CAIR-Houston Attends Roundtable with EEOC’s Ishimaru

(HOUSTON, TX 9/20/07) – CAIR-Houston’s Chairman Syed Izfar and  Director Shariq Abdul Ghani attended a roundtable meeting of community leaders with Commissioner Stuart  J. Ishimaru of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The Commissioner traveled to Houston from Washington D.C. exlcusively for this meeting held at EEOC’s Houston office in downtown Houston.

The two hour roundtable started off with the Commissioner voicing his ideas of increased tolerance and greater understanding in the workplace between employees and employers. Several questions were asked of the Commissioner including EEOC's efforts on hiring practices and monitoring discrimination against day laborers and non-English speaking employees. Commissioner Ishimaru indicated that his agency is working towards educating employers in all communities and he needed the assistance of all attendees with outreach.

Chairman Izfar suggested ideas such as attending Mosque events, Friday prayers, and teaming up with CAIR-Houston to get the word out to the Muslim community. The Commissioner and his staff will be exploring ways to create a video for the EEOC with members of CAIR-Houston to educate Urdu and Arabic speaking employers and empoyees about their respective rights in the workplace.

"Commissioner Ishimaru and the EEOC are working diligently to reach out to the Muslim community at large, and we hope this effort continues. As CAIR-Houston, we will work with the agency to ensure the rights of all Muslims in the workforce," stated CAIR-Houston Chairman Syed Izfar.