As the month of Ramadan progresses fast (no pun intended), at least a dozen or two organizations and individuals must have reached out to you to ask for donations. You have seen people fund-raising at Juma and Taraweeh at the Masjid for their organizations; you have been invited to special fund-raising Iftars; you have received countless emails urging you to donate; your social media feed is full of requests to donate; and finally your friends and family have approached you personally to fund noble causes. The causes are too many to list ranging from masjid and school construction/expansion to helping local people in need of making rent, or buying food, to assisting Muslims globally afflicted by natural disasters, war, internal conflict and poverty. As we enjoy peace and security within our lives and pursue opportunities to work hard and provide for our families, we feel compelled to help those less fortunate around us locally or globally.
So what makes the CAIR-SD office deserving in a crowd of other so many compelling causes? While you should certainly donate to your masjid, school, local and global charitable organizations, the reason to support and invest in CAIR-SD is simple: CAIR protects your freedom to live here in the US and ensures that your right to pursue social and economic opportunities, while continuing to stay true to your Islamic values, is not undermined. These are the rights that allow you to live in relative peace and security and to earn a living that allows you to contribute to all the causes that reach out to you. Your investment in CAIR-SD allows us to protect your rights and assets.
- Over 200 community members contact our office on a range of legal issues. We now have a full-time attorney to provide free legal assistance to the community
- Successfully assisted a community member in a legal claim who was denied religious accommodation at his workplace.
- Appeared in over 100 media interviews in print, radio and TV to represent the local Muslim community.
- Hosted our youth in the annual Muslim Youth Leadership Program in Sacramento to help them learn leadership skills and gain an in-depth understanding of our democratic and legislative process
- Distributed more than 14,000 California Voter Guides as part of the mid-term elections campaign to bring out the Muslim Vote
- Hosted several Voter Education Forums to connect the community to local candidates and educate them on the ballot propositions.
- Led a delegation of 50 San Diego Muslims to the annual Muslim Day at the Capitol in Sacramento and met with our elected officials to advocate on bills related to surveillance, college affordability and equal pay for women in the workplace.
- Assisted local Muslims held at the San Diego Airport and border crossing due to No-Fly-List or other reasons in successfully resolving their cases
- Educated San Diego USD and local businesses and corporations on Muslim practices and sensitivities to ensure our community continues to practice Islam while studying and working without any retaliation in a safe environment.
Alhamdulillah, our local office was able to accomplish much in the past several months. With the funds we receive, we are able to continue the programs that serve the community. Our grass-roots structure allows us to amplify our impact by mobilizing the community for action on local, state and national level. 90% of your donations are used for local programs and initiatives. We also contribute staff’s expertise and skills on national level projects to provide a comprehensive narrative on Islam that is consistent with the values of our faith as practiced by the Muslim American community. Our success has put us on the radar of those rooted in bigotry and hate towards Muslims as we encounter attacks to CAIR’s reputation and image. In some extreme cases as we experience locally here in San Diego, we even receive threats to our office and staff. Such negativity reinforces our faith in CAIR’s ability to get stronger and counter a small, amplified, hateful message with the truth. For that, we humbly ask for your support.
