CAIR-Chicago filed a discrimination lawsuit in federal court on behalf of 49 Muslims of Somali heritage who were fired from Swift Co, a meat packing plant in Nebraska. The lawsuit intervenes in a class action filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in August.

The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations yesterday filed a discrimination lawsuit in federal court on behalf of 49 Muslims of Somali heritage who were fired from a meat packing plant in Nebraska.

The lawsuit intervenes in a class action filed by the Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in August on behalf of more than 200 Somali factory workers from the Swift Co. plant in Grand Island, Nebraska.

In light of the growing concerns about the invasiveness of the new enhanced pat-down procedure, CAIR-Chicago offers recommendations to Muslim travelers.

“If you wear baggy jeans and you’re brought aside for secondary screening for wearing baggy clothing, you are just as much entitled as the woman in a hijab to be able to pat yourself down and then have your hands swabbed for residue. That’s the current TSA policy– it applies to any baggy clothing,” said Rehab

CAIR-Chicago Communications Coordinator Amina Sharif delivered a presentation to students at the University of Illinois at Chicago on Wednesday, Nov. 18th to share how CAIR-Chicago engages with the media and advocates for a fair depiction of Muslim-Americans.

Ahmed Rehab talks to Red Eye Radio’s Marc Germain about a Muslim woman who was denied service at a convenience store because she refused to remove her hijab.

On Tuesday, November 16th, Muslims all over the world and in America will mark the end of the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca, or Hajj, with communal prayers and celebrations.

See Chicago prayer locations and timings at http://www.chicagomuslims.com/

Check out our Civil Rights Digest and see how CAIR-Chicago works to help people in the Muslim community.

In order to continue CAIR-Chicago’s strong tradition of engaging the community, Executive Director Ahmed Rehab spoke at an event put on by DePaul University’s Muslim student group, UMMA, on the topic of Muslim activism.



See photos HERE

The Muslim Youth Leadership Symposium (MYLS) in Chicago hosted its sixth annual gathering. Muslim High school students from around the Chicago area came to learn how they can become leaders in their community and what it takes to turn ideas into action.