(OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, 1/12/10) -- On January 15, the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OK) will hold a town hall meeting at the Melody Banquet Hall in Moore to discuss issues of concern to the Muslim community such as airport profiling, youth empowerment and civic engagement.

WHAT: CAIR-Oklahoma Town Hall Meeting
WHEN: Friday, January 15, 2010, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Melody Hall, 2280 North Broadway St. Moore, OK 73160
CONTACT: CAIR-OK Executive Director Razi Hashmi, 405-415-6851 or 405-248-5853, E-mail: rhashmi@cair.com

“It is important for the community to know more about one of the fastest growing civil rights groups in the metro area that is serving the needs of the Muslim and greater community alike,” said CAIR-OK Executive Director Razi Hashmi.

A commentary distributed by CAIR challenged calls for profiling and suggested security-enhancing alternatives to ineffective religious profiling: “First look at behavior, not at faith or skin color. Then spend what it takes to obtain more bomb-sniffing dogs, to install more sophisticated bomb-detection equipment and to train security personnel in identifying the behavior of real terror suspects.”

SEE: Airport Profiling Hands a Victory to Terrorists

The director of CAIR’s Michigan chapter published a commentary in the Detroit News in which he wrote: “If we target people simply because of ethnicity or religion, it will not make us safer. And if we compromise our principles, we are fighting against the spirit of the Constitution itself. Either way, our enemies would win, and we all would be the losers.”

SEE: Religious Profiling Won't Help Anti-Terror Security

A CAIR Spokesperson also debated airport profiling on Fox’s ‘O’Reilly Factor.”

SEE: Video: Bill O'Reilly vs. CAIR Spokesman on Profiling

CAIR is urging American Muslim individuals and institutions to review advice on security procedures contained in its "Muslim Community Safety Kit.”

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

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CONTACT: CAIR-OK Executive Director Razi Hashmi, 405-415-6851 or 405-248-5853, E-mail: rhashmi@cair.com; CAIR-OK Chair Michael Aziz Gipson, E-Mail: mgipson@cair.com; CAIR-OK Operations Coordinator Huda Abdul-Razzak, E-Mail: habdulrazzak@cair.com

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