CAIR-Chicago congratulates President Obama for being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. "The award acknowledges the noticeable shift in U.S. diplomacy under the Obama administration as seen by his efforts to reach out to Muslims around the world and to increase cooperation with the international community," said Amina Sharif, Communications Coordinator.

"Surely Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) did not intend on peeling the scab off of a healing wound when he spoke last Thursday at a conference in Washington D.C., but his comment, drawing a contrast between being Muslim and being 'good,' has done just that." -Gov. Affairs Coordinator Reema Ahmad. Read the rest of Reema's article on her blog, The Mobilizer.

The Pew Research Center released a comprehensive demographic study of more than 200 countries this week. It found that there are 1.57 billion Muslims living in the world today, representing 23% of an estimated world population of 6.8 billion. It also found that many Muslim populations live in places they had not expected.

CAIR-Chicago's Executive Director today attended a private reception for Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed at DePaul University in advance of the Somali President's speech at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. About 20 academics and civic leaders were in attendance.

CAIR-Chicago joined ICIRR at a press conference to introduce a letter calling on President Barack Obama to move forward on comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) this year. U.S. Representatives Luis V. Gutierrez, Danny K. Davis, and Mike Quigley also attended to show their continued support for CIR.

CAIR-Chicago is filing action in federal court today against Columbia College on behalf of a Palestinian Muslim Instructor who claims to have suffered wrongful termination after a student falsely reported that she made an anti-Semitic comment in class.

The plaintiff's co-workers and superiors would call him “terrorist,” “sand ni***r” and “camel jockey.” An opinion issued yesterday by federal district court judge Dow notes the precedent set by CAIR-Chicago's legal victory in Yasin v. Cook County. Dow writes, “There can be little question that, as a court in this district recently concluded, referring to a Muslim of Middle Eastern origin and Arab ancestry as a ‘terrorist' or ‘bin Laden' is ‘discriminatory, insulting and humiliating.'”

The plaintiff's co-workers and superiors would call him “terrorist,” “sand ni***r” and “camel jockey.” An opinion issued yesterday by federal district court judge Dow notes the precedent set by CAIR-Chicago's legal victory in Yasin v. Cook County. Dow writes, “There can be little question that, as a court in this district recently concluded, referring to a Muslim of Middle Eastern origin and Arab ancestry as a ‘terrorist' or ‘bin Laden' is ‘discriminatory, insulting and humiliating.'”

“This is not just an immigration issue; this is a human rights issue. All Americans should unite to fix this broken system that currently denies America a realistic, fair and humane solution to the issue of 10 million undocumented residents of the US,” says CAIR-Chicago Government Affairs Coordinator, Reema Ahmad.

CAIR-Chicago’s Outreach Coordinator Gerald Hankerson recently presented at the 5th Annual Muslim Youth Leadership Program (MYLP) in Sacramento, much of which took place in the California State Capitol building.

CAIR-Chicago joined hundreds of police officers, family, and friends to honor the 540 fallen officers who died in the line of duty, and to recognize the 15,520 members of the Chicago Police Department (CPD), the nation’s second largest police force.

I was disappointed that the letters you chose to run in response to your Aug. 22 editorial "The burquini ban" expressed an extremely inaccurate portrayal of Islam. Sharia actually condemns forced marriages and so-called "honor killings." Furthermore, allowing a woman to dress in accordance with her faith would not "undermine core Western values," as one letter writer wrote on Sept. 1. If anything, it exemplifies those values.

Sharif delivered a workshop entitled “How to be an Effective Media Spokesperson.” The seminar offered practical tips on how to communicate with media and produce stories that positively relate to American Muslims.

See pictures of CAIR-Chicago's first annual "Taste of Ramadan" Potluck Iftar and Cook-off. You can also read the full menu which details which country each dish came from.

"I believe there surely is such a thing as truth, but who among us can claim a monopoly? There are those who do, and their own words testify to their intolerance."

This past week marked the end of the Muslim Youth Leadership Symposium’s (MYLS) summer program, Breakin’ Out: Implementing Proactive Change.

A few weeks ago, I had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to visit the Philippines as the U.S. delegate to observe the 6th installment of a U.S. State Department sponsored youth program, PYLP.

On June 6, 2009, the Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights hosted a forum entitled The State of Surveillance in the Surveillance State: Chicago and the Nation.

CAIR-Chicago Civil Rights Director Christina Abraham was recently appointed as a member of the Brussells Tribunal Advisory Board, an international hearing committee that addresses human rights issues.

CAIR-Chicago Staff Attorney Kevin Vodak settled a case of employment discrimination on behalf of a man who believed he was terminated from his job because he is Muslim.