — as if being Muslim is an accusation, the vote for change has triumphed —candidates asked cynically what is wrong with being a Muslim?!

Eventually, a person like Collin Powel stepped up to the plate and said: what is wrong with being a Muslim and what if he, Barack Obama, was a Muslim?! What is wrong with a 7-year-old Muslim who wants to be the president of the United States of America? Powel also talked about Muslim contributions to the United States.

We needed to hear this message long time ago from other politicians and other candidates.

Despite all of these, American Muslims went full force in the political process and left their mark. Are they going to be recognized for their service, talent, expertise, and for their willingness to help change and improve our situation locally and internationally?

Kamal Badr is the the Editor-in-Chief of IslamOnline.net’s English Web site.