Yaser Tabbara and Fadi Farhan, Executive and Governmental Relations Directors, respectively, of CAIR-Chicago participated in Congressman Daniel Lipinski's (IL – 3rd District) townhall meeting on Saturday, February 19, 2005, along with members of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), Instituto Del Progreso Latino, United Power for Action and Justice, and Mosque Foundation of Bridgeview. The three main issues of concern presented to the Congressman during the townhall meeting were as follows: inordinate numbers of handgun sales to criminals in his district, the establishment of a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, and the creation of a national list of respected Muslim charities to which American Muslims and non-Muslims can donate without fear of federal investigation or accusation of donating to groups involved in terror. CAIR-Chicago wishes to thank Congressman Lipinski for his willingness to meet with members of the American Muslim community residing in his district and for his commitment to write to both Secretary Snow of the Treasury Department and Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez urging them to provide the aforementioned list of appropriate Muslim charities so that constituents of his district can donate in good faith to charities without fear of retribution or mishandling of funds intended for the needy.

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