CAIR-Chicago would like to announce that Dr. Mazen Kudaimi has accepted the position of Chairman of CAIR-Chicago's Board of Directors. Read more about Dr. Kudaimi HERE. CAIR-Chicago also says goodbye to its former Chairman, Safaa Zarzour, who will now be serving as the Secretary General of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). He will be missed.

According to Gallup, more than 4 in 10 Americans (43%) admit to feeling at least "a little" prejudice toward Muslims. This is more than twice the number who say the same about Christians (18%), and almost three times more than that of Jews (15%) and Buddhists (14%). The poll questioned Americans about knowledge of Islam, to which 63% of Americans said they have "very little" knowledge or "none at all."

"In the interest of national security I don't mind [being searched]. American Muslims are also concerned about remaining safe. But we should not be singled out because of our religious beliefs," said Amina Sharif, CAIR-Chicago's Communications Coordinator.

"The real question is not whether we should use the term "war" or not, but who is this war against. And that is what Obama and others have been struggling to articulate.... In the past we've heard that we are at war with "Radical Islam", but "Radical Islam" is a concept, and you cannot go to war with a concept. You can go to war against a people or an entity and that is where Al-Qaeda comes in. President Obama was correct in stating that we are at war with Al Qaeda," said Ahmed Rehab.

“The American Muslim community stands with other Americans in a collective commitment to support the Haitian people during their time of crisis with money, supplies, and prayers,” said Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of CAIR-Chicago. The Coalition also demanded Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants in the US.

"We fear that the board may have acted on improper factors in rejecting the Irshad Learning Center's permit, and we will continue to pursue this matter in hopes of achieving a just resolution," said Kevin Vodak, attorney with the Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which will be representing Irshad as it considers appealing the county's ruling.

"I'm concerned about national security here, not civil liberties per se, and that's why I oppose racial profiling. Because from a national security perspective it will not work neither logically nor scientifically. There is a study from the University of Texas that shows mathematically that racially profiling causes us to miss more opportunities than catch them," says Ahmed Rehab.

After Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab slipped by airport security only to be stopped thanks to the vigilance of fellow passengers, a debate on the effectiveness of airport security and counter-terrorism intelligence is no doubt in order. But trying to fix a problem without actually fixing the problem is misguided. Trying to fix it by introducing a new problem is dumb. This guy seemed to have left every clue short of raise his hand and proclaim, "Arrest me, I am a terrorist!"

CAIR-Chicago Civil Rights Director Christina Abraham, who attended the hearing with Amal Abusumayyah, said afterward, "We are hopeful that this sent a message to the public that sort of behavior will not be tolerated by a fair and just society."

CAIR-Chicago announced today that it is pleased with the plea agreement reached yesterday between state prosecutors and Valerie Kenney, a suburban woman who faced hate crime charges after attacking a Muslim woman at a Tinley Park grocery store 2 days after the Fort Hood shooting.

"It gives her an opportunity to learn from her mistake," said Christina Abraham of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "And we think this does send a message to the greater community that hate crimes are not going to be tolerated and that this sort of behavior is wrong."

CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab talks to Shari Elliker about the failures of racial profiling and the outspokenness of American Muslims in condemning acts of terror. Rehab also addresses questions posed by callers to the show.

"There is no evidence to suggest that there is a link between religious Muslim behavior on a plane and terrorism. It is quite the opposite. All terrorists that we have come to know of, who have performed or attempted acts of terrorism on a plane, have actually not been engaged in outward Islamic behavior. And in every case where someone was involved in outwardly Islamic behavior, and were then seen as suspicious, were clearly absolved of being potential terrorists, including the 6 imams who won their case in court," said Ahmed Rehab. ALSO LISTEN HERE

"Racial profiling doesn't work," exaplains Ahmed Rehab. "Richard Reid (the 'Shoe Bomber') didn't have a Middle Eastern sounding name. Al-Qaeda is perfectly capable of recruiting individuals that pass through our racial profiling criteria."

"To me, the lesson learned from the potential Christmas Day bombing is that we missed clear red flags and we can't ignore that and start talking about new measures while the existing measures could have work had we actually implemented them," said Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of CAIR-Chicago.

CAIR-Chicago Board Member Yaser Tabbara and Executive Director Ahmed Rehab talk to Fox News about why racial and religious profiling is not an affective method to prevent terrorist attacks and should not be done.

CAIR-Chicago is proud to announce that Ian Bushner has joined its team as a Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) Fellow. Ian graduated with honors from the University of Chicago Law School and following his Fellowship will work as an associate with the law firm Jenner & Block LLP. To read more about Ian click here

Sharif discussed CAIR-Chicago’s work to combat religious discrimination and promote religious tolerance, and explained how media plays a critical role in that effort. She also described how CAIR-Chicago serves as a resource to journalists and news producers by offering them support and expert analysis as they develop their news reports.

CAIR-Chicago announced today that it has filed a complaint in federal court against USF Holland and YRC Worldwide Inc. on behalf of an African-American Muslim former employee. The complaint alleges that the man, Reginal Exson, suffered discrimination and severe verbal abuse based on his race, religion and disability.

“Most Muslims accept the minaret as an architectural conduit for the call to prayer, but most do not seek political power, subscribe to the burqa, tolerate forced marriages, or accept genital mutilation of girls,” comments Ahmed Rehab. “How these three things are ‘comparable’ with a minaret must be Switzerland’s dirty little secret because I cannot figure it out.”