CAIR-MO

Today the Supreme Court Uphold's State Sponsored Religious Discrimination

Today the Supreme Court has upheld Trump's Muslim Ban. This decision greenlights religious and ethnic discrimination that runs counter to the inclusionary principals that our country aspires to. Throughout the morning I've been receiving calls from concerned American-Muslim families about how this decision will impact them. Whether it's safe from them to travel overseas to visit their loved ones. We've received calls from international students who went overseas for summer vacation who are now unsure whether they will be allowed to finish their education in the U.S. The list of impacted peoples is likely to grow. 

The Supreme Court has been wrong on major decision before. Consider the Dred Scott decision, which started right here in our city, and ended with a decision by the Supreme Court in favor of slavery. Remember the Korematsu decision which permitted the incarceration of thousands of people based on their Japanese ancestry.

Donald Trump ran on a campaign to put in place, "a complete and total shutdown of Muslims entering the U.S.". Two days after entering into office they introduce the first Muslim Ban Executive Order which created chaos across the country. Today's decision attacks Muslim communities and opens the door to government-and-court-sanctioned discrimination of other ethnic and religious groups. 

In the decanting opinion it was argued, 

"By blindly accepting the government's misguided invitation to sanction a discriminatory policy motivated by animosity toward a disfavored group, all in the name of a superficial claim of national security, the Court redeploys the same dangerous logic under lying Korematsu and merely replaces one "gravely wrong" decision with another."

Regardless of this decision our fight continues. CAIR-Missouri will continue to fight for religious freedom and justice all people. We will continue to fight for Muslim families and communities, to purse legal avenues on behalf of impacted people and to demand that legislators take action to end the Muslim Ban. 

Most importantly, I promise you, that we will continue to organize, mobilize, and defend Muslim communities from bigoted policies - whether they are endorsed by the Supreme Court or not. 

Sincerely,
Faizan Syed

Executive Director of CAIR-Missouri

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The Imam Council of Metropolitan St. Louis (ICMSTL), a council which represents the St. Louis Muslim community, expresses deep heartbreak and outrage over theTrump administration's inhumane policy of separating children from their parents. As parents, we believe that separating families is beyond cruel as well as a form of psychological torture. Ripping families apart who are trying to make a better life for themselves while pursuing the American dream is atrocious and immoral. Family is the building block of any society which is sanctified by God Almighty.

God captures the tremendous heartbreak of Joseph’s father when his two sons are ripped away from him. He turns to God and says, “’O my sorrow for Joseph!’ And his eyes became white (blind) on account of grief, and he was a repressor (of grief) …I only complain of my grief and sorrow to God, and I know from God what you do not know” (Quran 12:84-86). How many fathers today are in cold isolated cells with no one to listen to their sorrow except the Lord on high? How many mothers are physically sickened by grief after having their children ripped from their arms? How many frightened children cry out for their parents longing to be held?

Recently, the Trump administration has announced an Executive Order which claims to stop the policy of separating children at the border. However, this may not stop the separation of families, will not reunite the thousands of families already torn apart, and aims to lock up even more children and families. In fact, Speaker Paul Ryan and the Republican Party are working on a bill that would sanction mass immigrant family detention. The bill would dismantle the protections against jailing of children and families in mass prison camps. This is not the solution.

We call on all peoples of faith and conscience to rise and have their voices heard in the halls of Congress. Call your elected officials to vote against Speaker Ryan’s bill and demand all people be treated humanely. That separating families is cruel and unusual punishment. Let them know that we want to live in a Country that treats all people with dignity, respect, and love.

The Missouri chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, Illinois Education Association, Equality Illinois, Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Belleville Mosque and Islamic Education Center joined parents in demanding Springer’s resignation.

“People like Mr. Springer want our Muslim students to be invisible and be stressed all the time and not be proud of who they are,” said Almofleh, a program aide at Delores Moye Elementary School who has a child and two grandchildren in the district and was among several people who spoke during 90 minutes of comments about Springer.

Almofleh said she invited Springer to the mosque but he did not respond. She read a section from the Quran about God telling mankind that people were created in different but equal groups to know and love one another.

“There’s no way in hell I’m going to resign from this board,” he told the crowd, some of whom he mentioned by name and accused of bullying and harassing him. He said they “intimidated” the other school board members but that he would not be moved.

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