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.

"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Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Wednesday, the precursor to a lawsuit against Illinois State Police, after it rescinded its first appointment of a Muslim cleric as chaplain.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 the agency's first Muslim chaplain, citing only information revealed during a background check. A national Muslim advocacy group Wednesday blamed the move on Islamophobia.

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.

Ahmed Rehab, CAIR’s executive director in Chicago, called it discrimination against Muslims, especially since Mustapha hasn’t been formally accused of wrongdoing. “The ISP is kowtowing to the run-of-the-mill fear-mongering that Islamophobes have devoted their careers in order to avoid a public relations controversy,” he said.

A Bridgeview imam will file a discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against the Illinois State Police, his lawyer said Wednesday, alleging that police force fired him based on misleading and anti-Islamic media reports.

The Illinois State Police have revoked the appointment of the force's 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." 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.

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."

"Israel is often dubbed “the Jewish State” by its supporters, so it is not out of left field to question whether its actions should be taken as a reflection of Jewish values," writes Ahmed Rehab.