Minnesota group offers ways for non-Muslims to counter bias

The head of a Muslim civil rights group in Minnesota says his organization is taking a new approach to countering hateful messages — and he's asking non-Muslims to get involved.

Jaylani Hussein is executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. He says Minnesota has seen its share of incidents directed at Muslims in recent months, and some statements made during the presidential campaign have created uncertainty.

His group has come up with concrete ways that non-Muslims can help. Among them, Hussein says, supporters can use social media accounts to share stories of positive experiences they've had with Muslims, immigrants or refugees.

One woman who attended a meeting to learn about the effort says she'll help, perhaps by volunteering to teach Somali immigrants to read English.