The Quran commands believers to stand firmly for justice — not only when it is convenient, not only for their own community, but as a matter of principle that extends to everyone. For AMCF donors who understand their giving as an expression of that obligation, CAIR-Cleveland & Northern Ohio represents something essential: an organization that has spent over two decades standing in courtrooms, community halls, and legislative chambers to ensure that American Muslims in Ohio can live, work, and worship without fear.
A Movement That Came to Ohio Early
The Council on American-Islamic Relations was founded in 1994 in Washington, D.C., at a moment when Muslim Americans were navigating a public landscape that was, in many ways, profoundly unprepared to protect their rights. CAIR has grown to be the largest Muslim civil liberties organization in the country, with over 35 chapters nationwide.
Ohio was one of the first states to recognize that proximity to national headquarters was not enough. CAIR-Ohio is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that opened in 1998 in Columbus and was the third CAIR chapter nationwide. In 2003, CAIR-Ohio added a Cleveland office. Today, the Ohio affiliate encompasses three chapters — Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati — covering the full breadth of the state’s Muslim communities.
For more than 20 years, the Cleveland chapter has been fighting for the civil rights of American Muslims — one of the busiest and most dynamic of CAIR’s nationwide affiliates, defending, representing, and educating the community. Their tagline is direct and unambiguous: Protecting Civil Rights. Fighting Bigotry. Promoting Tolerance.
Six Pillars of Work
CAIR-Cleveland’s impact is organized across six interconnected areas of work, each addressing a different dimension of what it means to protect a community’s full participation in American life.
Civil Rights Legal Representation is the chapter’s most visible front line. Experienced attorneys provide free or low-cost legal representation for Muslims, and those perceived to be Muslim, who have experienced religious discrimination — frequently taking cases involving employment discrimination, public accommodation, racial or ethnic profiling, hate crimes, and interaction with FBI and law enforcement agencies. For a Muslim employee wrongfully terminated, a student facing discrimination, or a family targeted by a hate crime, CAIR-Cleveland is often the first — and sometimes only — place they can turn for skilled legal help.
Immigrants’ Rights extends that protection to some of the most vulnerable members of the Ohio Muslim community. CAIR-Cleveland’s attorneys provide representation for refugees and other immigrants seeking asylum, legal permanent residency, and citizenship — and litigate immigration delays in federal court while challenging discriminatory immigration policies. In a political environment where immigration status can change a family’s life overnight, this work is nothing short of lifesaving.
Know Your Rights Education takes a preventive approach, empowering the Muslim community by educating them about their legal rights and responsibilities before a crisis occurs rather than scrambling to find help afterward.
Outreach & Volunteerism builds the coalitions that give civil rights work its staying power. CAIR-Cleveland develops outreach activities with interfaith groups and organizations and works on joint community service projects that build a sense of community and friendship — cultivating the relationships that make advocacy possible.
Media Relations ensures that the public narrative about Ohio’s Muslim communities is shaped by accurate, human information rather than stereotypes — challenging negative portrayals and amplifying the voices of Muslim Ohioans in the press.
Political Activism & Government Affairs keeps Muslim civic engagement alive and growing. CAIR-Cleveland monitors legislation and government activities, works with public officials on public policy issues, and keeps Muslims civically engaged through action alerts, voter registration drives, and advocacy workshops.
The Work in Action: A Year and a Half of Unstoppable Progress
CAIR-Cleveland’s Jan 2024–Jun 2025 Impact Report tells a story of an organization rising to meet an unprecedented moment. In 2022, 60 incidents were reported to the Cleveland office. By 2023, that number had surged to more than 400. In 2024, more than 500 incidents were reported — a nearly tenfold increase in just two years, reflecting a dramatic escalation in discrimination, ethnic intimidation, and hate targeting Ohio’s Muslim community.
CAIR-Cleveland did not stay silent.
Their legal team filed three Title VI complaints on behalf of students facing discriminatory treatment at Columbia Station School District, Beachwood School District, and Case Western Reserve University — the last of which was opened for federal investigation. They joined the ACLU to challenge Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s unlawful restrictions on naturalized citizens’ right to vote. When a young single mother of five had her children removed in what CAIR-Cleveland believes was a case of discrimination, their team secured the return of her children.
Perhaps most significantly: when Ohio’s IHRA anti-free speech bill appeared, CAIR-Cleveland rang alarm bells across the state, mobilizing community members and allies to oppose it. Ohio became the only state in the country to successfully defeat this legislation.
The numbers behind the year are striking: 200+ responses to incidents from incarcerated individuals, 44+ community empowerment programs, 540 Ohio voters reached through direct voter contact, 2,000+ emails sent to government officials, 70+ civic engagement events, and 12+ youth engagement events — all delivered by a lean, dedicated team operating with the urgency the moment demands.
Beyond legal battles, CAIR-Cleveland invested in building the next generation of Muslim leaders through the Muslim Leaders Retreat, the Muslim Civic Leadership Experience, the Muslim Youth Leadership Symposium, the inaugural CAIR to Lead: Elevating Women’s Voices Luncheon, and racial equity workshops across Cleveland and Toledo. They also distributed Ramadan memos to more than 100 jails and institutions across Ohio, and provided over 150 Eid meals to fasting Muslims at the Cuyahoga County Jail — a reminder that care for the incarcerated is inseparable from the broader work of justice.
In Their Own Words
“Over the last three years, our community has suffered a great deal. We have seen a surge in incidents reported to our office of discrimination, ethnic intimidation and hate. Our team continues to serve our community to the best of our ability with ihsan, commitment and steadfastness — with first the help of the Almighty and the community’s support. With this support, we have been able to stand on the frontlines to protect and serve our Muslim American community with pro-bono legal services, advocacy, education, organizing and democracy building. With deep gratitude, we thank everyone who has contributed to allow us to be able to continue our work.”
— Faten Husni Odeh, Executive Director, CAIR-Cleveland & Northern Ohio
Why This Work Matters to the Muslim Philanthropic Ecosystem
There is a dimension of Muslim community life that food pantries, schools, and masajid cannot protect on their own — and that is the legal and civic standing of Muslims in a country that has not always extended its constitutional promises equally to everyone who lives here. CAIR exists to fill that gap, and to fill it with professional skill, institutional credibility, and an unwillingness to accept anything less than full equality under the law.
For AMCF donors, supporting CAIR-Cleveland through a donor-advised fund or giving circle is an investment in the infrastructure of Muslim dignity — the systems, relationships, and legal muscle that make it possible for every other aspect of Muslim community life to thrive. A community that can defend its rights is a community that can build for its future.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or he is oppressed.” When asked how to help an oppressor, he replied: “By preventing him from oppressing others.” CAIR’s entire existence is an expression of that hadith — and every donor who supports their work is helping to make it real.
Support Organizations Like CAIR-Cleveland Through AMCF
Through your AMCF donor-advised fund, endowment, or giving circle, you can direct your charitable dollars toward organizations like CAIR-Cleveland & Northern Ohio — funding the legal representation, community education, and civic engagement that protect Muslim Americans’ rights across the state of Ohio.