ABOUT SFBA

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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.

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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.

San Francisco Bay Area (CAIR-SFBA) Staff

Portrait of Zahra Billoo
Zahra Billoo   |  Programs & Outreach Director

Promoting justice and understanding in the world is what Zahra Billoo strives to achieve in her role as the CAIR San Francisco Bay Area chapter's Programs and Outreach Director. But, her commitment to social justice and the community began long before while she was still a college student. She has been a devoted labor rights advocate for years; she started as an intern for a local chapter of the California Faculty Association, a labor union for California State University (CSU) faculty members. Zahra has also worked as Field Organizer for the Service Employees International Union, and was awarded Peggy Browning Fund Fellowship to work with the National Employment Law Project. Zahra is also an active young leader in the community, who places value in the importance of civic engagement, quality education and youth empowerment. While in college, Zahra excelled as a student leader by serving as an Executive Officer for the California State Student Association and Muslim Student Association (MSA) West. She also worked for the freshman orientation program at CSU Long Beach and as a Government Relations intern at the CAIR Los Angeles chapter. Today, she gives back to the youth community as an adviser to MSA West and an executive officer with the Muslim American Society Youth National. Zahra graduated Cum Luade from California State University, Long Beach with a B.S. in Human Resources Management and B.A. in Political Science. She also recently completed her law degree at the University of California, Hastings College of Law.

Portrait of Sana Rydhan
Sana Rydhan  |  Events & Office Manager

Sana Rydhan is the Events & Office Manager for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, San Francisco Bay Area chapter. She was bornand raised in San Jose, California and received her B.S in Business Administration with a concentration in Management from San Jose State University in 2006. Sana also teaches first grade at South Bay Islamic Association Sunday School. She enjoys planning events and cooking.

Portrait of Sameena Usman
Sameena Usman  |  Government Relations Consultant

Sameena graduated Magna Cum Laude from San Jose State University with a BA in Political Science and minors in Middle Eastern Studies and Communications. After graduating, Sameena started working as a Field Representative for Assemblywoman Sally Lieber's office. She left her Sales Administration position with Pivotal Corp to work for CAIR-SFBA as a Public Relations Coordinator. She currently serves as a Government Relations Consultant for CAIR-SFBA. Sameena is a mother of two children.

CAIR-SFBA Law Clerks & Internsback to top

Portrait of Asha Abdi
Asha Abdi  |  Intern

Asha Abdi is a senior who is finishing her BA in Sociology with a minor in International Relations. She first joined CAIR- SF Bay Area back in fall 2008 as a Civil Rights and Government relations intern and this summer has been asked to intern for the Government relations department and to focus on civic engagement for the statewide election in November. She strongly supports and encourages Muslims to be activist in both internal dawah to the Muslim community and civic engagement so we can become well rounded Muslims. Her hobbies are spending time with friends and family, reading, volunteering for the masjid and learning about her religion.

Portrait of Wafa Hazem
Wafa Hazem  |  Intern

Portrait of Sameen Karim
Sameen Karim  |  Intern

Sameen Karim is a Media Relations and Civil Rights intern for CAIR-SFBA. Currently a senior at St. Francis High School, he aspires to study law and gain a deeper understanding of politics and government. At CAIR-SFBA, he manages the virtual sphere, designing graphics and updating the website, facebook, and twitter. He also works with the civil rights department to help document and analyze cases.

Portrait of Hana Khan
Hana Khan  |  Intern

Hana Khan is a summer Civil Rights Intern at CAIR-San Francisco Bay Area. She is currently a second year at UCLA studying Geography/Environmental Studies. She decided to intern for CAIR because she wants to help Muslims in her community that are facing discrimination for their race or religion attain the rights they deserve. She also hopes her experience at CAIR will equip her with the skills and tools necessary for her to promote a positive image of Islam that the mainstream media fails to emphasize. In her spare time, Hana likes to read, blog and spend time with her family.

Portrait of Laila Khan
Laila Khan  |  Intern

Portrait of Jalal Mustafa
Jalal Mustafa  |  Intern

Portrait of Iman Rai
Iman Rai  |  Intern

Iman Rai is a civil rights intern at CAIR-SFBA. She is currently a third year at De Anza College, majoring in English. She she plans to transfer to UCLA or UC Berkeley and eventually attend law school. After becoming very involved in community service events in the Bay Area, Iman's interests in civil rights piqued, specifically for Muslims in America. At CAIR-SFBA, she documents and helps investigate civil rights incidents.

CAIR-SFBA Executive Committeeback to top

Portrait of Safaa Ibrahim
Safaa Ibrahim  |  President

Safaa Ibrahim was born in Cairo, Egypt and immigrated with her family to Maryland at the young age of 6 years. Safaa 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, Safaa had shifted her career path by dedicating herself to non-profit 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. Safaa was appointed Executive Director of CAIR-SFBA in July 2005 and currently serves on the executive committee for the chapter. As part of her activism, Safaa has conducted numerous media interviews and press conferences, met with federal, state, and local public officials, and spoken at various universities and community forums across the bay area on topics that enhance understanding of Islam and issues relating to American-Muslim civil rights in a post 9/11 America. Safaa currently lives in Scotts Valley, CA with her husband Hisham and her son Zidan. Safaa’s efforts are inspired by the belief that “rights and freedoms can be preserved through unity and community empowerment”.

Portrait of Athar Siddiqee
Athar Siddiqee  |  Vice-President

Athar remembers when the Muslim community in the Bay Area was quite small, having moved here in 1967, along with his family. He has been involved in numerous organizations for several years, and in addition to his role with CAIR, is currently the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of SBIA (South Bay Islamic Association), on the Steering Committee of the Bay Area Chapter of HDF (Human Development Foundation), a teacher at SBIA's Sunday Islamic School, and in charge of Jummah Prayer arrangements at Napredak Hall in Milpitas. Professionally, Athar is the Vice President of Strategic Client Services for Salary.com and has worked in the field of Compensation for 15 years. He holds a B.S. in Mathematics/Economics from UCLA and an MBA in Marketing from Santa Clara University.

Portrait of Donna  Shaikh
Donna Shaikh  |  Secretary

Donna is a native of the Bay Area, born in San Jose, California. She has a great interest in Civil Rights and in helping those less fortunate than herself. She joined the CAIR Executive Committee in February 2009. Donna graduated from California State University East Bay with a B.A. in Liberal Studies, and earned a Teaching Credential at San Jose State University. Donna taught and was Principal at the Peace Terrace Academy in Fremond, for several years. As such she was involved in curriculum development, event planning and meeting management. She taught pre-K and developed curriculum for pre-schoolers at the Islamic Sunday School in Colorado Springs. Donna is currently the volunteer coordinator for the North American Islamic Shelter for the Abused (NISA). She previously served on the committee of Christians and Muslims in Partnership for Peace.

Portrait of Shafath Syed
Shafath Syed  |  Executive Committee Member

Shafath Syed has been on the CAIR-SFBA Executive Committee since 2001. He is active in the Bay Area Muslim community where he serves as President of the South Bay Islamic Association (SBIA). Shafath works in marketing at Adobe Systems in San Jose. Prior to Adobe, Shafath held marketing positions at Apple Computer, Microsoft and other Bay Area high-tech companies. He lives in Sunnyvale with his wife, Fareena, and daughter, Iman. In his spare time Shafath enjoys taking photos and videos at community events. His drive comes from the belief that “Muslims in America have a unique opportunity to educate people of other faiths about Islam and improve the lives of Muslims worldwide.”

Portrait of Malika Khan
Malika Khan  |  Executive Committee Member

Malika came to the U.S. from India in 1969, and moved to the Bay Area in 1980. She holds a B.S. in Chemistry and an M.S. in Biology. Malika worked as a Licensed Clinical Lab Scientist for 25 years. She is currently involved in various community building efforts with Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the Muslim Community Association (MCA). In her capacity as an activist at MCA, Malika previously served on the MCA Board as the Women’s Representative for three terms. Malika is the widow of Dr. Mahboob Khan, and mother of give children, Suhail, Salman, Sumiya, Sajid and Sana.

Portrait of Omar Ahmad
Omar Ahmad  |  Executive Committee Member

Portrait silhouette of Ahmed Shah
Ahmed Shah  |  Executive Committee Member

Portrait silhouette of Isa Shaw
Isa Shaw  |  Executive Committee Member

CAIR-California Boardback to top

Portrait of Masoud Nassimi
Masoud Nassimi  |  Chairman of the Board

Portrait of Dr. Najme Minhaj
Dr. Najme Minhaj  |  Treasurer

Portrait of Hussam Ayloush
Hussam Ayloush  |  Secretary

Portrait silhouette of Omar  Ahmed
Omar Ahmed  |  Member

Portrait of Safaa  Ibrahim
Safaa Ibrahim  |  Member

Portrait silhouette of Fouad Khatib
Fouad Khatib  |  Member

Portrait of Dr. Waheeda Samaday
Dr. Waheeda Samaday  |  Member

Portrait of Fawad Yacoob
Fawad Yacoob  |  Member

Portrait silhouette of Rashid Ahmad
Rashid Ahmad  |  Advisor

Proven Results. Our Annual Reportback to top

2007/2008 Annual Report
2007/2008 Annual Report

Download Arrow  Download the 2007/2008 Annual Report in .PDF format

2008 was eventful for CAIR and the Muslim Community in California. This brief report is intended to provide a glimpse into the work and accomplishments of CAIR California during the past year in four major areas of our operation: Media and Communication, Civil Rights, Community Development, and Government Relations.

PAST ANNUAL REPORTS: 2006/2007