The Philadelphia Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-PA) is calling on people to ask their Congressional Representatives and the President to demand an end to the massacre underway in Gaza, and educate their Congressional Representatives about what steps (included below) they can take to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis there.
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS REQUESTED:
1. WRITE to your elected officials (one U.S. Representative and 2 U.S. Senators (Specter and Casey) and the President) to demand an end to the massacre in Gaza.
Sample Letters
Letter to Senator Casey
Letter to Representative Gerlach
Letter to Representative Sestak
Letter to Senator Specter
Please download, print your name and address at the bottom.
- Click http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt to find your representative. If you do not know your representative's name, please enter your zip code to find out
- Sign and mail/fax the letter. Continue to call.
2. WRITE a letter to the editor.
- Go online to find letter requirements for your local newspaper or call the paper and ask for the Letters Editor.
Talking points:
* As a concerned American, I call for an immediate end to the Israeli massacre underway in Gaza and the lifting of the blockade on Gaza.
* Our nation and its leaders cannot and should not remain silent as an illegal humanitarian disaster unfolds in Gaza. Collective punishment is always counterproductive and only serves to block moves toward a just resolution of any conflict.
* Because American taxpayers provide Israel with billions of dollars of economic support each year, we have the right to demand that those funds not be used to kill innocent civilians and increase human suffering.
* Israel must abide by international law and universal standards of human rights. We call on President Bush to demand the immediate end of Israel's killings and blockade.
* Silence from American officials will only serve to increase the perception worldwide that our nation cares little for the suffering of the Palestinian people.
* The perception that the U.S. abets cruel and inhumane treatment of civilian populations provides fodder for anti-Americanism that may threaten the security of the United States.
3. INFORM YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY by forwarding this alert to at least five other people. Tell them you took action and ask them to do the same.
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Panel: Are Americans Obsessed with Islam
This is Iftekhar's personal blog. The ideas expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of organizations that he is associated with.
Moderating a panel presentation
Panel: Are Americans Obsessed with Islam
Hosting high school students at a mosque
Teaching an Elderhostel "Understanding Islam and Muslims" class
At the 1st Annual CAIR-PA Banquet with Ed Rendell and Ahmed Bedeir
About Me
- Iftekhar Hussain
- Iftekhar is the Chair of the CAIR-PA Board of Directors and a member of the Executive Committee of CAIR-PA Philadelphia Chapter. He is engaged in local interfaith educational initiatives with a focus on 'Islam and the Middle East' and 'US Foreign Policy and the Muslim world'. On behalf of CAIR-PA, he has developed a 10-part course titled 'Understanding Islam and Muslims through History and Jurisprudence' and has taught it at churches, synagogues, mosques and local county night schools. He has presented this course at over 30 different venues over the past 6 years. Iftekhar serves as Friday prayer service leader at suburban mosques in the Delaware Valley. Iftekhar was born in Bangladesh, has lived in the Middle East and Europe and studied and obtained undergraduate and graduate degrees at Texas A&M University and worked toward a PhD at Penn State University. He works as a consultant in the Pharmaceutical industry, traveling in Asia Pacific and Europe on business process re-engineering engagements. Iftekhar is married to Bushra Kourani for the past 14 years and has three children Yousef (age 12), Omar (age 11) and Huda (age 7).