Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Confronting or Ignoring Gendered Vulnerabilities?
Like any advocacy organization, CAIR must carefully balance its desire for creating so-
cial and political change with the need to retain legitimacy in the eyes of its constitu-
ents. It is possible to conceive of this advocacy work as trading privilege for change.
Privilege, in this view, takes on some aspects of cultural currency, where more priv-
ilege is gained by successfully bringing about social change, but unsuccessfully moving
to make change can result in “wasting” privilege. Taking a chance, spending privilege,
and ending up with nothing might end an advocacy organization's legitimacy. Riskier
actions can cause a large loss of prestige that can reduce the privilege available for fu-
tureactions.Inkeepingwiththisinterpretation,mostactionsthatCAIRtakes,ingeneral
terms, always have the dual goals of creating change and improving legitimacy as part
of the motivation. CAIR's civil rights work involves using the justice system to advoc-
ateforindividualsandgroupsdisparatelyimpactedbypolicyandpractice(CAIR2006).
ThiskindoflegaladvocacyisanefficientuseofCAIR'sresources(includingprivilege),
because legal cases can result in tangible benefits, and use of the courts to resolve dis-
putes is considered legitimate by nearly everyone involved. Most of CAIR's paid staff
are lawyers by profession, and they work with or refer discrimination cases brought to
their attention by the Muslim American communities they serve. Legal advocacy is not
the only avenue CAIR takes, however. CAIR has also engaged in legislative lobbying,
direct consultations with executive branch agencies tasked with enforcing civil rights
laws, and it has worked with public and private service providers to advocate for social
change through educational and cultural programs. CAIR also publishes research and
opinion statements. CAIR's advocacy work, in short, is extensive and represents a large
amount of privilege that the organization has gained on the basis of building legitimacy
among its constituents. CAIR's large grassroots footprint gives it a large base of support
from which to work. Despite all of its available privilege and other resources it could
bring to bear, according to the analysis of CAIR documents, very little advocacy work
is carried out on gendered issues by CAIR's national office.
Searching through the sample of CAIR documents produced between 1996 and 2008
by keyword, very few instances were found that describe specific CAIR advocacy ac-
tions on gendered issues. Many of the documents described the actions of CAIR stand-
ing in support of work done by other organizations and institutions. There were some
instances when CAIR took direct action on gendered issues uncovered by my study. For
example, CAIR took action to stop the continued publication of a college textbook, that
falsely (and offensively) claimed that “In Islam, the most male-oriented of the modern
religions, a woman is nothing but a vehicle for producing sons” (CAIR n.d.). Anoth-
er example came in 2007 when CAIR issued a statement from its Executive Director
supporting a bill in the House of Representatives that would call “for an end to female
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