(ATLANTA, GA - 7/19/2019) - The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today applauded civil rights legend and Congressman John Lewis for joining Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib in the introduction of House Resolution 496, which reaffirms every American's constitutional right to engage in political boycotts.

 "We thank Congressman John Lewis for reaffirming every American's constitutional right to protest injustice by engaging in boycotts, whether against businesses, organizations, or foreign governments," said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, executive director of CAIR-Georgia.

 H.R. 496 also charts the history of successful and constitutionally protected boycott movements in the United States, from the Boston Tea Party to the Civil Rights Movement to boycotts in opposition to apartheid in South Africa.

(ATLANTA, GA - 7/17/2019) - The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Georgia) today welcomed news that Rick Painter, a racist who attacked a Muslim woman last year, pleaded guilty to felony false imprisonment and misdemeanor battery just hours before he was scheduled to face trial. 

Painter was first arrested by the Atlanta Police Department on May 5, 2018. When Ms. King delivered food to his home for DoorDash, Painter declared "I am Jesus," grabbed Ms. King's hijab and niqab, and wrestled her to the ground, where he attempted to strangle her with her own clothing. 

[NOTE: Hijab is the religious hair scarf used by Muslim women to cover their hair, while a niqab is a face that some women wear].

Ms. King, who is 4'11 tall, used her keyring and cell phone to successfully fight off Painter, who is 6'3 and weighed 200 pounds at the time of the incident. She then escaped and contacted the police department, which arrested Painter.

(ATLANTA, GA, 7/17/19) - The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Georgia) and the Save Uighur Campaign today called on the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Company to suspend its business operations in China in response to the Communist Party's ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing against Uighur Muslims.

In a letter sent to Coca-Cola on June 27th, CAIR-Georgia and the Save Uighur Campaign highlighted the role that Coke and other American corporations have allegedly played in enabling and benefiting from China's oppression of Uighur Muslims, over one million of whom have been detained in concentration camps.

SEE: CAIR Georgia Letter To Coca-Cola Company

According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, Coke, Adidas, H&M, Kraft Heinz Co., Gap Inc. and other American businesses benefit from forced labor in China's Xinjiang Province, where mosques have been demolished, entire cities have been subjected to mass surveillance, and Uighur Muslims prisoners have experienced everything from brainwashing and torture to forced labor and execution.

(ATLANTA, GA - 6/18/2019) The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today presented at Ebenzer Baptist Church’s 'Ending Mass Incarceration' conference in Atlanta. 

During the June 18th presentation, CAIR Georgia discussed the unique impact of mass incarceration on the American Muslim community. 

SEE: Facebook Live: Full Video of Presentation

“A main interest of ours is criminal justice reform. It is an interest of ours because as Muslims, we are not only interested in defeating Islamophobia and protecting Muslim civil rights. As Muslims, we believe in justice for all people and fighting for justice for all people,” said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, Executive Director of CAIR Georgia.