Not so much these days.
From https://www.investigativeproject.org/8045/breaking-news-cair-touts-partnership-with-census
…”CAIR wants to ensure that that not only are American Muslim communities being fairly counted – but that their neighborhoods are getting a fair share in federal and state funding,” the CAIR release said.
Internal documents seized by the FBI show that CAIR and its founders, Omar Ahmad and Nihad Awad, were deeply involved in a Hamas-support network in America created by the Muslim Brotherhood. A committee report described the group’s mission as “defending the Islamic cause in Palestine and support for the emerging movement, the Hamas Movement.”
Both Ahmad and Awad appear on the “Palestine Committee” telephone list (Ahmad is listed as “Omar Yehya”), and CAIR is listed on a meeting agenda which named the committee’s branches.
“[U]ntil we can resolve whether there continues to be a connection between CAIR or its executives and HAMAS,” a senior FBI official wrote in 2009, “the FBI does not view CAIR as an appropriate liaison partner.”
The policy remains in effect a decade later. The FBI’s conclusion was shared by federal prosecutors and a U.S. District Court judge who reviewed the evidence.
Records seized by the FBI “do create at least a prima facie case as to CAIR’s involvement in a conspiracy to support Hamas,” U.S. District Court Judge Jorge Solis wrote in 2009…
…CAIR’s partnership is a problem, said Zuhdi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy. But there’s a deeper concern, which is found on the Census Bureau’s website.
“The U.S. Census Bureau does not collect data on religious affiliation in its demographic surveys or decennial census. Public Law 94-521 prohibits us from asking a question on religious affiliation on a mandatory basis; in some person or household surveys, however, the U.S. Census Bureau may collect information about religious practices, on a voluntary basis.”
Given that, Jasser asked, why is the Census Bureau partnering with a religious organization at all?
CAIR’s announcement perpetuates a stereotype that Muslim Americans are not engaged in society. “It’s counting all Americans as equals,” Jasser said, “not as faith groups.”
The notion that Muslims need to be encouraged to participate in the national census treats an entire population as “naïve immigrants,” Jasser said. “They claim we’re well-integrated. If that claim is true, why is this project necessary?”
It is important that Muslim Americans participate in the Census. CAIR’s history, however, raises questions about whether the Census Bureau has partnered with an organization deserving of its trust.
Details at https://www.investigativeproject.org/8045/breaking-news-cair-touts-partnership-with-census
