Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Council for American-Islamic Relations, said he doesn't agree with the principles of Hizb ut-Tahrir, but believes the group is entitled to freedom of speech and assembly like any other group in the U.S. "They are a minority group among Muslims and their ideology is considered sensational by mainstream communities," Rehab said. "Despite their best efforts, they are neither persuasive nor effective."

"The survey will be asking about 3,000 respondents how Islamophobia has affected them and to identify where they see the most examples of it," Amina Sharif, Chicago spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Thursday. "Chicago is a diverse metropolis, but that doesn't mean we're exempt from racial and ethic tensions."

CAIR-Chicago Staff Attorney Kevin Vodak talks to the Naperville Sun about recent developments in the Irshad Learning Center's lawsuit against Dupage County.

"It's disappointing that things should come to this, that the Illinois State Police has succumbed to the defamatory rantings of bigoted individuals who, while in the name of protecting American values, do nothing more than undermine and degrade the very principles this country was founded upon," said Abraham.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a discrimination claim with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Wednesday, the precursor to a lawsuit against Illinois State Police, after it rescinded its first appointment of a Muslim cleric as chaplain.

Kifah Mustapha, a well-known Chicago-area imam, was appointed chaplain in December. The Council on American-Islamic Relations is representing him and said Mustapha was told by a state police official his appointment was put on hold after criticism by the Investigative Project on Terrorism, a think-tank.

The Illinois State Police has revoked the appointment of a prominent cleric to become the department's first Muslim chaplain. Ahmed Rehab, CAIR's executive director in Chicago, called it discrimination against Muslims, especially since Imam Kifah Mustapha hasn't been formally accused of wrongdoing.

The Illinois State Police has revoked the appointment of a prominent cleric to become the department's first Muslim chaplain. Ahmed Rehab, CAIR's executive director in Chicago, called it discrimination against Muslims, especially since Imam Kifah Mustapha hasn't been formally accused of wrongdoing.

The Illinois State Police have revoked the appointment of the force's first Muslim chaplain.

At a press conference today, CAIR-Chicago and an interfaith community coalition responded to a recent decision by the Illinois State Police (ISP) to revoke a chaplaincy position previously extended and confirmed for Imam Kifah Mustafa, a leading Chicago Muslim cleric. (See Press Release HERE)) ISP revoked its decision citing an internet report attacking Imam Kifah that was written and distributed by Steven Emerson, an anti-Muslim blogger who has a well-known reputation for fighting against American Muslim civic participation. Read FAIR's detailed expose on Steven Emerson and his dubious work, HERE

At a press conference today, CAIR-Chicago and an interfaith community coalition responded to a recent decision by the Illinois State Police (ISP) to revoke a chaplaincy position previously extended and confirmed for Imam Kifah Mustafa, a leading Chicago Muslim cleric. (See Press Release HERE)) ISP revoked its decision citing an internet report attacking Imam Kifah that was written and distributed by Steven Emerson, an anti-Muslim blogger who has a well-known reputation for fighting against American Muslim civic participation. Read FAIR's detailed expose on Steven Emerson and his dubious work, HERE

In a statement, state police officials said Sheikh Kifah Mustapha, the associate director of the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, could not serve as a volunteer chaplain "due to information revealed during the background investigation." State police declined to be more specific.

Last December Illinois State Police made history by naming Mustapha the department's first and only Muslim chaplain. Sheikh Mustapha was one of seven ministers who went through chaplain orientation training in Springfield.

On Wednesday, June 23, the Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) together with an interfaith and community coalition will hold a press conference responding to a recent decision by the Illinois State Police (ISP) to revoke a chaplaincy position previously extended and confirmed for Imam Kifah Mustafa, a leading Chicago Muslim cleric.

Officials from the Illinois State Police have revoked the appointment of a prominent Chicago-area cleric to be its first Muslim chaplain. In a statement, state police officials said Sheikh Kifah Mustapha, the associate director of the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, could not serve as a volunteer chaplain "due to information revealed during the background investigation."

CAIR-Chicago Civil Rights Director Christina Abraham discusses veteran reporter Helen Thomas' criticism of Israel, and deputy managing editor of the Jerusalem Post, Caroline Glick's offensive spoof of the Gaza Flotilla massacre entitled “We Con the World.”

The Naperville Sun's Susan Carlman illustrates a regular day for congregants at the Irshad Learning Center. The ILC recently made headlines when the DuPage County Board rejected their request for a zoning permit to build an Islamic School. CAIR-Chicago is suing DuPage county on the ILC's behalf.

"It's incorrect to even imply that such a correlation exists," said Ahmed Rehab, a Chicago director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations. "Terrorism is an equal opportunity offender as far as ethnic communities go."

"There is more outrage in this country over some bumbling comments recently made by Helen Thomas than over the murder of a US citizen and eight others by our ally, Israel, on the high seas. Never mind the fact that she has apologized while Israel still refuses to apologize," writes Ahmed Rehab. "Helen Thomas epitomized the role of the people's reporter, a woman who was not afraid to ask tough questions that other reporters were too meek or politically correct to ask."

"The irony is not lost on me that Israel would argue self-defense in a situation where it attacks peace activists in international waters," said Ahmed Rehab, of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "The United States should recognize, as Israel's ally, that it must demand that Israel plays by our standards of respect for human rights and international law."