Breaking News Archive

March 15, 2019

New Zealand Mosque Shooting

The “well-planned” New Zealand attack targeted mosques during Salatul Jummah, the mid-day Friday congregational prayer held weekly at all Islamic places of worship worldwide. This is the time of highest weekly attendance. Friday prayers will be held across the U.S. today.

These experts can inform your reporting on how U.S. Muslim, Arab, Sikh and South Asian communities are experiencing the tragedy and how they have dealt with attacks at places of worship in the United States.

Farhana Khera

Farhana Khera is the Executive Director of Muslim Advocates, where she works to maintain and protect civil liberties and Muslim rights in the wake of governmental counter-terrorism efforts.

Deepa Iyer

Deepa Iyer is an expert on hate violence, profiling, and the intersections between immigration and national security policy as they relate to the Muslim, Arab, Sikh, and South Asian community.

Qasim Rashid

Qasim Rashid is an international Human rights attorney who has published on white supremacy and extremism. He is a high profile voice on social media.

Imam Sohaib Sultan

Sohaib Sultan is the Muslim Life Coordinator and Muslim Chaplain (Imam) at Princeton University.

Zahra Billoo

Zahra Billoo is executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations San Franciso Bay Area Chapter (CAIR-SFBA). Billoo is an expert in hate crimes, discrimination, and bigotry. She is currently in Europe but available by phone and email.

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November 12, 2018

Experts Available: 2018 FBI Hate Crimes Data release

On Tuesday, November 13, the FBI is expected to release its annual hate crimes data. Experts representing Muslim, Arab, Sikh, and South Asian communities are available to provide insight from impacted communities. The data covers incidents in 2017.

Maya M. Berry

Berry authored two recent op-eds on FBI hate crimes data. Arab American Institute has already produced an analysis of 2017 hate crimes data covering 27 states, its recent report Underreported, Under Threat covers hate crimes data from 1991-2016.

Madihha Ahussain

Ahussain focuses on anti-Muslim hate issues. Muslim Advocates recently produced a report on Anti-Muslim political campaigns in the 2018 election cycle.

Zahra Billoo

Billoo is a civil rights attorney based in San Francisco. CAIR's recent report "Targeted" is its annual review of anti-Muslim bias in the U.S., providing both hard numbers and real stories of impact on the lives of American Muslims.

Michael German

German is a former FBI Special Agent. He is now a fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty and National Security Program. His work focuses on law enforcement and intelligence oversight and reform.

Hassan Shibly

Shibly is a civil rights attorney based in Tampa Bay. CAIR's recent report "Targeted" is its annual review of anti-Muslim bias in the U.S., providing both hard numbers and real stories of impact on the lives of American Muslims.

Deepa Iyer

Iyer is a South Asian American writer, lawyer, and racial justice advocate. Her book "We Too Sing America" chronicles various forms of discrimination and how activists are fighting back.

Jaylani Hussein

Hussein is a civil rights leader based in Minneapolis. CAIR's recent report "Targeted" is its annual review of anti-Muslim bias in the U.S., providing both hard numbers and real stories of impact on the lives of American Muslims.

Meira Neggaz

In its annual American Muslim Poll, the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) sets out to measure the level of public anti-Muslim sentiment in its most impactful manifestations. ISPU conducts objective, solution-seeking research that empowers American Muslims.

Amrith Kaur

Kaur is a civil rights attorney coordinating legal work and initiatives to protect the civil rights of all Americans in areas such as hate crimes, bullying, profiling, workplace discrimination, and religious rights.

Faiza Patel

Patel serves as co-director of the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program.

Suman Raghunathan

Raghunathan is executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together. SAALT's 2018 report "Communities on Fire" was one of the first to document hate incidents in which the name or policies of the Trump administration were invoked.

Arjun S. Sethi

Arjun Sethi is a writer, attorney, and professor. His 2018 book 'American Hate" chronicles the stories of individuals affected by hate.
October 28, 2018

Experts Available: Hate Crimes and Pittsburgh Anti-Semitic Attack

Experts in hates crimes issues in the U.S. are available to help the public understand the larger context of bigotry in the nation following the horrific attack on a Pittsburgh synagogue.  

Maya M. Berry

Arab American Institute examined decades of hate crimes data and can discuss it in the context of Pittsburgh and how it fails to illuminate that nature of bigotry in the U.S.

Arjun S. Sethi

Sethi interviewed survivors of hate crimes and documented their stories in American Hate.
June 1, 2018

Supreme Court Upholds the Muslim Ban

Today, the Supreme Court decided to uphold the Muslim Ban, ruling that it will remain in effect. Our list of experts available to speak about the ban includes those directly impacted by the ban, legal and policy experts, and national security experts. 

Sirine Shebaya

Sirine has been involved with all aspects of opposition to the Muslim ban, including litigation, airport response, FOIA work, and various advocacy efforts. She is one of the lead attorneys in IAAB v. Trump.

Zahra Billoo

Zahra was on the ground at the airports working with impacted individuals when the first Muslim Ban was signed and has since advised dozens of individuals from the Banned countries, is a named plaintiff in Sarsour v. Trump challenging the Bans, and co-leads the national No Muslim Ban Ever campaign

Farhana Khera

Farhana Khera has led Muslim Advocates in 8 lawsuits against the Trump Administration regarding the Muslim Ban, and is a key organizer of the We Will Not Be Banned rally scheduled to take place on the Muslim Ban decision day.

Sahar F. Aziz

Professor Sahar has written extensively on the civil rights of Muslims in America, including in her recent article “A Muslim Registry: A Precursor to Internment?” where she examines the constitutionality of Trump’s Muslim Ban.

Shayan Modarres

Shayan is an Iranian American Muslim civil rights attorney who was instrumental in securing in interviewing, assisting, and counseling plaintiffs in all three of NIAC’s legal challenges to every version of the Muslim Ban.

Dr. Debbie Almontaser

Following the first Muslim Ban executive order, Debbie co-organized and led the hugely successful bodega strike and rally of over 6000 Yemeni Americans, leading to the birth of the Yemeni American Merchants Association (YAMA); she was instrumental in planning the reception for Shaema Alomari's arrival to the U.S., the Yemeni girl with cerebral palsy who was discussed in oral arguments.

Maya M. Berry

Maya spearheads AAI's efforts to provide American citizens with educational materials on the Muslim Ban, relevant court decisions, and their ramifications on the rights of visitors, immigrants and their families.
April 25, 2018

8.5 Million Experts at SCOTUS Oral Arguments

As the Supreme Court heard oral arguments around the Muslim ban today, April 25th, a number of experts from 8.5 Million were in the court overseeing the proceedings. The following experts were in the room and are available to comment.

Zahra Billoo

Zahra Billoo is a civil rights attorney and the executive director of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). As such, she leads the oldest CAIR chapter in the country, serving the Bay Area's 250,000 Muslims.

Sirine Shebaya

Sirine Shebaya is a Senior Staff Attorney with Muslim Advocates. Prior to joining Muslim Advocates, she spent many years advocating for the civil rights of immigrants and other communities of color.

Dr. Debbie Almontaser

Dr. Debbie Almontaser is affiliated with the Yemeni American Merchants Association of New York (YAMA), which was birthed through the Yemeni Bodega Strike in New York in Protest to the Executive Order Travel Ban.

Farhana Khera

Farhana Khera is the Executive Director of Muslim Advocates, a national civil rights organization, and is the first woman to lead a national Muslim organization. Prior to joining Muslim Advocates, Ms. Khera was Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Property Rights.
April 23, 2018

Muslim Ban Oral Arguments on April 25th

On Wednesday, April 25th, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments around President Trump's Muslim ban - a travel ban that impacts 8 predominantly Muslim countries, dividing families, putting refugees at risk, and impacting talent and investment from the impacted countries. Our list of experts available to speak about the ban and oral arguments include those directly impacted by the ban, legal and policy experts, and national security experts.

Rooj Alwazir

Rooj Alwazir is a Yemeni American independent filmmaker and photographer based in New York and the co-founder of SupportYemen Media Co-op, where she and her friends have directed and produced over 10 social-issue based films.

Dr. Debbie Almontaser

Dr. Debbie Almontaser is affiliated with the Yemeni American Merchants Association of New York (YAMA), which was birthed through the Yemeni Bodega Strike in New York in Protest to the Executive Order Travel Ban. YAMA is dedicated to supporting the Yemeni American community and uplift their contributions in the United States.

Maya M. Berry

Maya Berry is Executive Director of the Arab American Institute (AAI), steering the Institute's policy agenda.

Jim Doyle

Jim Doyle is a communications advisor for nonprofits and corporations, and an expert on the economic impact of intolerance.

Masih Ali Fouladi

Masih Fouladi is an Advocacy Manager at the Greater Los Angeles Office of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA), and as an Iranian Muslim-American, Masih is an impacted individual. He has been heavily involved in efforts to combat the Muslim Ban and counter its enforcement.

Taif Jany

Taif Jany was born and raised in Baghdad, Iraq, and at age 16, he fled the sectarian civil conflict in the country and sought refuge in Damascus, Syria. Jany arrived in the United States at age 18 to attend Union College in Schenectady, New York. At the Young Elected Officials (YEO) Network, Jany coordinates nationwide projects to effectively impact policy at all levels of government.

Hina Shamsi

Hina Shamsi is the director of the ACLU National Security Project, which is dedicated to ensuring that U.S. national security policies and practices are consistent with the Constitution, civil liberties, and human rights.
February 15, 2018

Fourth Circuit of Appeals Blocks Muslim Ban 3.0

In a 9-4 ruling this morning, the Fourth Circuit of Appeals upheld the lower court's preliminary injunction against Muslim Ban 3.0, on the basis that it likely violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Today’s Fourth Circuit decision follows one by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which ruled against the latest ban on statutory grounds on December 22. The injunction is stayed pending review by the Supreme Court. 

Dr. Debbie Almontaser

Of Yemeni heritage herself, Dr. Almontaser - with a collective of bodega owners - led the historic Bodega Strike and rally in Brooklyn, Borough Hall, in response to the Muslim Ban, where thousands of store owners peacefully protested the unjust ban.

Sahar F. Aziz

Sahar F. Aziz is a Professor of Law, Chancellor’s Social Justice Scholar, and Middle East and Legal Studies Scholar at Rutgers University Law School. She can speak as a constitutional scholar and legal expert on the Ban.

Sirine Shebaya

Sirine Shebaya is a Senior Staff Attorney with Muslim Advocates. Shebaya helped draft the case heard by the Maryland district court in October, on the basis of which it issued a preliminary injunction against the third iteration of the Muslim Ban.

Avideh Moussavian

Avideh Moussavian serves as a Senior Policy Attorney at the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), where her work focuses on reducing the vulnerability of low-income immigrants to deportation on account of their race, class, or gender.

Zahra Billoo

Zahra Billoo is a civil rights attorney and the executive director of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). At the onset of 2017, Ms. Billoo joined the speaker lineup at the Women’s March on Washington and sued Donald Trump to challenge his Muslim Ban Executive Orders.
February 6, 2018

DHS Report Called for Long-Term Surveillance of Muslim Immigrants

In an exclusive story, Foreign Policy obtained a copy of a draft Department of Homeland Security report, which called for long-term surveillance of Muslim immigrants to the United States. The report identified Sunni Muslims living in the U.S. as being “vulnerable to terrorist narratives,” simply because they matched a set of risk indicators, such as being young, male and from “the Middle East, South Asia or Africa.” As one DHS official quoted in the article states: “It feels very much like the self-licking ice cream cone. That is, they have presented an answer to a question that has not specifically been asked.” We have included a list of national security and policy experts - many of whom are also from the Muslim, Arab, or South Asian community - who can speak to this breaking news story.

Hina Shamsi

Hina Shamsi is the director of the ACLU National Security Project, which is dedicated to ensuring that U.S. national security policies and practices are consistent with the Constitution, civil liberties, and human rights. Through litigation, research, and policy advocacy, her work has included a focus on the freedoms of speech and association, and challenges to unlawful detention, targeted killing, torture, and discrimination against racial and religious minorities.

Sahar F. Aziz

Sahar F. Aziz is a Professor of Law, Chancellor’s Social Justice Scholar, and Middle East and Legal Studies Scholar at Rutgers University Law School. Professor Aziz’s scholarship examines intersections of national security, race, and civil rights with a focus on the adverse impact of national security laws and policies on racial, ethnic, and religious minorities in the U.S.

Michael German

Michael German is a fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty and National Security Program, which seeks to ensure that the US government respects human rights and fundamental freedoms in its counterterrorism efforts. Prior to joining the Brennan Center, Mr. German served as the policy counsel for national security and privacy for the ACLU Washington Legislative Office, and as a special agent with the FBI, where he specialized in covert operations and domestic terrorism.

Shannon Al-Wakeel

Shannon Al-Wakeel is the executive director of the Muslim Justice League (MJL), a Boston-based organization advocating for human and civil rights that are threatened under national security pretexts. She was one of four Muslim women who founded MJL following federal law enforcement announcements in 2014 of a “countering violent extremism” pilot program targeting Boston. An attorney, Shannon received her J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Arjun S. Sethi

Arjun Sethi is a writer, attorney, and professor based in Washington, D.C. He is a frequent commentator on civil rights and civil liberties related issues, and teaches courses on surveillance, profiling, and counter terrorism.
January 26, 2018

On the One-Year Anniversary of the Muslim Ban, Including Impacted Voices

Saturday, January 27th marks the one-year anniversary of President Trump's attempt at implementing the first iteration of his Muslim ban. Since then, multiple iterations have not only been fought in the legal arena, but have also impacted various communities and families. As the ban comes up before the Supreme Court this year, centering impacted voices who have been holding the line of dignity, fairness, and respect for their communities is key to provide context for these stories. In our resource, we are including key policy, national security, and community voices, available as experts and spokespeople.

Avideh Moussavian

Avideh Moussavian serves as a Senior Policy Attorney at the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), where her work focuses on reducing the vulnerability of low-income immigrants to deportation on account of their race, class, or gender.

Engy Abdelkader

Engy Abdelkader is an academic expert and faculty member at Georgetown's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, where she teaches seminars on civil liberties and national security as well as terrorism and human rights.

Madihha Ahussain

Madihha Ahussain serves as a staff attorney at Muslim Advocates and plays an essential role as a member of the legal team focusing on anti-Muslim hate issues.

Masih Ali Fouladi

Masih Fouladi is an Advocacy Manager at the Greater Los Angeles Office of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA), which has served as a regional anchor on the issues for the national campaign against the Muslim Ban. As an Iranian Muslim-American, Masih is an impacted individual.

Rooj Alwazir

Rooj Alwazir is a Yemeni American independent filmmaker and photographer based in New York and the co-founder of SupportYemen Media Co-op, where she and her friends have directed and produced over 10 social-issue based films.

Jaylani Hussein

As the executive director of CAIR's Minnesota chapter, Jaylani Hussein uses his platform to comment on and engage with both local and national issues and events related to Muslim rights.
December 4, 2017

Supreme Court Allows Muslim Ban to go into Effect During Appeals Process

The Supreme Court has ruled that the Trump Administration's ban on travel for people from six Muslim countries can fully go into effect. 

Seven of the nine justices have granted the administration's request to lift injunctions imposed by lower courts blocking the ban.

Included are the top Muslim, Arab, and South Asian spokespeople who can speak to this topic.

Engy Abdelkader

Engy Abdelkader is a faculty member at Georgetown's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, where she teaches seminars on civil liberties and national security as well as terrorism and human rights.

Madihha Ahussain

Madihha Ahussain serves as a staff attorney at Muslim Advocates and plays an essential role as a member of the legal team focusing on anti-Muslim issues.

Dr. Debbie Almontaser

Dr. Debbie Almontaser is affiliated with the Yemeni American Merchants Association of New York (YAMA), which was birthed through the Yemeni Bodega Strike in New York in Protest to the Executive Order Travel Ban.

Rooj Alwazir

Rooj Alwazir is a Yemeni American independent filmmaker and photographer based in New York and the co-founder of Support Yemen Media Co-op, where she and her friends have directed and produced over 10 social-issue based films.

Masih Ali Fouladi

Masih Fouladi is an Advocacy Manager at the Greater Los Angeles Office of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA). CAIR-LA has also served as a regional anchor on the issues for the national campaign against the Muslim Ban, and as an Iranian Muslim-American, Masih is an impacted individual.

Jehan Hakim

Jehan Hakim serves as a Community Advocate with Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus. Formerly, she was the President of the California Chapter of the American Association of Yemeni Students and Professionals (AAYSP).

Jaylani Hussein

Jaylani Hussein is the executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN). A Somali-American, he is also from one of the impacted Muslim ban countries.