Muslim Council Offers Educational
Materials to Public Libraries
In what it calls a first-of-its-kind library project, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is planning a national initiative to counter anti-Muslim bigotry by distributing educational materials about Islam to all 16,000 public libraries in the United States. The program launch is scheduled for September 9 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
Called “Explore Islamic Civilization and Culture,” the year-long campaign will involve community-sponsored distribution of books, videos, and audiocassettes in library packages containing materials such as the PBS documentary Islam: Empire of Faith, a copy of the Koran, and children’s books on Ramadan and mosque architecture. CAIR will help libraries identify sponsors who are willing to pay for the library packages, which will cost from $37 to $150, CAIR spokeswoman Hodan Hassan told American Libraries.
“Americans do not have adequate access to accurate information about Islam and Muslims,” said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. “This lack of objective information leaves ordinary Americans vulnerable to the rising tide of anti-Muslim rhetoric. Our library project seeks to challenge bigotry through education.” Publishers and book retailers have reported an exponential increase in demand for materials about Islam, he noted, and increased demand is putting a strain on our nation’s public libraries.
CAIR is a Washington-based, Islamic, civil-rights and advocacy group. A pilot program by CAIR’s Los Angeles office has already placed more than 2,500 books and videos in 166 Southern California libraries, said Hassan.
Posted September 9, 2002.
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