In the wake of the announcement regarding the opening of the Bally’s Casino within the historic Medinah Temple in Chicago, a significant debate has arisen surrounding the perception of the building’s religious significance. To shed light on this matter, the Chicago Reader has reached out to Ahmed Rehab, the Executive Director of CAIR-Chicago, for his perspective.

Exert from The Chicago Reader

Meanwhile, news of the casino opening drew some backlash abroad, where the name “Medinah Temple” has been taken by some to mean a religious facility. A casino in a former mosque could be sacrilege. But Medinah Temple has never been a religious facility or a sacred space.

I called CAIR-Chicago to ask about this; here’s what executive director Ahmed Rehab said: “This was never a mosque, but it’s a place with Islamic inscriptions on a building in the style of Islamic cultural design. A lot of people consider gambling to be antithetical to religious values.”

So, should the inscriptions be removed? I asked. “That’s going to be impossible in my opinion because it’s a historic landmark building, and I believe this casino is temporary,” Rehab said.

“I don’t believe these inscriptions are Quranic,” he continued. “They’re not from the holy scriptures; they’re from Arabic texts, and I believe the meaning of them is ‘There is no winning without God.’ So ironically, it’s an interesting reminder. Gambling is something Muslims consider to be predatory because mostly it’s poorer folks that suffer, losing their hard-earned money for the prospect of hitting something big, which hardly ever happens. It’s not something Muslims do; it’s something in our faith considered against our values.”

“I’ve received hundreds of emails and calls about it,” Rehab said. “I think if the inscriptions can be covered in a respectful manner during the period of the casino’s operation, that would be ideal. But ultimately, it’s the gambling culture that hurts families that offends me as a Muslim, more than that this is happening in this particular building. Our faith is about substance more than symbolism, and here the substance is the havoc that is wreaked on the lives of people who fall into gambling addictions.”

Full article:
https://chicagoreader.com/columns-opinion/on-culture/high-wire-act/