“It’s a stupid decision morally and a stupid decision economically,” said Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Council on Islamic-American Relations Chicago. “They need to acknowledge their error and that they got duped by right-wing bigots, apologize and resume their ads.”

Ahmed Rehab discusses the ridiculous decision by the chain store Lowe’s to pull it advertisements from the show ‘All-American Muslim.’ “Imagine if a major American advertiser were to pull its ads off of 'Jersey Shore' because they received objections that the show, while portraying a group of Italian-Americans, made the glaring error of excluding Mafiosi," writes Rehab.

"It's one thing for bigots and nuts to be bigots and nuts. It's another thing for a mainstream company to embrace that. This is the mainstreaming of bigotry," said Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of CAIR-Chicago.

"It's one thing for bigots and nuts to be bigots and nuts. It's another thing for a mainstream company to embrace that. This is the mainstreaming of bigotry," said Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of CAIR-Chicago.

"We were really disappointed and stunned that Lowe's, a major corporation, would take such a stupid decision to side with bigotry," said Ahmed Rehab, executive director of CAIR-Chicago. Rehab called the group's action a step in the wrong direction and an insult to the Muslim community.

"We were really disappointed and stunned that Lowe's, a major corporation, would take such a stupid decision to side with bigotry," said Ahmed Rehab, executive director of CAIR-Chicago. Rehab called the group's action a step in the wrong direction and an insult to the Muslim community.

Chicago activist, Ahmed Rehab, said a conference call was planned with Muslim groups and other groups to craft a response. He said it is not too late, however, for Lowe's to fix things. "There will be room for reconciliation," he said. "We would call on Lowe's to do the right thing and apologize for their really insane action and to reverse the decision to pull out."

Chicago activist, Ahmed Rehab, said a conference call was planned with Muslim groups and other groups to craft a response. He said it is not too late, however, for Lowe's to fix things. "There will be room for reconciliation," he said. "We would call on Lowe's to do the right thing and apologize for their really insane action and to reverse the decision to pull out."

"What we're being told here essentially is that it is too controversial to have a show with Muslim characters that are not portrayed as terrorists," remarked CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab.

"What we're being told here essentially is that it is too controversial to have a show with Muslim characters that are not portrayed as terrorists," remarked CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab.

On November 15th, Gerald Hankerson, CAIR-Chicago’s Outreach Coordinator, conducted an event planning workshop for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights’ (ICIRR) “Uniting America” fellowship. Hankerson trained 18 fellows on how to reach out to the community.

Gerald Hankerson, CAIR-Chicago’s Outreach Coordinator, spoke at Oakton Community College on November 18th at the Muslim Student Association’s (MSA) Annual Eid Al-Adha Dinner. Hankerson discussed the effects of the media on Islam and Muslims in America.

Communications Intern, Noor Salahuddin discusses the Republican presidential candidates' political positions.

Communications Intern, Noor Salahuddin discusses the Republican presidential candidates' political positions.

On November 28th, Amina Sharif, CAIR-Chicago’s Communications Coordinator, spoke to a Roosevelt University class for education and counseling majors. She discussed the basic tenets of Islam, what it means to be a Muslim in today's Western society, and what civil rights and social justice issues Muslims have faced since 9/11.

On Tuesday, December 6, 2011, CAIR-Chicago was honored to host the Golden Door Coalition in the CAIR-Chicago Gallery. Through the joint effort of its many member organizations, Golden Door seeks to promote safety, shelter and new life for those refugees seeking to call Illinois home. CAIR-Chicago applauds their effort, and welcomes the opportunity to provide a comfortable space for them to use.

"It's something that we must take very seriously," said CAIR-Chicago executive director Ahmed M. Rehab. "CAIR-Chicago is very disturbed by this news. The Muslim community is disturbed. People of conscience are disturbed. We've called police to investigate it, and to prosecute it as a hate crime, because that's what it is."

A stabbing at the Champaign train station this week is not a hate crime, according to the charges filed by the state’s attorney’s office. But an advocacy group disagrees. Amina Sharif, spokeswoman for the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Thursday it’s important to discourage prejudice.

On Thursday, December 8, civil rights and interfaith leaders held a press conference at the CAIR-Chicago office to condemn the controversial new provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 1867) which passed in the Senate last week. SEE PHOTOS

Reem Rahman, Knowledge Manager at Ashoka, held an interactive session on social entrepreneurship at the CAIR-Chicago Gallery this past Tuesday, November 22, 2011. She led the audience through the evolution of Ashoka’s theory of change during its three-decade history of transforming the citizen sector by building the largest association of leading social entrepreneurs in the world.