The American Islamic Association of Frankfort is holding an interfaith meeting and press conference at 6 p.m. Tuesday to respond to a SouthtownStar article about a personal e-mail sent by Frankfort Township Assessor Paul Ruff containing anti-Muslim comments. Members of churches and synagogues as well as Ruff have been invited to attend and express their views.

The Associated Press article "Soap opera shakes customs of Arab married life" (July 28) was a nice change from the usual stories that only show Muslims in the context of political oppression and warfare. Unfortunately, the article is still guilty of conveying gross generalizations of Arab and Muslim people

"Muslim liaison for presidential campaign resigns after connections to Muslim community are found." No, that's not a fake headline from The Onion's parody team. It's the gist of a real story announcing the resignation of Mazen Asbahi from his position as the national coordinator for Muslim-American affairs for Barack Obama's campaign.

The Associated Press article "Soap opera shakes customs of Arab married life" (July 28) was a nice change from the usual stories that only show Muslims in the context of political oppression and warfare. Unfortunately, the article is still guilty of conveying gross generalizations of Arab and Muslim people. It suggests that Islam doesn't condone equal rights for husbands and wives.

South Florida's Muslims have decided it's time to raise their profile.For the first time, Muslim leaders from Broward, Palm Beach and other southern Florida counties will gather for a summit that will allow them to socialize, share safety concerns and find ways to make their voices heard in local civic life. Muslims from Miami, Homestead, Key West, Fort Myers and Naples are expected to be among those who attend.

"Muslim liaison for presidential campaign resigns after connections to Muslim community are found." No, that's not a fake headline from The Onion, the popular newspaper parodying everyday political and cultural absurdities. And no, it's not the concept of a skit from "Saturday Night Live."

CAIR-Chicago Staff Attorney Kevin Vodak represented a Muslim man at his status hearing regarding an employment discrimination case.

Sen. Barack Obama's director of Muslim outreach has resigned amid controversy, just a few weeks after joining Obama's presidential campaign.Attorney Mazen Asbahi started working as the campaign's outreach coordinator on July 26, and he resigned on Monday. In a letter, he said he was stepping down "to avoid distracting from Barack Obama's message of change," the Associated Press reported.

America's largest Islamic civil liberties group on Wednesday defended Sen. Barack Obama after the Democratic presidential candidate's Muslim-outreach coordinator resigned because of a brief association with a suspected Muslim extremist.

The Obama campaign finally tapped an Arab-American and Muslim-American coordinator July 26 -- Chicago lawyer Mazen Asbahi. Monday, he stepped down after questions were raised by the Wall Street Journal about his brief tenure on the board of an Islamic investment fund. The episode exposes the Obama team's struggle to woo Muslim voters while denying Obama ever embraced the faith and as he looks for Jewish support.

CAIR-Chicago Staff Attorney Kevin Vodak attended a status hearing for a Muslim woman regarding her employment discrimination case

There are many words I can use to describe Mazen Asbahi’s fresh resignation from his position as the Obama campaign’s national liaison for Muslim American affairs, and the circumstances behind that decision. But I will suffice with one that I think says it best: “sad.”

A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group said today that the resignation of a recently-appointed Muslim community liaison for Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign is symptomatic of a nationwide effort by Islamophobes who seek to deny Muslims access to the political process.

The Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) today denounced the anti-Muslim smear campaign behind the resignation of Mazen Asbahi, the Obama campaign’s national Muslim liaison. The attacks against Asbahi ironically linked him to mainstream Muslim personalities and groups that were falsely described as “fundamentalist”.

CAIR-Chicago Staff Attorney Kevin Vodak attended a status hearing for a Muslim man who suffered from discrimination at work.

Civil Rights Director Christina Abraham attended a status hearing for a Muslim woman who had been accused of shoplifting.

From Republican contender John McCain's Jul. 25 meeting with the Dalai Lama in Aspen, Colorado to Democratic candidate Barack Obama's visit to Jerusalem's Western Wall the same day, the intersection of religion, politics and the "war on terror" has been a recurrent theme in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

CAIRO — Coming from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, a group of American Muslim women are forming the country's first only-women law firm to dispel stereotypes about Muslim women. "They are defeating stereotypes on multiple levels," Ahmed Rehab, executive director of theChicago office of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), told the Chicago Tribune on Friday, August 1.

In what may be the nation's only law firm composed solely of Muslim women, the attorneys represent the ethnic and religious diversity within the Islamic faith: Some cover their hair, some don't. Some are Sunni; others are Shiite, and at least one is happy to be secular.

CAIR-Chicago Staff Attorney Kevin Vodak represented a Muslim man at his status hearing regarding his employment discrimination case. The case will enter the discovery phase in the coming months.