Zafra Lerman said Columbia violated its own policies and her rights as a tenured professor by firing her last year. Her federal suit, filed against four top administrators, said they began a retaliatory campaign against her after she criticized the firing of Suriya Smiley, a professor of Palestinian descent who was accused of making an anti-Semitic remark.

Why do Westerners succumb to anti-Muslim fear? It's a natural reflex -- certainly what terrorists expect when they claim their acts are in the name of Islam. They want to drive a wedge between the cultures, lest a harmonious blending undercut their extremism and deprive them of the enemy they crave. It's a partnership, the terrorists and the fear-mongers, working in harmony and tacit agreement.

The controversy surrounding Tariq Ramadan is based on hype spurned by the usual detractors for whom every significant Muslim voice is a foreign fifth column, feigning moderation, and secretly plotting to destroy Western civilization.For anyone who has actually read any of his books or heard his speeches, Ramadan’s thoughts and positions are unmistakably pro-peace.

Sign-up and Participate in Muslim Action Day!! Meet with elected officials and make your voice heard. Join Muslims from across the state, of all backgrounds and ages, for a day at our state capitol. Hear from State Senators, Representatives and other officials while having the opportunity to stand up for yourself and your community to the officials that represent you.

Muslims, in solidarity with the families of victims and key faith leaders who live, work and worship in Marquette Park, will gather in the wake of the gruesome act of violence that occurred Wednesday in their community and reject any rationale that connects this atrocity to the Muslim community and Islam

CAIR-Chicago would like to thank its community of supporters for joining us at our 6th Annual Banquet this past weekend. The hugely successful event was a milestone for our organization and the Chicago Muslim community.

On April 22, 2010, Muslim youth, leaders, and activists from all over Illinois will join in Springfield to lobby members of the Illinois General Assembly. This event, organized by the Council of Islamic Organization of Greater Chicago and sponsored by CAIR-Chicago and Zakat Foundation, is expected to bring together hundreds of Muslim Americans and advocates of the community. Last year, there were over 450 participants, and organizers are hoping for even more this year.

Six years after being barred from coming to the U.S. to teach at the University of Notre Dame, the Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan spoke Saturday in suburban Oakbrook Terrace, attributing his presence to new "channels for dialogue" between the U.S. and Islamic scholars and telling American Muslims to treat the U.S. as their home.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations filed the suit in federal court in Chicago on behalf of the Irshad Learning Center, which had been proposed for a 2.91-acre site on 75th Street between Wehrli Road and Naper Boulevard in an unincorporated area near Naperville.

A federal lawsuit was filed against DuPage County Thursday claiming an Islamic group's Constitutional rights were violated when a proposal to build an educational center near Naperville was rejected in January.

The Chicago office of the Council on American Islamic Relations announced that it has filed a complaint in federal court today against DuPage County, in response to the county’s rejection of a zoning permit for a proposed Islamic School in Naperville.

Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss-born professor at Oxford University, is "one of the most important and relevant voices for Western Muslims," said Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Chicago. Ramadan is the keynote speaker for CAIR-Chicago's annual banquet. About 1,500 people are expected to attend the event at the Drury Lane Banquet Hall. This year's theme is "Unapologetic Activism: Our Legacy, Our Promise."

Ahmed Rehab talks to Fox's John Gibson about how the term "Islamic Radical" is a misnomer, and why he agrees with President Obama.

A prominent Muslim scholar who was once denied a U.S. visa is scheduled to give one of his first major speeches since the 2004 ban this weekend in suburban Chicago. Tariq Ramadan is scheduled to speak Saturday in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., at an event sponsored by the Council of American-Islamic Relations.

“We are all about reconciling Islam and the West,” Rehab said. “We challenge those who attempt to drive a wedge between Muslim and being American. That’s really the life cause of Tariq Ramadan as an academic and philosopher and media personality. He often says that he’s culturally Western, nationally Swiss, ethnically Egyptian and religiously Muslim. For him and for us as well, there is no inherent schism between being Muslim and being American."

Six years after the U.S. government barred Tariq Ramadan from entering the U.S., the controversial Muslim scholar will speak in Chicago on Saturday -- one of his first American appearances since U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised he would no longer be denied a visa for having alleged ties to terrorism. His opponents warn of danger ahead.

CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez says Arab Americans are told to check white for race. But for many of the estimated four million Arab-Americans – that doesn't seem to be telling the whole story.Reema Ahmad is with the Council on American Islamic Relations. She says the most important thing, is civic duty. Especially since some Arab pockets of the city had low participation for the last census.

Amina Sharif, spokeswoman for the American-Islamic council, said she was unsure why this most recent fatwa, or religious ruling, has received so much attention. While she thinks it is important for community members to be outspoken in their disapproval of violence, she said it is only half the battle. “We can condemn terrorism every day in our mosques,” Sharif said. “But if no one’s communicating that to the public it’s not happening.”

At a news conference to address multiple complaints of discrimination at Truman College, Zubair Khan, the attorney for two plaintiffs in cases against the college, described the anti-Muslim harassment faced by his clients."No person should have to face harassment and unfair treatment at work, not on the basis of their race of religion," said Christina Abraham, CAIR-Chicago's Civil Rights Director.

In the last few months, two faculty members have filed separate lawsuits against Truman College. The Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations says the school has done nothing to address their claims of harassment and prejudice.