On Thursday, May 30, the Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-TX), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, plans to join with North Texas Imams (Islamic religious leaders) and Dallas Black Clergy to condemn the Biden administration’s complicity in yet another Israel-U.S. massacre of Palestinian civilians in a so-called “safe zone” in Gaza, which further exposes the Israeli government’s “genocidal brutality.”

WHEN: Thursday, May 30, 2024, at 10 a.m.

WHERE: HEXA Co-Working conference room #110, 2100 N. Greenville Ave. Richardson, TX 75080

CONTACT: CAIR-TX Executive Director Mustafaa Carroll, (832)549-1042, mcarroll@cair.com; CAIR-TX Director William White, (713) 254-2016, wwhite@cair.com,  CAIR-TX Board Chair Sarwat Husain, (210) 378-9528, shusain@cair.com

[NOTE: CAIR is now using the term “Israel-U.S.” to describe war crimes in Gaza because the Biden administration’s ongoing provision of money and weapons to the Israeli government despite President Biden’s violated red lines makes the U.S. intentionally complicit in the ongoing slaughter of Palestinians.]

BACKGROUNDER:

On Monday, May 27, 2024, 21 Palestinians were killed, at least 12 of them women, in strikes on tents housing displaced people in the designated humanitarian area in Mawasi in western Rafah. Israel has slaughtered more than 36,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children. Some two million Palestinians have been forcibly displaced.

In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:

“Day after day, massacre after massacre, and the Biden administration continues to ship the bombs to the far-right, openly genocidal Israeli government that it uses to slaughter Palestinian children, women, medical personnel, journalists, international aid workers, and the sick and elderly, and continues to shield Israel from international accountability. This genocidal brutality, which is being exposed daily by piles of charred and dismembered Palestinian civilians, must stop.

“Sadly, because of President Biden’s insistence on sending more bombs to enable Netanyahu’s war crimes in Rafah, this is now as much an American genocide as it is an Israeli genocide.”

CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.             

La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.            

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CONTACT: CAIR-TX Executive Director Mustafaa Carroll, (832)549-1042, mcarroll@cair.com; CAIR-TX Director William White, (713) 254-2016, wwhite@cair.com,  CAIR-TX Board Chair Sarwat Husain, (210) 378-9528, shusain@cair.com

WATCH THE VIDEO.

The Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-TX) strongly condemn the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) for shutting down the Texas Capitol grounds just days ahead of a planned protest against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. This action directly undermines the constitutional right to free speech and peaceful assembly.

In a statement, CAIR-Dallas Fort Worth Executive Director Mustafaa Carroll said: 

“The shutdown of Capitol grounds is a blatant attempt to suppress free speech. The right to protest and voice dissent is fundamental to our democracy. This decision by DPS is an alarming infringement on our First Amendment rights.”

CAIR-Houston Director William White said: 

“Governor Abbott’s actions are a clear attempt to stifle free speech, particularly pro-Palestinian voices. Shutting down public spaces just days before our planned protest is an unacceptable abuse of power and a direct attack on our constitutional rights.”

CAIR-Austin Operations Manager Shaimaa Zayan said:

“This continuous censorship of pro-Palestinian voice is unacceptable. On Tuesday May 14th, TX senate discussed limiting the college students’ freedom of speech inviting single-sided attesters. However, more than 200 public testimonies were favoring the students’ first amendment right. It is clear that our officials do not represent their people”

Sarwat Hussain, CAIR San Antonio Board Chair said: 

“Gov Abbott blatant attempt to crackdown on lawful Palestinians and people of all faiths voices, who are seriously concerend for continuous genacide in Gaza. By trying to shut down the State Capitol ground, is not going to work anymore. It is a blatant attack on people constitutional rights for a peaceful protest”.

Governor Abbott’s Executive Order 44, which aims to suppress pro-Palestinian free speech, is already under legal challenge by CAIR. This latest move by Texas DPS to shut down the Capitol grounds is a clear and disturbing effort to further restrict the rights of Texans to express their views and assemble peacefully.”

CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.

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CONTACT: William White, Director, CAIR Houston, 713-254-2016, w-white@cair.com; Mustafaa Carroll, Executive Director, CAIR DFW, mcarroll@cair.com

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today announced the filing of a lawsuit on behalf of Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Houston, Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Texas at Dallas, and the Democratic Socialists of America challenging Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s Executive Order GA-44.

The executive order purports to combat antisemitism but targets students advocating for Palestinians in Gaza as they face a genocide at the hands of Israel. The executive order directs publicuniversities to punish students for using the liberation slogan “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free” and for being critical of the state of Israel.

SEE: LINK TO LAWSUIT

The executive order violates the First Amendment, which forbids state actors from restricting the speech of people based on content or viewpoint. The lawsuit is a pre-enforcement challenge that asks a federal court to enjoin both Greg Abbott and the respective Boards of Regents from ever enforcing the order due to its unconstitutionality.

The executive order is just another example of Greg Abbott and the state of Texas’ ongoing mission to unconstitutionally silence critics of Israel and supporters of Palestine. Prior attempts to restrict the speech of Palestine advocates have been struck down by federal courts as unconstitutional.

SEE: Texas Court Strikes Down Anti-BDS Law

“The executive order plainly violates the First Amendment,” said Gadeir Abbas, CAIR’s national deputy litigation director. “Whether by police force or by expulsion, Texas cannot punish students for being on the right side of history.”

“CAIR is committed to ensuring that those who speak on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Gaza will not be silenced,” said Nihad Awad, CAIR national’s executive director.

“DSA is proud to join this lawsuit against Governor Abbott’s extreme executive order, which limits free speech on college campuses and aims to silence the many people calling for an end to genocide in Gaza,” said Ashik Siddique, one of DSA’s national Co-Chairs. “This policy is a throwback to the tactics of McCarthyism and the Red Scare — socialists are familiar with being targets of state actions which are later found unconstitutional, thinking back almost 60 years ago to the Stanford v. Texas case. Our members across Texas are brave in standing up for freedom of thought and speech in their communities, and for never relenting as we all stand up for the liberation of Palestinian people.”

“This executive order shows us how powerful our voices truly are,” said the Executive Board of SJP at UH in a joint statement. “We must use our voices in every space we are in to call for an immediate ceasefire and a liberated Palestine.”

“It’s clear that students stand with Palestine,” said Fatima Qasim, Vice President of SJP at UTD. “We will not let this executive order stop us. We will not stop until our people and homeland are free.”

“CAIR Texas is dedicated to challenging any politicians who threaten our constitutional freedoms,” stated William White, Director of CAIR-Houston. “Our community has a long history of opposing unjust policies that specifically target pro-Palestinian voices and we fully intend to keep that winning history in place with this legal challenge.”

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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Litigation Director Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, gabbas@cair.com; CAIR-Houston Director William White, 713-254-2016, w-white@cair.com, CAIR National Senior Trial Attorney, Justin Sadowsky, 646-785-9154, jsadowsky@cair.com

WATCH THE VIDEO.

The Dallas/Fort Worth chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-DFW), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today denounced University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) for calling on the police in riot gear on May 1 to arrest 21 students, including three UTD professors, for staging a peaceful protest condemning the ongoing genocide in Palestine.

The students were all arrested on a single class B misdemeanor charge of criminal trespass although they were on public property and most attended the University.

At UTD, students were encamped in front of the buildings Wednesday morning after their university failed to meet student demands largely calling for divestment from companies that profit from the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people.

Magistrate Judge Lisa Bronchetti refused to allow attorneys to file Appearance Surety Bonds, which is a standard practice for misdemeanors in Collin County. The basis for her refusal was an “oral” standing order to refuse attorney bonds on the specific charge of criminal trespass.

In a statement, CAIR-DFW said:

“CAIR-DFW considers these actions overreach to say the least, and calls upon the Collin County District Attorney, Greg Willis, to drop all charges against those arrested.”

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CONTACT: CAIR-TX Executive Director Mustafaa Carroll, (832) 549-1042, mcarroll@cair.com; National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com