Kevin Vodak, CAIR-Chicago's Litigation Director, defends the Irshad Learning Center near Naperville and aims to help them restore the center with a conditional-use permit.

Naperville Television 17 reports on the current status of the Irshad Learning Center's developments in the Naperville community.

Representatives for each side were scheduled to submit responses by Monday to motions for summary judgment filed by both parties. The deadline for turning in that paperwork to Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois was moved to Wednesday.

CAIR-Chicago Litigation Director, Kevin Vodak, responds to DuPage County's objections to a proposed mosque in the Western Suburbs - making parallels to the difficulties in the development of the Irshad Learning Center in Naperville.

CAIR-Chicago Communications Coordinator Amina Sharif spoke to the Islamic Center of Naperville’s Youth Group on Sunday, November 13th, about how to be an effective Muslim leader. The audience included about 100 middle school and high school students from the Naperville area.

The County Board Tuesday gave unanimous thumbs-up to ordinance revisions that over the past few years were crafted, criticized and reworked in an attempt to streamline the process of locating places of assembly in residential districts. The new set of rules applies to clubs, lodges and other organizations as well as religious uses, but about 90 percent of such requests that come to the county are from faith groups.

The lawsuit naming DuPage County for its refusal to allow an Islamic prayer center just east of Naperville is moving ahead after attempts to settle the issue apparently fell short.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4odbbCGHyI

CAIR-Chicago is pleased to announce the decision by District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer this week to deny DuPage County’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the county on behalf of the Irshad Learning Center, a Naperville mosque.

CAIR-Chicago is pleased to announce the decision by District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer this week to deny DuPage County’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the county on behalf of the Irshad Learning Center, a Naperville mosque.

CAIR, which advocates for religious freedom and civil liberties in the Muslim community, also maintains that Irshad officials tried to pursue remedies for the permit refusal through normal administrative channels before filing the federal suit. Kevin Vodak, the attorney arguing the case for CAIR and Irshad, was pleased overall with the ruling.

CAIR-Chicago, which said the center would serve about 30 families, “will continue to pursue the Center’s right to use the facility they own to accommodate the needs of the community,” said Kevin Vodak, CAIR-Chicago Staff Attorney.

CAIR-Chicago welcomes today's decision by District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer to deny DuPage County’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the county by the Irshad Learning Center, a Naperville mosque.

CAIR-Chicago welcomes today's decision by District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer to deny DuPage County’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the county by the Irshad Learning Center, a Naperville mosque.

“We think there is a bias against the Muslim institutions,” said Kevin Vodak, the lawyer for CAIR-Chicago. He noted that the board rejected the Irshad proposal without explanation, which is highly unusual, and that last fall the county took up an amendment to prohibit any new religious institutions in residential areas. “Most of the new proposals are from Muslims,” Mr. Vodak said.

The DuPage County Development Committee (CDC) voted yesterday to recommend granting a permit to the MECCA Mosque, but the issue is not over yet. The County Board will vote on the matter next week. Call the County Board and show your support for MECCA as well as the other mosques seeking permits.

"How many mosques constitute an oversaturation in unincorporated DuPage County, according to the Zoning Board of Appeals?" asked Ahmed Rehab, director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, at a news conference. "The answer would be one. One would be one too many apparently, and that's very disconcerting to us."