Mission Statement
CAIR’s vision is to be a leading advocate for justice and mutual understanding. CAIR’s mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
Impact and Programs
Accomplishments
In 2019 CAIR- PA continued to serve as the lead civil rights and advocacy organization serving our constituents in legal aid, media engagement, interfaith work and educational initiatives. Faced with increasing anti-Muslim racism and open bigotry, in 2019, CAIR-PA chapters provided an array of free legal services to over 200 individuals and organizations, representing clients with wide-ranging allegations such as employment discrimination, racial profiling, school bullying, and biased enforcement of criminal codes.
In 2019 our chapters also increased our work to empower American Muslims by making sure to collaborate with multiple institutions and grant-making circles to ensure greater American Muslim civic and political participation in the state’s municipal election cycle. Our Muslim Capitol Day programming once again engaged elected officials and created opportunities for face-to-face discussions. CAIR-PA chapters also conducted workshops around the greater Philadelphia and Pittsburgh area for Muslim and non-Muslim communities, including “Know Your Rights”, “Islam 101”, “Responding to Bullying”, and diversity trainings on Islam, Muslims, and religious accommodations. Hundreds of attendees benefited from these courses, which were held in houses of worship, school districts, as well as governmental and professional offices.
The number of clients we served, our ability to do programming in multiple communities, the continuous support of our donor base and increased recognition from grant-making institutions signal that CAIR-PA continues to excel in its operations, delivery of its programs and professionalism of its staff and volunteers.
Current Goals
In 2020, CAIR-PA chapters will continue to expand our educational, outreach, and legal services, supported by talented interns, to assist with the growing demand for our critical work.
Our legal work with continue and we will seek to further streamline our intake processes and data driven analysis of Islamophobic incidents.
CAIR-PA will intensify civic engagement work in light of the 2020 elections and Census 2020. Our work will include voter registration drives, sermon deliveries, and increased capacity to do listening sessions in our communities. We will be working with young community members to make sure they are champions of civic engagement in their communities.
We will also intensify our grant writing applications to help sustain and broaden our programs for 2020/2021.
Community or Constituency Served
Al Muslims in the state of Pennsylvania
Geographic Area Served
The State of Pennsylvania
