16
7/23/2019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1/16 2015 CIVIL RIGHTS Report

2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

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Page 1: 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 116

2015CIVILRIGHTSReport

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 216

3000 Unied Founders Blvd Se 226 OKC OK 731124052866009 | inookcaircom | cairoklahomacom

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 316

TABLE OF CONTENTS983098

LETTER FROM CIVIL RIGHTS DIRECTOR

LETTER FROM CAIR983085OK BOARD

ABOUT THE CIVIL RIGHTS DEPARTMENT

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

SCHOOL AND HIGHER EDUCATION

HATE INCIDENTS

REFERRAL SERVICES

MEDIATIONS amp LEADERSHIP

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS SEMINARS

OUTREACH EFFORTS

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

983089

983090

983091

983093

983094

983095

983096983097

983089983088

983089983089

983089983090

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

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LETTER FROM CIVIL RIGHTSDIRECTOR

Assalamu Alaikum o my CAIR Oklahoma riends and amily

A he firs anniversary o my ime as your Saff Atorney andhen Civil Righs Direcor I am reflecing on a year filled wihgrowh and learning I wan o hank you rom he botom o

my hear or he opporuniy you have given me o become anadvocae or your communiy and a riend o so many o youThis yearrsquos firs ever Civil Righs Repor is o benefi you hecommuniy and give you and up-close look a wha we do in heCivil Righs Deparmen Irsquos also my way o hanking you oryour suppor and conribuions ha make our work possible

In he pas year I have grown as a young lawyer hroughneworking wih oher civil righs leaders and acivissreaffirming my proessional commimen o equaliy and social jusice Close parnerships wih a variey o oher legal serviceproviders have given me posiive examples and a place o gowih my quesions and concerns Through he many CAIR-OK evens and programs ha we have held I have been ableo discuss how my services can bes reach he communiysrenghening he growh o civil righs advocacy in our sae

I have also grown personally expanding my knowledge o he

Oklahoma Muslim communiy and o Islam as a world religionAs an ally o he Muslim communiy I have been learning heways I can bes suppor my Muslim brohers and sisers boh inand ou o he office I has been a wonderul journey and I amso orunae o have hese experiences as par o my workingculure

Building a career in he civil righs world has ruly been anhonor and a privilege and serving CAIR Oklahoma as yourCivil Righs Direcor is a pleasure I look orward o every dayThank you so much or his opporuniy o serve you and yourcommuniy and enjoy our firs Civil Righs Repor

Sincerely

Veronica Laizure

983089

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

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LETTER FROM CAIR983085OK BOARD

983090

Assalamu Alaikum

On behal o he board o direcors and saff o CAIR Oklahomawe wan o express our sincere graiude or your suppor overhe las 9 years ha has allowed us o proec he civil liberieso Oklahoma Muslims This work would no be possible wihouhe generous suppor o he Oklahoma Muslim communiy and

or ha we are appreciaive

I was in 2006 ha members rom he local communiy beganmeeing in Islamic Ceners around he sae and in heir homeso make he dream o having a CAIR chaper in Oklahoma a

realiy A ha ime i was hard o imagine ha one day we wouldhave saff ha could ake on he bulk o he work le alone anatorney solely dedicaed o proecing Oklahoma Muslimsrsquo civil

righs

Afer several brainsorming and planning sessions ha began in2013 he board o direcors and CAIR-OK Execuive DirecorAdam Solani were finally able o announce a job opening orour firs ever ull-ime saff atorney and civil righs direcorSince joining us in November 2014 Veronica Laizure has shownher commimen o upholding civil liberies enhancing he

undersanding o Islam challenging Islamophobia and promoingdialogue

The release o our firs Civil Righs Repor serves an example owha our communiy can achieve when we come ogeher wih aocused vision hard work and suppor o communiy membersThe accomplishmens o CAIR-OK do no belong solely o heorganizaion bu raher are a reflecion o he Oklahoma Muslimcommuniy as a whole

SincerelyCAIR-OK Board o Direcors

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 616

COMMON ISSUES HANDLED BY OUR DEPARTMENT983098

DISCRIMINATION CASES

Employmen

Schools and Sudens

Harassmen Bullying amp Hae Incidens

Denial o Religious AccommodaionDenial o Service or Access

FBI Conac

Law Enorcemen

ABOUT THE CIVIL RIGHTS DEPARTMENT

The Civil Righs Deparmen consanly receives calls seeking legal aid or assisance Some cases

pose issues o discriminaion or harassmen agains Oklahoma Muslims Our firs sep is o ascerain

i here is evidence o discriminaion in he siuaion a hand Through inerviews discussions and

reviewing documens we deermine i he case is appropriae or he Civil Righs Deparmen o

handle From here we provide help and represenaion or dozens o people and amilies fighing

discriminaion or civil righs violaions

983091

Employment

9

Denial of Religious

Accommodation

32

Denial of Service or Access

9

Bullying

9

Harassment

27

FBI

4

StateLocal Law Enforcemen

5

FederalGovt Agency

5

Cases ha includeevidence odiscriminaion akea variey o ormsWe sor cases inohese caegories oshow paterns andcommon acors

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 716

983092

Where a case or issue is outside thescope of our work we refer our clientsto a network of other legal serviceproviders and monitor the case asit progresses providing support to

clients navigating the legal system

CASES REFERRED TO OTHER SERVICES983098

Family amp Cusody Dispues

Immigraion Law

Non-Discriminaory Employmen Law

Criminal Represenaion

Propery amp Landlord-Tenan Dispues

WE ALSO PROVIDE CONNECTIONS

TO A VARIETY OF OTHER SERVICES983098

Mediaion Sessions

Menal Healh

Sae and Federal Suppor Programs

Women and Childrenrsquos Suppor Services

EVIDENCE OF DISCRIMINATION

YES

42

NO

58

Alhough abouhal o our cases do

no show evidenceo discriminaionwe sill spendime making sureha each clienhas access o heservices hey need

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 816

983093

Harassmen is defin

as unwelcome condha is based on racolor religion s

(including pregnancnaional origin adisabiliy or geneinformaion

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

Some o he mos common siuaions ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen handlesare workplace and employmen issues Unorunaely Islamophobia and prejudice sillaffec American Muslims in he workplace Approximaely hal o he discriminaion-relaedcases ha we handle ocus on he need or religious accommodaions in he workplace

The mos requen complains in employmen cases are ha employers are ailingo provide reasonable accommodaions or daily prayer Friday prayer or uniormexempions We also hear complains ha applicans or jobs eel hey have beenpassed over or no hired because o heir religion

Tile VII o he Civil Righs Ac o 1964 prohibis employmen discriminaion basedon religion naional origin and race This includes reusing o accommodae anemployeersquos sincerely held religious belies or pracices unless he accommodaionwould impose an undue hardship on he employer A religious pracice may besincerely held by an individual even i newly adoped no consisenly observed ordifferen rom he commonly ollowed enes o he individualrsquos religion

Oher siuaions ha Muslims ace in he workplace are culures o harassmen bullying andhumiliaion ha akes place over a long period o ime creaing a hosile work environmen

EEOC MEDIATION WITH CAIR983085OK

Our clien was hired hrough a empagency o work a a manuacuring plan inTulsa OK Afer perorming his job wihou

problems when Ramadan approachedhe requesed a couple o small changeso his work environmen He asked o bemoved o a building wih beter cooling

and venilaion so ha he would avoidheasroke while asing However hissupervisor responded very negaively andulimaely he was fired

CAIR Oklahoma helped him repor hiso he Equal Employmen Opporuniies

Commission (EEOC) Afer i wasinvesigaed we accompanied him o a

mediaion session and guided him hroughhe process where he was awarded a

setlemen o make up or losing his job

FROM TULSA TO THE SUPREME COURT

When Samanha Elau applied o work a he popular clohing reailer Abercrombie Kids in Tulsa OK she excelled a her inerview bu wasnoffered he job She ound ou ha alhough she did well and wasoherwise suied o work here he regional manager recommendedagains hiring her because her hijab did no fi he sorersquos ldquolook policyrdquoShe repored o CAIR-OK who hen reerred her o he EEOC

Afer years o liigaion including supporing bries filed by CAIRSamanharsquos case wen all he way o he Supreme Cour whoconsidered he quesion o wheher an employer could reuse o hirepoenial employee because hey knew ha employee would require religious accommodaion The Supreme Cour ruled ha Abercrombihad violaed Tile VII by ailing o hire her because o her need or anexcepion o heir ldquolook policyrdquo and se in place proecions or job

applicans who need religious accommodaions a work

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

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DIVERSITY TRAINING

A young suden a a local elemenary school and hismoher a hijabi were harassed by a eacher while hey hadlunch ogeher They repored he harassmen o CAIR-OK who ollowed up by conacing he school and helping

he moher file a civil righs complain wih he disric

Alhough he disricrsquos invesigaion did no find anyspecific wrongdoing a he school he adminisraion

invied CAIR-OK o hos a raining session on he needsand righs o young Muslim sudens Through our DiversiyTraining we educaed eachers on he paricular needs o

Muslim sudens and heir amilies and helped aciliae

cross-culural undersanding opimizing he educaionalsuccess o oher young Muslims a ha school

SCHOOL AND HIGHER EDUCATION

Unorunaely we see cases where sudenssruggle wih he prejudice and ignorance oheir peers heir classmaes and even heireachers When we hear abou hese siuaionswe inervene and spread awareness andeducaion ensuring ha he learning environmenis proeced or our Muslim children We also

conduc workshops wih boh Muslim youh andnon-Muslim eachers and oher service providerso make sure ha everyone is proeced rom

religious discriminaion

COALITION BUILDING AT OU

In early 2015 a video emerged osome sudens rom he Universiy oOklahomarsquos Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE)chaper singing a disurbing chan The

chan which apparenly was par o heraerniyrsquos radiion included reerenceso lynching black men and repeaeduse o he n-word Afer he video wen

viral CAIR-OK and oher communiyorganizaions released saemenscondemning he language in he video andcalling or he universiy o respond

OU Presiden David Boren quicklysepped up o reierae he universiyrsquoscommimen o diversiy and olerance

on campus The raerniy was disbandedand he wo sudens responsible orleading he chan were expelled OU

also developed a diversiy and inclusionraining ha all incoming reshmen arenow required o ake

One o he mos imporan aspecs o he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen is supporing our young peoplehrough heir educaion Schooling wheher in privae or public aciliies is a vial par o a young personrsquoslie Our job is o make sure ha every suden has a sae producive and supporive learning environmenin which o ge he bes educaion possible

983094

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

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983096

HATE INCIDENTS

Alhough hey are rare hae incidens and vandalism occasionally ouch he lives o Oklahomarsquos Muslimcommuniy Islamophobic media along wih a lack o posiive porrayals o Muslims creaes a culure o earand disrus which can someimes resul in dangerous hurul conronaionsWhen hese hae-ueled incidens or acs o vandalism occur CAIR-OK works wih he impaced pary

local law enorcemen local media and our ineraih and communiy parners o address he roos oIslamophobia ensure ha hose responsible are brough o jusice and mainain he saey o our communiy

RAMADAN ATTACK

During Ramadan a local amily was havingheir pre-dawn meal a a resauran inEdmond While hey were eaing anoherresauran paron approached heir ableand began screaming racial invecivesand haeul slurs a hem hreaening hewomen and young children as well Theamily called he police bu he man andhis companion drove off

The amily repored he inciden oCAIR-OK and we conneced wih localpolice o ensure ha hey had ulfilledheir responsibiliies We also warned ourcommuniy abou he possibiliy o heseencouners by releasing Acion Alers andoher updaes using inpu rom local policeand oher law enorcemen sources

MUSLIM DAY AT THE CAPITOL

During our firs ever Oklahoma Muslim Day a he Capiol inFebruary 2015 we planned a day o lecures and panels wihdisinguished guess and local lawmakers culminaing in Fridayprayers hosed in he Capiolrsquos beauiul Rounda However we wereinormed ha a group o proesors were planning o hos a rallyouside he Capiol argeing our own paricipans as hey enered

he buildingDespie his negaive publiciy we worked wih Capiol securiy andvoluneers o ensure he saey o our paricipans Our ineraihparners arrived in droves ounumbering he proesors andshielded our guess rom he haeul invecives hrown a hemCapiol securiy responded quickly o our concerns and we were

joined by parners rom all over he sae Overall he day was aresounding success and we were proud o our achievemens ha

overshadowed he mean-spiried bu small group o proesors

ISLAMOPHOBIA IN PRESIDENTIAL RACE

As he 2016 presidenial elecion season approached variouscandidaes began espousing Islamophobic saemens or allowingheir supporers o make some very dangerous ani-Muslimremarks Concerned abou he growh o Islamophobic senimen

in he presidenial race he Civil Righs Deparmen along wihoher ineraih and communiy organizaions held a press releaseIn he conerence we called on all poliical candidaes o sopnormalizing ani-Muslim ear and hared and o ocus on he real

issues hey will ace as poenial Presidens o he Unied Saes

CAIR-OK Civil Righs Direcor TV inerview abou Islamophobia in Oklahom983095

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1116

983096

REFERRAL SERVICES

Someimes we find ha a case is ou ohe scope o our mission oo cosly oroo ime-consuming or us o reasonablyhandle In hese rare siuaions we are

careul o reer our cliens o oher firsrae service providers who can assis Wealso monior cases afer he clien has beenreerred and are always available o helpour cliens navigae heir relaionship wihlegal service providers Nearly hal o ourime is spen on non-discriminaion relaedcases where we keep our cliens connecedand inormed abou he services and legalprocesses ha affec hem

Through building srong parnerships wecan confidenly reer our cliens o a varieyo legal service providers in he areaso immigraion amily law criminal lawpropery law personal injury and more

TESTIMONIAL FROM YOUNES REBBAJ983098

NON DISCRIMINATION CALLS

Employment

41

Family

12

Immigration

9

Services

6

Property

3

Criminal

16

Other

13

lsquorsquoI am inernaional suden on an F-1

Visa swiching my immigraion sauso an H1-B Work VISA Even wih havingmy employerrsquos atorney working on myimmigraion case I conaced CAIRrsquos Civil

Righs Direcor Veronica Laizure a coupleimes o ge some pracical legal adviceRegardless of he complexiy of he mater

Veronica was exremely knowledgeableand available and was always ready oanswer any quesion I had during he

process No only ha Veronica lisened

carefully o my quesions and commensand responded quickly and clearly wihanalysis and advice aimed direcly a myown case Thank you so much CAIR for all

your help and atenion o resolving our problems Your work is very appreciaed

Keep i Uprsquorsquo

To serve our cliensha uilize ourreerral serviceswe have developeda nework oproviders ha wework wih in a varieyo differen areas

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

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983097

Occasionally cliens come o us wih inerpersonal conflics ha need o be resolved Raher han solving heissue in cour which can be ime-consuming cosly and have high sakes we offer ree mediaion services inselec cases where a neural hird pary can inervene beween wo people in conflic

During he mediaion which happens in a sae neural space boh people have he opporuniy o explainheir posiions and decide wha i anyhing would saisy hem This session has sric rules ha enorcerespec or each oher and he mediaor This allows people o be hones abou heir eelings and sae whamigh resolve he conflic knowing heir posiions will be ully heard We hen help hem compromise andsetle he issue finishing wih a signed and legally binding conrac This helps boh people o adhere o heiragreemen and usually boh people walk away eeling more saisfied han hey would i hey had aken he

issue o cour

MEDIATION SERVICES

LEADERSHIPThe Civil Righs Deparmen akes par in all our youh leadership programs like he Muslim Youh

Leadership Symposium and he Oklahoma Muslim Gamechangers We also le young people come o shadowour daily aciviies in and ou o he office and ge an idea o wha civil righs advocacy looks like on heground Hosing workshops and presenaions we help o educae a uure generaion o aciviss advocaesand communiy leaders who will be he new voice o he Oklahoma Muslim communiy

MIKAEL BRYANT983084 SUMMER 983090983088983089983093 LEGAL INTERN983098

ldquoMy summer a CAIR Oklahoma had a profound impac on hedevelopmen of my legal professional and personal life Myinernship was srucured in a way ha gave me he opporuniyo learn how o work independenly helping me develop skills o

make me more of a self-sarer while allowing me o have focusedguidance from Ms Laizure which helped me beter undersandwha i means o be a precise and ehical professional I was alsogiven he chance o exercise and develop my public speaking skills

having my firs opporuniy o hos a professional banque a heSummer Youh Symposium Finally my inernship had a profoundimpac on he developmen of my personal growh as a human

being giving me he chance o learn abou he perspecives ofdisenfranchised communiies from a unique and vas specrumCAIR Oklahoma does amazing work and is such a valuableresource for Muslims and he communiy a large and I will

remember and value my ime here for he res of my liferdquo

LEGAL INTERNSHIPS

Our new Legal Inernship program brings

op sudens rom local universiieso work developing cases in he Civil

Righs Deparmen From clien inakeonwards inerns are deeply involvedin all he seps o clien represenaionhrough resoluion They also have heopporuniy o work in our many areasouside o legal services governmenoureach legislaive racking communiy

presenaions and more Finally heyculminae heir inernship wih aresearch projec ha examines a opico heir ineres relevan o he Muslim

communiy Throughou he programhey develop vial skills ha will helphem in heir uure careers

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

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SOME OF THE TOPICS WE COVERED IN 983090983088983089983093 INCLUDE983098

Students Know Your Rights ndash Your schoolrsquos responsibiliy o you as a Muslim suden or paren o a Muslim suden

Girls and Womenrsquos Rights ndash Focused on he righs o girls and women o wearhijab bu also covered oher opics

Travel Rights ndash In ime or Hajj discussed common issues while raveling and he

various agencies or deparmens you migh encouner hroughou your journey

Law Enforcement ndash Wha o do i yoursquore sopped by police how o proec yourFourh and Fifh Amendmen righs wha o say o law enorcemen officers

If you need o bring a KYR seminar o your communiy simply email or call he CivilRighs Deparmen o se up a workshop

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS SEMINARS

One o he mos imporan services ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmenprovides is empowering he Oklahoma Muslim communiy o know heir own righs anddeend hem when aced wih discriminaion We conduc opic-specific Know YourRighs workshops ha each individuals wha hey can do or say in given siuaionscomplee wih examples and quesion and answer sessions

Civil Righs Direcor delivers ldquoKnow Your Righs Hijabi Ediionrdquo aTulsa Peace Academy

983089983088

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

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Civil Righs Direcor a Tulsarsquos John Hope Franklin Symposium onReconciliaion and he Media delivering presenaion ldquoThugs

Terroriss and Troubled Souls The Narraive of Race and Crimerdquo

OUTREACH EFFORTS

The CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen brings educaional presenaions o hose ouside

he Muslim communiy o Oklahoma in hopes o dispelling myhs abou Islam and reducing

he Islamophobia spread by misinormaion and ignorance

In he one year ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen has been esablished we have been inviedo over a dozen non-Muslim organizaions and evens o speak on he realiy o he Oklahoma Muslim

communiy

John Franklin Hope Symposium Tulsa OK ldquoTerroriss Thugs and Trouble Souls The Narraives

of Race and Crimerdquo Explored differences in media presenaion o perperaors o crimeIslamophobic depicions o erroriss and he consequences o skewed represenaion on helives o American Muslims

St Stephens Church Norman OK ldquo10 Things You Though You Knew Abou Islamrdquo Dispellingsereoypes and addressing common misconcepions abou Islam and Muslim

Rotary Club of Oklahoma City Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoIslamophobia and he Mediardquo Deailedexaminaion o how he media skews percepions o erroriss and errorism demonizesMuslims and conribues o he discriminaion aced by American Muslims

Sequoyah Elementary School Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoEliminaing Bias Undersanding Muslim Sudens and Familiesrdquo In response o repors o harassmen o Muslim amily presened

an inroducion o Islam and explored ways ha eachers could suppor and empower heirMuslim sudens and amilies

Comparative Religions Class Oklahoma Ciy Universiy OK ldquoHae Speech vs Freedom ofSpeechrdquo Examined differences in legal reamen o hae speech in American Consiuional

regime as compared o he European Cour o Human Righs and he UNDHR

We also work closely wih our parners a he Equal Employmen Opporuniies Commission he OklahomaCouny Bar Associaion he American Civil Liberies Union o Oklahoma he YWCA o Oklahoma Ciy andcounless oher local and sae-wide organizaions ha spread our messages o olerance and pluralism in he

civil righs world

CAIR-OK Saff visis he YWCAof Oklahoma Ciy

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1516

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1616

3000 Unied Founders Blvd Se 226 OKC OK 731124052866009 | inookcaircom | cairoklahomacom

Page 2: 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 216

3000 Unied Founders Blvd Se 226 OKC OK 731124052866009 | inookcaircom | cairoklahomacom

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

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TABLE OF CONTENTS983098

LETTER FROM CIVIL RIGHTS DIRECTOR

LETTER FROM CAIR983085OK BOARD

ABOUT THE CIVIL RIGHTS DEPARTMENT

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

SCHOOL AND HIGHER EDUCATION

HATE INCIDENTS

REFERRAL SERVICES

MEDIATIONS amp LEADERSHIP

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS SEMINARS

OUTREACH EFFORTS

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

983089

983090

983091

983093

983094

983095

983096983097

983089983088

983089983089

983089983090

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 416

LETTER FROM CIVIL RIGHTSDIRECTOR

Assalamu Alaikum o my CAIR Oklahoma riends and amily

A he firs anniversary o my ime as your Saff Atorney andhen Civil Righs Direcor I am reflecing on a year filled wihgrowh and learning I wan o hank you rom he botom o

my hear or he opporuniy you have given me o become anadvocae or your communiy and a riend o so many o youThis yearrsquos firs ever Civil Righs Repor is o benefi you hecommuniy and give you and up-close look a wha we do in heCivil Righs Deparmen Irsquos also my way o hanking you oryour suppor and conribuions ha make our work possible

In he pas year I have grown as a young lawyer hroughneworking wih oher civil righs leaders and acivissreaffirming my proessional commimen o equaliy and social jusice Close parnerships wih a variey o oher legal serviceproviders have given me posiive examples and a place o gowih my quesions and concerns Through he many CAIR-OK evens and programs ha we have held I have been ableo discuss how my services can bes reach he communiysrenghening he growh o civil righs advocacy in our sae

I have also grown personally expanding my knowledge o he

Oklahoma Muslim communiy and o Islam as a world religionAs an ally o he Muslim communiy I have been learning heways I can bes suppor my Muslim brohers and sisers boh inand ou o he office I has been a wonderul journey and I amso orunae o have hese experiences as par o my workingculure

Building a career in he civil righs world has ruly been anhonor and a privilege and serving CAIR Oklahoma as yourCivil Righs Direcor is a pleasure I look orward o every dayThank you so much or his opporuniy o serve you and yourcommuniy and enjoy our firs Civil Righs Repor

Sincerely

Veronica Laizure

983089

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 516

LETTER FROM CAIR983085OK BOARD

983090

Assalamu Alaikum

On behal o he board o direcors and saff o CAIR Oklahomawe wan o express our sincere graiude or your suppor overhe las 9 years ha has allowed us o proec he civil liberieso Oklahoma Muslims This work would no be possible wihouhe generous suppor o he Oklahoma Muslim communiy and

or ha we are appreciaive

I was in 2006 ha members rom he local communiy beganmeeing in Islamic Ceners around he sae and in heir homeso make he dream o having a CAIR chaper in Oklahoma a

realiy A ha ime i was hard o imagine ha one day we wouldhave saff ha could ake on he bulk o he work le alone anatorney solely dedicaed o proecing Oklahoma Muslimsrsquo civil

righs

Afer several brainsorming and planning sessions ha began in2013 he board o direcors and CAIR-OK Execuive DirecorAdam Solani were finally able o announce a job opening orour firs ever ull-ime saff atorney and civil righs direcorSince joining us in November 2014 Veronica Laizure has shownher commimen o upholding civil liberies enhancing he

undersanding o Islam challenging Islamophobia and promoingdialogue

The release o our firs Civil Righs Repor serves an example owha our communiy can achieve when we come ogeher wih aocused vision hard work and suppor o communiy membersThe accomplishmens o CAIR-OK do no belong solely o heorganizaion bu raher are a reflecion o he Oklahoma Muslimcommuniy as a whole

SincerelyCAIR-OK Board o Direcors

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 616

COMMON ISSUES HANDLED BY OUR DEPARTMENT983098

DISCRIMINATION CASES

Employmen

Schools and Sudens

Harassmen Bullying amp Hae Incidens

Denial o Religious AccommodaionDenial o Service or Access

FBI Conac

Law Enorcemen

ABOUT THE CIVIL RIGHTS DEPARTMENT

The Civil Righs Deparmen consanly receives calls seeking legal aid or assisance Some cases

pose issues o discriminaion or harassmen agains Oklahoma Muslims Our firs sep is o ascerain

i here is evidence o discriminaion in he siuaion a hand Through inerviews discussions and

reviewing documens we deermine i he case is appropriae or he Civil Righs Deparmen o

handle From here we provide help and represenaion or dozens o people and amilies fighing

discriminaion or civil righs violaions

983091

Employment

9

Denial of Religious

Accommodation

32

Denial of Service or Access

9

Bullying

9

Harassment

27

FBI

4

StateLocal Law Enforcemen

5

FederalGovt Agency

5

Cases ha includeevidence odiscriminaion akea variey o ormsWe sor cases inohese caegories oshow paterns andcommon acors

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 716

983092

Where a case or issue is outside thescope of our work we refer our clientsto a network of other legal serviceproviders and monitor the case asit progresses providing support to

clients navigating the legal system

CASES REFERRED TO OTHER SERVICES983098

Family amp Cusody Dispues

Immigraion Law

Non-Discriminaory Employmen Law

Criminal Represenaion

Propery amp Landlord-Tenan Dispues

WE ALSO PROVIDE CONNECTIONS

TO A VARIETY OF OTHER SERVICES983098

Mediaion Sessions

Menal Healh

Sae and Federal Suppor Programs

Women and Childrenrsquos Suppor Services

EVIDENCE OF DISCRIMINATION

YES

42

NO

58

Alhough abouhal o our cases do

no show evidenceo discriminaionwe sill spendime making sureha each clienhas access o heservices hey need

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 816

983093

Harassmen is defin

as unwelcome condha is based on racolor religion s

(including pregnancnaional origin adisabiliy or geneinformaion

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

Some o he mos common siuaions ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen handlesare workplace and employmen issues Unorunaely Islamophobia and prejudice sillaffec American Muslims in he workplace Approximaely hal o he discriminaion-relaedcases ha we handle ocus on he need or religious accommodaions in he workplace

The mos requen complains in employmen cases are ha employers are ailingo provide reasonable accommodaions or daily prayer Friday prayer or uniormexempions We also hear complains ha applicans or jobs eel hey have beenpassed over or no hired because o heir religion

Tile VII o he Civil Righs Ac o 1964 prohibis employmen discriminaion basedon religion naional origin and race This includes reusing o accommodae anemployeersquos sincerely held religious belies or pracices unless he accommodaionwould impose an undue hardship on he employer A religious pracice may besincerely held by an individual even i newly adoped no consisenly observed ordifferen rom he commonly ollowed enes o he individualrsquos religion

Oher siuaions ha Muslims ace in he workplace are culures o harassmen bullying andhumiliaion ha akes place over a long period o ime creaing a hosile work environmen

EEOC MEDIATION WITH CAIR983085OK

Our clien was hired hrough a empagency o work a a manuacuring plan inTulsa OK Afer perorming his job wihou

problems when Ramadan approachedhe requesed a couple o small changeso his work environmen He asked o bemoved o a building wih beter cooling

and venilaion so ha he would avoidheasroke while asing However hissupervisor responded very negaively andulimaely he was fired

CAIR Oklahoma helped him repor hiso he Equal Employmen Opporuniies

Commission (EEOC) Afer i wasinvesigaed we accompanied him o a

mediaion session and guided him hroughhe process where he was awarded a

setlemen o make up or losing his job

FROM TULSA TO THE SUPREME COURT

When Samanha Elau applied o work a he popular clohing reailer Abercrombie Kids in Tulsa OK she excelled a her inerview bu wasnoffered he job She ound ou ha alhough she did well and wasoherwise suied o work here he regional manager recommendedagains hiring her because her hijab did no fi he sorersquos ldquolook policyrdquoShe repored o CAIR-OK who hen reerred her o he EEOC

Afer years o liigaion including supporing bries filed by CAIRSamanharsquos case wen all he way o he Supreme Cour whoconsidered he quesion o wheher an employer could reuse o hirepoenial employee because hey knew ha employee would require religious accommodaion The Supreme Cour ruled ha Abercrombihad violaed Tile VII by ailing o hire her because o her need or anexcepion o heir ldquolook policyrdquo and se in place proecions or job

applicans who need religious accommodaions a work

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 916

DIVERSITY TRAINING

A young suden a a local elemenary school and hismoher a hijabi were harassed by a eacher while hey hadlunch ogeher They repored he harassmen o CAIR-OK who ollowed up by conacing he school and helping

he moher file a civil righs complain wih he disric

Alhough he disricrsquos invesigaion did no find anyspecific wrongdoing a he school he adminisraion

invied CAIR-OK o hos a raining session on he needsand righs o young Muslim sudens Through our DiversiyTraining we educaed eachers on he paricular needs o

Muslim sudens and heir amilies and helped aciliae

cross-culural undersanding opimizing he educaionalsuccess o oher young Muslims a ha school

SCHOOL AND HIGHER EDUCATION

Unorunaely we see cases where sudenssruggle wih he prejudice and ignorance oheir peers heir classmaes and even heireachers When we hear abou hese siuaionswe inervene and spread awareness andeducaion ensuring ha he learning environmenis proeced or our Muslim children We also

conduc workshops wih boh Muslim youh andnon-Muslim eachers and oher service providerso make sure ha everyone is proeced rom

religious discriminaion

COALITION BUILDING AT OU

In early 2015 a video emerged osome sudens rom he Universiy oOklahomarsquos Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE)chaper singing a disurbing chan The

chan which apparenly was par o heraerniyrsquos radiion included reerenceso lynching black men and repeaeduse o he n-word Afer he video wen

viral CAIR-OK and oher communiyorganizaions released saemenscondemning he language in he video andcalling or he universiy o respond

OU Presiden David Boren quicklysepped up o reierae he universiyrsquoscommimen o diversiy and olerance

on campus The raerniy was disbandedand he wo sudens responsible orleading he chan were expelled OU

also developed a diversiy and inclusionraining ha all incoming reshmen arenow required o ake

One o he mos imporan aspecs o he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen is supporing our young peoplehrough heir educaion Schooling wheher in privae or public aciliies is a vial par o a young personrsquoslie Our job is o make sure ha every suden has a sae producive and supporive learning environmenin which o ge he bes educaion possible

983094

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1016

983096

HATE INCIDENTS

Alhough hey are rare hae incidens and vandalism occasionally ouch he lives o Oklahomarsquos Muslimcommuniy Islamophobic media along wih a lack o posiive porrayals o Muslims creaes a culure o earand disrus which can someimes resul in dangerous hurul conronaionsWhen hese hae-ueled incidens or acs o vandalism occur CAIR-OK works wih he impaced pary

local law enorcemen local media and our ineraih and communiy parners o address he roos oIslamophobia ensure ha hose responsible are brough o jusice and mainain he saey o our communiy

RAMADAN ATTACK

During Ramadan a local amily was havingheir pre-dawn meal a a resauran inEdmond While hey were eaing anoherresauran paron approached heir ableand began screaming racial invecivesand haeul slurs a hem hreaening hewomen and young children as well Theamily called he police bu he man andhis companion drove off

The amily repored he inciden oCAIR-OK and we conneced wih localpolice o ensure ha hey had ulfilledheir responsibiliies We also warned ourcommuniy abou he possibiliy o heseencouners by releasing Acion Alers andoher updaes using inpu rom local policeand oher law enorcemen sources

MUSLIM DAY AT THE CAPITOL

During our firs ever Oklahoma Muslim Day a he Capiol inFebruary 2015 we planned a day o lecures and panels wihdisinguished guess and local lawmakers culminaing in Fridayprayers hosed in he Capiolrsquos beauiul Rounda However we wereinormed ha a group o proesors were planning o hos a rallyouside he Capiol argeing our own paricipans as hey enered

he buildingDespie his negaive publiciy we worked wih Capiol securiy andvoluneers o ensure he saey o our paricipans Our ineraihparners arrived in droves ounumbering he proesors andshielded our guess rom he haeul invecives hrown a hemCapiol securiy responded quickly o our concerns and we were

joined by parners rom all over he sae Overall he day was aresounding success and we were proud o our achievemens ha

overshadowed he mean-spiried bu small group o proesors

ISLAMOPHOBIA IN PRESIDENTIAL RACE

As he 2016 presidenial elecion season approached variouscandidaes began espousing Islamophobic saemens or allowingheir supporers o make some very dangerous ani-Muslimremarks Concerned abou he growh o Islamophobic senimen

in he presidenial race he Civil Righs Deparmen along wihoher ineraih and communiy organizaions held a press releaseIn he conerence we called on all poliical candidaes o sopnormalizing ani-Muslim ear and hared and o ocus on he real

issues hey will ace as poenial Presidens o he Unied Saes

CAIR-OK Civil Righs Direcor TV inerview abou Islamophobia in Oklahom983095

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1116

983096

REFERRAL SERVICES

Someimes we find ha a case is ou ohe scope o our mission oo cosly oroo ime-consuming or us o reasonablyhandle In hese rare siuaions we are

careul o reer our cliens o oher firsrae service providers who can assis Wealso monior cases afer he clien has beenreerred and are always available o helpour cliens navigae heir relaionship wihlegal service providers Nearly hal o ourime is spen on non-discriminaion relaedcases where we keep our cliens connecedand inormed abou he services and legalprocesses ha affec hem

Through building srong parnerships wecan confidenly reer our cliens o a varieyo legal service providers in he areaso immigraion amily law criminal lawpropery law personal injury and more

TESTIMONIAL FROM YOUNES REBBAJ983098

NON DISCRIMINATION CALLS

Employment

41

Family

12

Immigration

9

Services

6

Property

3

Criminal

16

Other

13

lsquorsquoI am inernaional suden on an F-1

Visa swiching my immigraion sauso an H1-B Work VISA Even wih havingmy employerrsquos atorney working on myimmigraion case I conaced CAIRrsquos Civil

Righs Direcor Veronica Laizure a coupleimes o ge some pracical legal adviceRegardless of he complexiy of he mater

Veronica was exremely knowledgeableand available and was always ready oanswer any quesion I had during he

process No only ha Veronica lisened

carefully o my quesions and commensand responded quickly and clearly wihanalysis and advice aimed direcly a myown case Thank you so much CAIR for all

your help and atenion o resolving our problems Your work is very appreciaed

Keep i Uprsquorsquo

To serve our cliensha uilize ourreerral serviceswe have developeda nework oproviders ha wework wih in a varieyo differen areas

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1216

983097

Occasionally cliens come o us wih inerpersonal conflics ha need o be resolved Raher han solving heissue in cour which can be ime-consuming cosly and have high sakes we offer ree mediaion services inselec cases where a neural hird pary can inervene beween wo people in conflic

During he mediaion which happens in a sae neural space boh people have he opporuniy o explainheir posiions and decide wha i anyhing would saisy hem This session has sric rules ha enorcerespec or each oher and he mediaor This allows people o be hones abou heir eelings and sae whamigh resolve he conflic knowing heir posiions will be ully heard We hen help hem compromise andsetle he issue finishing wih a signed and legally binding conrac This helps boh people o adhere o heiragreemen and usually boh people walk away eeling more saisfied han hey would i hey had aken he

issue o cour

MEDIATION SERVICES

LEADERSHIPThe Civil Righs Deparmen akes par in all our youh leadership programs like he Muslim Youh

Leadership Symposium and he Oklahoma Muslim Gamechangers We also le young people come o shadowour daily aciviies in and ou o he office and ge an idea o wha civil righs advocacy looks like on heground Hosing workshops and presenaions we help o educae a uure generaion o aciviss advocaesand communiy leaders who will be he new voice o he Oklahoma Muslim communiy

MIKAEL BRYANT983084 SUMMER 983090983088983089983093 LEGAL INTERN983098

ldquoMy summer a CAIR Oklahoma had a profound impac on hedevelopmen of my legal professional and personal life Myinernship was srucured in a way ha gave me he opporuniyo learn how o work independenly helping me develop skills o

make me more of a self-sarer while allowing me o have focusedguidance from Ms Laizure which helped me beter undersandwha i means o be a precise and ehical professional I was alsogiven he chance o exercise and develop my public speaking skills

having my firs opporuniy o hos a professional banque a heSummer Youh Symposium Finally my inernship had a profoundimpac on he developmen of my personal growh as a human

being giving me he chance o learn abou he perspecives ofdisenfranchised communiies from a unique and vas specrumCAIR Oklahoma does amazing work and is such a valuableresource for Muslims and he communiy a large and I will

remember and value my ime here for he res of my liferdquo

LEGAL INTERNSHIPS

Our new Legal Inernship program brings

op sudens rom local universiieso work developing cases in he Civil

Righs Deparmen From clien inakeonwards inerns are deeply involvedin all he seps o clien represenaionhrough resoluion They also have heopporuniy o work in our many areasouside o legal services governmenoureach legislaive racking communiy

presenaions and more Finally heyculminae heir inernship wih aresearch projec ha examines a opico heir ineres relevan o he Muslim

communiy Throughou he programhey develop vial skills ha will helphem in heir uure careers

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1316

SOME OF THE TOPICS WE COVERED IN 983090983088983089983093 INCLUDE983098

Students Know Your Rights ndash Your schoolrsquos responsibiliy o you as a Muslim suden or paren o a Muslim suden

Girls and Womenrsquos Rights ndash Focused on he righs o girls and women o wearhijab bu also covered oher opics

Travel Rights ndash In ime or Hajj discussed common issues while raveling and he

various agencies or deparmens you migh encouner hroughou your journey

Law Enforcement ndash Wha o do i yoursquore sopped by police how o proec yourFourh and Fifh Amendmen righs wha o say o law enorcemen officers

If you need o bring a KYR seminar o your communiy simply email or call he CivilRighs Deparmen o se up a workshop

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS SEMINARS

One o he mos imporan services ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmenprovides is empowering he Oklahoma Muslim communiy o know heir own righs anddeend hem when aced wih discriminaion We conduc opic-specific Know YourRighs workshops ha each individuals wha hey can do or say in given siuaionscomplee wih examples and quesion and answer sessions

Civil Righs Direcor delivers ldquoKnow Your Righs Hijabi Ediionrdquo aTulsa Peace Academy

983089983088

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1416

Civil Righs Direcor a Tulsarsquos John Hope Franklin Symposium onReconciliaion and he Media delivering presenaion ldquoThugs

Terroriss and Troubled Souls The Narraive of Race and Crimerdquo

OUTREACH EFFORTS

The CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen brings educaional presenaions o hose ouside

he Muslim communiy o Oklahoma in hopes o dispelling myhs abou Islam and reducing

he Islamophobia spread by misinormaion and ignorance

In he one year ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen has been esablished we have been inviedo over a dozen non-Muslim organizaions and evens o speak on he realiy o he Oklahoma Muslim

communiy

John Franklin Hope Symposium Tulsa OK ldquoTerroriss Thugs and Trouble Souls The Narraives

of Race and Crimerdquo Explored differences in media presenaion o perperaors o crimeIslamophobic depicions o erroriss and he consequences o skewed represenaion on helives o American Muslims

St Stephens Church Norman OK ldquo10 Things You Though You Knew Abou Islamrdquo Dispellingsereoypes and addressing common misconcepions abou Islam and Muslim

Rotary Club of Oklahoma City Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoIslamophobia and he Mediardquo Deailedexaminaion o how he media skews percepions o erroriss and errorism demonizesMuslims and conribues o he discriminaion aced by American Muslims

Sequoyah Elementary School Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoEliminaing Bias Undersanding Muslim Sudens and Familiesrdquo In response o repors o harassmen o Muslim amily presened

an inroducion o Islam and explored ways ha eachers could suppor and empower heirMuslim sudens and amilies

Comparative Religions Class Oklahoma Ciy Universiy OK ldquoHae Speech vs Freedom ofSpeechrdquo Examined differences in legal reamen o hae speech in American Consiuional

regime as compared o he European Cour o Human Righs and he UNDHR

We also work closely wih our parners a he Equal Employmen Opporuniies Commission he OklahomaCouny Bar Associaion he American Civil Liberies Union o Oklahoma he YWCA o Oklahoma Ciy andcounless oher local and sae-wide organizaions ha spread our messages o olerance and pluralism in he

civil righs world

CAIR-OK Saff visis he YWCAof Oklahoma Ciy

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1516

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1616

3000 Unied Founders Blvd Se 226 OKC OK 731124052866009 | inookcaircom | cairoklahomacom

Page 3: 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 316

TABLE OF CONTENTS983098

LETTER FROM CIVIL RIGHTS DIRECTOR

LETTER FROM CAIR983085OK BOARD

ABOUT THE CIVIL RIGHTS DEPARTMENT

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

SCHOOL AND HIGHER EDUCATION

HATE INCIDENTS

REFERRAL SERVICES

MEDIATIONS amp LEADERSHIP

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS SEMINARS

OUTREACH EFFORTS

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

983089

983090

983091

983093

983094

983095

983096983097

983089983088

983089983089

983089983090

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 416

LETTER FROM CIVIL RIGHTSDIRECTOR

Assalamu Alaikum o my CAIR Oklahoma riends and amily

A he firs anniversary o my ime as your Saff Atorney andhen Civil Righs Direcor I am reflecing on a year filled wihgrowh and learning I wan o hank you rom he botom o

my hear or he opporuniy you have given me o become anadvocae or your communiy and a riend o so many o youThis yearrsquos firs ever Civil Righs Repor is o benefi you hecommuniy and give you and up-close look a wha we do in heCivil Righs Deparmen Irsquos also my way o hanking you oryour suppor and conribuions ha make our work possible

In he pas year I have grown as a young lawyer hroughneworking wih oher civil righs leaders and acivissreaffirming my proessional commimen o equaliy and social jusice Close parnerships wih a variey o oher legal serviceproviders have given me posiive examples and a place o gowih my quesions and concerns Through he many CAIR-OK evens and programs ha we have held I have been ableo discuss how my services can bes reach he communiysrenghening he growh o civil righs advocacy in our sae

I have also grown personally expanding my knowledge o he

Oklahoma Muslim communiy and o Islam as a world religionAs an ally o he Muslim communiy I have been learning heways I can bes suppor my Muslim brohers and sisers boh inand ou o he office I has been a wonderul journey and I amso orunae o have hese experiences as par o my workingculure

Building a career in he civil righs world has ruly been anhonor and a privilege and serving CAIR Oklahoma as yourCivil Righs Direcor is a pleasure I look orward o every dayThank you so much or his opporuniy o serve you and yourcommuniy and enjoy our firs Civil Righs Repor

Sincerely

Veronica Laizure

983089

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 516

LETTER FROM CAIR983085OK BOARD

983090

Assalamu Alaikum

On behal o he board o direcors and saff o CAIR Oklahomawe wan o express our sincere graiude or your suppor overhe las 9 years ha has allowed us o proec he civil liberieso Oklahoma Muslims This work would no be possible wihouhe generous suppor o he Oklahoma Muslim communiy and

or ha we are appreciaive

I was in 2006 ha members rom he local communiy beganmeeing in Islamic Ceners around he sae and in heir homeso make he dream o having a CAIR chaper in Oklahoma a

realiy A ha ime i was hard o imagine ha one day we wouldhave saff ha could ake on he bulk o he work le alone anatorney solely dedicaed o proecing Oklahoma Muslimsrsquo civil

righs

Afer several brainsorming and planning sessions ha began in2013 he board o direcors and CAIR-OK Execuive DirecorAdam Solani were finally able o announce a job opening orour firs ever ull-ime saff atorney and civil righs direcorSince joining us in November 2014 Veronica Laizure has shownher commimen o upholding civil liberies enhancing he

undersanding o Islam challenging Islamophobia and promoingdialogue

The release o our firs Civil Righs Repor serves an example owha our communiy can achieve when we come ogeher wih aocused vision hard work and suppor o communiy membersThe accomplishmens o CAIR-OK do no belong solely o heorganizaion bu raher are a reflecion o he Oklahoma Muslimcommuniy as a whole

SincerelyCAIR-OK Board o Direcors

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 616

COMMON ISSUES HANDLED BY OUR DEPARTMENT983098

DISCRIMINATION CASES

Employmen

Schools and Sudens

Harassmen Bullying amp Hae Incidens

Denial o Religious AccommodaionDenial o Service or Access

FBI Conac

Law Enorcemen

ABOUT THE CIVIL RIGHTS DEPARTMENT

The Civil Righs Deparmen consanly receives calls seeking legal aid or assisance Some cases

pose issues o discriminaion or harassmen agains Oklahoma Muslims Our firs sep is o ascerain

i here is evidence o discriminaion in he siuaion a hand Through inerviews discussions and

reviewing documens we deermine i he case is appropriae or he Civil Righs Deparmen o

handle From here we provide help and represenaion or dozens o people and amilies fighing

discriminaion or civil righs violaions

983091

Employment

9

Denial of Religious

Accommodation

32

Denial of Service or Access

9

Bullying

9

Harassment

27

FBI

4

StateLocal Law Enforcemen

5

FederalGovt Agency

5

Cases ha includeevidence odiscriminaion akea variey o ormsWe sor cases inohese caegories oshow paterns andcommon acors

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 716

983092

Where a case or issue is outside thescope of our work we refer our clientsto a network of other legal serviceproviders and monitor the case asit progresses providing support to

clients navigating the legal system

CASES REFERRED TO OTHER SERVICES983098

Family amp Cusody Dispues

Immigraion Law

Non-Discriminaory Employmen Law

Criminal Represenaion

Propery amp Landlord-Tenan Dispues

WE ALSO PROVIDE CONNECTIONS

TO A VARIETY OF OTHER SERVICES983098

Mediaion Sessions

Menal Healh

Sae and Federal Suppor Programs

Women and Childrenrsquos Suppor Services

EVIDENCE OF DISCRIMINATION

YES

42

NO

58

Alhough abouhal o our cases do

no show evidenceo discriminaionwe sill spendime making sureha each clienhas access o heservices hey need

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 816

983093

Harassmen is defin

as unwelcome condha is based on racolor religion s

(including pregnancnaional origin adisabiliy or geneinformaion

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

Some o he mos common siuaions ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen handlesare workplace and employmen issues Unorunaely Islamophobia and prejudice sillaffec American Muslims in he workplace Approximaely hal o he discriminaion-relaedcases ha we handle ocus on he need or religious accommodaions in he workplace

The mos requen complains in employmen cases are ha employers are ailingo provide reasonable accommodaions or daily prayer Friday prayer or uniormexempions We also hear complains ha applicans or jobs eel hey have beenpassed over or no hired because o heir religion

Tile VII o he Civil Righs Ac o 1964 prohibis employmen discriminaion basedon religion naional origin and race This includes reusing o accommodae anemployeersquos sincerely held religious belies or pracices unless he accommodaionwould impose an undue hardship on he employer A religious pracice may besincerely held by an individual even i newly adoped no consisenly observed ordifferen rom he commonly ollowed enes o he individualrsquos religion

Oher siuaions ha Muslims ace in he workplace are culures o harassmen bullying andhumiliaion ha akes place over a long period o ime creaing a hosile work environmen

EEOC MEDIATION WITH CAIR983085OK

Our clien was hired hrough a empagency o work a a manuacuring plan inTulsa OK Afer perorming his job wihou

problems when Ramadan approachedhe requesed a couple o small changeso his work environmen He asked o bemoved o a building wih beter cooling

and venilaion so ha he would avoidheasroke while asing However hissupervisor responded very negaively andulimaely he was fired

CAIR Oklahoma helped him repor hiso he Equal Employmen Opporuniies

Commission (EEOC) Afer i wasinvesigaed we accompanied him o a

mediaion session and guided him hroughhe process where he was awarded a

setlemen o make up or losing his job

FROM TULSA TO THE SUPREME COURT

When Samanha Elau applied o work a he popular clohing reailer Abercrombie Kids in Tulsa OK she excelled a her inerview bu wasnoffered he job She ound ou ha alhough she did well and wasoherwise suied o work here he regional manager recommendedagains hiring her because her hijab did no fi he sorersquos ldquolook policyrdquoShe repored o CAIR-OK who hen reerred her o he EEOC

Afer years o liigaion including supporing bries filed by CAIRSamanharsquos case wen all he way o he Supreme Cour whoconsidered he quesion o wheher an employer could reuse o hirepoenial employee because hey knew ha employee would require religious accommodaion The Supreme Cour ruled ha Abercrombihad violaed Tile VII by ailing o hire her because o her need or anexcepion o heir ldquolook policyrdquo and se in place proecions or job

applicans who need religious accommodaions a work

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 916

DIVERSITY TRAINING

A young suden a a local elemenary school and hismoher a hijabi were harassed by a eacher while hey hadlunch ogeher They repored he harassmen o CAIR-OK who ollowed up by conacing he school and helping

he moher file a civil righs complain wih he disric

Alhough he disricrsquos invesigaion did no find anyspecific wrongdoing a he school he adminisraion

invied CAIR-OK o hos a raining session on he needsand righs o young Muslim sudens Through our DiversiyTraining we educaed eachers on he paricular needs o

Muslim sudens and heir amilies and helped aciliae

cross-culural undersanding opimizing he educaionalsuccess o oher young Muslims a ha school

SCHOOL AND HIGHER EDUCATION

Unorunaely we see cases where sudenssruggle wih he prejudice and ignorance oheir peers heir classmaes and even heireachers When we hear abou hese siuaionswe inervene and spread awareness andeducaion ensuring ha he learning environmenis proeced or our Muslim children We also

conduc workshops wih boh Muslim youh andnon-Muslim eachers and oher service providerso make sure ha everyone is proeced rom

religious discriminaion

COALITION BUILDING AT OU

In early 2015 a video emerged osome sudens rom he Universiy oOklahomarsquos Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE)chaper singing a disurbing chan The

chan which apparenly was par o heraerniyrsquos radiion included reerenceso lynching black men and repeaeduse o he n-word Afer he video wen

viral CAIR-OK and oher communiyorganizaions released saemenscondemning he language in he video andcalling or he universiy o respond

OU Presiden David Boren quicklysepped up o reierae he universiyrsquoscommimen o diversiy and olerance

on campus The raerniy was disbandedand he wo sudens responsible orleading he chan were expelled OU

also developed a diversiy and inclusionraining ha all incoming reshmen arenow required o ake

One o he mos imporan aspecs o he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen is supporing our young peoplehrough heir educaion Schooling wheher in privae or public aciliies is a vial par o a young personrsquoslie Our job is o make sure ha every suden has a sae producive and supporive learning environmenin which o ge he bes educaion possible

983094

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1016

983096

HATE INCIDENTS

Alhough hey are rare hae incidens and vandalism occasionally ouch he lives o Oklahomarsquos Muslimcommuniy Islamophobic media along wih a lack o posiive porrayals o Muslims creaes a culure o earand disrus which can someimes resul in dangerous hurul conronaionsWhen hese hae-ueled incidens or acs o vandalism occur CAIR-OK works wih he impaced pary

local law enorcemen local media and our ineraih and communiy parners o address he roos oIslamophobia ensure ha hose responsible are brough o jusice and mainain he saey o our communiy

RAMADAN ATTACK

During Ramadan a local amily was havingheir pre-dawn meal a a resauran inEdmond While hey were eaing anoherresauran paron approached heir ableand began screaming racial invecivesand haeul slurs a hem hreaening hewomen and young children as well Theamily called he police bu he man andhis companion drove off

The amily repored he inciden oCAIR-OK and we conneced wih localpolice o ensure ha hey had ulfilledheir responsibiliies We also warned ourcommuniy abou he possibiliy o heseencouners by releasing Acion Alers andoher updaes using inpu rom local policeand oher law enorcemen sources

MUSLIM DAY AT THE CAPITOL

During our firs ever Oklahoma Muslim Day a he Capiol inFebruary 2015 we planned a day o lecures and panels wihdisinguished guess and local lawmakers culminaing in Fridayprayers hosed in he Capiolrsquos beauiul Rounda However we wereinormed ha a group o proesors were planning o hos a rallyouside he Capiol argeing our own paricipans as hey enered

he buildingDespie his negaive publiciy we worked wih Capiol securiy andvoluneers o ensure he saey o our paricipans Our ineraihparners arrived in droves ounumbering he proesors andshielded our guess rom he haeul invecives hrown a hemCapiol securiy responded quickly o our concerns and we were

joined by parners rom all over he sae Overall he day was aresounding success and we were proud o our achievemens ha

overshadowed he mean-spiried bu small group o proesors

ISLAMOPHOBIA IN PRESIDENTIAL RACE

As he 2016 presidenial elecion season approached variouscandidaes began espousing Islamophobic saemens or allowingheir supporers o make some very dangerous ani-Muslimremarks Concerned abou he growh o Islamophobic senimen

in he presidenial race he Civil Righs Deparmen along wihoher ineraih and communiy organizaions held a press releaseIn he conerence we called on all poliical candidaes o sopnormalizing ani-Muslim ear and hared and o ocus on he real

issues hey will ace as poenial Presidens o he Unied Saes

CAIR-OK Civil Righs Direcor TV inerview abou Islamophobia in Oklahom983095

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1116

983096

REFERRAL SERVICES

Someimes we find ha a case is ou ohe scope o our mission oo cosly oroo ime-consuming or us o reasonablyhandle In hese rare siuaions we are

careul o reer our cliens o oher firsrae service providers who can assis Wealso monior cases afer he clien has beenreerred and are always available o helpour cliens navigae heir relaionship wihlegal service providers Nearly hal o ourime is spen on non-discriminaion relaedcases where we keep our cliens connecedand inormed abou he services and legalprocesses ha affec hem

Through building srong parnerships wecan confidenly reer our cliens o a varieyo legal service providers in he areaso immigraion amily law criminal lawpropery law personal injury and more

TESTIMONIAL FROM YOUNES REBBAJ983098

NON DISCRIMINATION CALLS

Employment

41

Family

12

Immigration

9

Services

6

Property

3

Criminal

16

Other

13

lsquorsquoI am inernaional suden on an F-1

Visa swiching my immigraion sauso an H1-B Work VISA Even wih havingmy employerrsquos atorney working on myimmigraion case I conaced CAIRrsquos Civil

Righs Direcor Veronica Laizure a coupleimes o ge some pracical legal adviceRegardless of he complexiy of he mater

Veronica was exremely knowledgeableand available and was always ready oanswer any quesion I had during he

process No only ha Veronica lisened

carefully o my quesions and commensand responded quickly and clearly wihanalysis and advice aimed direcly a myown case Thank you so much CAIR for all

your help and atenion o resolving our problems Your work is very appreciaed

Keep i Uprsquorsquo

To serve our cliensha uilize ourreerral serviceswe have developeda nework oproviders ha wework wih in a varieyo differen areas

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1216

983097

Occasionally cliens come o us wih inerpersonal conflics ha need o be resolved Raher han solving heissue in cour which can be ime-consuming cosly and have high sakes we offer ree mediaion services inselec cases where a neural hird pary can inervene beween wo people in conflic

During he mediaion which happens in a sae neural space boh people have he opporuniy o explainheir posiions and decide wha i anyhing would saisy hem This session has sric rules ha enorcerespec or each oher and he mediaor This allows people o be hones abou heir eelings and sae whamigh resolve he conflic knowing heir posiions will be ully heard We hen help hem compromise andsetle he issue finishing wih a signed and legally binding conrac This helps boh people o adhere o heiragreemen and usually boh people walk away eeling more saisfied han hey would i hey had aken he

issue o cour

MEDIATION SERVICES

LEADERSHIPThe Civil Righs Deparmen akes par in all our youh leadership programs like he Muslim Youh

Leadership Symposium and he Oklahoma Muslim Gamechangers We also le young people come o shadowour daily aciviies in and ou o he office and ge an idea o wha civil righs advocacy looks like on heground Hosing workshops and presenaions we help o educae a uure generaion o aciviss advocaesand communiy leaders who will be he new voice o he Oklahoma Muslim communiy

MIKAEL BRYANT983084 SUMMER 983090983088983089983093 LEGAL INTERN983098

ldquoMy summer a CAIR Oklahoma had a profound impac on hedevelopmen of my legal professional and personal life Myinernship was srucured in a way ha gave me he opporuniyo learn how o work independenly helping me develop skills o

make me more of a self-sarer while allowing me o have focusedguidance from Ms Laizure which helped me beter undersandwha i means o be a precise and ehical professional I was alsogiven he chance o exercise and develop my public speaking skills

having my firs opporuniy o hos a professional banque a heSummer Youh Symposium Finally my inernship had a profoundimpac on he developmen of my personal growh as a human

being giving me he chance o learn abou he perspecives ofdisenfranchised communiies from a unique and vas specrumCAIR Oklahoma does amazing work and is such a valuableresource for Muslims and he communiy a large and I will

remember and value my ime here for he res of my liferdquo

LEGAL INTERNSHIPS

Our new Legal Inernship program brings

op sudens rom local universiieso work developing cases in he Civil

Righs Deparmen From clien inakeonwards inerns are deeply involvedin all he seps o clien represenaionhrough resoluion They also have heopporuniy o work in our many areasouside o legal services governmenoureach legislaive racking communiy

presenaions and more Finally heyculminae heir inernship wih aresearch projec ha examines a opico heir ineres relevan o he Muslim

communiy Throughou he programhey develop vial skills ha will helphem in heir uure careers

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1316

SOME OF THE TOPICS WE COVERED IN 983090983088983089983093 INCLUDE983098

Students Know Your Rights ndash Your schoolrsquos responsibiliy o you as a Muslim suden or paren o a Muslim suden

Girls and Womenrsquos Rights ndash Focused on he righs o girls and women o wearhijab bu also covered oher opics

Travel Rights ndash In ime or Hajj discussed common issues while raveling and he

various agencies or deparmens you migh encouner hroughou your journey

Law Enforcement ndash Wha o do i yoursquore sopped by police how o proec yourFourh and Fifh Amendmen righs wha o say o law enorcemen officers

If you need o bring a KYR seminar o your communiy simply email or call he CivilRighs Deparmen o se up a workshop

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS SEMINARS

One o he mos imporan services ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmenprovides is empowering he Oklahoma Muslim communiy o know heir own righs anddeend hem when aced wih discriminaion We conduc opic-specific Know YourRighs workshops ha each individuals wha hey can do or say in given siuaionscomplee wih examples and quesion and answer sessions

Civil Righs Direcor delivers ldquoKnow Your Righs Hijabi Ediionrdquo aTulsa Peace Academy

983089983088

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1416

Civil Righs Direcor a Tulsarsquos John Hope Franklin Symposium onReconciliaion and he Media delivering presenaion ldquoThugs

Terroriss and Troubled Souls The Narraive of Race and Crimerdquo

OUTREACH EFFORTS

The CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen brings educaional presenaions o hose ouside

he Muslim communiy o Oklahoma in hopes o dispelling myhs abou Islam and reducing

he Islamophobia spread by misinormaion and ignorance

In he one year ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen has been esablished we have been inviedo over a dozen non-Muslim organizaions and evens o speak on he realiy o he Oklahoma Muslim

communiy

John Franklin Hope Symposium Tulsa OK ldquoTerroriss Thugs and Trouble Souls The Narraives

of Race and Crimerdquo Explored differences in media presenaion o perperaors o crimeIslamophobic depicions o erroriss and he consequences o skewed represenaion on helives o American Muslims

St Stephens Church Norman OK ldquo10 Things You Though You Knew Abou Islamrdquo Dispellingsereoypes and addressing common misconcepions abou Islam and Muslim

Rotary Club of Oklahoma City Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoIslamophobia and he Mediardquo Deailedexaminaion o how he media skews percepions o erroriss and errorism demonizesMuslims and conribues o he discriminaion aced by American Muslims

Sequoyah Elementary School Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoEliminaing Bias Undersanding Muslim Sudens and Familiesrdquo In response o repors o harassmen o Muslim amily presened

an inroducion o Islam and explored ways ha eachers could suppor and empower heirMuslim sudens and amilies

Comparative Religions Class Oklahoma Ciy Universiy OK ldquoHae Speech vs Freedom ofSpeechrdquo Examined differences in legal reamen o hae speech in American Consiuional

regime as compared o he European Cour o Human Righs and he UNDHR

We also work closely wih our parners a he Equal Employmen Opporuniies Commission he OklahomaCouny Bar Associaion he American Civil Liberies Union o Oklahoma he YWCA o Oklahoma Ciy andcounless oher local and sae-wide organizaions ha spread our messages o olerance and pluralism in he

civil righs world

CAIR-OK Saff visis he YWCAof Oklahoma Ciy

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1516

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1616

3000 Unied Founders Blvd Se 226 OKC OK 731124052866009 | inookcaircom | cairoklahomacom

Page 4: 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 416

LETTER FROM CIVIL RIGHTSDIRECTOR

Assalamu Alaikum o my CAIR Oklahoma riends and amily

A he firs anniversary o my ime as your Saff Atorney andhen Civil Righs Direcor I am reflecing on a year filled wihgrowh and learning I wan o hank you rom he botom o

my hear or he opporuniy you have given me o become anadvocae or your communiy and a riend o so many o youThis yearrsquos firs ever Civil Righs Repor is o benefi you hecommuniy and give you and up-close look a wha we do in heCivil Righs Deparmen Irsquos also my way o hanking you oryour suppor and conribuions ha make our work possible

In he pas year I have grown as a young lawyer hroughneworking wih oher civil righs leaders and acivissreaffirming my proessional commimen o equaliy and social jusice Close parnerships wih a variey o oher legal serviceproviders have given me posiive examples and a place o gowih my quesions and concerns Through he many CAIR-OK evens and programs ha we have held I have been ableo discuss how my services can bes reach he communiysrenghening he growh o civil righs advocacy in our sae

I have also grown personally expanding my knowledge o he

Oklahoma Muslim communiy and o Islam as a world religionAs an ally o he Muslim communiy I have been learning heways I can bes suppor my Muslim brohers and sisers boh inand ou o he office I has been a wonderul journey and I amso orunae o have hese experiences as par o my workingculure

Building a career in he civil righs world has ruly been anhonor and a privilege and serving CAIR Oklahoma as yourCivil Righs Direcor is a pleasure I look orward o every dayThank you so much or his opporuniy o serve you and yourcommuniy and enjoy our firs Civil Righs Repor

Sincerely

Veronica Laizure

983089

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 516

LETTER FROM CAIR983085OK BOARD

983090

Assalamu Alaikum

On behal o he board o direcors and saff o CAIR Oklahomawe wan o express our sincere graiude or your suppor overhe las 9 years ha has allowed us o proec he civil liberieso Oklahoma Muslims This work would no be possible wihouhe generous suppor o he Oklahoma Muslim communiy and

or ha we are appreciaive

I was in 2006 ha members rom he local communiy beganmeeing in Islamic Ceners around he sae and in heir homeso make he dream o having a CAIR chaper in Oklahoma a

realiy A ha ime i was hard o imagine ha one day we wouldhave saff ha could ake on he bulk o he work le alone anatorney solely dedicaed o proecing Oklahoma Muslimsrsquo civil

righs

Afer several brainsorming and planning sessions ha began in2013 he board o direcors and CAIR-OK Execuive DirecorAdam Solani were finally able o announce a job opening orour firs ever ull-ime saff atorney and civil righs direcorSince joining us in November 2014 Veronica Laizure has shownher commimen o upholding civil liberies enhancing he

undersanding o Islam challenging Islamophobia and promoingdialogue

The release o our firs Civil Righs Repor serves an example owha our communiy can achieve when we come ogeher wih aocused vision hard work and suppor o communiy membersThe accomplishmens o CAIR-OK do no belong solely o heorganizaion bu raher are a reflecion o he Oklahoma Muslimcommuniy as a whole

SincerelyCAIR-OK Board o Direcors

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 616

COMMON ISSUES HANDLED BY OUR DEPARTMENT983098

DISCRIMINATION CASES

Employmen

Schools and Sudens

Harassmen Bullying amp Hae Incidens

Denial o Religious AccommodaionDenial o Service or Access

FBI Conac

Law Enorcemen

ABOUT THE CIVIL RIGHTS DEPARTMENT

The Civil Righs Deparmen consanly receives calls seeking legal aid or assisance Some cases

pose issues o discriminaion or harassmen agains Oklahoma Muslims Our firs sep is o ascerain

i here is evidence o discriminaion in he siuaion a hand Through inerviews discussions and

reviewing documens we deermine i he case is appropriae or he Civil Righs Deparmen o

handle From here we provide help and represenaion or dozens o people and amilies fighing

discriminaion or civil righs violaions

983091

Employment

9

Denial of Religious

Accommodation

32

Denial of Service or Access

9

Bullying

9

Harassment

27

FBI

4

StateLocal Law Enforcemen

5

FederalGovt Agency

5

Cases ha includeevidence odiscriminaion akea variey o ormsWe sor cases inohese caegories oshow paterns andcommon acors

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 716

983092

Where a case or issue is outside thescope of our work we refer our clientsto a network of other legal serviceproviders and monitor the case asit progresses providing support to

clients navigating the legal system

CASES REFERRED TO OTHER SERVICES983098

Family amp Cusody Dispues

Immigraion Law

Non-Discriminaory Employmen Law

Criminal Represenaion

Propery amp Landlord-Tenan Dispues

WE ALSO PROVIDE CONNECTIONS

TO A VARIETY OF OTHER SERVICES983098

Mediaion Sessions

Menal Healh

Sae and Federal Suppor Programs

Women and Childrenrsquos Suppor Services

EVIDENCE OF DISCRIMINATION

YES

42

NO

58

Alhough abouhal o our cases do

no show evidenceo discriminaionwe sill spendime making sureha each clienhas access o heservices hey need

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 816

983093

Harassmen is defin

as unwelcome condha is based on racolor religion s

(including pregnancnaional origin adisabiliy or geneinformaion

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

Some o he mos common siuaions ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen handlesare workplace and employmen issues Unorunaely Islamophobia and prejudice sillaffec American Muslims in he workplace Approximaely hal o he discriminaion-relaedcases ha we handle ocus on he need or religious accommodaions in he workplace

The mos requen complains in employmen cases are ha employers are ailingo provide reasonable accommodaions or daily prayer Friday prayer or uniormexempions We also hear complains ha applicans or jobs eel hey have beenpassed over or no hired because o heir religion

Tile VII o he Civil Righs Ac o 1964 prohibis employmen discriminaion basedon religion naional origin and race This includes reusing o accommodae anemployeersquos sincerely held religious belies or pracices unless he accommodaionwould impose an undue hardship on he employer A religious pracice may besincerely held by an individual even i newly adoped no consisenly observed ordifferen rom he commonly ollowed enes o he individualrsquos religion

Oher siuaions ha Muslims ace in he workplace are culures o harassmen bullying andhumiliaion ha akes place over a long period o ime creaing a hosile work environmen

EEOC MEDIATION WITH CAIR983085OK

Our clien was hired hrough a empagency o work a a manuacuring plan inTulsa OK Afer perorming his job wihou

problems when Ramadan approachedhe requesed a couple o small changeso his work environmen He asked o bemoved o a building wih beter cooling

and venilaion so ha he would avoidheasroke while asing However hissupervisor responded very negaively andulimaely he was fired

CAIR Oklahoma helped him repor hiso he Equal Employmen Opporuniies

Commission (EEOC) Afer i wasinvesigaed we accompanied him o a

mediaion session and guided him hroughhe process where he was awarded a

setlemen o make up or losing his job

FROM TULSA TO THE SUPREME COURT

When Samanha Elau applied o work a he popular clohing reailer Abercrombie Kids in Tulsa OK she excelled a her inerview bu wasnoffered he job She ound ou ha alhough she did well and wasoherwise suied o work here he regional manager recommendedagains hiring her because her hijab did no fi he sorersquos ldquolook policyrdquoShe repored o CAIR-OK who hen reerred her o he EEOC

Afer years o liigaion including supporing bries filed by CAIRSamanharsquos case wen all he way o he Supreme Cour whoconsidered he quesion o wheher an employer could reuse o hirepoenial employee because hey knew ha employee would require religious accommodaion The Supreme Cour ruled ha Abercrombihad violaed Tile VII by ailing o hire her because o her need or anexcepion o heir ldquolook policyrdquo and se in place proecions or job

applicans who need religious accommodaions a work

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 916

DIVERSITY TRAINING

A young suden a a local elemenary school and hismoher a hijabi were harassed by a eacher while hey hadlunch ogeher They repored he harassmen o CAIR-OK who ollowed up by conacing he school and helping

he moher file a civil righs complain wih he disric

Alhough he disricrsquos invesigaion did no find anyspecific wrongdoing a he school he adminisraion

invied CAIR-OK o hos a raining session on he needsand righs o young Muslim sudens Through our DiversiyTraining we educaed eachers on he paricular needs o

Muslim sudens and heir amilies and helped aciliae

cross-culural undersanding opimizing he educaionalsuccess o oher young Muslims a ha school

SCHOOL AND HIGHER EDUCATION

Unorunaely we see cases where sudenssruggle wih he prejudice and ignorance oheir peers heir classmaes and even heireachers When we hear abou hese siuaionswe inervene and spread awareness andeducaion ensuring ha he learning environmenis proeced or our Muslim children We also

conduc workshops wih boh Muslim youh andnon-Muslim eachers and oher service providerso make sure ha everyone is proeced rom

religious discriminaion

COALITION BUILDING AT OU

In early 2015 a video emerged osome sudens rom he Universiy oOklahomarsquos Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE)chaper singing a disurbing chan The

chan which apparenly was par o heraerniyrsquos radiion included reerenceso lynching black men and repeaeduse o he n-word Afer he video wen

viral CAIR-OK and oher communiyorganizaions released saemenscondemning he language in he video andcalling or he universiy o respond

OU Presiden David Boren quicklysepped up o reierae he universiyrsquoscommimen o diversiy and olerance

on campus The raerniy was disbandedand he wo sudens responsible orleading he chan were expelled OU

also developed a diversiy and inclusionraining ha all incoming reshmen arenow required o ake

One o he mos imporan aspecs o he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen is supporing our young peoplehrough heir educaion Schooling wheher in privae or public aciliies is a vial par o a young personrsquoslie Our job is o make sure ha every suden has a sae producive and supporive learning environmenin which o ge he bes educaion possible

983094

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1016

983096

HATE INCIDENTS

Alhough hey are rare hae incidens and vandalism occasionally ouch he lives o Oklahomarsquos Muslimcommuniy Islamophobic media along wih a lack o posiive porrayals o Muslims creaes a culure o earand disrus which can someimes resul in dangerous hurul conronaionsWhen hese hae-ueled incidens or acs o vandalism occur CAIR-OK works wih he impaced pary

local law enorcemen local media and our ineraih and communiy parners o address he roos oIslamophobia ensure ha hose responsible are brough o jusice and mainain he saey o our communiy

RAMADAN ATTACK

During Ramadan a local amily was havingheir pre-dawn meal a a resauran inEdmond While hey were eaing anoherresauran paron approached heir ableand began screaming racial invecivesand haeul slurs a hem hreaening hewomen and young children as well Theamily called he police bu he man andhis companion drove off

The amily repored he inciden oCAIR-OK and we conneced wih localpolice o ensure ha hey had ulfilledheir responsibiliies We also warned ourcommuniy abou he possibiliy o heseencouners by releasing Acion Alers andoher updaes using inpu rom local policeand oher law enorcemen sources

MUSLIM DAY AT THE CAPITOL

During our firs ever Oklahoma Muslim Day a he Capiol inFebruary 2015 we planned a day o lecures and panels wihdisinguished guess and local lawmakers culminaing in Fridayprayers hosed in he Capiolrsquos beauiul Rounda However we wereinormed ha a group o proesors were planning o hos a rallyouside he Capiol argeing our own paricipans as hey enered

he buildingDespie his negaive publiciy we worked wih Capiol securiy andvoluneers o ensure he saey o our paricipans Our ineraihparners arrived in droves ounumbering he proesors andshielded our guess rom he haeul invecives hrown a hemCapiol securiy responded quickly o our concerns and we were

joined by parners rom all over he sae Overall he day was aresounding success and we were proud o our achievemens ha

overshadowed he mean-spiried bu small group o proesors

ISLAMOPHOBIA IN PRESIDENTIAL RACE

As he 2016 presidenial elecion season approached variouscandidaes began espousing Islamophobic saemens or allowingheir supporers o make some very dangerous ani-Muslimremarks Concerned abou he growh o Islamophobic senimen

in he presidenial race he Civil Righs Deparmen along wihoher ineraih and communiy organizaions held a press releaseIn he conerence we called on all poliical candidaes o sopnormalizing ani-Muslim ear and hared and o ocus on he real

issues hey will ace as poenial Presidens o he Unied Saes

CAIR-OK Civil Righs Direcor TV inerview abou Islamophobia in Oklahom983095

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1116

983096

REFERRAL SERVICES

Someimes we find ha a case is ou ohe scope o our mission oo cosly oroo ime-consuming or us o reasonablyhandle In hese rare siuaions we are

careul o reer our cliens o oher firsrae service providers who can assis Wealso monior cases afer he clien has beenreerred and are always available o helpour cliens navigae heir relaionship wihlegal service providers Nearly hal o ourime is spen on non-discriminaion relaedcases where we keep our cliens connecedand inormed abou he services and legalprocesses ha affec hem

Through building srong parnerships wecan confidenly reer our cliens o a varieyo legal service providers in he areaso immigraion amily law criminal lawpropery law personal injury and more

TESTIMONIAL FROM YOUNES REBBAJ983098

NON DISCRIMINATION CALLS

Employment

41

Family

12

Immigration

9

Services

6

Property

3

Criminal

16

Other

13

lsquorsquoI am inernaional suden on an F-1

Visa swiching my immigraion sauso an H1-B Work VISA Even wih havingmy employerrsquos atorney working on myimmigraion case I conaced CAIRrsquos Civil

Righs Direcor Veronica Laizure a coupleimes o ge some pracical legal adviceRegardless of he complexiy of he mater

Veronica was exremely knowledgeableand available and was always ready oanswer any quesion I had during he

process No only ha Veronica lisened

carefully o my quesions and commensand responded quickly and clearly wihanalysis and advice aimed direcly a myown case Thank you so much CAIR for all

your help and atenion o resolving our problems Your work is very appreciaed

Keep i Uprsquorsquo

To serve our cliensha uilize ourreerral serviceswe have developeda nework oproviders ha wework wih in a varieyo differen areas

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1216

983097

Occasionally cliens come o us wih inerpersonal conflics ha need o be resolved Raher han solving heissue in cour which can be ime-consuming cosly and have high sakes we offer ree mediaion services inselec cases where a neural hird pary can inervene beween wo people in conflic

During he mediaion which happens in a sae neural space boh people have he opporuniy o explainheir posiions and decide wha i anyhing would saisy hem This session has sric rules ha enorcerespec or each oher and he mediaor This allows people o be hones abou heir eelings and sae whamigh resolve he conflic knowing heir posiions will be ully heard We hen help hem compromise andsetle he issue finishing wih a signed and legally binding conrac This helps boh people o adhere o heiragreemen and usually boh people walk away eeling more saisfied han hey would i hey had aken he

issue o cour

MEDIATION SERVICES

LEADERSHIPThe Civil Righs Deparmen akes par in all our youh leadership programs like he Muslim Youh

Leadership Symposium and he Oklahoma Muslim Gamechangers We also le young people come o shadowour daily aciviies in and ou o he office and ge an idea o wha civil righs advocacy looks like on heground Hosing workshops and presenaions we help o educae a uure generaion o aciviss advocaesand communiy leaders who will be he new voice o he Oklahoma Muslim communiy

MIKAEL BRYANT983084 SUMMER 983090983088983089983093 LEGAL INTERN983098

ldquoMy summer a CAIR Oklahoma had a profound impac on hedevelopmen of my legal professional and personal life Myinernship was srucured in a way ha gave me he opporuniyo learn how o work independenly helping me develop skills o

make me more of a self-sarer while allowing me o have focusedguidance from Ms Laizure which helped me beter undersandwha i means o be a precise and ehical professional I was alsogiven he chance o exercise and develop my public speaking skills

having my firs opporuniy o hos a professional banque a heSummer Youh Symposium Finally my inernship had a profoundimpac on he developmen of my personal growh as a human

being giving me he chance o learn abou he perspecives ofdisenfranchised communiies from a unique and vas specrumCAIR Oklahoma does amazing work and is such a valuableresource for Muslims and he communiy a large and I will

remember and value my ime here for he res of my liferdquo

LEGAL INTERNSHIPS

Our new Legal Inernship program brings

op sudens rom local universiieso work developing cases in he Civil

Righs Deparmen From clien inakeonwards inerns are deeply involvedin all he seps o clien represenaionhrough resoluion They also have heopporuniy o work in our many areasouside o legal services governmenoureach legislaive racking communiy

presenaions and more Finally heyculminae heir inernship wih aresearch projec ha examines a opico heir ineres relevan o he Muslim

communiy Throughou he programhey develop vial skills ha will helphem in heir uure careers

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1316

SOME OF THE TOPICS WE COVERED IN 983090983088983089983093 INCLUDE983098

Students Know Your Rights ndash Your schoolrsquos responsibiliy o you as a Muslim suden or paren o a Muslim suden

Girls and Womenrsquos Rights ndash Focused on he righs o girls and women o wearhijab bu also covered oher opics

Travel Rights ndash In ime or Hajj discussed common issues while raveling and he

various agencies or deparmens you migh encouner hroughou your journey

Law Enforcement ndash Wha o do i yoursquore sopped by police how o proec yourFourh and Fifh Amendmen righs wha o say o law enorcemen officers

If you need o bring a KYR seminar o your communiy simply email or call he CivilRighs Deparmen o se up a workshop

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS SEMINARS

One o he mos imporan services ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmenprovides is empowering he Oklahoma Muslim communiy o know heir own righs anddeend hem when aced wih discriminaion We conduc opic-specific Know YourRighs workshops ha each individuals wha hey can do or say in given siuaionscomplee wih examples and quesion and answer sessions

Civil Righs Direcor delivers ldquoKnow Your Righs Hijabi Ediionrdquo aTulsa Peace Academy

983089983088

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1416

Civil Righs Direcor a Tulsarsquos John Hope Franklin Symposium onReconciliaion and he Media delivering presenaion ldquoThugs

Terroriss and Troubled Souls The Narraive of Race and Crimerdquo

OUTREACH EFFORTS

The CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen brings educaional presenaions o hose ouside

he Muslim communiy o Oklahoma in hopes o dispelling myhs abou Islam and reducing

he Islamophobia spread by misinormaion and ignorance

In he one year ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen has been esablished we have been inviedo over a dozen non-Muslim organizaions and evens o speak on he realiy o he Oklahoma Muslim

communiy

John Franklin Hope Symposium Tulsa OK ldquoTerroriss Thugs and Trouble Souls The Narraives

of Race and Crimerdquo Explored differences in media presenaion o perperaors o crimeIslamophobic depicions o erroriss and he consequences o skewed represenaion on helives o American Muslims

St Stephens Church Norman OK ldquo10 Things You Though You Knew Abou Islamrdquo Dispellingsereoypes and addressing common misconcepions abou Islam and Muslim

Rotary Club of Oklahoma City Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoIslamophobia and he Mediardquo Deailedexaminaion o how he media skews percepions o erroriss and errorism demonizesMuslims and conribues o he discriminaion aced by American Muslims

Sequoyah Elementary School Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoEliminaing Bias Undersanding Muslim Sudens and Familiesrdquo In response o repors o harassmen o Muslim amily presened

an inroducion o Islam and explored ways ha eachers could suppor and empower heirMuslim sudens and amilies

Comparative Religions Class Oklahoma Ciy Universiy OK ldquoHae Speech vs Freedom ofSpeechrdquo Examined differences in legal reamen o hae speech in American Consiuional

regime as compared o he European Cour o Human Righs and he UNDHR

We also work closely wih our parners a he Equal Employmen Opporuniies Commission he OklahomaCouny Bar Associaion he American Civil Liberies Union o Oklahoma he YWCA o Oklahoma Ciy andcounless oher local and sae-wide organizaions ha spread our messages o olerance and pluralism in he

civil righs world

CAIR-OK Saff visis he YWCAof Oklahoma Ciy

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1516

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1616

3000 Unied Founders Blvd Se 226 OKC OK 731124052866009 | inookcaircom | cairoklahomacom

Page 5: 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 516

LETTER FROM CAIR983085OK BOARD

983090

Assalamu Alaikum

On behal o he board o direcors and saff o CAIR Oklahomawe wan o express our sincere graiude or your suppor overhe las 9 years ha has allowed us o proec he civil liberieso Oklahoma Muslims This work would no be possible wihouhe generous suppor o he Oklahoma Muslim communiy and

or ha we are appreciaive

I was in 2006 ha members rom he local communiy beganmeeing in Islamic Ceners around he sae and in heir homeso make he dream o having a CAIR chaper in Oklahoma a

realiy A ha ime i was hard o imagine ha one day we wouldhave saff ha could ake on he bulk o he work le alone anatorney solely dedicaed o proecing Oklahoma Muslimsrsquo civil

righs

Afer several brainsorming and planning sessions ha began in2013 he board o direcors and CAIR-OK Execuive DirecorAdam Solani were finally able o announce a job opening orour firs ever ull-ime saff atorney and civil righs direcorSince joining us in November 2014 Veronica Laizure has shownher commimen o upholding civil liberies enhancing he

undersanding o Islam challenging Islamophobia and promoingdialogue

The release o our firs Civil Righs Repor serves an example owha our communiy can achieve when we come ogeher wih aocused vision hard work and suppor o communiy membersThe accomplishmens o CAIR-OK do no belong solely o heorganizaion bu raher are a reflecion o he Oklahoma Muslimcommuniy as a whole

SincerelyCAIR-OK Board o Direcors

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 616

COMMON ISSUES HANDLED BY OUR DEPARTMENT983098

DISCRIMINATION CASES

Employmen

Schools and Sudens

Harassmen Bullying amp Hae Incidens

Denial o Religious AccommodaionDenial o Service or Access

FBI Conac

Law Enorcemen

ABOUT THE CIVIL RIGHTS DEPARTMENT

The Civil Righs Deparmen consanly receives calls seeking legal aid or assisance Some cases

pose issues o discriminaion or harassmen agains Oklahoma Muslims Our firs sep is o ascerain

i here is evidence o discriminaion in he siuaion a hand Through inerviews discussions and

reviewing documens we deermine i he case is appropriae or he Civil Righs Deparmen o

handle From here we provide help and represenaion or dozens o people and amilies fighing

discriminaion or civil righs violaions

983091

Employment

9

Denial of Religious

Accommodation

32

Denial of Service or Access

9

Bullying

9

Harassment

27

FBI

4

StateLocal Law Enforcemen

5

FederalGovt Agency

5

Cases ha includeevidence odiscriminaion akea variey o ormsWe sor cases inohese caegories oshow paterns andcommon acors

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 716

983092

Where a case or issue is outside thescope of our work we refer our clientsto a network of other legal serviceproviders and monitor the case asit progresses providing support to

clients navigating the legal system

CASES REFERRED TO OTHER SERVICES983098

Family amp Cusody Dispues

Immigraion Law

Non-Discriminaory Employmen Law

Criminal Represenaion

Propery amp Landlord-Tenan Dispues

WE ALSO PROVIDE CONNECTIONS

TO A VARIETY OF OTHER SERVICES983098

Mediaion Sessions

Menal Healh

Sae and Federal Suppor Programs

Women and Childrenrsquos Suppor Services

EVIDENCE OF DISCRIMINATION

YES

42

NO

58

Alhough abouhal o our cases do

no show evidenceo discriminaionwe sill spendime making sureha each clienhas access o heservices hey need

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 816

983093

Harassmen is defin

as unwelcome condha is based on racolor religion s

(including pregnancnaional origin adisabiliy or geneinformaion

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

Some o he mos common siuaions ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen handlesare workplace and employmen issues Unorunaely Islamophobia and prejudice sillaffec American Muslims in he workplace Approximaely hal o he discriminaion-relaedcases ha we handle ocus on he need or religious accommodaions in he workplace

The mos requen complains in employmen cases are ha employers are ailingo provide reasonable accommodaions or daily prayer Friday prayer or uniormexempions We also hear complains ha applicans or jobs eel hey have beenpassed over or no hired because o heir religion

Tile VII o he Civil Righs Ac o 1964 prohibis employmen discriminaion basedon religion naional origin and race This includes reusing o accommodae anemployeersquos sincerely held religious belies or pracices unless he accommodaionwould impose an undue hardship on he employer A religious pracice may besincerely held by an individual even i newly adoped no consisenly observed ordifferen rom he commonly ollowed enes o he individualrsquos religion

Oher siuaions ha Muslims ace in he workplace are culures o harassmen bullying andhumiliaion ha akes place over a long period o ime creaing a hosile work environmen

EEOC MEDIATION WITH CAIR983085OK

Our clien was hired hrough a empagency o work a a manuacuring plan inTulsa OK Afer perorming his job wihou

problems when Ramadan approachedhe requesed a couple o small changeso his work environmen He asked o bemoved o a building wih beter cooling

and venilaion so ha he would avoidheasroke while asing However hissupervisor responded very negaively andulimaely he was fired

CAIR Oklahoma helped him repor hiso he Equal Employmen Opporuniies

Commission (EEOC) Afer i wasinvesigaed we accompanied him o a

mediaion session and guided him hroughhe process where he was awarded a

setlemen o make up or losing his job

FROM TULSA TO THE SUPREME COURT

When Samanha Elau applied o work a he popular clohing reailer Abercrombie Kids in Tulsa OK she excelled a her inerview bu wasnoffered he job She ound ou ha alhough she did well and wasoherwise suied o work here he regional manager recommendedagains hiring her because her hijab did no fi he sorersquos ldquolook policyrdquoShe repored o CAIR-OK who hen reerred her o he EEOC

Afer years o liigaion including supporing bries filed by CAIRSamanharsquos case wen all he way o he Supreme Cour whoconsidered he quesion o wheher an employer could reuse o hirepoenial employee because hey knew ha employee would require religious accommodaion The Supreme Cour ruled ha Abercrombihad violaed Tile VII by ailing o hire her because o her need or anexcepion o heir ldquolook policyrdquo and se in place proecions or job

applicans who need religious accommodaions a work

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 916

DIVERSITY TRAINING

A young suden a a local elemenary school and hismoher a hijabi were harassed by a eacher while hey hadlunch ogeher They repored he harassmen o CAIR-OK who ollowed up by conacing he school and helping

he moher file a civil righs complain wih he disric

Alhough he disricrsquos invesigaion did no find anyspecific wrongdoing a he school he adminisraion

invied CAIR-OK o hos a raining session on he needsand righs o young Muslim sudens Through our DiversiyTraining we educaed eachers on he paricular needs o

Muslim sudens and heir amilies and helped aciliae

cross-culural undersanding opimizing he educaionalsuccess o oher young Muslims a ha school

SCHOOL AND HIGHER EDUCATION

Unorunaely we see cases where sudenssruggle wih he prejudice and ignorance oheir peers heir classmaes and even heireachers When we hear abou hese siuaionswe inervene and spread awareness andeducaion ensuring ha he learning environmenis proeced or our Muslim children We also

conduc workshops wih boh Muslim youh andnon-Muslim eachers and oher service providerso make sure ha everyone is proeced rom

religious discriminaion

COALITION BUILDING AT OU

In early 2015 a video emerged osome sudens rom he Universiy oOklahomarsquos Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE)chaper singing a disurbing chan The

chan which apparenly was par o heraerniyrsquos radiion included reerenceso lynching black men and repeaeduse o he n-word Afer he video wen

viral CAIR-OK and oher communiyorganizaions released saemenscondemning he language in he video andcalling or he universiy o respond

OU Presiden David Boren quicklysepped up o reierae he universiyrsquoscommimen o diversiy and olerance

on campus The raerniy was disbandedand he wo sudens responsible orleading he chan were expelled OU

also developed a diversiy and inclusionraining ha all incoming reshmen arenow required o ake

One o he mos imporan aspecs o he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen is supporing our young peoplehrough heir educaion Schooling wheher in privae or public aciliies is a vial par o a young personrsquoslie Our job is o make sure ha every suden has a sae producive and supporive learning environmenin which o ge he bes educaion possible

983094

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1016

983096

HATE INCIDENTS

Alhough hey are rare hae incidens and vandalism occasionally ouch he lives o Oklahomarsquos Muslimcommuniy Islamophobic media along wih a lack o posiive porrayals o Muslims creaes a culure o earand disrus which can someimes resul in dangerous hurul conronaionsWhen hese hae-ueled incidens or acs o vandalism occur CAIR-OK works wih he impaced pary

local law enorcemen local media and our ineraih and communiy parners o address he roos oIslamophobia ensure ha hose responsible are brough o jusice and mainain he saey o our communiy

RAMADAN ATTACK

During Ramadan a local amily was havingheir pre-dawn meal a a resauran inEdmond While hey were eaing anoherresauran paron approached heir ableand began screaming racial invecivesand haeul slurs a hem hreaening hewomen and young children as well Theamily called he police bu he man andhis companion drove off

The amily repored he inciden oCAIR-OK and we conneced wih localpolice o ensure ha hey had ulfilledheir responsibiliies We also warned ourcommuniy abou he possibiliy o heseencouners by releasing Acion Alers andoher updaes using inpu rom local policeand oher law enorcemen sources

MUSLIM DAY AT THE CAPITOL

During our firs ever Oklahoma Muslim Day a he Capiol inFebruary 2015 we planned a day o lecures and panels wihdisinguished guess and local lawmakers culminaing in Fridayprayers hosed in he Capiolrsquos beauiul Rounda However we wereinormed ha a group o proesors were planning o hos a rallyouside he Capiol argeing our own paricipans as hey enered

he buildingDespie his negaive publiciy we worked wih Capiol securiy andvoluneers o ensure he saey o our paricipans Our ineraihparners arrived in droves ounumbering he proesors andshielded our guess rom he haeul invecives hrown a hemCapiol securiy responded quickly o our concerns and we were

joined by parners rom all over he sae Overall he day was aresounding success and we were proud o our achievemens ha

overshadowed he mean-spiried bu small group o proesors

ISLAMOPHOBIA IN PRESIDENTIAL RACE

As he 2016 presidenial elecion season approached variouscandidaes began espousing Islamophobic saemens or allowingheir supporers o make some very dangerous ani-Muslimremarks Concerned abou he growh o Islamophobic senimen

in he presidenial race he Civil Righs Deparmen along wihoher ineraih and communiy organizaions held a press releaseIn he conerence we called on all poliical candidaes o sopnormalizing ani-Muslim ear and hared and o ocus on he real

issues hey will ace as poenial Presidens o he Unied Saes

CAIR-OK Civil Righs Direcor TV inerview abou Islamophobia in Oklahom983095

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1116

983096

REFERRAL SERVICES

Someimes we find ha a case is ou ohe scope o our mission oo cosly oroo ime-consuming or us o reasonablyhandle In hese rare siuaions we are

careul o reer our cliens o oher firsrae service providers who can assis Wealso monior cases afer he clien has beenreerred and are always available o helpour cliens navigae heir relaionship wihlegal service providers Nearly hal o ourime is spen on non-discriminaion relaedcases where we keep our cliens connecedand inormed abou he services and legalprocesses ha affec hem

Through building srong parnerships wecan confidenly reer our cliens o a varieyo legal service providers in he areaso immigraion amily law criminal lawpropery law personal injury and more

TESTIMONIAL FROM YOUNES REBBAJ983098

NON DISCRIMINATION CALLS

Employment

41

Family

12

Immigration

9

Services

6

Property

3

Criminal

16

Other

13

lsquorsquoI am inernaional suden on an F-1

Visa swiching my immigraion sauso an H1-B Work VISA Even wih havingmy employerrsquos atorney working on myimmigraion case I conaced CAIRrsquos Civil

Righs Direcor Veronica Laizure a coupleimes o ge some pracical legal adviceRegardless of he complexiy of he mater

Veronica was exremely knowledgeableand available and was always ready oanswer any quesion I had during he

process No only ha Veronica lisened

carefully o my quesions and commensand responded quickly and clearly wihanalysis and advice aimed direcly a myown case Thank you so much CAIR for all

your help and atenion o resolving our problems Your work is very appreciaed

Keep i Uprsquorsquo

To serve our cliensha uilize ourreerral serviceswe have developeda nework oproviders ha wework wih in a varieyo differen areas

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1216

983097

Occasionally cliens come o us wih inerpersonal conflics ha need o be resolved Raher han solving heissue in cour which can be ime-consuming cosly and have high sakes we offer ree mediaion services inselec cases where a neural hird pary can inervene beween wo people in conflic

During he mediaion which happens in a sae neural space boh people have he opporuniy o explainheir posiions and decide wha i anyhing would saisy hem This session has sric rules ha enorcerespec or each oher and he mediaor This allows people o be hones abou heir eelings and sae whamigh resolve he conflic knowing heir posiions will be ully heard We hen help hem compromise andsetle he issue finishing wih a signed and legally binding conrac This helps boh people o adhere o heiragreemen and usually boh people walk away eeling more saisfied han hey would i hey had aken he

issue o cour

MEDIATION SERVICES

LEADERSHIPThe Civil Righs Deparmen akes par in all our youh leadership programs like he Muslim Youh

Leadership Symposium and he Oklahoma Muslim Gamechangers We also le young people come o shadowour daily aciviies in and ou o he office and ge an idea o wha civil righs advocacy looks like on heground Hosing workshops and presenaions we help o educae a uure generaion o aciviss advocaesand communiy leaders who will be he new voice o he Oklahoma Muslim communiy

MIKAEL BRYANT983084 SUMMER 983090983088983089983093 LEGAL INTERN983098

ldquoMy summer a CAIR Oklahoma had a profound impac on hedevelopmen of my legal professional and personal life Myinernship was srucured in a way ha gave me he opporuniyo learn how o work independenly helping me develop skills o

make me more of a self-sarer while allowing me o have focusedguidance from Ms Laizure which helped me beter undersandwha i means o be a precise and ehical professional I was alsogiven he chance o exercise and develop my public speaking skills

having my firs opporuniy o hos a professional banque a heSummer Youh Symposium Finally my inernship had a profoundimpac on he developmen of my personal growh as a human

being giving me he chance o learn abou he perspecives ofdisenfranchised communiies from a unique and vas specrumCAIR Oklahoma does amazing work and is such a valuableresource for Muslims and he communiy a large and I will

remember and value my ime here for he res of my liferdquo

LEGAL INTERNSHIPS

Our new Legal Inernship program brings

op sudens rom local universiieso work developing cases in he Civil

Righs Deparmen From clien inakeonwards inerns are deeply involvedin all he seps o clien represenaionhrough resoluion They also have heopporuniy o work in our many areasouside o legal services governmenoureach legislaive racking communiy

presenaions and more Finally heyculminae heir inernship wih aresearch projec ha examines a opico heir ineres relevan o he Muslim

communiy Throughou he programhey develop vial skills ha will helphem in heir uure careers

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1316

SOME OF THE TOPICS WE COVERED IN 983090983088983089983093 INCLUDE983098

Students Know Your Rights ndash Your schoolrsquos responsibiliy o you as a Muslim suden or paren o a Muslim suden

Girls and Womenrsquos Rights ndash Focused on he righs o girls and women o wearhijab bu also covered oher opics

Travel Rights ndash In ime or Hajj discussed common issues while raveling and he

various agencies or deparmens you migh encouner hroughou your journey

Law Enforcement ndash Wha o do i yoursquore sopped by police how o proec yourFourh and Fifh Amendmen righs wha o say o law enorcemen officers

If you need o bring a KYR seminar o your communiy simply email or call he CivilRighs Deparmen o se up a workshop

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS SEMINARS

One o he mos imporan services ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmenprovides is empowering he Oklahoma Muslim communiy o know heir own righs anddeend hem when aced wih discriminaion We conduc opic-specific Know YourRighs workshops ha each individuals wha hey can do or say in given siuaionscomplee wih examples and quesion and answer sessions

Civil Righs Direcor delivers ldquoKnow Your Righs Hijabi Ediionrdquo aTulsa Peace Academy

983089983088

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1416

Civil Righs Direcor a Tulsarsquos John Hope Franklin Symposium onReconciliaion and he Media delivering presenaion ldquoThugs

Terroriss and Troubled Souls The Narraive of Race and Crimerdquo

OUTREACH EFFORTS

The CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen brings educaional presenaions o hose ouside

he Muslim communiy o Oklahoma in hopes o dispelling myhs abou Islam and reducing

he Islamophobia spread by misinormaion and ignorance

In he one year ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen has been esablished we have been inviedo over a dozen non-Muslim organizaions and evens o speak on he realiy o he Oklahoma Muslim

communiy

John Franklin Hope Symposium Tulsa OK ldquoTerroriss Thugs and Trouble Souls The Narraives

of Race and Crimerdquo Explored differences in media presenaion o perperaors o crimeIslamophobic depicions o erroriss and he consequences o skewed represenaion on helives o American Muslims

St Stephens Church Norman OK ldquo10 Things You Though You Knew Abou Islamrdquo Dispellingsereoypes and addressing common misconcepions abou Islam and Muslim

Rotary Club of Oklahoma City Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoIslamophobia and he Mediardquo Deailedexaminaion o how he media skews percepions o erroriss and errorism demonizesMuslims and conribues o he discriminaion aced by American Muslims

Sequoyah Elementary School Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoEliminaing Bias Undersanding Muslim Sudens and Familiesrdquo In response o repors o harassmen o Muslim amily presened

an inroducion o Islam and explored ways ha eachers could suppor and empower heirMuslim sudens and amilies

Comparative Religions Class Oklahoma Ciy Universiy OK ldquoHae Speech vs Freedom ofSpeechrdquo Examined differences in legal reamen o hae speech in American Consiuional

regime as compared o he European Cour o Human Righs and he UNDHR

We also work closely wih our parners a he Equal Employmen Opporuniies Commission he OklahomaCouny Bar Associaion he American Civil Liberies Union o Oklahoma he YWCA o Oklahoma Ciy andcounless oher local and sae-wide organizaions ha spread our messages o olerance and pluralism in he

civil righs world

CAIR-OK Saff visis he YWCAof Oklahoma Ciy

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1516

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1616

3000 Unied Founders Blvd Se 226 OKC OK 731124052866009 | inookcaircom | cairoklahomacom

Page 6: 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 616

COMMON ISSUES HANDLED BY OUR DEPARTMENT983098

DISCRIMINATION CASES

Employmen

Schools and Sudens

Harassmen Bullying amp Hae Incidens

Denial o Religious AccommodaionDenial o Service or Access

FBI Conac

Law Enorcemen

ABOUT THE CIVIL RIGHTS DEPARTMENT

The Civil Righs Deparmen consanly receives calls seeking legal aid or assisance Some cases

pose issues o discriminaion or harassmen agains Oklahoma Muslims Our firs sep is o ascerain

i here is evidence o discriminaion in he siuaion a hand Through inerviews discussions and

reviewing documens we deermine i he case is appropriae or he Civil Righs Deparmen o

handle From here we provide help and represenaion or dozens o people and amilies fighing

discriminaion or civil righs violaions

983091

Employment

9

Denial of Religious

Accommodation

32

Denial of Service or Access

9

Bullying

9

Harassment

27

FBI

4

StateLocal Law Enforcemen

5

FederalGovt Agency

5

Cases ha includeevidence odiscriminaion akea variey o ormsWe sor cases inohese caegories oshow paterns andcommon acors

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 716

983092

Where a case or issue is outside thescope of our work we refer our clientsto a network of other legal serviceproviders and monitor the case asit progresses providing support to

clients navigating the legal system

CASES REFERRED TO OTHER SERVICES983098

Family amp Cusody Dispues

Immigraion Law

Non-Discriminaory Employmen Law

Criminal Represenaion

Propery amp Landlord-Tenan Dispues

WE ALSO PROVIDE CONNECTIONS

TO A VARIETY OF OTHER SERVICES983098

Mediaion Sessions

Menal Healh

Sae and Federal Suppor Programs

Women and Childrenrsquos Suppor Services

EVIDENCE OF DISCRIMINATION

YES

42

NO

58

Alhough abouhal o our cases do

no show evidenceo discriminaionwe sill spendime making sureha each clienhas access o heservices hey need

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 816

983093

Harassmen is defin

as unwelcome condha is based on racolor religion s

(including pregnancnaional origin adisabiliy or geneinformaion

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

Some o he mos common siuaions ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen handlesare workplace and employmen issues Unorunaely Islamophobia and prejudice sillaffec American Muslims in he workplace Approximaely hal o he discriminaion-relaedcases ha we handle ocus on he need or religious accommodaions in he workplace

The mos requen complains in employmen cases are ha employers are ailingo provide reasonable accommodaions or daily prayer Friday prayer or uniormexempions We also hear complains ha applicans or jobs eel hey have beenpassed over or no hired because o heir religion

Tile VII o he Civil Righs Ac o 1964 prohibis employmen discriminaion basedon religion naional origin and race This includes reusing o accommodae anemployeersquos sincerely held religious belies or pracices unless he accommodaionwould impose an undue hardship on he employer A religious pracice may besincerely held by an individual even i newly adoped no consisenly observed ordifferen rom he commonly ollowed enes o he individualrsquos religion

Oher siuaions ha Muslims ace in he workplace are culures o harassmen bullying andhumiliaion ha akes place over a long period o ime creaing a hosile work environmen

EEOC MEDIATION WITH CAIR983085OK

Our clien was hired hrough a empagency o work a a manuacuring plan inTulsa OK Afer perorming his job wihou

problems when Ramadan approachedhe requesed a couple o small changeso his work environmen He asked o bemoved o a building wih beter cooling

and venilaion so ha he would avoidheasroke while asing However hissupervisor responded very negaively andulimaely he was fired

CAIR Oklahoma helped him repor hiso he Equal Employmen Opporuniies

Commission (EEOC) Afer i wasinvesigaed we accompanied him o a

mediaion session and guided him hroughhe process where he was awarded a

setlemen o make up or losing his job

FROM TULSA TO THE SUPREME COURT

When Samanha Elau applied o work a he popular clohing reailer Abercrombie Kids in Tulsa OK she excelled a her inerview bu wasnoffered he job She ound ou ha alhough she did well and wasoherwise suied o work here he regional manager recommendedagains hiring her because her hijab did no fi he sorersquos ldquolook policyrdquoShe repored o CAIR-OK who hen reerred her o he EEOC

Afer years o liigaion including supporing bries filed by CAIRSamanharsquos case wen all he way o he Supreme Cour whoconsidered he quesion o wheher an employer could reuse o hirepoenial employee because hey knew ha employee would require religious accommodaion The Supreme Cour ruled ha Abercrombihad violaed Tile VII by ailing o hire her because o her need or anexcepion o heir ldquolook policyrdquo and se in place proecions or job

applicans who need religious accommodaions a work

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 916

DIVERSITY TRAINING

A young suden a a local elemenary school and hismoher a hijabi were harassed by a eacher while hey hadlunch ogeher They repored he harassmen o CAIR-OK who ollowed up by conacing he school and helping

he moher file a civil righs complain wih he disric

Alhough he disricrsquos invesigaion did no find anyspecific wrongdoing a he school he adminisraion

invied CAIR-OK o hos a raining session on he needsand righs o young Muslim sudens Through our DiversiyTraining we educaed eachers on he paricular needs o

Muslim sudens and heir amilies and helped aciliae

cross-culural undersanding opimizing he educaionalsuccess o oher young Muslims a ha school

SCHOOL AND HIGHER EDUCATION

Unorunaely we see cases where sudenssruggle wih he prejudice and ignorance oheir peers heir classmaes and even heireachers When we hear abou hese siuaionswe inervene and spread awareness andeducaion ensuring ha he learning environmenis proeced or our Muslim children We also

conduc workshops wih boh Muslim youh andnon-Muslim eachers and oher service providerso make sure ha everyone is proeced rom

religious discriminaion

COALITION BUILDING AT OU

In early 2015 a video emerged osome sudens rom he Universiy oOklahomarsquos Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE)chaper singing a disurbing chan The

chan which apparenly was par o heraerniyrsquos radiion included reerenceso lynching black men and repeaeduse o he n-word Afer he video wen

viral CAIR-OK and oher communiyorganizaions released saemenscondemning he language in he video andcalling or he universiy o respond

OU Presiden David Boren quicklysepped up o reierae he universiyrsquoscommimen o diversiy and olerance

on campus The raerniy was disbandedand he wo sudens responsible orleading he chan were expelled OU

also developed a diversiy and inclusionraining ha all incoming reshmen arenow required o ake

One o he mos imporan aspecs o he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen is supporing our young peoplehrough heir educaion Schooling wheher in privae or public aciliies is a vial par o a young personrsquoslie Our job is o make sure ha every suden has a sae producive and supporive learning environmenin which o ge he bes educaion possible

983094

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1016

983096

HATE INCIDENTS

Alhough hey are rare hae incidens and vandalism occasionally ouch he lives o Oklahomarsquos Muslimcommuniy Islamophobic media along wih a lack o posiive porrayals o Muslims creaes a culure o earand disrus which can someimes resul in dangerous hurul conronaionsWhen hese hae-ueled incidens or acs o vandalism occur CAIR-OK works wih he impaced pary

local law enorcemen local media and our ineraih and communiy parners o address he roos oIslamophobia ensure ha hose responsible are brough o jusice and mainain he saey o our communiy

RAMADAN ATTACK

During Ramadan a local amily was havingheir pre-dawn meal a a resauran inEdmond While hey were eaing anoherresauran paron approached heir ableand began screaming racial invecivesand haeul slurs a hem hreaening hewomen and young children as well Theamily called he police bu he man andhis companion drove off

The amily repored he inciden oCAIR-OK and we conneced wih localpolice o ensure ha hey had ulfilledheir responsibiliies We also warned ourcommuniy abou he possibiliy o heseencouners by releasing Acion Alers andoher updaes using inpu rom local policeand oher law enorcemen sources

MUSLIM DAY AT THE CAPITOL

During our firs ever Oklahoma Muslim Day a he Capiol inFebruary 2015 we planned a day o lecures and panels wihdisinguished guess and local lawmakers culminaing in Fridayprayers hosed in he Capiolrsquos beauiul Rounda However we wereinormed ha a group o proesors were planning o hos a rallyouside he Capiol argeing our own paricipans as hey enered

he buildingDespie his negaive publiciy we worked wih Capiol securiy andvoluneers o ensure he saey o our paricipans Our ineraihparners arrived in droves ounumbering he proesors andshielded our guess rom he haeul invecives hrown a hemCapiol securiy responded quickly o our concerns and we were

joined by parners rom all over he sae Overall he day was aresounding success and we were proud o our achievemens ha

overshadowed he mean-spiried bu small group o proesors

ISLAMOPHOBIA IN PRESIDENTIAL RACE

As he 2016 presidenial elecion season approached variouscandidaes began espousing Islamophobic saemens or allowingheir supporers o make some very dangerous ani-Muslimremarks Concerned abou he growh o Islamophobic senimen

in he presidenial race he Civil Righs Deparmen along wihoher ineraih and communiy organizaions held a press releaseIn he conerence we called on all poliical candidaes o sopnormalizing ani-Muslim ear and hared and o ocus on he real

issues hey will ace as poenial Presidens o he Unied Saes

CAIR-OK Civil Righs Direcor TV inerview abou Islamophobia in Oklahom983095

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1116

983096

REFERRAL SERVICES

Someimes we find ha a case is ou ohe scope o our mission oo cosly oroo ime-consuming or us o reasonablyhandle In hese rare siuaions we are

careul o reer our cliens o oher firsrae service providers who can assis Wealso monior cases afer he clien has beenreerred and are always available o helpour cliens navigae heir relaionship wihlegal service providers Nearly hal o ourime is spen on non-discriminaion relaedcases where we keep our cliens connecedand inormed abou he services and legalprocesses ha affec hem

Through building srong parnerships wecan confidenly reer our cliens o a varieyo legal service providers in he areaso immigraion amily law criminal lawpropery law personal injury and more

TESTIMONIAL FROM YOUNES REBBAJ983098

NON DISCRIMINATION CALLS

Employment

41

Family

12

Immigration

9

Services

6

Property

3

Criminal

16

Other

13

lsquorsquoI am inernaional suden on an F-1

Visa swiching my immigraion sauso an H1-B Work VISA Even wih havingmy employerrsquos atorney working on myimmigraion case I conaced CAIRrsquos Civil

Righs Direcor Veronica Laizure a coupleimes o ge some pracical legal adviceRegardless of he complexiy of he mater

Veronica was exremely knowledgeableand available and was always ready oanswer any quesion I had during he

process No only ha Veronica lisened

carefully o my quesions and commensand responded quickly and clearly wihanalysis and advice aimed direcly a myown case Thank you so much CAIR for all

your help and atenion o resolving our problems Your work is very appreciaed

Keep i Uprsquorsquo

To serve our cliensha uilize ourreerral serviceswe have developeda nework oproviders ha wework wih in a varieyo differen areas

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1216

983097

Occasionally cliens come o us wih inerpersonal conflics ha need o be resolved Raher han solving heissue in cour which can be ime-consuming cosly and have high sakes we offer ree mediaion services inselec cases where a neural hird pary can inervene beween wo people in conflic

During he mediaion which happens in a sae neural space boh people have he opporuniy o explainheir posiions and decide wha i anyhing would saisy hem This session has sric rules ha enorcerespec or each oher and he mediaor This allows people o be hones abou heir eelings and sae whamigh resolve he conflic knowing heir posiions will be ully heard We hen help hem compromise andsetle he issue finishing wih a signed and legally binding conrac This helps boh people o adhere o heiragreemen and usually boh people walk away eeling more saisfied han hey would i hey had aken he

issue o cour

MEDIATION SERVICES

LEADERSHIPThe Civil Righs Deparmen akes par in all our youh leadership programs like he Muslim Youh

Leadership Symposium and he Oklahoma Muslim Gamechangers We also le young people come o shadowour daily aciviies in and ou o he office and ge an idea o wha civil righs advocacy looks like on heground Hosing workshops and presenaions we help o educae a uure generaion o aciviss advocaesand communiy leaders who will be he new voice o he Oklahoma Muslim communiy

MIKAEL BRYANT983084 SUMMER 983090983088983089983093 LEGAL INTERN983098

ldquoMy summer a CAIR Oklahoma had a profound impac on hedevelopmen of my legal professional and personal life Myinernship was srucured in a way ha gave me he opporuniyo learn how o work independenly helping me develop skills o

make me more of a self-sarer while allowing me o have focusedguidance from Ms Laizure which helped me beter undersandwha i means o be a precise and ehical professional I was alsogiven he chance o exercise and develop my public speaking skills

having my firs opporuniy o hos a professional banque a heSummer Youh Symposium Finally my inernship had a profoundimpac on he developmen of my personal growh as a human

being giving me he chance o learn abou he perspecives ofdisenfranchised communiies from a unique and vas specrumCAIR Oklahoma does amazing work and is such a valuableresource for Muslims and he communiy a large and I will

remember and value my ime here for he res of my liferdquo

LEGAL INTERNSHIPS

Our new Legal Inernship program brings

op sudens rom local universiieso work developing cases in he Civil

Righs Deparmen From clien inakeonwards inerns are deeply involvedin all he seps o clien represenaionhrough resoluion They also have heopporuniy o work in our many areasouside o legal services governmenoureach legislaive racking communiy

presenaions and more Finally heyculminae heir inernship wih aresearch projec ha examines a opico heir ineres relevan o he Muslim

communiy Throughou he programhey develop vial skills ha will helphem in heir uure careers

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1316

SOME OF THE TOPICS WE COVERED IN 983090983088983089983093 INCLUDE983098

Students Know Your Rights ndash Your schoolrsquos responsibiliy o you as a Muslim suden or paren o a Muslim suden

Girls and Womenrsquos Rights ndash Focused on he righs o girls and women o wearhijab bu also covered oher opics

Travel Rights ndash In ime or Hajj discussed common issues while raveling and he

various agencies or deparmens you migh encouner hroughou your journey

Law Enforcement ndash Wha o do i yoursquore sopped by police how o proec yourFourh and Fifh Amendmen righs wha o say o law enorcemen officers

If you need o bring a KYR seminar o your communiy simply email or call he CivilRighs Deparmen o se up a workshop

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS SEMINARS

One o he mos imporan services ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmenprovides is empowering he Oklahoma Muslim communiy o know heir own righs anddeend hem when aced wih discriminaion We conduc opic-specific Know YourRighs workshops ha each individuals wha hey can do or say in given siuaionscomplee wih examples and quesion and answer sessions

Civil Righs Direcor delivers ldquoKnow Your Righs Hijabi Ediionrdquo aTulsa Peace Academy

983089983088

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1416

Civil Righs Direcor a Tulsarsquos John Hope Franklin Symposium onReconciliaion and he Media delivering presenaion ldquoThugs

Terroriss and Troubled Souls The Narraive of Race and Crimerdquo

OUTREACH EFFORTS

The CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen brings educaional presenaions o hose ouside

he Muslim communiy o Oklahoma in hopes o dispelling myhs abou Islam and reducing

he Islamophobia spread by misinormaion and ignorance

In he one year ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen has been esablished we have been inviedo over a dozen non-Muslim organizaions and evens o speak on he realiy o he Oklahoma Muslim

communiy

John Franklin Hope Symposium Tulsa OK ldquoTerroriss Thugs and Trouble Souls The Narraives

of Race and Crimerdquo Explored differences in media presenaion o perperaors o crimeIslamophobic depicions o erroriss and he consequences o skewed represenaion on helives o American Muslims

St Stephens Church Norman OK ldquo10 Things You Though You Knew Abou Islamrdquo Dispellingsereoypes and addressing common misconcepions abou Islam and Muslim

Rotary Club of Oklahoma City Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoIslamophobia and he Mediardquo Deailedexaminaion o how he media skews percepions o erroriss and errorism demonizesMuslims and conribues o he discriminaion aced by American Muslims

Sequoyah Elementary School Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoEliminaing Bias Undersanding Muslim Sudens and Familiesrdquo In response o repors o harassmen o Muslim amily presened

an inroducion o Islam and explored ways ha eachers could suppor and empower heirMuslim sudens and amilies

Comparative Religions Class Oklahoma Ciy Universiy OK ldquoHae Speech vs Freedom ofSpeechrdquo Examined differences in legal reamen o hae speech in American Consiuional

regime as compared o he European Cour o Human Righs and he UNDHR

We also work closely wih our parners a he Equal Employmen Opporuniies Commission he OklahomaCouny Bar Associaion he American Civil Liberies Union o Oklahoma he YWCA o Oklahoma Ciy andcounless oher local and sae-wide organizaions ha spread our messages o olerance and pluralism in he

civil righs world

CAIR-OK Saff visis he YWCAof Oklahoma Ciy

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1516

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1616

3000 Unied Founders Blvd Se 226 OKC OK 731124052866009 | inookcaircom | cairoklahomacom

Page 7: 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 716

983092

Where a case or issue is outside thescope of our work we refer our clientsto a network of other legal serviceproviders and monitor the case asit progresses providing support to

clients navigating the legal system

CASES REFERRED TO OTHER SERVICES983098

Family amp Cusody Dispues

Immigraion Law

Non-Discriminaory Employmen Law

Criminal Represenaion

Propery amp Landlord-Tenan Dispues

WE ALSO PROVIDE CONNECTIONS

TO A VARIETY OF OTHER SERVICES983098

Mediaion Sessions

Menal Healh

Sae and Federal Suppor Programs

Women and Childrenrsquos Suppor Services

EVIDENCE OF DISCRIMINATION

YES

42

NO

58

Alhough abouhal o our cases do

no show evidenceo discriminaionwe sill spendime making sureha each clienhas access o heservices hey need

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 816

983093

Harassmen is defin

as unwelcome condha is based on racolor religion s

(including pregnancnaional origin adisabiliy or geneinformaion

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

Some o he mos common siuaions ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen handlesare workplace and employmen issues Unorunaely Islamophobia and prejudice sillaffec American Muslims in he workplace Approximaely hal o he discriminaion-relaedcases ha we handle ocus on he need or religious accommodaions in he workplace

The mos requen complains in employmen cases are ha employers are ailingo provide reasonable accommodaions or daily prayer Friday prayer or uniormexempions We also hear complains ha applicans or jobs eel hey have beenpassed over or no hired because o heir religion

Tile VII o he Civil Righs Ac o 1964 prohibis employmen discriminaion basedon religion naional origin and race This includes reusing o accommodae anemployeersquos sincerely held religious belies or pracices unless he accommodaionwould impose an undue hardship on he employer A religious pracice may besincerely held by an individual even i newly adoped no consisenly observed ordifferen rom he commonly ollowed enes o he individualrsquos religion

Oher siuaions ha Muslims ace in he workplace are culures o harassmen bullying andhumiliaion ha akes place over a long period o ime creaing a hosile work environmen

EEOC MEDIATION WITH CAIR983085OK

Our clien was hired hrough a empagency o work a a manuacuring plan inTulsa OK Afer perorming his job wihou

problems when Ramadan approachedhe requesed a couple o small changeso his work environmen He asked o bemoved o a building wih beter cooling

and venilaion so ha he would avoidheasroke while asing However hissupervisor responded very negaively andulimaely he was fired

CAIR Oklahoma helped him repor hiso he Equal Employmen Opporuniies

Commission (EEOC) Afer i wasinvesigaed we accompanied him o a

mediaion session and guided him hroughhe process where he was awarded a

setlemen o make up or losing his job

FROM TULSA TO THE SUPREME COURT

When Samanha Elau applied o work a he popular clohing reailer Abercrombie Kids in Tulsa OK she excelled a her inerview bu wasnoffered he job She ound ou ha alhough she did well and wasoherwise suied o work here he regional manager recommendedagains hiring her because her hijab did no fi he sorersquos ldquolook policyrdquoShe repored o CAIR-OK who hen reerred her o he EEOC

Afer years o liigaion including supporing bries filed by CAIRSamanharsquos case wen all he way o he Supreme Cour whoconsidered he quesion o wheher an employer could reuse o hirepoenial employee because hey knew ha employee would require religious accommodaion The Supreme Cour ruled ha Abercrombihad violaed Tile VII by ailing o hire her because o her need or anexcepion o heir ldquolook policyrdquo and se in place proecions or job

applicans who need religious accommodaions a work

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 916

DIVERSITY TRAINING

A young suden a a local elemenary school and hismoher a hijabi were harassed by a eacher while hey hadlunch ogeher They repored he harassmen o CAIR-OK who ollowed up by conacing he school and helping

he moher file a civil righs complain wih he disric

Alhough he disricrsquos invesigaion did no find anyspecific wrongdoing a he school he adminisraion

invied CAIR-OK o hos a raining session on he needsand righs o young Muslim sudens Through our DiversiyTraining we educaed eachers on he paricular needs o

Muslim sudens and heir amilies and helped aciliae

cross-culural undersanding opimizing he educaionalsuccess o oher young Muslims a ha school

SCHOOL AND HIGHER EDUCATION

Unorunaely we see cases where sudenssruggle wih he prejudice and ignorance oheir peers heir classmaes and even heireachers When we hear abou hese siuaionswe inervene and spread awareness andeducaion ensuring ha he learning environmenis proeced or our Muslim children We also

conduc workshops wih boh Muslim youh andnon-Muslim eachers and oher service providerso make sure ha everyone is proeced rom

religious discriminaion

COALITION BUILDING AT OU

In early 2015 a video emerged osome sudens rom he Universiy oOklahomarsquos Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE)chaper singing a disurbing chan The

chan which apparenly was par o heraerniyrsquos radiion included reerenceso lynching black men and repeaeduse o he n-word Afer he video wen

viral CAIR-OK and oher communiyorganizaions released saemenscondemning he language in he video andcalling or he universiy o respond

OU Presiden David Boren quicklysepped up o reierae he universiyrsquoscommimen o diversiy and olerance

on campus The raerniy was disbandedand he wo sudens responsible orleading he chan were expelled OU

also developed a diversiy and inclusionraining ha all incoming reshmen arenow required o ake

One o he mos imporan aspecs o he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen is supporing our young peoplehrough heir educaion Schooling wheher in privae or public aciliies is a vial par o a young personrsquoslie Our job is o make sure ha every suden has a sae producive and supporive learning environmenin which o ge he bes educaion possible

983094

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1016

983096

HATE INCIDENTS

Alhough hey are rare hae incidens and vandalism occasionally ouch he lives o Oklahomarsquos Muslimcommuniy Islamophobic media along wih a lack o posiive porrayals o Muslims creaes a culure o earand disrus which can someimes resul in dangerous hurul conronaionsWhen hese hae-ueled incidens or acs o vandalism occur CAIR-OK works wih he impaced pary

local law enorcemen local media and our ineraih and communiy parners o address he roos oIslamophobia ensure ha hose responsible are brough o jusice and mainain he saey o our communiy

RAMADAN ATTACK

During Ramadan a local amily was havingheir pre-dawn meal a a resauran inEdmond While hey were eaing anoherresauran paron approached heir ableand began screaming racial invecivesand haeul slurs a hem hreaening hewomen and young children as well Theamily called he police bu he man andhis companion drove off

The amily repored he inciden oCAIR-OK and we conneced wih localpolice o ensure ha hey had ulfilledheir responsibiliies We also warned ourcommuniy abou he possibiliy o heseencouners by releasing Acion Alers andoher updaes using inpu rom local policeand oher law enorcemen sources

MUSLIM DAY AT THE CAPITOL

During our firs ever Oklahoma Muslim Day a he Capiol inFebruary 2015 we planned a day o lecures and panels wihdisinguished guess and local lawmakers culminaing in Fridayprayers hosed in he Capiolrsquos beauiul Rounda However we wereinormed ha a group o proesors were planning o hos a rallyouside he Capiol argeing our own paricipans as hey enered

he buildingDespie his negaive publiciy we worked wih Capiol securiy andvoluneers o ensure he saey o our paricipans Our ineraihparners arrived in droves ounumbering he proesors andshielded our guess rom he haeul invecives hrown a hemCapiol securiy responded quickly o our concerns and we were

joined by parners rom all over he sae Overall he day was aresounding success and we were proud o our achievemens ha

overshadowed he mean-spiried bu small group o proesors

ISLAMOPHOBIA IN PRESIDENTIAL RACE

As he 2016 presidenial elecion season approached variouscandidaes began espousing Islamophobic saemens or allowingheir supporers o make some very dangerous ani-Muslimremarks Concerned abou he growh o Islamophobic senimen

in he presidenial race he Civil Righs Deparmen along wihoher ineraih and communiy organizaions held a press releaseIn he conerence we called on all poliical candidaes o sopnormalizing ani-Muslim ear and hared and o ocus on he real

issues hey will ace as poenial Presidens o he Unied Saes

CAIR-OK Civil Righs Direcor TV inerview abou Islamophobia in Oklahom983095

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1116

983096

REFERRAL SERVICES

Someimes we find ha a case is ou ohe scope o our mission oo cosly oroo ime-consuming or us o reasonablyhandle In hese rare siuaions we are

careul o reer our cliens o oher firsrae service providers who can assis Wealso monior cases afer he clien has beenreerred and are always available o helpour cliens navigae heir relaionship wihlegal service providers Nearly hal o ourime is spen on non-discriminaion relaedcases where we keep our cliens connecedand inormed abou he services and legalprocesses ha affec hem

Through building srong parnerships wecan confidenly reer our cliens o a varieyo legal service providers in he areaso immigraion amily law criminal lawpropery law personal injury and more

TESTIMONIAL FROM YOUNES REBBAJ983098

NON DISCRIMINATION CALLS

Employment

41

Family

12

Immigration

9

Services

6

Property

3

Criminal

16

Other

13

lsquorsquoI am inernaional suden on an F-1

Visa swiching my immigraion sauso an H1-B Work VISA Even wih havingmy employerrsquos atorney working on myimmigraion case I conaced CAIRrsquos Civil

Righs Direcor Veronica Laizure a coupleimes o ge some pracical legal adviceRegardless of he complexiy of he mater

Veronica was exremely knowledgeableand available and was always ready oanswer any quesion I had during he

process No only ha Veronica lisened

carefully o my quesions and commensand responded quickly and clearly wihanalysis and advice aimed direcly a myown case Thank you so much CAIR for all

your help and atenion o resolving our problems Your work is very appreciaed

Keep i Uprsquorsquo

To serve our cliensha uilize ourreerral serviceswe have developeda nework oproviders ha wework wih in a varieyo differen areas

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1216

983097

Occasionally cliens come o us wih inerpersonal conflics ha need o be resolved Raher han solving heissue in cour which can be ime-consuming cosly and have high sakes we offer ree mediaion services inselec cases where a neural hird pary can inervene beween wo people in conflic

During he mediaion which happens in a sae neural space boh people have he opporuniy o explainheir posiions and decide wha i anyhing would saisy hem This session has sric rules ha enorcerespec or each oher and he mediaor This allows people o be hones abou heir eelings and sae whamigh resolve he conflic knowing heir posiions will be ully heard We hen help hem compromise andsetle he issue finishing wih a signed and legally binding conrac This helps boh people o adhere o heiragreemen and usually boh people walk away eeling more saisfied han hey would i hey had aken he

issue o cour

MEDIATION SERVICES

LEADERSHIPThe Civil Righs Deparmen akes par in all our youh leadership programs like he Muslim Youh

Leadership Symposium and he Oklahoma Muslim Gamechangers We also le young people come o shadowour daily aciviies in and ou o he office and ge an idea o wha civil righs advocacy looks like on heground Hosing workshops and presenaions we help o educae a uure generaion o aciviss advocaesand communiy leaders who will be he new voice o he Oklahoma Muslim communiy

MIKAEL BRYANT983084 SUMMER 983090983088983089983093 LEGAL INTERN983098

ldquoMy summer a CAIR Oklahoma had a profound impac on hedevelopmen of my legal professional and personal life Myinernship was srucured in a way ha gave me he opporuniyo learn how o work independenly helping me develop skills o

make me more of a self-sarer while allowing me o have focusedguidance from Ms Laizure which helped me beter undersandwha i means o be a precise and ehical professional I was alsogiven he chance o exercise and develop my public speaking skills

having my firs opporuniy o hos a professional banque a heSummer Youh Symposium Finally my inernship had a profoundimpac on he developmen of my personal growh as a human

being giving me he chance o learn abou he perspecives ofdisenfranchised communiies from a unique and vas specrumCAIR Oklahoma does amazing work and is such a valuableresource for Muslims and he communiy a large and I will

remember and value my ime here for he res of my liferdquo

LEGAL INTERNSHIPS

Our new Legal Inernship program brings

op sudens rom local universiieso work developing cases in he Civil

Righs Deparmen From clien inakeonwards inerns are deeply involvedin all he seps o clien represenaionhrough resoluion They also have heopporuniy o work in our many areasouside o legal services governmenoureach legislaive racking communiy

presenaions and more Finally heyculminae heir inernship wih aresearch projec ha examines a opico heir ineres relevan o he Muslim

communiy Throughou he programhey develop vial skills ha will helphem in heir uure careers

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1316

SOME OF THE TOPICS WE COVERED IN 983090983088983089983093 INCLUDE983098

Students Know Your Rights ndash Your schoolrsquos responsibiliy o you as a Muslim suden or paren o a Muslim suden

Girls and Womenrsquos Rights ndash Focused on he righs o girls and women o wearhijab bu also covered oher opics

Travel Rights ndash In ime or Hajj discussed common issues while raveling and he

various agencies or deparmens you migh encouner hroughou your journey

Law Enforcement ndash Wha o do i yoursquore sopped by police how o proec yourFourh and Fifh Amendmen righs wha o say o law enorcemen officers

If you need o bring a KYR seminar o your communiy simply email or call he CivilRighs Deparmen o se up a workshop

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS SEMINARS

One o he mos imporan services ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmenprovides is empowering he Oklahoma Muslim communiy o know heir own righs anddeend hem when aced wih discriminaion We conduc opic-specific Know YourRighs workshops ha each individuals wha hey can do or say in given siuaionscomplee wih examples and quesion and answer sessions

Civil Righs Direcor delivers ldquoKnow Your Righs Hijabi Ediionrdquo aTulsa Peace Academy

983089983088

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1416

Civil Righs Direcor a Tulsarsquos John Hope Franklin Symposium onReconciliaion and he Media delivering presenaion ldquoThugs

Terroriss and Troubled Souls The Narraive of Race and Crimerdquo

OUTREACH EFFORTS

The CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen brings educaional presenaions o hose ouside

he Muslim communiy o Oklahoma in hopes o dispelling myhs abou Islam and reducing

he Islamophobia spread by misinormaion and ignorance

In he one year ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen has been esablished we have been inviedo over a dozen non-Muslim organizaions and evens o speak on he realiy o he Oklahoma Muslim

communiy

John Franklin Hope Symposium Tulsa OK ldquoTerroriss Thugs and Trouble Souls The Narraives

of Race and Crimerdquo Explored differences in media presenaion o perperaors o crimeIslamophobic depicions o erroriss and he consequences o skewed represenaion on helives o American Muslims

St Stephens Church Norman OK ldquo10 Things You Though You Knew Abou Islamrdquo Dispellingsereoypes and addressing common misconcepions abou Islam and Muslim

Rotary Club of Oklahoma City Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoIslamophobia and he Mediardquo Deailedexaminaion o how he media skews percepions o erroriss and errorism demonizesMuslims and conribues o he discriminaion aced by American Muslims

Sequoyah Elementary School Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoEliminaing Bias Undersanding Muslim Sudens and Familiesrdquo In response o repors o harassmen o Muslim amily presened

an inroducion o Islam and explored ways ha eachers could suppor and empower heirMuslim sudens and amilies

Comparative Religions Class Oklahoma Ciy Universiy OK ldquoHae Speech vs Freedom ofSpeechrdquo Examined differences in legal reamen o hae speech in American Consiuional

regime as compared o he European Cour o Human Righs and he UNDHR

We also work closely wih our parners a he Equal Employmen Opporuniies Commission he OklahomaCouny Bar Associaion he American Civil Liberies Union o Oklahoma he YWCA o Oklahoma Ciy andcounless oher local and sae-wide organizaions ha spread our messages o olerance and pluralism in he

civil righs world

CAIR-OK Saff visis he YWCAof Oklahoma Ciy

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1516

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1616

3000 Unied Founders Blvd Se 226 OKC OK 731124052866009 | inookcaircom | cairoklahomacom

Page 8: 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 816

983093

Harassmen is defin

as unwelcome condha is based on racolor religion s

(including pregnancnaional origin adisabiliy or geneinformaion

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

Some o he mos common siuaions ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen handlesare workplace and employmen issues Unorunaely Islamophobia and prejudice sillaffec American Muslims in he workplace Approximaely hal o he discriminaion-relaedcases ha we handle ocus on he need or religious accommodaions in he workplace

The mos requen complains in employmen cases are ha employers are ailingo provide reasonable accommodaions or daily prayer Friday prayer or uniormexempions We also hear complains ha applicans or jobs eel hey have beenpassed over or no hired because o heir religion

Tile VII o he Civil Righs Ac o 1964 prohibis employmen discriminaion basedon religion naional origin and race This includes reusing o accommodae anemployeersquos sincerely held religious belies or pracices unless he accommodaionwould impose an undue hardship on he employer A religious pracice may besincerely held by an individual even i newly adoped no consisenly observed ordifferen rom he commonly ollowed enes o he individualrsquos religion

Oher siuaions ha Muslims ace in he workplace are culures o harassmen bullying andhumiliaion ha akes place over a long period o ime creaing a hosile work environmen

EEOC MEDIATION WITH CAIR983085OK

Our clien was hired hrough a empagency o work a a manuacuring plan inTulsa OK Afer perorming his job wihou

problems when Ramadan approachedhe requesed a couple o small changeso his work environmen He asked o bemoved o a building wih beter cooling

and venilaion so ha he would avoidheasroke while asing However hissupervisor responded very negaively andulimaely he was fired

CAIR Oklahoma helped him repor hiso he Equal Employmen Opporuniies

Commission (EEOC) Afer i wasinvesigaed we accompanied him o a

mediaion session and guided him hroughhe process where he was awarded a

setlemen o make up or losing his job

FROM TULSA TO THE SUPREME COURT

When Samanha Elau applied o work a he popular clohing reailer Abercrombie Kids in Tulsa OK she excelled a her inerview bu wasnoffered he job She ound ou ha alhough she did well and wasoherwise suied o work here he regional manager recommendedagains hiring her because her hijab did no fi he sorersquos ldquolook policyrdquoShe repored o CAIR-OK who hen reerred her o he EEOC

Afer years o liigaion including supporing bries filed by CAIRSamanharsquos case wen all he way o he Supreme Cour whoconsidered he quesion o wheher an employer could reuse o hirepoenial employee because hey knew ha employee would require religious accommodaion The Supreme Cour ruled ha Abercrombihad violaed Tile VII by ailing o hire her because o her need or anexcepion o heir ldquolook policyrdquo and se in place proecions or job

applicans who need religious accommodaions a work

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 916

DIVERSITY TRAINING

A young suden a a local elemenary school and hismoher a hijabi were harassed by a eacher while hey hadlunch ogeher They repored he harassmen o CAIR-OK who ollowed up by conacing he school and helping

he moher file a civil righs complain wih he disric

Alhough he disricrsquos invesigaion did no find anyspecific wrongdoing a he school he adminisraion

invied CAIR-OK o hos a raining session on he needsand righs o young Muslim sudens Through our DiversiyTraining we educaed eachers on he paricular needs o

Muslim sudens and heir amilies and helped aciliae

cross-culural undersanding opimizing he educaionalsuccess o oher young Muslims a ha school

SCHOOL AND HIGHER EDUCATION

Unorunaely we see cases where sudenssruggle wih he prejudice and ignorance oheir peers heir classmaes and even heireachers When we hear abou hese siuaionswe inervene and spread awareness andeducaion ensuring ha he learning environmenis proeced or our Muslim children We also

conduc workshops wih boh Muslim youh andnon-Muslim eachers and oher service providerso make sure ha everyone is proeced rom

religious discriminaion

COALITION BUILDING AT OU

In early 2015 a video emerged osome sudens rom he Universiy oOklahomarsquos Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE)chaper singing a disurbing chan The

chan which apparenly was par o heraerniyrsquos radiion included reerenceso lynching black men and repeaeduse o he n-word Afer he video wen

viral CAIR-OK and oher communiyorganizaions released saemenscondemning he language in he video andcalling or he universiy o respond

OU Presiden David Boren quicklysepped up o reierae he universiyrsquoscommimen o diversiy and olerance

on campus The raerniy was disbandedand he wo sudens responsible orleading he chan were expelled OU

also developed a diversiy and inclusionraining ha all incoming reshmen arenow required o ake

One o he mos imporan aspecs o he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen is supporing our young peoplehrough heir educaion Schooling wheher in privae or public aciliies is a vial par o a young personrsquoslie Our job is o make sure ha every suden has a sae producive and supporive learning environmenin which o ge he bes educaion possible

983094

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1016

983096

HATE INCIDENTS

Alhough hey are rare hae incidens and vandalism occasionally ouch he lives o Oklahomarsquos Muslimcommuniy Islamophobic media along wih a lack o posiive porrayals o Muslims creaes a culure o earand disrus which can someimes resul in dangerous hurul conronaionsWhen hese hae-ueled incidens or acs o vandalism occur CAIR-OK works wih he impaced pary

local law enorcemen local media and our ineraih and communiy parners o address he roos oIslamophobia ensure ha hose responsible are brough o jusice and mainain he saey o our communiy

RAMADAN ATTACK

During Ramadan a local amily was havingheir pre-dawn meal a a resauran inEdmond While hey were eaing anoherresauran paron approached heir ableand began screaming racial invecivesand haeul slurs a hem hreaening hewomen and young children as well Theamily called he police bu he man andhis companion drove off

The amily repored he inciden oCAIR-OK and we conneced wih localpolice o ensure ha hey had ulfilledheir responsibiliies We also warned ourcommuniy abou he possibiliy o heseencouners by releasing Acion Alers andoher updaes using inpu rom local policeand oher law enorcemen sources

MUSLIM DAY AT THE CAPITOL

During our firs ever Oklahoma Muslim Day a he Capiol inFebruary 2015 we planned a day o lecures and panels wihdisinguished guess and local lawmakers culminaing in Fridayprayers hosed in he Capiolrsquos beauiul Rounda However we wereinormed ha a group o proesors were planning o hos a rallyouside he Capiol argeing our own paricipans as hey enered

he buildingDespie his negaive publiciy we worked wih Capiol securiy andvoluneers o ensure he saey o our paricipans Our ineraihparners arrived in droves ounumbering he proesors andshielded our guess rom he haeul invecives hrown a hemCapiol securiy responded quickly o our concerns and we were

joined by parners rom all over he sae Overall he day was aresounding success and we were proud o our achievemens ha

overshadowed he mean-spiried bu small group o proesors

ISLAMOPHOBIA IN PRESIDENTIAL RACE

As he 2016 presidenial elecion season approached variouscandidaes began espousing Islamophobic saemens or allowingheir supporers o make some very dangerous ani-Muslimremarks Concerned abou he growh o Islamophobic senimen

in he presidenial race he Civil Righs Deparmen along wihoher ineraih and communiy organizaions held a press releaseIn he conerence we called on all poliical candidaes o sopnormalizing ani-Muslim ear and hared and o ocus on he real

issues hey will ace as poenial Presidens o he Unied Saes

CAIR-OK Civil Righs Direcor TV inerview abou Islamophobia in Oklahom983095

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1116

983096

REFERRAL SERVICES

Someimes we find ha a case is ou ohe scope o our mission oo cosly oroo ime-consuming or us o reasonablyhandle In hese rare siuaions we are

careul o reer our cliens o oher firsrae service providers who can assis Wealso monior cases afer he clien has beenreerred and are always available o helpour cliens navigae heir relaionship wihlegal service providers Nearly hal o ourime is spen on non-discriminaion relaedcases where we keep our cliens connecedand inormed abou he services and legalprocesses ha affec hem

Through building srong parnerships wecan confidenly reer our cliens o a varieyo legal service providers in he areaso immigraion amily law criminal lawpropery law personal injury and more

TESTIMONIAL FROM YOUNES REBBAJ983098

NON DISCRIMINATION CALLS

Employment

41

Family

12

Immigration

9

Services

6

Property

3

Criminal

16

Other

13

lsquorsquoI am inernaional suden on an F-1

Visa swiching my immigraion sauso an H1-B Work VISA Even wih havingmy employerrsquos atorney working on myimmigraion case I conaced CAIRrsquos Civil

Righs Direcor Veronica Laizure a coupleimes o ge some pracical legal adviceRegardless of he complexiy of he mater

Veronica was exremely knowledgeableand available and was always ready oanswer any quesion I had during he

process No only ha Veronica lisened

carefully o my quesions and commensand responded quickly and clearly wihanalysis and advice aimed direcly a myown case Thank you so much CAIR for all

your help and atenion o resolving our problems Your work is very appreciaed

Keep i Uprsquorsquo

To serve our cliensha uilize ourreerral serviceswe have developeda nework oproviders ha wework wih in a varieyo differen areas

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1216

983097

Occasionally cliens come o us wih inerpersonal conflics ha need o be resolved Raher han solving heissue in cour which can be ime-consuming cosly and have high sakes we offer ree mediaion services inselec cases where a neural hird pary can inervene beween wo people in conflic

During he mediaion which happens in a sae neural space boh people have he opporuniy o explainheir posiions and decide wha i anyhing would saisy hem This session has sric rules ha enorcerespec or each oher and he mediaor This allows people o be hones abou heir eelings and sae whamigh resolve he conflic knowing heir posiions will be ully heard We hen help hem compromise andsetle he issue finishing wih a signed and legally binding conrac This helps boh people o adhere o heiragreemen and usually boh people walk away eeling more saisfied han hey would i hey had aken he

issue o cour

MEDIATION SERVICES

LEADERSHIPThe Civil Righs Deparmen akes par in all our youh leadership programs like he Muslim Youh

Leadership Symposium and he Oklahoma Muslim Gamechangers We also le young people come o shadowour daily aciviies in and ou o he office and ge an idea o wha civil righs advocacy looks like on heground Hosing workshops and presenaions we help o educae a uure generaion o aciviss advocaesand communiy leaders who will be he new voice o he Oklahoma Muslim communiy

MIKAEL BRYANT983084 SUMMER 983090983088983089983093 LEGAL INTERN983098

ldquoMy summer a CAIR Oklahoma had a profound impac on hedevelopmen of my legal professional and personal life Myinernship was srucured in a way ha gave me he opporuniyo learn how o work independenly helping me develop skills o

make me more of a self-sarer while allowing me o have focusedguidance from Ms Laizure which helped me beter undersandwha i means o be a precise and ehical professional I was alsogiven he chance o exercise and develop my public speaking skills

having my firs opporuniy o hos a professional banque a heSummer Youh Symposium Finally my inernship had a profoundimpac on he developmen of my personal growh as a human

being giving me he chance o learn abou he perspecives ofdisenfranchised communiies from a unique and vas specrumCAIR Oklahoma does amazing work and is such a valuableresource for Muslims and he communiy a large and I will

remember and value my ime here for he res of my liferdquo

LEGAL INTERNSHIPS

Our new Legal Inernship program brings

op sudens rom local universiieso work developing cases in he Civil

Righs Deparmen From clien inakeonwards inerns are deeply involvedin all he seps o clien represenaionhrough resoluion They also have heopporuniy o work in our many areasouside o legal services governmenoureach legislaive racking communiy

presenaions and more Finally heyculminae heir inernship wih aresearch projec ha examines a opico heir ineres relevan o he Muslim

communiy Throughou he programhey develop vial skills ha will helphem in heir uure careers

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1316

SOME OF THE TOPICS WE COVERED IN 983090983088983089983093 INCLUDE983098

Students Know Your Rights ndash Your schoolrsquos responsibiliy o you as a Muslim suden or paren o a Muslim suden

Girls and Womenrsquos Rights ndash Focused on he righs o girls and women o wearhijab bu also covered oher opics

Travel Rights ndash In ime or Hajj discussed common issues while raveling and he

various agencies or deparmens you migh encouner hroughou your journey

Law Enforcement ndash Wha o do i yoursquore sopped by police how o proec yourFourh and Fifh Amendmen righs wha o say o law enorcemen officers

If you need o bring a KYR seminar o your communiy simply email or call he CivilRighs Deparmen o se up a workshop

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS SEMINARS

One o he mos imporan services ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmenprovides is empowering he Oklahoma Muslim communiy o know heir own righs anddeend hem when aced wih discriminaion We conduc opic-specific Know YourRighs workshops ha each individuals wha hey can do or say in given siuaionscomplee wih examples and quesion and answer sessions

Civil Righs Direcor delivers ldquoKnow Your Righs Hijabi Ediionrdquo aTulsa Peace Academy

983089983088

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1416

Civil Righs Direcor a Tulsarsquos John Hope Franklin Symposium onReconciliaion and he Media delivering presenaion ldquoThugs

Terroriss and Troubled Souls The Narraive of Race and Crimerdquo

OUTREACH EFFORTS

The CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen brings educaional presenaions o hose ouside

he Muslim communiy o Oklahoma in hopes o dispelling myhs abou Islam and reducing

he Islamophobia spread by misinormaion and ignorance

In he one year ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen has been esablished we have been inviedo over a dozen non-Muslim organizaions and evens o speak on he realiy o he Oklahoma Muslim

communiy

John Franklin Hope Symposium Tulsa OK ldquoTerroriss Thugs and Trouble Souls The Narraives

of Race and Crimerdquo Explored differences in media presenaion o perperaors o crimeIslamophobic depicions o erroriss and he consequences o skewed represenaion on helives o American Muslims

St Stephens Church Norman OK ldquo10 Things You Though You Knew Abou Islamrdquo Dispellingsereoypes and addressing common misconcepions abou Islam and Muslim

Rotary Club of Oklahoma City Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoIslamophobia and he Mediardquo Deailedexaminaion o how he media skews percepions o erroriss and errorism demonizesMuslims and conribues o he discriminaion aced by American Muslims

Sequoyah Elementary School Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoEliminaing Bias Undersanding Muslim Sudens and Familiesrdquo In response o repors o harassmen o Muslim amily presened

an inroducion o Islam and explored ways ha eachers could suppor and empower heirMuslim sudens and amilies

Comparative Religions Class Oklahoma Ciy Universiy OK ldquoHae Speech vs Freedom ofSpeechrdquo Examined differences in legal reamen o hae speech in American Consiuional

regime as compared o he European Cour o Human Righs and he UNDHR

We also work closely wih our parners a he Equal Employmen Opporuniies Commission he OklahomaCouny Bar Associaion he American Civil Liberies Union o Oklahoma he YWCA o Oklahoma Ciy andcounless oher local and sae-wide organizaions ha spread our messages o olerance and pluralism in he

civil righs world

CAIR-OK Saff visis he YWCAof Oklahoma Ciy

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1516

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1616

3000 Unied Founders Blvd Se 226 OKC OK 731124052866009 | inookcaircom | cairoklahomacom

Page 9: 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 916

DIVERSITY TRAINING

A young suden a a local elemenary school and hismoher a hijabi were harassed by a eacher while hey hadlunch ogeher They repored he harassmen o CAIR-OK who ollowed up by conacing he school and helping

he moher file a civil righs complain wih he disric

Alhough he disricrsquos invesigaion did no find anyspecific wrongdoing a he school he adminisraion

invied CAIR-OK o hos a raining session on he needsand righs o young Muslim sudens Through our DiversiyTraining we educaed eachers on he paricular needs o

Muslim sudens and heir amilies and helped aciliae

cross-culural undersanding opimizing he educaionalsuccess o oher young Muslims a ha school

SCHOOL AND HIGHER EDUCATION

Unorunaely we see cases where sudenssruggle wih he prejudice and ignorance oheir peers heir classmaes and even heireachers When we hear abou hese siuaionswe inervene and spread awareness andeducaion ensuring ha he learning environmenis proeced or our Muslim children We also

conduc workshops wih boh Muslim youh andnon-Muslim eachers and oher service providerso make sure ha everyone is proeced rom

religious discriminaion

COALITION BUILDING AT OU

In early 2015 a video emerged osome sudens rom he Universiy oOklahomarsquos Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE)chaper singing a disurbing chan The

chan which apparenly was par o heraerniyrsquos radiion included reerenceso lynching black men and repeaeduse o he n-word Afer he video wen

viral CAIR-OK and oher communiyorganizaions released saemenscondemning he language in he video andcalling or he universiy o respond

OU Presiden David Boren quicklysepped up o reierae he universiyrsquoscommimen o diversiy and olerance

on campus The raerniy was disbandedand he wo sudens responsible orleading he chan were expelled OU

also developed a diversiy and inclusionraining ha all incoming reshmen arenow required o ake

One o he mos imporan aspecs o he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen is supporing our young peoplehrough heir educaion Schooling wheher in privae or public aciliies is a vial par o a young personrsquoslie Our job is o make sure ha every suden has a sae producive and supporive learning environmenin which o ge he bes educaion possible

983094

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1016

983096

HATE INCIDENTS

Alhough hey are rare hae incidens and vandalism occasionally ouch he lives o Oklahomarsquos Muslimcommuniy Islamophobic media along wih a lack o posiive porrayals o Muslims creaes a culure o earand disrus which can someimes resul in dangerous hurul conronaionsWhen hese hae-ueled incidens or acs o vandalism occur CAIR-OK works wih he impaced pary

local law enorcemen local media and our ineraih and communiy parners o address he roos oIslamophobia ensure ha hose responsible are brough o jusice and mainain he saey o our communiy

RAMADAN ATTACK

During Ramadan a local amily was havingheir pre-dawn meal a a resauran inEdmond While hey were eaing anoherresauran paron approached heir ableand began screaming racial invecivesand haeul slurs a hem hreaening hewomen and young children as well Theamily called he police bu he man andhis companion drove off

The amily repored he inciden oCAIR-OK and we conneced wih localpolice o ensure ha hey had ulfilledheir responsibiliies We also warned ourcommuniy abou he possibiliy o heseencouners by releasing Acion Alers andoher updaes using inpu rom local policeand oher law enorcemen sources

MUSLIM DAY AT THE CAPITOL

During our firs ever Oklahoma Muslim Day a he Capiol inFebruary 2015 we planned a day o lecures and panels wihdisinguished guess and local lawmakers culminaing in Fridayprayers hosed in he Capiolrsquos beauiul Rounda However we wereinormed ha a group o proesors were planning o hos a rallyouside he Capiol argeing our own paricipans as hey enered

he buildingDespie his negaive publiciy we worked wih Capiol securiy andvoluneers o ensure he saey o our paricipans Our ineraihparners arrived in droves ounumbering he proesors andshielded our guess rom he haeul invecives hrown a hemCapiol securiy responded quickly o our concerns and we were

joined by parners rom all over he sae Overall he day was aresounding success and we were proud o our achievemens ha

overshadowed he mean-spiried bu small group o proesors

ISLAMOPHOBIA IN PRESIDENTIAL RACE

As he 2016 presidenial elecion season approached variouscandidaes began espousing Islamophobic saemens or allowingheir supporers o make some very dangerous ani-Muslimremarks Concerned abou he growh o Islamophobic senimen

in he presidenial race he Civil Righs Deparmen along wihoher ineraih and communiy organizaions held a press releaseIn he conerence we called on all poliical candidaes o sopnormalizing ani-Muslim ear and hared and o ocus on he real

issues hey will ace as poenial Presidens o he Unied Saes

CAIR-OK Civil Righs Direcor TV inerview abou Islamophobia in Oklahom983095

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1116

983096

REFERRAL SERVICES

Someimes we find ha a case is ou ohe scope o our mission oo cosly oroo ime-consuming or us o reasonablyhandle In hese rare siuaions we are

careul o reer our cliens o oher firsrae service providers who can assis Wealso monior cases afer he clien has beenreerred and are always available o helpour cliens navigae heir relaionship wihlegal service providers Nearly hal o ourime is spen on non-discriminaion relaedcases where we keep our cliens connecedand inormed abou he services and legalprocesses ha affec hem

Through building srong parnerships wecan confidenly reer our cliens o a varieyo legal service providers in he areaso immigraion amily law criminal lawpropery law personal injury and more

TESTIMONIAL FROM YOUNES REBBAJ983098

NON DISCRIMINATION CALLS

Employment

41

Family

12

Immigration

9

Services

6

Property

3

Criminal

16

Other

13

lsquorsquoI am inernaional suden on an F-1

Visa swiching my immigraion sauso an H1-B Work VISA Even wih havingmy employerrsquos atorney working on myimmigraion case I conaced CAIRrsquos Civil

Righs Direcor Veronica Laizure a coupleimes o ge some pracical legal adviceRegardless of he complexiy of he mater

Veronica was exremely knowledgeableand available and was always ready oanswer any quesion I had during he

process No only ha Veronica lisened

carefully o my quesions and commensand responded quickly and clearly wihanalysis and advice aimed direcly a myown case Thank you so much CAIR for all

your help and atenion o resolving our problems Your work is very appreciaed

Keep i Uprsquorsquo

To serve our cliensha uilize ourreerral serviceswe have developeda nework oproviders ha wework wih in a varieyo differen areas

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1216

983097

Occasionally cliens come o us wih inerpersonal conflics ha need o be resolved Raher han solving heissue in cour which can be ime-consuming cosly and have high sakes we offer ree mediaion services inselec cases where a neural hird pary can inervene beween wo people in conflic

During he mediaion which happens in a sae neural space boh people have he opporuniy o explainheir posiions and decide wha i anyhing would saisy hem This session has sric rules ha enorcerespec or each oher and he mediaor This allows people o be hones abou heir eelings and sae whamigh resolve he conflic knowing heir posiions will be ully heard We hen help hem compromise andsetle he issue finishing wih a signed and legally binding conrac This helps boh people o adhere o heiragreemen and usually boh people walk away eeling more saisfied han hey would i hey had aken he

issue o cour

MEDIATION SERVICES

LEADERSHIPThe Civil Righs Deparmen akes par in all our youh leadership programs like he Muslim Youh

Leadership Symposium and he Oklahoma Muslim Gamechangers We also le young people come o shadowour daily aciviies in and ou o he office and ge an idea o wha civil righs advocacy looks like on heground Hosing workshops and presenaions we help o educae a uure generaion o aciviss advocaesand communiy leaders who will be he new voice o he Oklahoma Muslim communiy

MIKAEL BRYANT983084 SUMMER 983090983088983089983093 LEGAL INTERN983098

ldquoMy summer a CAIR Oklahoma had a profound impac on hedevelopmen of my legal professional and personal life Myinernship was srucured in a way ha gave me he opporuniyo learn how o work independenly helping me develop skills o

make me more of a self-sarer while allowing me o have focusedguidance from Ms Laizure which helped me beter undersandwha i means o be a precise and ehical professional I was alsogiven he chance o exercise and develop my public speaking skills

having my firs opporuniy o hos a professional banque a heSummer Youh Symposium Finally my inernship had a profoundimpac on he developmen of my personal growh as a human

being giving me he chance o learn abou he perspecives ofdisenfranchised communiies from a unique and vas specrumCAIR Oklahoma does amazing work and is such a valuableresource for Muslims and he communiy a large and I will

remember and value my ime here for he res of my liferdquo

LEGAL INTERNSHIPS

Our new Legal Inernship program brings

op sudens rom local universiieso work developing cases in he Civil

Righs Deparmen From clien inakeonwards inerns are deeply involvedin all he seps o clien represenaionhrough resoluion They also have heopporuniy o work in our many areasouside o legal services governmenoureach legislaive racking communiy

presenaions and more Finally heyculminae heir inernship wih aresearch projec ha examines a opico heir ineres relevan o he Muslim

communiy Throughou he programhey develop vial skills ha will helphem in heir uure careers

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1316

SOME OF THE TOPICS WE COVERED IN 983090983088983089983093 INCLUDE983098

Students Know Your Rights ndash Your schoolrsquos responsibiliy o you as a Muslim suden or paren o a Muslim suden

Girls and Womenrsquos Rights ndash Focused on he righs o girls and women o wearhijab bu also covered oher opics

Travel Rights ndash In ime or Hajj discussed common issues while raveling and he

various agencies or deparmens you migh encouner hroughou your journey

Law Enforcement ndash Wha o do i yoursquore sopped by police how o proec yourFourh and Fifh Amendmen righs wha o say o law enorcemen officers

If you need o bring a KYR seminar o your communiy simply email or call he CivilRighs Deparmen o se up a workshop

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS SEMINARS

One o he mos imporan services ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmenprovides is empowering he Oklahoma Muslim communiy o know heir own righs anddeend hem when aced wih discriminaion We conduc opic-specific Know YourRighs workshops ha each individuals wha hey can do or say in given siuaionscomplee wih examples and quesion and answer sessions

Civil Righs Direcor delivers ldquoKnow Your Righs Hijabi Ediionrdquo aTulsa Peace Academy

983089983088

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1416

Civil Righs Direcor a Tulsarsquos John Hope Franklin Symposium onReconciliaion and he Media delivering presenaion ldquoThugs

Terroriss and Troubled Souls The Narraive of Race and Crimerdquo

OUTREACH EFFORTS

The CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen brings educaional presenaions o hose ouside

he Muslim communiy o Oklahoma in hopes o dispelling myhs abou Islam and reducing

he Islamophobia spread by misinormaion and ignorance

In he one year ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen has been esablished we have been inviedo over a dozen non-Muslim organizaions and evens o speak on he realiy o he Oklahoma Muslim

communiy

John Franklin Hope Symposium Tulsa OK ldquoTerroriss Thugs and Trouble Souls The Narraives

of Race and Crimerdquo Explored differences in media presenaion o perperaors o crimeIslamophobic depicions o erroriss and he consequences o skewed represenaion on helives o American Muslims

St Stephens Church Norman OK ldquo10 Things You Though You Knew Abou Islamrdquo Dispellingsereoypes and addressing common misconcepions abou Islam and Muslim

Rotary Club of Oklahoma City Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoIslamophobia and he Mediardquo Deailedexaminaion o how he media skews percepions o erroriss and errorism demonizesMuslims and conribues o he discriminaion aced by American Muslims

Sequoyah Elementary School Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoEliminaing Bias Undersanding Muslim Sudens and Familiesrdquo In response o repors o harassmen o Muslim amily presened

an inroducion o Islam and explored ways ha eachers could suppor and empower heirMuslim sudens and amilies

Comparative Religions Class Oklahoma Ciy Universiy OK ldquoHae Speech vs Freedom ofSpeechrdquo Examined differences in legal reamen o hae speech in American Consiuional

regime as compared o he European Cour o Human Righs and he UNDHR

We also work closely wih our parners a he Equal Employmen Opporuniies Commission he OklahomaCouny Bar Associaion he American Civil Liberies Union o Oklahoma he YWCA o Oklahoma Ciy andcounless oher local and sae-wide organizaions ha spread our messages o olerance and pluralism in he

civil righs world

CAIR-OK Saff visis he YWCAof Oklahoma Ciy

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1516

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1616

3000 Unied Founders Blvd Se 226 OKC OK 731124052866009 | inookcaircom | cairoklahomacom

Page 10: 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1016

983096

HATE INCIDENTS

Alhough hey are rare hae incidens and vandalism occasionally ouch he lives o Oklahomarsquos Muslimcommuniy Islamophobic media along wih a lack o posiive porrayals o Muslims creaes a culure o earand disrus which can someimes resul in dangerous hurul conronaionsWhen hese hae-ueled incidens or acs o vandalism occur CAIR-OK works wih he impaced pary

local law enorcemen local media and our ineraih and communiy parners o address he roos oIslamophobia ensure ha hose responsible are brough o jusice and mainain he saey o our communiy

RAMADAN ATTACK

During Ramadan a local amily was havingheir pre-dawn meal a a resauran inEdmond While hey were eaing anoherresauran paron approached heir ableand began screaming racial invecivesand haeul slurs a hem hreaening hewomen and young children as well Theamily called he police bu he man andhis companion drove off

The amily repored he inciden oCAIR-OK and we conneced wih localpolice o ensure ha hey had ulfilledheir responsibiliies We also warned ourcommuniy abou he possibiliy o heseencouners by releasing Acion Alers andoher updaes using inpu rom local policeand oher law enorcemen sources

MUSLIM DAY AT THE CAPITOL

During our firs ever Oklahoma Muslim Day a he Capiol inFebruary 2015 we planned a day o lecures and panels wihdisinguished guess and local lawmakers culminaing in Fridayprayers hosed in he Capiolrsquos beauiul Rounda However we wereinormed ha a group o proesors were planning o hos a rallyouside he Capiol argeing our own paricipans as hey enered

he buildingDespie his negaive publiciy we worked wih Capiol securiy andvoluneers o ensure he saey o our paricipans Our ineraihparners arrived in droves ounumbering he proesors andshielded our guess rom he haeul invecives hrown a hemCapiol securiy responded quickly o our concerns and we were

joined by parners rom all over he sae Overall he day was aresounding success and we were proud o our achievemens ha

overshadowed he mean-spiried bu small group o proesors

ISLAMOPHOBIA IN PRESIDENTIAL RACE

As he 2016 presidenial elecion season approached variouscandidaes began espousing Islamophobic saemens or allowingheir supporers o make some very dangerous ani-Muslimremarks Concerned abou he growh o Islamophobic senimen

in he presidenial race he Civil Righs Deparmen along wihoher ineraih and communiy organizaions held a press releaseIn he conerence we called on all poliical candidaes o sopnormalizing ani-Muslim ear and hared and o ocus on he real

issues hey will ace as poenial Presidens o he Unied Saes

CAIR-OK Civil Righs Direcor TV inerview abou Islamophobia in Oklahom983095

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1116

983096

REFERRAL SERVICES

Someimes we find ha a case is ou ohe scope o our mission oo cosly oroo ime-consuming or us o reasonablyhandle In hese rare siuaions we are

careul o reer our cliens o oher firsrae service providers who can assis Wealso monior cases afer he clien has beenreerred and are always available o helpour cliens navigae heir relaionship wihlegal service providers Nearly hal o ourime is spen on non-discriminaion relaedcases where we keep our cliens connecedand inormed abou he services and legalprocesses ha affec hem

Through building srong parnerships wecan confidenly reer our cliens o a varieyo legal service providers in he areaso immigraion amily law criminal lawpropery law personal injury and more

TESTIMONIAL FROM YOUNES REBBAJ983098

NON DISCRIMINATION CALLS

Employment

41

Family

12

Immigration

9

Services

6

Property

3

Criminal

16

Other

13

lsquorsquoI am inernaional suden on an F-1

Visa swiching my immigraion sauso an H1-B Work VISA Even wih havingmy employerrsquos atorney working on myimmigraion case I conaced CAIRrsquos Civil

Righs Direcor Veronica Laizure a coupleimes o ge some pracical legal adviceRegardless of he complexiy of he mater

Veronica was exremely knowledgeableand available and was always ready oanswer any quesion I had during he

process No only ha Veronica lisened

carefully o my quesions and commensand responded quickly and clearly wihanalysis and advice aimed direcly a myown case Thank you so much CAIR for all

your help and atenion o resolving our problems Your work is very appreciaed

Keep i Uprsquorsquo

To serve our cliensha uilize ourreerral serviceswe have developeda nework oproviders ha wework wih in a varieyo differen areas

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1216

983097

Occasionally cliens come o us wih inerpersonal conflics ha need o be resolved Raher han solving heissue in cour which can be ime-consuming cosly and have high sakes we offer ree mediaion services inselec cases where a neural hird pary can inervene beween wo people in conflic

During he mediaion which happens in a sae neural space boh people have he opporuniy o explainheir posiions and decide wha i anyhing would saisy hem This session has sric rules ha enorcerespec or each oher and he mediaor This allows people o be hones abou heir eelings and sae whamigh resolve he conflic knowing heir posiions will be ully heard We hen help hem compromise andsetle he issue finishing wih a signed and legally binding conrac This helps boh people o adhere o heiragreemen and usually boh people walk away eeling more saisfied han hey would i hey had aken he

issue o cour

MEDIATION SERVICES

LEADERSHIPThe Civil Righs Deparmen akes par in all our youh leadership programs like he Muslim Youh

Leadership Symposium and he Oklahoma Muslim Gamechangers We also le young people come o shadowour daily aciviies in and ou o he office and ge an idea o wha civil righs advocacy looks like on heground Hosing workshops and presenaions we help o educae a uure generaion o aciviss advocaesand communiy leaders who will be he new voice o he Oklahoma Muslim communiy

MIKAEL BRYANT983084 SUMMER 983090983088983089983093 LEGAL INTERN983098

ldquoMy summer a CAIR Oklahoma had a profound impac on hedevelopmen of my legal professional and personal life Myinernship was srucured in a way ha gave me he opporuniyo learn how o work independenly helping me develop skills o

make me more of a self-sarer while allowing me o have focusedguidance from Ms Laizure which helped me beter undersandwha i means o be a precise and ehical professional I was alsogiven he chance o exercise and develop my public speaking skills

having my firs opporuniy o hos a professional banque a heSummer Youh Symposium Finally my inernship had a profoundimpac on he developmen of my personal growh as a human

being giving me he chance o learn abou he perspecives ofdisenfranchised communiies from a unique and vas specrumCAIR Oklahoma does amazing work and is such a valuableresource for Muslims and he communiy a large and I will

remember and value my ime here for he res of my liferdquo

LEGAL INTERNSHIPS

Our new Legal Inernship program brings

op sudens rom local universiieso work developing cases in he Civil

Righs Deparmen From clien inakeonwards inerns are deeply involvedin all he seps o clien represenaionhrough resoluion They also have heopporuniy o work in our many areasouside o legal services governmenoureach legislaive racking communiy

presenaions and more Finally heyculminae heir inernship wih aresearch projec ha examines a opico heir ineres relevan o he Muslim

communiy Throughou he programhey develop vial skills ha will helphem in heir uure careers

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1316

SOME OF THE TOPICS WE COVERED IN 983090983088983089983093 INCLUDE983098

Students Know Your Rights ndash Your schoolrsquos responsibiliy o you as a Muslim suden or paren o a Muslim suden

Girls and Womenrsquos Rights ndash Focused on he righs o girls and women o wearhijab bu also covered oher opics

Travel Rights ndash In ime or Hajj discussed common issues while raveling and he

various agencies or deparmens you migh encouner hroughou your journey

Law Enforcement ndash Wha o do i yoursquore sopped by police how o proec yourFourh and Fifh Amendmen righs wha o say o law enorcemen officers

If you need o bring a KYR seminar o your communiy simply email or call he CivilRighs Deparmen o se up a workshop

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS SEMINARS

One o he mos imporan services ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmenprovides is empowering he Oklahoma Muslim communiy o know heir own righs anddeend hem when aced wih discriminaion We conduc opic-specific Know YourRighs workshops ha each individuals wha hey can do or say in given siuaionscomplee wih examples and quesion and answer sessions

Civil Righs Direcor delivers ldquoKnow Your Righs Hijabi Ediionrdquo aTulsa Peace Academy

983089983088

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1416

Civil Righs Direcor a Tulsarsquos John Hope Franklin Symposium onReconciliaion and he Media delivering presenaion ldquoThugs

Terroriss and Troubled Souls The Narraive of Race and Crimerdquo

OUTREACH EFFORTS

The CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen brings educaional presenaions o hose ouside

he Muslim communiy o Oklahoma in hopes o dispelling myhs abou Islam and reducing

he Islamophobia spread by misinormaion and ignorance

In he one year ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen has been esablished we have been inviedo over a dozen non-Muslim organizaions and evens o speak on he realiy o he Oklahoma Muslim

communiy

John Franklin Hope Symposium Tulsa OK ldquoTerroriss Thugs and Trouble Souls The Narraives

of Race and Crimerdquo Explored differences in media presenaion o perperaors o crimeIslamophobic depicions o erroriss and he consequences o skewed represenaion on helives o American Muslims

St Stephens Church Norman OK ldquo10 Things You Though You Knew Abou Islamrdquo Dispellingsereoypes and addressing common misconcepions abou Islam and Muslim

Rotary Club of Oklahoma City Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoIslamophobia and he Mediardquo Deailedexaminaion o how he media skews percepions o erroriss and errorism demonizesMuslims and conribues o he discriminaion aced by American Muslims

Sequoyah Elementary School Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoEliminaing Bias Undersanding Muslim Sudens and Familiesrdquo In response o repors o harassmen o Muslim amily presened

an inroducion o Islam and explored ways ha eachers could suppor and empower heirMuslim sudens and amilies

Comparative Religions Class Oklahoma Ciy Universiy OK ldquoHae Speech vs Freedom ofSpeechrdquo Examined differences in legal reamen o hae speech in American Consiuional

regime as compared o he European Cour o Human Righs and he UNDHR

We also work closely wih our parners a he Equal Employmen Opporuniies Commission he OklahomaCouny Bar Associaion he American Civil Liberies Union o Oklahoma he YWCA o Oklahoma Ciy andcounless oher local and sae-wide organizaions ha spread our messages o olerance and pluralism in he

civil righs world

CAIR-OK Saff visis he YWCAof Oklahoma Ciy

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1516

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1616

3000 Unied Founders Blvd Se 226 OKC OK 731124052866009 | inookcaircom | cairoklahomacom

Page 11: 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1116

983096

REFERRAL SERVICES

Someimes we find ha a case is ou ohe scope o our mission oo cosly oroo ime-consuming or us o reasonablyhandle In hese rare siuaions we are

careul o reer our cliens o oher firsrae service providers who can assis Wealso monior cases afer he clien has beenreerred and are always available o helpour cliens navigae heir relaionship wihlegal service providers Nearly hal o ourime is spen on non-discriminaion relaedcases where we keep our cliens connecedand inormed abou he services and legalprocesses ha affec hem

Through building srong parnerships wecan confidenly reer our cliens o a varieyo legal service providers in he areaso immigraion amily law criminal lawpropery law personal injury and more

TESTIMONIAL FROM YOUNES REBBAJ983098

NON DISCRIMINATION CALLS

Employment

41

Family

12

Immigration

9

Services

6

Property

3

Criminal

16

Other

13

lsquorsquoI am inernaional suden on an F-1

Visa swiching my immigraion sauso an H1-B Work VISA Even wih havingmy employerrsquos atorney working on myimmigraion case I conaced CAIRrsquos Civil

Righs Direcor Veronica Laizure a coupleimes o ge some pracical legal adviceRegardless of he complexiy of he mater

Veronica was exremely knowledgeableand available and was always ready oanswer any quesion I had during he

process No only ha Veronica lisened

carefully o my quesions and commensand responded quickly and clearly wihanalysis and advice aimed direcly a myown case Thank you so much CAIR for all

your help and atenion o resolving our problems Your work is very appreciaed

Keep i Uprsquorsquo

To serve our cliensha uilize ourreerral serviceswe have developeda nework oproviders ha wework wih in a varieyo differen areas

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1216

983097

Occasionally cliens come o us wih inerpersonal conflics ha need o be resolved Raher han solving heissue in cour which can be ime-consuming cosly and have high sakes we offer ree mediaion services inselec cases where a neural hird pary can inervene beween wo people in conflic

During he mediaion which happens in a sae neural space boh people have he opporuniy o explainheir posiions and decide wha i anyhing would saisy hem This session has sric rules ha enorcerespec or each oher and he mediaor This allows people o be hones abou heir eelings and sae whamigh resolve he conflic knowing heir posiions will be ully heard We hen help hem compromise andsetle he issue finishing wih a signed and legally binding conrac This helps boh people o adhere o heiragreemen and usually boh people walk away eeling more saisfied han hey would i hey had aken he

issue o cour

MEDIATION SERVICES

LEADERSHIPThe Civil Righs Deparmen akes par in all our youh leadership programs like he Muslim Youh

Leadership Symposium and he Oklahoma Muslim Gamechangers We also le young people come o shadowour daily aciviies in and ou o he office and ge an idea o wha civil righs advocacy looks like on heground Hosing workshops and presenaions we help o educae a uure generaion o aciviss advocaesand communiy leaders who will be he new voice o he Oklahoma Muslim communiy

MIKAEL BRYANT983084 SUMMER 983090983088983089983093 LEGAL INTERN983098

ldquoMy summer a CAIR Oklahoma had a profound impac on hedevelopmen of my legal professional and personal life Myinernship was srucured in a way ha gave me he opporuniyo learn how o work independenly helping me develop skills o

make me more of a self-sarer while allowing me o have focusedguidance from Ms Laizure which helped me beter undersandwha i means o be a precise and ehical professional I was alsogiven he chance o exercise and develop my public speaking skills

having my firs opporuniy o hos a professional banque a heSummer Youh Symposium Finally my inernship had a profoundimpac on he developmen of my personal growh as a human

being giving me he chance o learn abou he perspecives ofdisenfranchised communiies from a unique and vas specrumCAIR Oklahoma does amazing work and is such a valuableresource for Muslims and he communiy a large and I will

remember and value my ime here for he res of my liferdquo

LEGAL INTERNSHIPS

Our new Legal Inernship program brings

op sudens rom local universiieso work developing cases in he Civil

Righs Deparmen From clien inakeonwards inerns are deeply involvedin all he seps o clien represenaionhrough resoluion They also have heopporuniy o work in our many areasouside o legal services governmenoureach legislaive racking communiy

presenaions and more Finally heyculminae heir inernship wih aresearch projec ha examines a opico heir ineres relevan o he Muslim

communiy Throughou he programhey develop vial skills ha will helphem in heir uure careers

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1316

SOME OF THE TOPICS WE COVERED IN 983090983088983089983093 INCLUDE983098

Students Know Your Rights ndash Your schoolrsquos responsibiliy o you as a Muslim suden or paren o a Muslim suden

Girls and Womenrsquos Rights ndash Focused on he righs o girls and women o wearhijab bu also covered oher opics

Travel Rights ndash In ime or Hajj discussed common issues while raveling and he

various agencies or deparmens you migh encouner hroughou your journey

Law Enforcement ndash Wha o do i yoursquore sopped by police how o proec yourFourh and Fifh Amendmen righs wha o say o law enorcemen officers

If you need o bring a KYR seminar o your communiy simply email or call he CivilRighs Deparmen o se up a workshop

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS SEMINARS

One o he mos imporan services ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmenprovides is empowering he Oklahoma Muslim communiy o know heir own righs anddeend hem when aced wih discriminaion We conduc opic-specific Know YourRighs workshops ha each individuals wha hey can do or say in given siuaionscomplee wih examples and quesion and answer sessions

Civil Righs Direcor delivers ldquoKnow Your Righs Hijabi Ediionrdquo aTulsa Peace Academy

983089983088

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1416

Civil Righs Direcor a Tulsarsquos John Hope Franklin Symposium onReconciliaion and he Media delivering presenaion ldquoThugs

Terroriss and Troubled Souls The Narraive of Race and Crimerdquo

OUTREACH EFFORTS

The CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen brings educaional presenaions o hose ouside

he Muslim communiy o Oklahoma in hopes o dispelling myhs abou Islam and reducing

he Islamophobia spread by misinormaion and ignorance

In he one year ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen has been esablished we have been inviedo over a dozen non-Muslim organizaions and evens o speak on he realiy o he Oklahoma Muslim

communiy

John Franklin Hope Symposium Tulsa OK ldquoTerroriss Thugs and Trouble Souls The Narraives

of Race and Crimerdquo Explored differences in media presenaion o perperaors o crimeIslamophobic depicions o erroriss and he consequences o skewed represenaion on helives o American Muslims

St Stephens Church Norman OK ldquo10 Things You Though You Knew Abou Islamrdquo Dispellingsereoypes and addressing common misconcepions abou Islam and Muslim

Rotary Club of Oklahoma City Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoIslamophobia and he Mediardquo Deailedexaminaion o how he media skews percepions o erroriss and errorism demonizesMuslims and conribues o he discriminaion aced by American Muslims

Sequoyah Elementary School Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoEliminaing Bias Undersanding Muslim Sudens and Familiesrdquo In response o repors o harassmen o Muslim amily presened

an inroducion o Islam and explored ways ha eachers could suppor and empower heirMuslim sudens and amilies

Comparative Religions Class Oklahoma Ciy Universiy OK ldquoHae Speech vs Freedom ofSpeechrdquo Examined differences in legal reamen o hae speech in American Consiuional

regime as compared o he European Cour o Human Righs and he UNDHR

We also work closely wih our parners a he Equal Employmen Opporuniies Commission he OklahomaCouny Bar Associaion he American Civil Liberies Union o Oklahoma he YWCA o Oklahoma Ciy andcounless oher local and sae-wide organizaions ha spread our messages o olerance and pluralism in he

civil righs world

CAIR-OK Saff visis he YWCAof Oklahoma Ciy

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1516

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1616

3000 Unied Founders Blvd Se 226 OKC OK 731124052866009 | inookcaircom | cairoklahomacom

Page 12: 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1216

983097

Occasionally cliens come o us wih inerpersonal conflics ha need o be resolved Raher han solving heissue in cour which can be ime-consuming cosly and have high sakes we offer ree mediaion services inselec cases where a neural hird pary can inervene beween wo people in conflic

During he mediaion which happens in a sae neural space boh people have he opporuniy o explainheir posiions and decide wha i anyhing would saisy hem This session has sric rules ha enorcerespec or each oher and he mediaor This allows people o be hones abou heir eelings and sae whamigh resolve he conflic knowing heir posiions will be ully heard We hen help hem compromise andsetle he issue finishing wih a signed and legally binding conrac This helps boh people o adhere o heiragreemen and usually boh people walk away eeling more saisfied han hey would i hey had aken he

issue o cour

MEDIATION SERVICES

LEADERSHIPThe Civil Righs Deparmen akes par in all our youh leadership programs like he Muslim Youh

Leadership Symposium and he Oklahoma Muslim Gamechangers We also le young people come o shadowour daily aciviies in and ou o he office and ge an idea o wha civil righs advocacy looks like on heground Hosing workshops and presenaions we help o educae a uure generaion o aciviss advocaesand communiy leaders who will be he new voice o he Oklahoma Muslim communiy

MIKAEL BRYANT983084 SUMMER 983090983088983089983093 LEGAL INTERN983098

ldquoMy summer a CAIR Oklahoma had a profound impac on hedevelopmen of my legal professional and personal life Myinernship was srucured in a way ha gave me he opporuniyo learn how o work independenly helping me develop skills o

make me more of a self-sarer while allowing me o have focusedguidance from Ms Laizure which helped me beter undersandwha i means o be a precise and ehical professional I was alsogiven he chance o exercise and develop my public speaking skills

having my firs opporuniy o hos a professional banque a heSummer Youh Symposium Finally my inernship had a profoundimpac on he developmen of my personal growh as a human

being giving me he chance o learn abou he perspecives ofdisenfranchised communiies from a unique and vas specrumCAIR Oklahoma does amazing work and is such a valuableresource for Muslims and he communiy a large and I will

remember and value my ime here for he res of my liferdquo

LEGAL INTERNSHIPS

Our new Legal Inernship program brings

op sudens rom local universiieso work developing cases in he Civil

Righs Deparmen From clien inakeonwards inerns are deeply involvedin all he seps o clien represenaionhrough resoluion They also have heopporuniy o work in our many areasouside o legal services governmenoureach legislaive racking communiy

presenaions and more Finally heyculminae heir inernship wih aresearch projec ha examines a opico heir ineres relevan o he Muslim

communiy Throughou he programhey develop vial skills ha will helphem in heir uure careers

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1316

SOME OF THE TOPICS WE COVERED IN 983090983088983089983093 INCLUDE983098

Students Know Your Rights ndash Your schoolrsquos responsibiliy o you as a Muslim suden or paren o a Muslim suden

Girls and Womenrsquos Rights ndash Focused on he righs o girls and women o wearhijab bu also covered oher opics

Travel Rights ndash In ime or Hajj discussed common issues while raveling and he

various agencies or deparmens you migh encouner hroughou your journey

Law Enforcement ndash Wha o do i yoursquore sopped by police how o proec yourFourh and Fifh Amendmen righs wha o say o law enorcemen officers

If you need o bring a KYR seminar o your communiy simply email or call he CivilRighs Deparmen o se up a workshop

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS SEMINARS

One o he mos imporan services ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmenprovides is empowering he Oklahoma Muslim communiy o know heir own righs anddeend hem when aced wih discriminaion We conduc opic-specific Know YourRighs workshops ha each individuals wha hey can do or say in given siuaionscomplee wih examples and quesion and answer sessions

Civil Righs Direcor delivers ldquoKnow Your Righs Hijabi Ediionrdquo aTulsa Peace Academy

983089983088

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1416

Civil Righs Direcor a Tulsarsquos John Hope Franklin Symposium onReconciliaion and he Media delivering presenaion ldquoThugs

Terroriss and Troubled Souls The Narraive of Race and Crimerdquo

OUTREACH EFFORTS

The CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen brings educaional presenaions o hose ouside

he Muslim communiy o Oklahoma in hopes o dispelling myhs abou Islam and reducing

he Islamophobia spread by misinormaion and ignorance

In he one year ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen has been esablished we have been inviedo over a dozen non-Muslim organizaions and evens o speak on he realiy o he Oklahoma Muslim

communiy

John Franklin Hope Symposium Tulsa OK ldquoTerroriss Thugs and Trouble Souls The Narraives

of Race and Crimerdquo Explored differences in media presenaion o perperaors o crimeIslamophobic depicions o erroriss and he consequences o skewed represenaion on helives o American Muslims

St Stephens Church Norman OK ldquo10 Things You Though You Knew Abou Islamrdquo Dispellingsereoypes and addressing common misconcepions abou Islam and Muslim

Rotary Club of Oklahoma City Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoIslamophobia and he Mediardquo Deailedexaminaion o how he media skews percepions o erroriss and errorism demonizesMuslims and conribues o he discriminaion aced by American Muslims

Sequoyah Elementary School Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoEliminaing Bias Undersanding Muslim Sudens and Familiesrdquo In response o repors o harassmen o Muslim amily presened

an inroducion o Islam and explored ways ha eachers could suppor and empower heirMuslim sudens and amilies

Comparative Religions Class Oklahoma Ciy Universiy OK ldquoHae Speech vs Freedom ofSpeechrdquo Examined differences in legal reamen o hae speech in American Consiuional

regime as compared o he European Cour o Human Righs and he UNDHR

We also work closely wih our parners a he Equal Employmen Opporuniies Commission he OklahomaCouny Bar Associaion he American Civil Liberies Union o Oklahoma he YWCA o Oklahoma Ciy andcounless oher local and sae-wide organizaions ha spread our messages o olerance and pluralism in he

civil righs world

CAIR-OK Saff visis he YWCAof Oklahoma Ciy

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1516

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1616

3000 Unied Founders Blvd Se 226 OKC OK 731124052866009 | inookcaircom | cairoklahomacom

Page 13: 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1316

SOME OF THE TOPICS WE COVERED IN 983090983088983089983093 INCLUDE983098

Students Know Your Rights ndash Your schoolrsquos responsibiliy o you as a Muslim suden or paren o a Muslim suden

Girls and Womenrsquos Rights ndash Focused on he righs o girls and women o wearhijab bu also covered oher opics

Travel Rights ndash In ime or Hajj discussed common issues while raveling and he

various agencies or deparmens you migh encouner hroughou your journey

Law Enforcement ndash Wha o do i yoursquore sopped by police how o proec yourFourh and Fifh Amendmen righs wha o say o law enorcemen officers

If you need o bring a KYR seminar o your communiy simply email or call he CivilRighs Deparmen o se up a workshop

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS SEMINARS

One o he mos imporan services ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmenprovides is empowering he Oklahoma Muslim communiy o know heir own righs anddeend hem when aced wih discriminaion We conduc opic-specific Know YourRighs workshops ha each individuals wha hey can do or say in given siuaionscomplee wih examples and quesion and answer sessions

Civil Righs Direcor delivers ldquoKnow Your Righs Hijabi Ediionrdquo aTulsa Peace Academy

983089983088

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1416

Civil Righs Direcor a Tulsarsquos John Hope Franklin Symposium onReconciliaion and he Media delivering presenaion ldquoThugs

Terroriss and Troubled Souls The Narraive of Race and Crimerdquo

OUTREACH EFFORTS

The CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen brings educaional presenaions o hose ouside

he Muslim communiy o Oklahoma in hopes o dispelling myhs abou Islam and reducing

he Islamophobia spread by misinormaion and ignorance

In he one year ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen has been esablished we have been inviedo over a dozen non-Muslim organizaions and evens o speak on he realiy o he Oklahoma Muslim

communiy

John Franklin Hope Symposium Tulsa OK ldquoTerroriss Thugs and Trouble Souls The Narraives

of Race and Crimerdquo Explored differences in media presenaion o perperaors o crimeIslamophobic depicions o erroriss and he consequences o skewed represenaion on helives o American Muslims

St Stephens Church Norman OK ldquo10 Things You Though You Knew Abou Islamrdquo Dispellingsereoypes and addressing common misconcepions abou Islam and Muslim

Rotary Club of Oklahoma City Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoIslamophobia and he Mediardquo Deailedexaminaion o how he media skews percepions o erroriss and errorism demonizesMuslims and conribues o he discriminaion aced by American Muslims

Sequoyah Elementary School Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoEliminaing Bias Undersanding Muslim Sudens and Familiesrdquo In response o repors o harassmen o Muslim amily presened

an inroducion o Islam and explored ways ha eachers could suppor and empower heirMuslim sudens and amilies

Comparative Religions Class Oklahoma Ciy Universiy OK ldquoHae Speech vs Freedom ofSpeechrdquo Examined differences in legal reamen o hae speech in American Consiuional

regime as compared o he European Cour o Human Righs and he UNDHR

We also work closely wih our parners a he Equal Employmen Opporuniies Commission he OklahomaCouny Bar Associaion he American Civil Liberies Union o Oklahoma he YWCA o Oklahoma Ciy andcounless oher local and sae-wide organizaions ha spread our messages o olerance and pluralism in he

civil righs world

CAIR-OK Saff visis he YWCAof Oklahoma Ciy

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1516

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1616

3000 Unied Founders Blvd Se 226 OKC OK 731124052866009 | inookcaircom | cairoklahomacom

Page 14: 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1416

Civil Righs Direcor a Tulsarsquos John Hope Franklin Symposium onReconciliaion and he Media delivering presenaion ldquoThugs

Terroriss and Troubled Souls The Narraive of Race and Crimerdquo

OUTREACH EFFORTS

The CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen brings educaional presenaions o hose ouside

he Muslim communiy o Oklahoma in hopes o dispelling myhs abou Islam and reducing

he Islamophobia spread by misinormaion and ignorance

In he one year ha he CAIR-OK Civil Righs Deparmen has been esablished we have been inviedo over a dozen non-Muslim organizaions and evens o speak on he realiy o he Oklahoma Muslim

communiy

John Franklin Hope Symposium Tulsa OK ldquoTerroriss Thugs and Trouble Souls The Narraives

of Race and Crimerdquo Explored differences in media presenaion o perperaors o crimeIslamophobic depicions o erroriss and he consequences o skewed represenaion on helives o American Muslims

St Stephens Church Norman OK ldquo10 Things You Though You Knew Abou Islamrdquo Dispellingsereoypes and addressing common misconcepions abou Islam and Muslim

Rotary Club of Oklahoma City Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoIslamophobia and he Mediardquo Deailedexaminaion o how he media skews percepions o erroriss and errorism demonizesMuslims and conribues o he discriminaion aced by American Muslims

Sequoyah Elementary School Oklahoma Ciy OK ldquoEliminaing Bias Undersanding Muslim Sudens and Familiesrdquo In response o repors o harassmen o Muslim amily presened

an inroducion o Islam and explored ways ha eachers could suppor and empower heirMuslim sudens and amilies

Comparative Religions Class Oklahoma Ciy Universiy OK ldquoHae Speech vs Freedom ofSpeechrdquo Examined differences in legal reamen o hae speech in American Consiuional

regime as compared o he European Cour o Human Righs and he UNDHR

We also work closely wih our parners a he Equal Employmen Opporuniies Commission he OklahomaCouny Bar Associaion he American Civil Liberies Union o Oklahoma he YWCA o Oklahoma Ciy andcounless oher local and sae-wide organizaions ha spread our messages o olerance and pluralism in he

civil righs world

CAIR-OK Saff visis he YWCAof Oklahoma Ciy

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1516

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1616

3000 Unied Founders Blvd Se 226 OKC OK 731124052866009 | inookcaircom | cairoklahomacom

Page 15: 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1516

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1616

3000 Unied Founders Blvd Se 226 OKC OK 731124052866009 | inookcaircom | cairoklahomacom

Page 16: 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

7232019 2015 CAIR-OK Civil Rights Report

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull2015-cair-ok-civil-rights-report 1616

3000 Unied Founders Blvd Se 226 OKC OK 731124052866009 | inookcaircom | cairoklahomacom