About Us

[Meet: Our Staff | Our Board | Our Interns ]

CAIR-Chicago is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit Muslim civil rights organization registered independently in Illinois.  CAIR is the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group. CAIR-Chicago functions as an independent organization that sets its own strategy and goals. We work to attain equal opportunity for, and normalize the image of, Muslims in America through defending civil rights, fighting bigotry, and promoting tolerance. Our Civil Rights Department provides pro bono legal services to Muslims who have faced discrimination as a result of their race, religion, or ethnicity. Learn More About Our Values and See what they say About Us.

 

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to defend civil rights, fight bigotry, and promote tolerance.

Our vision is to attain equal opportunity for, and normalize the image of, Muslims in America.

OUR VISION

 
 

Our work spans four different areas

What We Do

  1. Civil Rights, Advocacy, and Legal Representation – Our cases range from racial profiling, harassment and bullying in schools and workplaces, to citizenship delays, police misconduct, prisoners’ rights, and workplace discrimination. We are committed to upholding equality and combating discrimination of all forms through negotiation, litigation, education and awareness. We also meet regularly with community partners and government agencies & leaders to advocate against hate and discrimination in our workplaces, schools, and communities.
  2. Political Empowerment - We help community members understand and utilize the political system to work for them. Projects include voter registration drives, community workshops, “know your rights” educational campaigns, and training of mosques and Muslim centers on how to contact local and national politicians.
  3. Media Representation -We bring the voices of mainstream Muslim communities to the airwaves, print media, and editorial rooms, on issues that affect their lives. We monitor the local media closely and flag bias against Muslims.
  4. Community Outreach - Community Outreach - We forge mutually beneficial partnerships with local and national institutions whose activities overlap with CAIR-Chicago’s in order to maximize efficiency. We work to empower the Muslim community and to foster an understanding between Chicago’s Muslim and non-Muslim communities via public education, and to serve the needs of the Chicagoland community via public service.

“By The Right Means Only”

We are not a religious organization in that we don’t issue decrees, nor interpret religious texts for the people. We are a community services organization, rooted in Islamic values of justice and service, and as such we wish to serve with integrity and professionalism any party that sees itself as Muslim. A clear and dominant theme in our work is inclusion.

CAIR-Chicago is a different kind of organization. Since we officially launched on January 5th, 2005, our commitment to defending the rights of our communities has never wavered.  We are proud of all of our communities and look forward to continuing to build meaningful relationships and advocating against hate and discrimination in all its forms.

We hope that we can work together. – CAIR-Chicago Team