Dr. Shakeela Hassan, CAIR-Chicago Board member, and Fadi Farhan, Director of Governmental Relations, took part in a gathering of Palestinian and Israeli children aged 14 to 16 hosted by Islamic Foundation in Villa Park on Friday, July 15, 2005.

CAIR-Chicago participated in its first Cafe Finjan event on Thursday, July 14th, at Che Cafe – 1058 W. Taylor Street. Cafe Finjan is a series of interfaith arts exchanges, begun in 2004 by the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs as part of its Jewish-Muslim Community-Building Initiative.

As part of Muslims Care (www.muslimscare.org), a national campaign promoting community service, CAIR-Chicago organized a volunteer opportunity for enthusiastic Muslims in the Chicagoland area. 18 volunteers prepared and served meals to residents at Hilda’s Place, an Evanston-based homeless shelter.

CAIR-Chicago’s Civil Rights Coordinator Christina Abraham met with the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Civil Rights representatives to discuss what the Office for Civil Rights (OJP/OCR) can do for victims of discrimination by agencies that receive federal financial assistance. The OJP/OCR enforces civil rights laws such as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, among other laws.

Christina Abraham, CAIR-Chicago’s Civil Rights Coordinator, and Fadi Farhan, Director of Governmental Relations, took part in a meeting on June 24 at the Chicago Police Department (CPD) Headquarters in which the topic of discussion was racial profiling during traffic stops in the city.

CAIR-Chicago hosted a booth at IMAN’s Takin’ it to the Streets, Saturday, June 25th. Takin’ it to the Streets is a daylong community festival held every other summer in Marquette Park on Chicago’s Southwest Side.

(CHICAGO, IL, 6/17/05) – CAIR-Chicago conducted a seminar, titled “Hate Crime: Define and Respond,” at the Muslim Community Center (Community Hall), 4380 N. Elston Ave., Chicago.

CAIR-Chicago participated in Foundation Fair at Islamic Foundation in Villa Park on Sunday, June 12. The Foundation Fair was an enjoyable afternoon bazaar of booths filled with everything from international cuisine of the Middle East, Persia, and South Asia to booths containing ethnic clothing and jewelry.

CAIR-Chicago is a lead organization in the Civil Liberties Coalition of Illinois (CLCI). The CLCI is a grouping of respected organizations in Illinois that each stands firmly in collective opposition to the reauthorization of the sunset, or expiring, provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act.

Project O, the CAIR-Chicago American Muslim organizing initiative, is moving forward full steam. Thousands of Muslim registered voters’ names have been entered into the CAIR-Chicago’s databases over the last couple of weeks. The total number of names now exceeds 11,500 and is growing daily.