
COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS - CHICAGO | DEFENDING CIVIL RIGHTS. FIGHTING BIGOTRY. PROMOTING TOLERANCE
“There is a large and growing number of Muslim families who live, work, and pay taxes in DuPage County yet are being denied the same right as their neighbors to establish institutions to accommodate their religious and community needs,” said Ahmed Rehab.
The DuPage County Zoning Board of Appeals voted 5-2 to reject the petition by the Muslim Educational Cultural Center of America (MECCA).
Last year, CAIR-Chicago filed a federal lawsuit against the county, alleging discrimination in the rejection of a zoning proposal for an Islamic educational center and place of worship near Naperville.
Ahmed Rehab, CAIR-Chicago Executive Director, discusses the tragic bombing of a Coptic church in Egypt and the strong response of everyday Egyptians – Muslims and Copts.
“We appreciate Judge Bernthal’s bold and principled decision and his acknowledgment that such threats are acts of terror,” said CAIR-Chicago Communications Coordinator Amina Sharif. “We hope this sends a clear message to Islamophobes who try to threaten and intimidate Muslim Americans – that we will not live in fear.”
“Muslims are kind of the new kids on the block in DuPage and they are going to face the highest burden in having to go to commercial areas, buy more expensive land, create larger developments and be completely away from their neighbors,” Vodak said.
Ahmed Rehab deconstructs Pamela Geller’s fear mongering misinformation campaign against the Park51 community center in New York and exposes her anti-Muslim bigotry.
DuPage County is on the verge of passing sweeping restrictive zoning and land use ordinances which will have an adverse impact on all religious institutions.
Here are some of the proposed changes and what you can do to challenge them.
“The reprehensible attack against this Jewish congregation is an insult to all of us,” said Ahmed Rehab, executive director of CAIR-Chicago. “An attack against one house of worship is an attack against every house of worship.”
Ahmed Rehab debates guests on Fox Business’ Money Rocks regarding the rise of Islamophobia in America as seen by recent attacks against several mosques. Rehab and conservative commentator Bo Dietel also debate the merits of building a mosque in lower Manhattan, near Ground Zero.
“The fear is that Muslims cannot take their place in American life without harassment or subjugation or being seen as being involved with some conspiracy theory,” says Ahmed Rehab of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.