Confronting Islamophobia, Defeating Hate

In 2017, our most basic principles of freedom and justice began to be tested in ways that we had not seen in a long time.  While our individual fights for freedom continue every day, the CAIR-Florida team is now also fighting large-scale unconstitutional policies like the Muslim Ban and the systematic vilification and dehumanization of large segments of our Muslim communities.  Segments that (despite plenty of evidence to the contrary) have now been officially declared a threat out of pure xenophobia. 

This past year, CAIR-Florida faced new extraordinary civil rights challenges tackling issues such as the #MuslimBan, the #Watchlist, #NoFlyList and the immigration crisis that required us to distribute additional human and financial resources throughout our statewide operations. 

These heightened confrontations within our work required an increase in advocacy work to lead the fight against many Islamophobic attacks in the state of Florida. As a result, CAIR-Florida took our fight for justice to the streets, the courtrooms, and the newsrooms statewide and nationwide.

#Muslim Ban: 

Last January, we became witnesses to an attempt to escape real allegations of anti-Muslim bigotry. With the introduction of the #MuslimBan; in all of its attempts, countless visa-holders and applicants were asked to choose between their very religion and the ability to enter or leave the country. CAIR-Florida’s executive director, Hassan Shibly was one of the first legal plaintiffs on a groundbreaking national lawsuit brought to vindicate the civil rights of American Muslims. Additionally, our work on the ground included active statewide organizing and participation in several protests against Trump’s #MuslimBan. The numbers we saw at the airports and in the streets have shown the success of our outreach efforts with non-Muslim allies across the state. These efforts continue to show our valued commitment to the constitutionally-protected free exercise of religion.

#NoFlyList

The Florida Muslim community has been directly affected by the discriminatory and unconstitutional enforcement of the #NoFlyList. Multiple American citizens who reside in Florida have been denied the right to board their flights when attempting to return to the United States from a foreign country.  With CAIR-Florida’s swift legal help, these cases resulted in our clients returning home safely. Due to the obscurity of this threat and its constant encounters with members of our community, we have diligently fought these cases with a will to set precedent for any possible defenses in the future.

Travel Delays & The #Watchlist

In 2017, CAIR-Florida launched a digital awareness campaign called “Your Rights at the Border” to educate our communities statewide about border detentions and what to do if questioned or held by law enforcement. This public awareness video was released following an increase of detentions targeting American Muslims, such as Muhammad Ali’s son, who was detained and questioned by immigration agents about his religion at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. 

We continue to champion our civil rights work by actively educating our community and making sure federal agencies respect their rights. 

Fighting for Our Community

Over the past year, CAIR-Florida has grown to have a team of 26 staff members including 5 lawyers that have answered over 700 calls for help and assisted in over 500 cases just in the past year. We serve the entire state of Florida with offices in Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Panama City. We have become a leading defender of understanding and justice for all by extending our help to all victims of hate and bigotry regardless of their faith. Our team is able to help hundreds of victims of discrimination every year free of charge thanks to your generous support.

Our Vision

We believe the American Muslim community must have a team of committed professionals defending and representing our faith and community in the media, political, and legal system. If we do not invest in representing ourselves for ourselves, we cannot be upset when others misrepresent us.

CAIR-Florida has developed a team of professionals to push back against Islamophobia in Florida and share the beauty of our faith through service and education while inspiring other communities nationwide to do the same. Thus, building a better understanding of Islam and embracing our civil rights.

How You Can Help

1. Contribute what you can to support our effort to represent and defend our faith and community during these challenging times in this blessed month of Ramadan. Every dollar helps!

Here's how your donations are put to work:

• $5 helps us ship Q'urans and educational materials statewide
• $15 helps our law clerks and legal assistants answer calls for help
• $25 helps us provide Know Your Rights Trainings
• $100 helps us print educational materials distributed at trainings
• $500 helps our attorneys work on open cases
• $1000 helps us cover court fees and litigation expenses

Our work cannot be achieved without your ongoing support. With your investments, we can continue to expand CAIR-Florida so that we can better meet the needs of victims of discrimination and hate who call us for help.

2. Share our story on social media so our work can reach your friends and family. Invite them to stand with us! We will only win this fight united as one.

About CAIR-Florida

The Council on American-Islamic Relations Florida (CAIR Florida, Inc.), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, was established in 2001 to challenge stereotypes of Islam and Muslims and defend civil liberties. CAIR Florida has three office locations—the Tampa Bay office is situated in Temple Terrace, the South Florida office is in Sunrise, and the Central Florida office is in Orlando, and the North Florida office is located in Panama City.

The vast majority of CAIR Florida's work deals with civil rights and anti-discrimination. CAIR Florida has consistently won praise from elected officials and the media for its tenacious efforts to combat both discrimination against Muslims and Islamophobia. 

CAIR Florida's vision is to be a leading advocate for justice and mutual understanding. CAIR Florida's mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.