CAIR-Chicago is pleased to announce the decision by District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer this week to deny DuPage County’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the county on behalf of the Irshad Learning Center, a Naperville mosque.

CAIR-Chicago is pleased to announce the decision by District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer this week to deny DuPage County’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the county on behalf of the Irshad Learning Center, a Naperville mosque.

CAIR, which advocates for religious freedom and civil liberties in the Muslim community, also maintains that Irshad officials tried to pursue remedies for the permit refusal through normal administrative channels before filing the federal suit. Kevin Vodak, the attorney arguing the case for CAIR and Irshad, was pleased overall with the ruling.

CAIR-Chicago, which said the center would serve about 30 families, “will continue to pursue the Center’s right to use the facility they own to accommodate the needs of the community,” said Kevin Vodak, CAIR-Chicago Staff Attorney.

"She's asking for unpaid leave that means they didn't have to pay her for the three weeks that she was going to be out and she gave them three months for which to prepare," argues CAIR-Chicago attorney Christina Abraham.

"She's asking for unpaid leave that means they didn't have to pay her for the three weeks that she was going to be out and she gave them three months for which to prepare," argues CAIR-Chicago attorney Christina Abraham.

CAIR-Chicago welcomes today's decision by District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer to deny DuPage County’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the county by the Irshad Learning Center, a Naperville mosque.

CAIR-Chicago welcomes today's decision by District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer to deny DuPage County’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the county by the Irshad Learning Center, a Naperville mosque.

Thank Senator Dick Durbin for holding Congressional hearings on the status of American Muslims' civil rights.

The DuPage County Board voted 13-5 this week to grant a special use permit to the Muslim Education and Cultural Center of America (MECCA).

Ahmed Rehab will be speaking about "The New Egypt" at the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, Illinois this Saturday March 26th at 7:30 pm.

“It’s a very timely and much needed initiative,” Ahmed Rehab said. “There has been a very one-sided conversation from Congress on Muslim rights and the Durbin hearing promises to balance the conversation... There have been a lot of politicians who are in denial as to the growing threat of Islamaphobians to the U.S. itself, this fear mongering, paranoid approach to anything Muslim.”

Christina Abraham talks to The Washington Post about a local teacher who was denied leave from work to preform the Hajj. The Justice Department is suing on the teacher's behalf, accusing the district of violating her civil rights by forcing her to choose between her job and her faith.

CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab speaks with ABC 7's Eric Horng about local Libyan students whose educations are now in jeopardy.

CAIR-Chicago Communications Coordinator Amina Sharif talk to NBC 5's Christian Farr about a Chicago area man who was placed on the No Fly List as leverage by the FBI to get him to become an informant.

The distinctive minaret and golden dome will be absent, but MECCA — after months of controversy — won approval Tuesday to build a mosque near Willowbrook. After rejecting a call to send the matter back to the county's Zoning Board of Appeals for further study, the board signed off on the revised plan by approving a conditional-use permit 13-5.

The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) congratulates MECCA (the Muslm Educational and Cultural Center of America) for receiving approval today from the DuPage County Board for a special use permit to build a a new mosque.

Ahmed Rehab will join four professors for a panel discussion at Governors State University March 22nd, 2011. Hosted by the Governors State University Honors Program, the discussion is titled, “Community Teach-in: Changes and Directions in the Middle East.” The panelists will explore the causes and impact of recent political developments in the region.

“We think there is a bias against the Muslim institutions,” said Kevin Vodak, the lawyer for CAIR-Chicago. He noted that the board rejected the Irshad proposal without explanation, which is highly unusual, and that last fall the county took up an amendment to prohibit any new religious institutions in residential areas. “Most of the new proposals are from Muslims,” Mr. Vodak said.

On March 10, 2011 CAIR-Chicago’s Outreach Coordinator, Gerald Hankerson, and Communications Coordinator, Amina Sharif, conducted a presentation among teachers who are part of the Inner-City Teaching Corps (ICTC).