Today we’d like to introduce you to Sufyan Sohel.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My journey to advocacy and activism, specifically on behalf of the Muslim community, began with Hurricane Katrina. I lived on a cruise ship for displaced Tulane University students, faculty and staff while finishing up my degree and would volunteer in projects focused on rebuilding New Orleans. I saw the huge socio/economic/racial issues that existed in that community and the different struggles faced by groups based on their background. When I moved back to Chicagoland, I was working in the Finance Industry, living at home with my parents, and volunteering at my Islamic Sunday School. Despite having attended and being a part of my local Muslim community growing up, it was at this time that I first noticed the subtle – and not so subtle – disparities that existed amongst attendees of different genders and races at the mosque and realized that culture influences restricted access for so many. It made me angry.
I decided to work on these issues and enrolled at DePaul College of Law in 2008. I channeled my passion for women’s rights issues, especially those facing Muslim women, and interned at DePaul’s International Human Rights Institute researching gender violence and rights in Muslim majority countries. I spent a summer at the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights in Cairo, Egypt, where I worked on gender reform and educating women on their rights under Egyptian Law. I learned quickly that so many communities are unaware of the protections offered to them under the laws of their respective communities.
In the latter half of my law school career, I began volunteering as a law clerk at CAIR-Chicago, a Chicago based non-profit that protects the First Amendment Religious rights of Muslim Americans. I worked for 18 months as a law clerk and was then asked, upon completion of law school, to serve as Deputy Director of the organization. I have been here ever since.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Muslim advocacy and the fight for civil rights has not been a smooth road. On average, our office receives 400 reported cases of discrimination on an annual basis. This year has proved even more challenging with almost 400 reported in mid-June. With the anti-Muslim/anti-immigrant rhetoric we heard during the campaign, the Muslim community has faced increased levels of fear as incidents of hate continue to rise in numbers. At the end of January, President Trump issued the first travel ban, restricting travel from seven Muslim majority countries and access for Syrian refugees to enter this country. Travelers from those countries were not the only ones facing challenges as we saw citizens and green card holders detained for long period of time. The entire community was afraid, questioning their place as Americans and feeling unwelcome in their home, the United States. I, and my office, has worked tirelessly with our partners, to ensure that Muslim Americans – and all Americans – are treated equally under the eyes of the law, are not denied the civil rights promised to them in the US Constitution, and are safe in their communities.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
CAIR-Chicago is a non-profit, 501(c) 3 organization registered in Illinois. Our task is to protect the civil rights and liberties of Muslim Americans though our advocacy, legal, and legislative efforts expand to combat hate and injustice against all communities.
Our focus is three fold:
1) We have a Civil Rights department which processes over 400 annual reports of religious and race based discrimination. Most of our clients want a religious accommodation (prisoners want access to halal food/religious material, Muslim women want to wear the hijab at work, etc) or some sort of negative action to stop (School bullying for Muslim students, negative comments by coworkers to stop, law enforcement profiling, etc). We have a few cases egregious enough that they demand lawsuits where we litigate against perpetrators of discrimination (individuals, companies, universities, government bodies) and seek justice for our clients and community.
2) We have an Outreach department which focuses on establishing relationships with elected officials, community based organizations and schools/universities to build power behind common social justice issues and to advocate against hate facing our communities.
3) We have a Communications Department which serves as a mouth piece, both internally to our community, highlighting our work on their behalf, and outwardly to the greater community to illustrate the issues facing the Muslim community and provide narratives and articles discussing many of our society’s social justice issues.
We are proud of our thoughtful professionalism. We work hard to make sure that we are ever present in our community and that they know that we have their back in defending their rights as Americans. We are the only Muslim Civil Rights organization specifically focused on issues facing the Chicagoland Muslim community and strive tirelessly to make sure that our community is represented at all tables.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was a super involved nerd. I loved studying and loved being part of organizations. Student Government was my big hobby and I was involved in student government bodies representing my school, the northeast region of IL, and the entire state of Illinois. I also loved theatre. While I wasn’t too great of an actor, I did love the opportunity to step outside of my comfort zone and be someone else. Both theatre and student government allowed me an opportunity to interact with people from a variety of backgrounds and make friends with people who may have been outside my normal social circles and cliques.
I had and continue to enjoy reading fiction. I am amazed at the breadth of imagination found in novels and the thoughtful planning that is done in the creation and completion of each work. I am a die-hard Harry Potter Fan and remember standing in line at midnight at the local bookstore for each book’s release waiting to get my hands on the new book and then staying up all night to find out the next step of Harry’s journey.
Contact Info:
- Address: 17 N State st. Ste 1500
Chicago, IL 60602 - Website: www.cairchicago.org
- Phone: 312.212.1520
- Email: info@cairchicago.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cairchicago/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cairchicago
- Twitter: @cairchicago
Image Credit:
All photos taken my CAIR-Chicago staff
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