ABOUT LA

OUR VISION

To be a leading advocate for Justice & Mutual Understanding.

OUR MISSION

To enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

SUGGESTED LINKS

CAIR at a glance

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3), grassroots civil rights and advocacy group. CAIR is America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, with regional offices nationwide and in Canada. The national headquarters is located on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.

The Greater Los Angeles Area chapter is one of the oldest and largest CAIR chapters across the country. Back in 1996, a group of dedicated volunteers in Southern California saw a need for a unique kind of Muslim organization – an organization that would work to uphold civil rights of American Muslims, foster a better understanding of the Islamic faith and its followers, and help find avenues for Muslims to integrate more fully into the broader society.

Years later, the chapter has grown tremendously, deepening its base in the Southern California Muslim community. CAIR-Los Angeles has, moreover, become a household name among Southland Muslims, and a reliable resource and partner for media, public officials and policymakers, advocacy groups, and the interfaith and progressive communities.

Greater Los Angeles Area (CAIR-LA) Staffback to top

Hussam Ayloush | Executive Director

Hussam Ayloush is the Executive Director and has been since 1998. He frequently lectures on Islam, media relations, civil rights, hate crimes and international affairs pertaining to American Muslims. He has consistently appeared in local, national, and international media advocating and articulating the mainstream Muslim position on various issues.

Ameena Mirza Qazi | Deputy Executive Director, Esq.

Ameena Mirza Qazi is the Deputy Executive Director and Staff Attorney at the CAIR-LA office. She handles legal cases and provides legal advice to community members on civil rights issues.

Fatima Dadabhoy | Civil Rights Attorney

Fatima Dadabhoy obtained her BA in History with an emphasis on Middle Eastern History from California State University, Long Beach. She received her J.D. degree from Santa Clara University School of Law. After graduating, Ms. Dadabhoy served as a law clerk for the Civil Rights Department at CAIR-LA, handling incident reports and immigration cases related to naturalization delays. Prior to joining CAIR-LA as the Civil Rights Attorney, she worked in private practice for a small civil litigation firm in Chino Hills. She primarily handled cases in the area of Employment Law. Ms. Dadabhoy later left the firm to open up her own practice. However, her main interest remained civil rights work and she eagerly joined the CAIR-LA staff in August to pursue such work on behalf of the American-Muslim community. Ms. Dadabhoy is currently handling cases in the areas of employment discrimination, school bullying and mosque construction, such as assisting Al-Nur Islamic Center with its conditional use permit application.

Munira Syeda | Communications Manager

Munira Syeda is the Communications Manager. Her responsibilities are mainly to coordinate daily communications, monitor the media, write press releases, respond to media requests, and edit publications.

Adel Syed | Government Relations Coord.

Adel Syed is the Government Relations Coordinator. He advocates on behalf of the American Muslim community on issues in both the local to federal level and mobilizes the community on civic engagement.

Sherrel Johnson | Community Relations Manager

Sherrel Johnson works on outreach and building bridges outside our community. She also educates and empowers the American Muslim community through social activism, participation, & interaction.

Atif Butt | Programs Coordinator

Atif Butt joined the CAIR-LA team as Programs Coordinator to help serve his community full-time, often working with youth (such as through the Muslim Youth Leadership Program and Bridging Communities) to provide them with opportunities to engage their community and the broader public. Mr. Butt oversees fundraising banquet operations, as well as the internship, the law clerkship and volunteer programs.

Cecilia Peralta | Membership/Administrative Coordinator

Cecilia Peralta joins CAIR-Greater Los Angeles Area (CAIR-LA) as the Membership & Administrative Coordinator, where she is excited to manage the membership and office management departments. Ms. Peralta handles the accounting, human resources and membership duties which also include coordinating fundraising campaigns and maintaining membership relations. She is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine where she received her BA in International Studies as well as a BA in Sociology. Ms. Peralta enjoys being active in the community and currently serves as a member of the Public Relations Committee for the Islamic Institute of Orange County (IIOC). During her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and playing soccer.

Hytham Aly | Case Manager

As the new case manager for CAIR-LA, Hytham Aly he hopes to manage intake flow efficiently, develop a concrete system so that more people get the help they need and expect from CAIR, and to help CAIR become a voice for civil rights and for Muslims in America. He served as the administrative assistant to the dean at UC Davis’s King Hall school of Law where he found his passion for management, client relationships, and civil rights and business law.

Arefa Simjee | Membership Specialist

Arefa Simjee is CAIR-LA’s Member Specialist. Her responsibilities include data entry, reviewing and updating donations, assist with finance maintenance to ensure accountability and assist with any other with membership duties. She graduated from University of Central Florida where she received her BS in Cardiopulmonary Sciences and is a registered Respiratory Therapist.

Nour Kweider | Membership Specialist

Nour Kwieder is CAIR-LA’s Membership specialist. Her responsibilities include maintenance and growth of the monthly donor data base, as well as general support with membership and administrative duties. Nour also handles developmental outreach through sponsorship and advertising to create strong partnerships and alliances. Nour is currently pursuing her MA in linguistics at California State University, Long Beach.

Adeeb Ahmad | Field Organizer

Adeeb Ahmad is CAIR-LA's Field Organizer. His responsibilities include enhancing the organization's presence and engagement with local mosques, community groups and allies.

Asim Khan | Multimedia Specialist

Asim Khan is CAIR-LA's multimedia specialist. His responsibilities include graphics and website design, social media engagement, and editing videos.

CAIR-LA Law Clerks & Internsback to top

Masih Fouladi | Intern

Masih Fouladi is a civil rights intern, and as such, does case intake and helps with research on cases.

Amena Mian | Intern

Amena Mian is a government relations intern. She assists with policy work, creating fact sheets around pieces of legislation and research.

CAIR-LA Executive Committeeback to top

Asem Abusir | President

Asem Abusir is an Independent IT consultant and a member of technology-savvy executive leadership team. He was CEO/Founder of Texum Technology until it was recently acquired by another company. He started his career in 1987 with Quotron Systems (Citibank Subsidiary), managing a network that provided ticker line to brokers nationwide before the Internet. He has a Bachelors of Science in Technical Management with Electrical Engineering education from California State University, Long Beach. He was on the JSF Unix Network team with Northrop Grumman when the company was awarded the project. Asem held many positions with HP and IBM, providing Network services and security. Asem is currently pursuing an MBA degree in Project Management. He is married with five children, living in Southern California for about 30 years.

Baraa Kahf, Esq | Vice President

Baraa Kahf is an attorney practicing intellectual property law. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Davis School of Law and a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from UC Irvine. He is co-founder of the Muslim Sports and Entertainment Foundation, an organization dedicated to encouraging amateur sports among Muslims of all ages.

Dr. Shamel Abd-Allah | Executive Committee Member

Hafez M. Hafez | Executive Committee Member

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Omar Jubran | Executive Committee Member

Omar Jubran is a business owner and has been involved with CAIR-LA for more than seven years. He is also a speaker and gives sermons at various mosques in the San Fernando Valley Muslim community.

Yasir Mahar | Treasurer

Yasir Mahar is an Assistant Fund Controller for a financial services firm. Being in the field for almost ten years, his areas of expertise include accounting, finance, and business process improvement. He loves playing basketball and reading.

Amana Siddiqi | Secretary

Amana Khalid Siddiqi has a Masters in environmental science policy and design and is currently an event coordinator for nonprofits, corporates, and weddings. She is also involved with a local Islamic school, Orange Crescent School, to improve its early childhood program.

Deeba Sultani | Executive Committee Member

Deeba Sultani works in medical research at the University of California, Irvine on Alzheimer's research. She currently serves on the board of the Afghan American Muslim Outreach organization, as well as on the board of CAIR-LA.

Fawad Yacoob | Executive Committee Member

Fawad M.S. Yacoob is an educator by profession and teaches middle school history in Orange County, California. As a multicultural speaker, Mr. Yacoob has addressed a wide variety of audiences at universities and colleagues, churches and synagogues as well as high schools and middle schools. As a freelance writer and photographer, his articles and pictures have appeared in national, regional and local American-Muslim, Arab-American and ethnic newspapers.

CAIR-California Boardback to top

Masoud Nassimi | Chair

Masoud Nassimi attended Purdue University where he received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Civil Engineering. He has been working for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) since July 1988. Mr. Nassimi also has been a part-time Algebra instructor at Los Angeles Valley College since 1991. He is the author of a college textbook and co-author of "How to perform Hajj (Step by Step)" with Dr. Ahmed Sakr. Mr. Nassimi is the Chairman of the Board of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)-California overseeing four of its chapters - Bay Area, Sacramento, Greater Los Angeles Area and San Diego. He is also the founder of Afghan American Muslim Outreach (AAMO). He is married with three children.

Portrait silhouette of Wazhma Mojaddidi, Esq.

Wazhma Mojaddidi, Esq. | Vice President

Safaa Ibrahim | Treasurer

Safaa Ibrahim holds a Bachelor of Science in International Business from Strayer University. Her professional experience includes internet and software project management, operations, marketing, and she has contributed to the establishment of two small business start-ups. In the past five years, Ms. Ibrahim has shifted her career path by dedicating herself to nonprofit endeavors by volunteering full-time to the San Francisco Bay Area community. She has been active with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, San Francisco Bay Area Chapter (CAIR-SFBA), the Muslim Community Association (MCA), and GiveLight Foundation. Ms. Ibrahim was appointed Executive Director of CAIR-SFBA in July 2005 and currently serves on the executive committee for the chapter.

Fawad Yacoob | Secretary

Hussam Ayloush | Member

Dr. Waheeda Samady | Member

Dr. Waheeda Samady graduated from the University of California-San Diego Medical School, and is now a member of the UCSD Department of Pediatrics, where she recently completed her internship. Dr. Samady has won the San Diego County Medical Society Excellence in Service Award, UCSD School of Medicine; the UCSD Joseph Stokes, III Independent Study Project Award; and the Gold Humanism Honor Society award, UCSD.

Portrait silhouette of Dr. Hamza El Nakhal

Dr. Hamza El Nakhal | Member

Dr. Hamza El-Nakhal is a retired professor. He was born in Cairo, Egypt. His B.S. (1964) and M.S. (1965) degrees were in Food Science and Technology from University Of Ein Shams In Cairo. His Ph. D. degree is in Microbiology from UCD 1976. He worked in the US, Saudi Arabia and Egypt at different times. He is married with two daughters, one son and one grand son. As a student in Davis, Hamza served as president of International club, Orientation club. He, also, was a member of the international student advisory committee to the Late Chancellor James Mayer and member of Club Finance Council of ASUCD. As a university professor, beside teaching and research, he served as head of Dept. and chaired many committees including Budget, Laboratories, Scientific research, curriculum, admission and registration and many others. Hamza has many published one book in Microbiology, many scientific papers and educational papers. After retirement, Hamza served in many non-profit organizations including Human, Civil Rights, Charity, Interfaith and Community service. Currently Serving as: member of Community Advisory Board to Davis Police Dept., member of the Board of Directors of International House and member of the Board of Directors of Davis Community Meals.

Sameena Usman | Member

Noha Salem | Member

Portrait silhouette of Dr. Ashraf Ibrahim

Dr. Ashraf Ibrahim | Member

Dr. Ibrahim is a Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and is based in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. He received his B. Sc. from Kuwait University, Kuwait with honors. He then attended Post graduate school at Loughborough University of Technology, UK where he obtained a Ph.D. degree in Microbial Physiology. Dr. Ibrahim completed his Post doctoral training in Infectious Diseases at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Ibrahim’s research focuses on studying mechanisms of fungal and bacterial infections to translate this knowledge into novel therapeutic interventions. Dr. Ibrahim has pioneered the use of iron chelation therapy for treating the lethal infection, mucormycosis. Dr. Ibrahim has also been a leading figure, among others, in developing a vaccine that targets the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus and the fungus Candida, which are the second and third most common causes of bloodstream infections. He co-founded NovaDigm Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company, to translate the vaccine from the bench to the bedside. Dr. Ibrahim also co-founded Spectral Platforms, a biotechnology company focusing on developing rapid diagnostic techniques and determining of fast drug susceptibility tests for nosocomial and community acquired infections. Dr. Ibrahim is an NIH funded investigators who coauthored more than 100 peer-reviewed research papers, book chapters and review articles and serves as an Ad Hoc reviewer of numerous peer-reviewed Journals as well as a temporary reviewer of the NIH study sections.

Asem Abusir | Member

Asem Abusir is an Independent IT consultant and a member of technology savvy executive leadership team. Asem was CEO/Founder of Texum Technology until recently acquired by another company. He Started his career 1987 with Quotron Systems (Citibank Subsidiary) managing a network that provides ticker line to brokers nationwide before the Internet. Asem has Bachelors of Science in Technical Management with Electrical Engineering education from California State University, Long Beach. Recently earned the MBA degree in Project Management. He was on the JSF Unix Network team with Northrop Grumman when they were awarded the project. He held many positions with HP and IBM providing Network services and security. Asem is married with five children living in Southern California for the last thirty years.

Ziad Asghar | Member

Ziad Asghar serves on the Executive Committee of CAIR-SD. He is also on the board of Iqraa Academy of San Diego, a non-profit academic institution focused on Arabic and Quranic learning. Ziad works on wireless product & technology strategy in the semiconductor industry. He holds a Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from Purdue University and a Masters of Business Administration degree from University of California, San Diego.

Rashid Ahmad | Advisor

Rashid Ahmad is an alumnus of UC Davis, a civil-geotechnical engineer, and Chief of Facilities Enlargement at the California Department of Water Resources. He also serves on Sacramento County District Attorney's Multi Cultural Council and Shifa Community Clinic Community Board.

Proven Results. Our Annual Reportback to top

2010/2011 Annual Report

Download the 2010/2011 Annual Report in .PDF format

Our annual report is an opportunity to share our grassroots advocacy work with the broader community. As with prior years, this year was full of exciting and proud moments for CAIR and the California Muslim community.

PAST ANNUAL REPORTS: 2009/2010 | 2007/2008 | 2006/2007