The Egyptian government may have engineered a blackout on Internet and cell phones to keep protestors from communicating, but one call from a Chicagoan in Cairo got through. CBS 2's Mike Parker spoke with Ahmed Rehab, of the local Council on Islamic American Relations.

"I planned it to be here so that I could participate heart and soul, body and mind with the people during these times," Ahmed Rehab said in a phone call.

Egyptians who have long voiced discontent with their government are now taking to the streets in unprecedented numbers demanding change. If Egypt succeeds, analysts agree that a domino effect is likely.

While people continue to protest in the streets of Egypt, hundreds of Chicagoans were rallying outside of the Egyptian consulate in Chicago Saturday afternoon. The pro-democracy rally was one of several protests that took place across the country on Saturday.

Ahmed Rehab has been hit 24 times with an acrid cloud of tear gas -- stopped in his tracks as he and thousands of other protesters march for democracy in Egypt. Unlike other American travelers, the Chicago-based civil rights activist, who heads CAIR-Chicago, went to Egypt in anticipation of the simmering revolution.

Ahmed Rehab of the Council on American Islamic Relations said the atmosphere was tense."It seems that every major square and every small street in Cairo was basically taken over by communities ... people are parading the streets, walking around with baseball bats and knives," he said from Cairo. "We didn't get any sleep all night."

Ahmed Rehab of CAIR-Chicago shares updates from the heart of Cairo where he is taking part in the pro-democracy revolution.

Dubbed “Rage Friday,” Egyptians took to the streets in massive numbers all over Cairo, Alexandria, and several other cities around the country directly calling for a regime change. Until recently, while the government tolerated a certain degree of freedom of speech, criticism of Egypt’s 30-year despot Mubarak was unimaginable; those who tried faced swift retribution by the government in one form or another.

Worldview's Jerome McDonnell talks to Ahmed Rehab from Cairo. Rehab flew to Cairo to participate in the protests and has been blogging about his experiences on his blog, Mindful of Dreams. LISTEN HERE

"How many mosques constitute an oversaturation in unincorporated DuPage County, according to the Zoning Board of Appeals?" asked Ahmed Rehab, director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, at a news conference. "The answer would be one. One would be one too many apparently, and that's very disconcerting to us."

In tough economic times most neighborhoods would welcome development. But in suburban Willowbrook, they’re waving it off for an unusual reason: religious oversaturation.

The zoning panel voted 6-1 last month to recommend denial of the conditional use permit needed for a worship center.All seven members of the ZBA, along with 10 County Board members and former chairman Bob Schillerstrom, are named in a pending federal complaint [made by CAIR-Chicago] alleging they erred a year ago when they turned down an Islamic school and worship center.

Ahmed Rehab, CAIR-Chicago Executive Director, discusses the tragic bombing of a Coptic church in Egypt and the strong response of everyday Egyptians – Muslims and Copts.

Ahmed Rehab, CAIR-Chicago Executive Director, discusses the tragic bombing of a Coptic church in Egypt and the strong response of everyday Egyptians – Muslims and Copts.

Complaints of discrimination were filed by a Muslim family against the Cook County Forest Preserve. The complaints claim that county employees at a public pool kicked a Muslim family out because of what they were wearing.

The parents were not planning to swim, only to supervise their children, the lawsuit said. They had previously been admitted when not wearing swimsuits. "A week later, I sent my sister to go to the water park," Yaqub told WLS-TV, Chicago. "My sister doesn't wear the Muslim veil on her head. She went in a running suit, or pajama. She wasn't wearing swimming trunks. The same lady that denied us entry let my sister in with no problem."

A Brookfield man filed two lawsuits against the Forest Preserve District of Cook County alleging that his wife was denied access to the Cermak Family Aquatic Center because she was wearing traditional Muslim dress. Mahmoud Yaqub went to the aquatic center, which has a wading area, fountains and sprinklers, with his wife and two children.

The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations yesterday filed a discrimination lawsuit in federal court on behalf of 49 Muslims of Somali heritage who were fired from a meat packing plant in Nebraska.

“A particular concern would be women who wear the hijab because obviously their standards of modesty are probably higher than most people and so they are more concerned about the groping, they are more concerned about the invasion of privacy,” said Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Council on Islamic Relations in Chicago.

"If you wear baggy jeans and you're brought aside for secondary screening for wearing baggy clothing, you are just as much entitled as the woman in a hijab to be able to pat yourself down and then have your hands swabbed for residue. That's the current TSA policy-- it applies to any baggy clothing," said Rehab