PRESS STATEMENT: CAIR-Chicago Denounces Dangerous Islamophobic Misinformation Campaign Targeting Peaceful Arbaeen Procession
- For Immediate Release and Distribution -
(CHICAGO, IL, 8/21/2025) – The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, strongly denounces a series of inflammatory and Islamophobic social media posts being circulated by RAIR Foundation USA that mischaracterize and vilify a peaceful Arbaeen observance held in downtown Chicago.
Arbaeen is a religious tradition observed by millions of Shia Muslims around the world to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The observance promotes values of justice, compassion, and peaceful resistance to oppression. Participants engage in prayer, poetry, and charitable giving — often using the occasion to collect donations for humanitarian causes.
The recent social media posts by RAIR Foundation's Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Amy "Mek", falsely portray the Chicago Arbaeen procession as an “Islamic military procession” and irresponsibly claim that attendees were calling for violence, overthrow of government, and enforcement of Sharia rule. These harmful accusations are not only false, but they recklessly fuel anti-Muslim conspiracy theories at a time when Islamophobia and hate crimes are on the rise nationwide.
Mek is known for advancing bizarre conspiracy theories. In a recent report, Epic Hate in Texas, CAIR revealed that Mek claims there are “Sharia-adherent lifestyle zone(s)” in Texas, in part because of park signs in some neighborhoods “with Islamic behavioral rules like ‘no alcohol’ and ‘no loud music.’ According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s official rules of conduct in parks, it is prohibited to consume, display, or sell alcohol in Texas State parks. The department says it is also an offense to “create a disturbance capable of negatively affecting other park users by causing excessive noise by any means.”
SEE: Epic Hate in Texas
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has identified RAIR Foundation USA as part of a broader network of anti-Muslim hate groups that promote conspiracy theories and vilify American Muslim communities. CAIR’s Islamophobia project has also documented RAIR Foundation USA and Mekelburg, as having been accused of spreading Islamophobic and antisemitic hate and aligning herself with known-white supremacist groups and individuals since at least 2013.
“The Arbaeen procession in Chicago was a peaceful and spiritual gathering, centered on poetry that mourns a historical injustice and inspires acts of compassion and charity,” said Heena Musabji, CAIR-Chicago Legal Director. “The event did not involve violence, threats, or harm. Mischaracterizing it as anything else is not only false—it’s dangerous and fuels Islamophobic hate.”
CAIR-Chicago calls on elected officials, media outlets, and community leaders to reject these dangerous anti-Muslim narratives and to stand firmly in support of religious freedom and peaceful public assembly for all communities.
CAIR-Chicago’s mission is to defend civil rights, fight bigotry, and promote understanding.
CONTACT: Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director, CAIR-Chicago, 202-870-0166, arehab@cair.com | Heena Musabji, Legal Director, CAIR-Chicago, 312-212-1520, hmusabji@cair.com | Hafsa Haider, Communications Coordinator, CAIR-Chicago, 561-317-7509, hhaider@cair.com
CAIR-Chicago’s Website- Instagram - Facebook - Twitter (X) - YouTube - Subscribe