Connecticut Muslim Leaders, civil rights organizations, and activists are organizing a press conference and rally in response to SCOTUS decision on Muslim ban

On Tuesday, June 26, 2018, the United States Supreme Court upheld President Trump’s de facto Muslim Ban limiting travel access to roughly 150 million people, 95% of them Muslim. While rejecting previous versions, the court accepted the new ban for “national security” purposes after arbitrarily adding two non-Muslim majority countries with few travelers to the U.S. This unfortunate decision clears the way for the Trump administration to codify discrimination against travelers to the United States based on their religion.

What: Press Conference/Rally

When: Friday June 29, 2018 at 3 pm.

Where: State House Square, Hartford CT

Contact: Mongi Dhaouadi, Mdhaouadi@aol.com

Mongi Dhaouadi, Muslim leader and civil rights activist said “We are a nation of immigrants who wholeheartedly embrace the words engraved on the Statue of Liberty “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” and we will continue to do so after this setback.”

Reza Mansour, President of the Islamic Center of Greater Hartford, added “We respect the rule of law and believe in the constitution yet we believe this ruling does not respect the tradition of religious freedom preserved by that very document. We believe that this decision will fit in with a series of discriminatory past rulings (comparable to Korematsu v. United States as an example) that have since been revoked.”

Kashif Abul Karim, Imam at Muhammad Islamic Center in Hartford, said “Our community along with friends and allies will continue to mobilize and organize until we gain just treatment under the law. Let’s not forget that the Supreme Court was on the wrong side of history in the Dred Scott v. Sandford and Korematsu v. US as they are with this ruling.”

Mongi Dhaouadi

Email MDhaouadi@aol.com