After a day of fasting, hundreds of Chicago Muslims celebrated a taste of Ramadan. They gathered at the Chicago office of the Council on American Islamic Relations to enjoy dishes from around the world.

The details of the NYPD’s surveillance program of American-Muslim communities have surfaced and prove its unconstitutionality.

The recent Huffington Post opinion piece by Joyce Dubensky entitled “The Real Muslim Problem,” is a great example of what we need in mainstream media – new, and often overlooked perspectives regarding Islam and Muslims.

On Tuesday, April 3rd, CAIR-Chicago’s Executive Director, Ahmed Rehab and Staff Attorney, Rabya Khan, presented “Understanding Islamophobia: Free Speech and Bigotry ” at Purdue University in Calumet, Illinois. Rehab engaged students with a discussion about dispelling stereotypes Islam and Muslims, highlighting the problems of hate and racism.

What’s wrong with the way Muslims are portrayed in the media? Where do biases and stereotypes stem from? What does popular culture have to say about Muslim women? CAIR-Chicago communications coordinators Aymen Abdel Halim and Leena Saleh answered these questions and more in a presentation on March 21st at Saint Xavier University.

CAIR-Chicago’s Staff Attorney Rabya Khan and Communications Coordinators Aymen Abdel Halim and Leena Saleh visited Greyhound employees on March 12th and 13th to deliver cultural awareness presentations in an effort to improve customer relations and to gain a better understanding of the American-Muslim community.

For the first time in public, Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy promised his department will never conduct blanket surveillance of Muslims like the New York Police Department did in Newark, N.J., when he was chief there.

Hesham Hassaballa comments on his great experience at CAIR-Chicago’s 8th annual banquet on Saturday, March 3rd.

CAIR Executive Director Ahmed Rehab praised McCarthy for his “heartfelt” sincerity and taking the initiative to attend, and the audience applauded when the chief said police need to work with the city’s communities to prevent crime and terrorism.

CAIR-Chicago’s Executive Director, Ahmed Rehab, wants Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy to clarify his position on the NYPD spying program and also to assure Muslims that a spying operation has not been implemented in Chicago.