(ANAHEIM, CA – 08/28/2014) The four offices of the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA) today published the CAIR-California 2014 Civil Rights Report.
The report is a summary and analysis of all the civil rights complaints received in 2013 by CAIR-California’s offices in the Greater Los Angeles Area, the Sacramento Valley, San Diego, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Nine hundred and thirty-three incidents were reported to CAIR-California over the course of 2013 and included, among other issues, complaints involving: employment discrimination, federal law enforcement questioning, excessive and intrusive travel delays, hate crimes, and school bullying.
“This report will help all Californians to better understand the work of CAIR-CA’s civil rights staff,” said Brice Hamack, CAIR’s Northern California Civil Rights Coordinator. “We hope it will educate community members and assist them in recognizing discrimination if they or somebody they know is targeted. We also hope it will assist community leaders and public servants across the state to adequately respond to the pressing needs of their American Muslim constituents.”
The report’s key highlights include:
- The single largest complaint type received by CAIR-CA in 2013 was employment discrimination at 15.1% or 141 total complaints
- CAIR-CA received 72 reports about FBI visits for “voluntary” questioning
- Seventeen reports of school-teacher issues were received by CAIR-CA offices, outnumbering the amount of school bullying complaints received
- The multi-year lawsuit against Abercrombie & Fitch for religious discrimination was resolved, resulting in a settlement that required, among other things, the company to accommodate religious headwear
- Immigration related concerns continue to rise for the American Muslim community, in part because of the ongoing conflict in Syria
CAIR-California encourages all Californians to gain a better understanding of their civil rights, and to engage their community leaders and public servants in dialogue on how they can better serve them.