(CHICAGO, IL, 7/25/08) - On Sunday, July 27th, the Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) will sponsor MYLS Summer 2008 where 100 Muslim high school students will gather for a weekend leadership symposium. The program is designed to inspire Muslim youth to leverage their faith values towards constructive citizenship that benefits community and country. This is the third Muslim Youth Leadership Symposium (MYLS); it comes after two successful symposiums in April, earlier this year, and in the fall of last year.

Imam Zaid Shakir, lecturer and popular American-Muslim personality, will speak to the students about ways in which they can serve their communities and their country and leverage faith values for a better America.

The program also stresses the importance of literature, media and the arts in helping integrate Muslim communities on a cultural level - the missing link organizers believe must be accounted for if Muslims are to be fully accepted.

Rummana Hussain, columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, will discuss the importance of journalism and the media in fighting stereotypes and bringing people together.

"Although Muslims are integrated in many ways, they remain surprisingly misunderstood largely because they are absent from the channels of mainstream American cultural expression," said CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab. "MYLS hopes to inspire young Muslims to be the generation that overcomes that hurdle by becoming the next great American writers, filmmakers and artists.”

Testimonials from the first symposium, pictures, videos, the event program, and other resources are available on the official website: www.cairchicago.org/myls

WHAT: Muslim Youth Leadership Symposium WHEN: Sunday July 27th , 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. WHERE: Mosque Foundation Community Center, 7260 W 93rd St, Bridgeview, IL

CAIR-Chicago, the Illinois chapter of the America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, is dedicated to providing young Muslim-Americans with leadership development. Its mission is to promote justice, enhance the understanding of Islam and empower American Muslims.

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CONTACT: Reem Rahman, Communications Coordinator, CAIR-Chicago, E-Mail: communications@cairchicago.org; 312.212.1520 or 217.493.0912; Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director, CAIR-Chicago, E-Mail: director@cairchicago.org; 312.212.1520