MEDIA DIGEST: Standing up to Congressman Joe Walsh
MEDIA DIGEST: CAIR-Chicago on Congressman Joe Walsh
CAIR-Chicago's media department gave over 20 interviews on 16 different media venues calling out Congressman Joe Walsh's bigoted comments on Islam and Muslims. The following digest includes a selection of these interviews.
(CBS 2, ABC 7, NBC 5, WGN 9, FOX 32, CLTV, WBEZ, WIND, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Daily Herald, Huffington Post, Chicagoist, Daily News)
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See Recent Media Coverage Below:
CLTV: Ahmed Rehab addresses Rep. Joe Walsh’s comments
Executive Director of CAIR-Chicago, Ahmed Rehab, responds to Rep. Joe Walsh’s anti-Muslim statements on Politics Tonight. Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director, CAIR-Chicago said "There is a problem that has to be addressed, I don't know if they're trying to sound like a racist backward party but the leadership needs to step up-- but with hope and inspiration."
ABC 7: CAIR-Chicago, interfaith community address Rep. Joe Walsh
CAIR-Chicago and the Chicago interfaith community demand that Congressman Joe Walsh retract his statement that Muslims are a ‘real threat’ to the US. "What he's doing is sewing divisiveness and polarization," said Ahmed Rehab from the Council on Islamic-American Relations. "He's taking us backwards."
CBS 2: CAIR-Chicago and interfaith community respond to Rep. Joe Walsh
CBS 2 reports on CAIR-Chicago’s interfaitrh press conference on Rep. Joe Walsh’s anti-Muslim remarks. Ahmed Rehab of the Council on American-Islamic Relations says Walsh’s comments are “consistent with the rise of the radical right, and the insistence by some in the Republican Party that Americans should be suspicious and fearful of fellow Americans.”
WGN 9: CAIR-Chicago holds press conference to address Rep. Joe Walsh
WGN 9 TV news at 5 reports on CAIR-Chicago’s press conference to address Rep. Joe Walsh’s anti-Muslim remarks. Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director, CAIR-Chicago said "There is a problem that has to be addressed, I don't know if they're trying to sound like a racist backward party but the leadership needs to step up-- but with hope and inspiration."
WGN TV: Islamic, Interfaith group respond to Walsh’s controversial comments
Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director, CAIR-Chicago said “There is a problem that has to be addressed, I don’t know if they’re trying to sound like a racist backward party but the leadership needs to step up– but with hope and inspiration.”
WBEZ: Chicago Muslims denounce Congressman Walsh remarks
The Chicago chapter of the Council on America-Islamic Relations says Walsh’s remarks point to an effort by some Republicans to make Americans fearful of fellow Americans. The group’s director, Ahmed Rehab, said Friday that such remarks encourage hate crimes and acts of vandalism.
WIND 560 AM: Ahmed Rehab refutes Joe Walsh’s statements
On Friday August 10th, 2012, CAIR-Chicago Executive Director, Ahmed Rehab, was interviewed by radio host Steve Cochran regarding Rep. Joe Walsh’s controversial statements about Muslims.
Chicago Sun-Times: Religious figures denounce Rep. Walsh’s comments on Muslims, demand apology
Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Chicago chapter of CAIR, said Walsh’s remarks stoke fear of Muslims.
Daily Herald: CAIR blasts Walsh for ‘bigoted’ comments
“When he says ‘radical’ Muslim, who is he talking about? Who gets to define who? Radical is a subjective term,” said Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). “It’s taking America backward, not forward. He may or may not be a bigot, but what he said was bigoted.”
Daily Herald: Suburban Muslims say they’re becoming “punching bag” for GOP
“Rep. Joe Walsh’s comments are consistent with the rise of the radical right and the insistence by some in the Republican party that Americans should be suspicious and fearful of fellow Americans — including Walsh’s own constituents — who are of a different faith,” Chicago Council on Islamic Relations Director Ahmed Rehab said in a statement. “Such indiscriminate vilification is not unrelated to the rise in hate crimes and acts of vandalism we are seeing today.”
Huffington Post: Joe Walsh – Muslims In America, Radical Islam ‘A Threat’ More Now Than After 9/11
“When elected officials, trusted by many, indicate that the enemy could be any Muslim living in your neighborhood, it gives rise to xenophobic vigilantism where fearful citizens target other Americans for simply looking different,” Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Chicago, said in a statement.
Chicagoist: Joe Walsh Manages Two Racially Insenstive Remarks In One Week
Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Chicago said in a statement “Rep. Joe Walsh’s comments are consistent with the rise of the radical right and the insistence by some in the Republican party that Americans should be suspicious and fearful of fellow Americans—including Walsh’s own constituents—who are of a different faith.”