CAIR caught napping over name

The Council on American-Islamic Relations has sued controversial Southfield lawyer Debbie Schlussel in federal court for trademark infringement, saying Schlussel incorporated several similarly-named groups to confuse its donors.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, urges U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn, to stop her from using the names she incorporated.

“There are people in our community who contacted our office thinking she actually was named executive director of CAIR Michigan,” the group’s executive director, Dawud Walid, said today. He said he fears supporters of his group are making charitable contributions to Schlussel, believing she runs the real CAIR organization.

Schlussel countered that CAIR abandoned its name in Michigan by failing to file annual reports to the state of Michigan beginning in 2004. She said she filed articles of incorporation last year, at the behest of a client who she wouldn't identify.

"They abandoned it,” Schlussel said. “The state of Michigan sent them notices, but they never once responded.”

Walid says Schlussel spews anti-Muslim hatred on her website. Schlussel counters that she seeks to point out the intolerance of Islam.

A hearing on the case is set for 9 a.m. Friday.


CAIR sues Debbie Schlusseame | freep.com | Detroit Free Press