The Coalition for Civil Freedoms (CCF) is a coalition of left-of-center civil-rights groups that advocate for Muslims accused of terrorism and their families and for Muslim civil liberties. It claims to do this through research and education, policy advocacy, and direct support of political prisoners and their families. ¹ It is funded by several large philanthropy groups including the Tides Center, the Proteus Fund, NEO Philanthropy, the Network for Good. ²

Background

The Coalition for Civil Freedoms (CCF) is a coalition of national and local organizations that advocates for Muslims accused of terrorism and their families. It was founded in 2010 as the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms by Sami Al-Arian, who was on house arrest at the time for terrorism charges. Al-Arian created the CCF by bringing together civil rights groups such as the Friends of Human Rights and Project SALAM to fight against perceived targeting, surveillance, and the criminalization of Muslims. ^{3 4}

Coalition Members

There are 14 members of the Coalition for Civil Freedoms. ¹

The Committee to Stop FBI Repression was formed in 2010 to “oppose political repression of the people’s movements” claiming that the FBI works to “choke off free speech, curb freedom of association, and to lock people up.” ⁵

Desis Rising Up and Moving is a left-of-center advocacy group in support of South Asian American undocumented workers, women, and youth in New York City. ⁶

The International Action Center is an anti-war activist organization that brings together “communities of color, women, lesbian, gay, bi and trans people, youth and students, immigrant and workers’ organizations in order to build a progressive movement for social justice and change.” ⁷

The Jericho Movement is a radical activist organization working to free all political prisoners. ⁸

The Muslim Legal Fund of America provides legal services to Muslims who claim that they are impacted by “unjust prosecution, governmental overreach, and systems of oppression.” ⁹

The National Lawyers Guild is a left-of-center group of attorneys that is best known for its defense of protesters and activist movements. It also supports the dismantling and abolition of all detention facilities, including prisons, jails, juvenile detention facilities, and immigration detention centers. ¹⁰

The United National Antiwar Coalition is an anti-war coalition that claims the “U.S. government, and the corporations it serves, are the major cause of conflict and misery in the world today.” ¹¹

Other members include the Aafia Foundation, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Florida, Creating Law Enforcement Accountability and Responsibility (CLEAR), Friends of Human Rights, the Islamic Circle of North America Council for Social Justice, Massachusetts Peace Action, and Project SALAM. ¹²

Work Areas

The Coalition for Civil Freedoms provides financial support to approximately 250 persons it alleges are political prisoners, mostly Muslims, by sending a $100 gift every Ramadan. In 2023 it began providing monthly financial support. ¹³

CCF encourages volunteer involvement in several ways. It organizes a pen pal program for individuals interested in writing to political prisoners, encourages people to attend prisoner trials and hearings to show support, and provides the opportunity for people to sponsor a prisoner financially. ¹

CCF organizes lobby days in Washington, D.C. to oppose mandatory minimum sentences and to support compassionate release policies. ¹⁴

CCF is a member of the US Human Rights Network, a network of over 200 left-of-center human rights organizations including Amnesty International, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Global Justice Center, the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, and the Workers Center for Racial Justice. ¹⁵

In November 2024, CCF was one of 193 organizations that sent a letter organized by the Detention Watch Network to former President Joe Biden urging his administration to “protect immigrant communities while you still can” and stop the detention of illegal immigrants and close detention facilities before the start of the second Trump administration. Other signatories included 18MillionRising, Americans for Immigrant Justice, the Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project, Defending Rights and Dissent, Human Rights Watch, Rising Majority, and UndocuBlack Network. ^{16 17}

Funding

According to its 2023 990 form, the Coalition for Civil Freedoms reported $192,294 in revenue and $138,345 in expenses. ¹⁸

Donors to the CCF include the Tides Center, the Proteus Fund, NEO Philanthropy, the Network for Good, and the Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund. ²

Leadership

Leena Al-Arian is the executive director of the Coalition for Civil Freedoms. ¹⁹ She is the daughter of convicted terrorist Sami Al-Arian, who was imprisoned and later deported to Turkey. She claims that her father was persecuted because of his background. She studied at the University of South Florida and was vice president of the Muslim Students Association at the university. ²⁰ She holds a master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Chicago and has worked at several activist organizations including American Muslims for Palestine and the Middle East Children’s Alliance. ²¹

Stephen Downs is board chair of CCF. Downs served in the U.S. Peace Corps then earned a law degree from Cornell Law School. He was the founder of Project SALAM in 2008, an organization that advocates for prisoners it claims have been “preemptively prosecuted,” and became the CCF executive director in 2012. ²²

Mel Underbakke is deputy executive director of CCF. ¹⁹ She was an educator and researcher at the University of Florida. When her colleague Sami Al-Arian was arrested in 2003, she founded Friends of Human Rights. In 2010, Friends of Human Rights joined in the formation of the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms. ²³

1. Coalition for Civil Freedoms homepage. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://www.civilfreedoms.org/
2. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer search. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/full_text_search?sort=best&form%5B%5D=IRS990ScheduleI&q=45-1653796&submit=Apply
3. “Reshifting the Narrative with Leena Al-Arian of CCF.” The Sanctuary for Independent Media. June 14, 2022. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://www.mediasanctuary.org/stories/2022/reshifting-the-narrative-with-leena-al-arian-of-ccf/
4. “Mel Underbakke. UNAC Conference – 2024.” YouTube – Chega Serna English. April 13, 2024. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-htaNm6U5Uw
5. Stop FBI homepage. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://stopfbi.org/
6. “About Us.” DRUM Desis Rising Up and Moving. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://www.drumnyc.org/about-us/
7. “About the IAC.” International Action Center. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://iacenter.org/about-the-iac/
8. The Jericho Movement homepage. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://thejerichomovement.com/
9. “Our Mission.” Muslim Legal Fund of America. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://mlfa.org/missions/
10. “Our Work.” National Lawyers Guild. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://www.nlg.org/our-work/
11.  “Who We Are.” United National Antiwar Coalition. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://www.unacpeace.org/about.html
12. “Coalition Members.” Coalition for Civil Freedoms. Accessed February 22, 2025. https://www.civilfreedoms.org/#about-ccf
13. Facebook – Coalition for Civil Freedoms. Posted December 7, 2024. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://www.facebook.com/civilfreedoms/
14. “Leena Al Arian – My father, Sami Al Arian, is a Former Political Prisoner.” YouTube – Coalition for Civil Freedoms. September 24, 2018. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaGQ1fn9_Cs
15. “Member Organizations.” US Human Rights Network. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://ushrnetwork.org/membership/members
16. “193 Organizations Urge the Biden Administration to Take Decisive Action to Protect Immigrants.” Detention Watch Network. November 15, 2024. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/pressroom/releases/2024/193-organizations-urge-biden-administration-take-decisive-action-protect
17. Letter to President Joe Biden dated November 15, 2024, from Detention Watch Network. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/sites/default/files/NGO%20letter%20regarding%20detention_11.15.24.pdf
18. Coalition for Civil Freedoms Foundation. Short Form Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 EZ– Part I). 2023.
19. “The CCF Team.” Coalition for Civil Freedoms. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://www.civilfreedoms.org/
20. Gil Ronen and David Rosenberg. “Mother whose encounter with elderly Jewish man went viral revealed to be Palestinian nationalist and daughter of convicted terrorist.” Israel National News. August 1, 2016. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/215813
21. “A Conversation with Dr. Sami Al-Arian and Leena Al-Arian on their Struggle for Justice.” YouTube – The Aafia Foundation. June 7, 2020. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA2DV5-KB7A
22. “About the Authors, Preparers, and Sponsors of This Study.” Inventing Terrorists. May 2014. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://www.projectsalam.org/Inventing-Terrorists-study.pdf
23. “Mel Underbakke.” About.me. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://about.me/melunderbakke