CAIR-CHICAGO TO HOLD 9/11 PRESS CONFERENCE - TODAY
MUSLIM GROUP TO HOLD 9/11 PRESS CONFERENCE - TODAY Offer ways for America to move forward, together
(CHICAGO, 09/9/11) — Today, September 9th, the Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) together with interfaith and community coalition leaders will hold a news conference to reflect on the events on and since 9/11, and offer hope that American's can move forward 10 years after the attacks.
WHAT: Press Conference, "The Way Forward" on the anniversary of 9/11 WHEN: Today, Friday, September 9, 10:30 a.m. WHERE: CAIR-Chicago Office Gallery 28 E. Jackson, Suite 1700, Chicago, IL 60604 WHO: Aminah Beverly McCloud, Ph.D., Director, Islamic World Studies Department, DePaul University Rev. Paul H. Rutgers, Chicago Presbytery’s Executive Presbyter Emeritus Jane Ramsey, Executive Director, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA) Lawrence Benito, Deputy Director, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) Yaser Tabbara, Chairman, Project Mobilize Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director, CAIR-Chicago
CAIR-Chicago’s news conference marking the 10th anniversary of 9/11, called “The Way Forward”, will have community leaders speak on the importance of reclaiming our collective national spirit a decade after 9/11.
“We have had a difficult decade. It’s time to change our circumstance moving into the next one,” said Ahmed Rehab, CAIR-Chicago Executive Director. “Instead of feeding into fear and victimization - and encouraging a sense of otherness and mistrust among fellow Americans - we must move forward and reaffirm our principles of hope, progress and freedom for all.”
CAIR-Chicago will also announce the launch of an important study it will be conducting in partnership with Wesleyan University on the psychological effects of discrimination against Muslims since the events of 9/11. Little research and attention has been given to how U.S. Muslims feel about 9/11, its anniversary, or the effects these events have had on the Muslim Community. This study is the first of its kind and the results will be released later this year.
The news conference will be taking place in the new CAIR-Chicago gallery, to be officially launched on September 15th as a proactive intellectual space to foment positive American-Muslim relations through cultural, artistic, intellectual, and social programing.
CAIR-Chicago is a chapter of America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
CONTACT: Amina Sharif, Communications Coordinator, CAIR-Chicago, 312-212-1520, 630-935-5562, asharif@cair.com Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director, CAIR-Chicago, 312-212-1520, 202-870-0166, director@cairchicago.org