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CAIR Welcomes Religious Exemption Granted for Minnesota Teenage Muslim Boxer’s Hijab

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/20/17) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed a religious exemption granted to a teenage Muslim boxer in Minnesota who was previously barred from competition because she wears an Islamic head scarf, or hijab.

Amaiya Zafar, 16, from Oakdale, Minn., will be allowed to compete wearing hijab under a new rule covering religious exemptions that is expected to be formally adopted by the USA Boxing board of directors in June. Under the new rule, which applies only to local “non-advancing matched bouts,” a request for a religious exemption must be made for each event in which the boxer wishes to participate.

(MINNEAPOLIS, MN, 4/6/17) - The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) Today expressed concerned about the recent spike of hate crimes targeting Minnesota Muslims. Four hate crime incidents targeting Muslims men and women occurred in a span of two weeks in Minnesota. 

On March 25th, Willmar man, Zachary Todd Degraw, 23 choked a Somali cab driver while driving from downtown St. Cloud to a bar east of the city. Degraw, face charges of assault motivated by bias, a gross misdemeanor, and two counts of misdemeanor fifth-degree assault. Drew

"Our community is on edge as we continue to get more reports of hate crimes targeting the Minnesota Muslim Community," said CAIR-MN Executive Director Jaylani Hussein. "We ask our state leaders to publicly repudiate the growing Islamophobia that has resulted in an unprecedented spike in anti-Muslim hate crimes in our state" 

Hussein noted four incidents have occurred in a span of two week in Moorhead, two in Minneapolis and in one in St Cloud.