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CAIR Connecticut just hosted a Youth Civic and Political Engagement Workshop Young Muslims Connecticut designed to “equip young Muslims” to become community leaders and “actively engage in shaping the future” of the state.

The session focused on how government works and how civic participation, advocacy, public service, and voting can move this group toward sustained action. “Together, we are building the next generation of Muslim leaders to creating positive change across Connecticut,” CAIR-CT wrote.

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CAIR-CT's voter mobilization effort comes after a recent legislative win with Public Act 26-1 (Senate Bill 298), which became effective on July 1, 2026.

The new law requires the State Board of Education (SBE), within available appropriations and using available resource materials, to make curriculum materials available on Islamic and Arab studies and to assist/encourage local and regional boards of education to include them.

Districts are not required to offer the instruction; it is optional—at least for now.

This provision was simply added to an existing list of topics for which the SBE already makes materials available and encourages inclusion (Holocaust/genocide education, African-American and Black studies, Puerto Rican and Latino studies, Native American studies, Asian American and Pacific Islander studies). No dedicated funding was allocated for developing the materials.

Muslims represent the second largest religious group in Connecticut (4%) after Christians (57%) according to Pew data.

Farhan Memon, CAIR-CT's chairman, told the Hartford Courant the legislation “recognizes that there’s a need for accurate education about Islam and Muslim civilizations. That’s important for our children to have as part of their well-rounded education. It also acknowledges that education is one of the most effective, long-term tools for combating prejudice and misinformation. The goal here isn’t to promote religion, it is to provide students with historically accurate information that fills in the gaps that they currently have in their classroom education.”

“No one is saying, or no one expects that every school in Connecticut is going to teach Arabic next year. But if a school wanted to, then the state Department of Education would have a curriculum ready for them to do that,” Memon explained.

CAIR-CT plans to work with the state Department of Education to develop the materials: “We want to make sure that as the state fulfills its mandate to create this curriculum, that it’s done with a view that’s not only accurate, but also ensures that we’re not introducing new biases into the curriculum at the same time.”

Memon stressed the new rule “does not mandate instruction, nor does it promote any religion. It simply directs the State Department of Education to develop optional educational resources for local school districts.” He added that teaching about a civilization or faith tradition is not the same as promoting adoption of it, noting that schools already cover other world religions in history/social studies.

Memon further claims current textbooks “present a highly biased view of Islam and Muslims.”

What might CAIR-CT want SBE to include in those resources?

CAIR-CT offers at set of classroom resources on its website from partner organizations Teaching While Muslim (TWM) and Unity Production Foundation (UPF).

The first resource CAIR-CT highlights comes from the New Jersey Muslim Heritage Month Coalition and includes:

• Elementary level resources: Daily morning announcements with facts about Muslim life and contributions (e.g., "Ilhan Omar, the first Somali-American Muslim lawmaker, was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives after her family fled civil war in Somalia"; Rashida Tlaib is the first Palestinian-American Muslim elected to Congress, representing Michigan's 12th district"); weekly book readings (e.g., Deep in the Sahara, The Proudest Blue, Moon’s Ramadan); short films (e.g., Nadia’s Ramadan); and related trivia.
• Middle and high school resources: Grade- and subject-specific lesson plans and activities covering topics such as World Hijab Day, Islamic art and architecture, notable Muslim figures and inventors, “Islam 101,” misconceptions/stereotypes, Ramadan, halal food/cooking (including iftar meals), WebQuests, journaling on bias, and cultural diversity.

The materials don’t shy away from teaching that “jihad” is a key word in Islam. It is defined as “a meritorious struggle or effort” about the “internal struggle Muslims face to strengthen their faith.” Of course, “in the rare circumstance” the word “jihad” refers to “an external struggle” because Muslims have a “strict Moral Code of Conduct that they must adhere to in time of war.”

Some of the other materials recommended by CAIR-CT prop up Marxist-aligned activists, such as in this critical race theory-drenched lesson on the achievements of Black Muslims.

The teacher is expected to define “Collective Liberation” to students as “the idea that multiple oppressions are connected, and people must work together as a team to end oppression worldwide. We all have a role to learn about issues of justice and equity.”

The lesson goes on to reference “Black Lives Matter at School” materials and argue for liberation for “all Black lives” regardless of gender identity, immigration status, and similar categories. The teacher is then expected to guide a discussion around how Black Muslim activists “have paved the way for many activists fighting for collective liberation.”

CAIR-CT also recommends using content from the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Learning for Justice division to “bust three common myths” about Islam:

• Terrorism and violence: “The vast majority of Muslims are appalled by terrorist acts carried out or inspired by al-Qaeda and ISIL (the Islamic State of Iraq)” … “Anti-Muslim groups” just “cherry-pick passages from the Quran” to prove that Islam promotes violence … “even Buddhism…has radical factions that have conducted violent attacks.”
• Sexist or anti-female: “Many views regarding gender” were “quite progressive for the time in which the prophet Muhammed lived.” Today, in “progressive cultures,” women can “rise to the tops of their professions,” but “in conservative cultures…women may be prevented from participating fully in public life.” The critical race term “intersectionality” is invoked to defend against “the idea that Islam is inherently misogynistic” and that the headscarf is “a sign of oppression.”
• Shariah law in the United States: “…it is more of a philosophical and religious precept, not a universally applicable set of laws,” though “some Muslim-majority countries” have created a theocracy by combining state and religious power. “Islamophobic groups in the U.S.” in at least nine states have essentially banned “the consideration of ‘foreign laws’” … don’t worry because “no U.S. court has ever made a ruling based on Shariah and, according to the Constitution, no court ever can.”

This offers a clear view into the kind of curriculum CAIR-CT would encourage the State Board of Education to adopt.

Note that Texas and Florida have taken state-level actions designating CAIR as a foreign terrorist organization under their own state authority. These are not the same as a U.S. federal Foreign Terrorist Organization designation by the State Department.

But in Connecticut, Democrats welcome CAIR with wide-open arms.

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