PRESS STATEMENT

- For Immediate Release and Distribution -

(CHICAGO, IL, 2/5/25) – The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today expressed its support for Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, who was forcibly removed from a Meeting of the Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation for standing in defense of free speech and against the censorship of the US-Israel War Machine art exhibit at the Chicago Cultural Center. 

SEE MORE: Alderman told to leave City Council meeting after he appeared to call colleague a white supremacist 

The removal of Ald. Sigcho-Lopez, a vocal advocate for human rights, highlights the growing effort to silence criticism of state violence and suppress Palestinian narratives. The exhibit, which portrays the U.S. and Israel’s role in the ongoing genocide in Gaza, has come under attack by 27 alderpeople demanding its removal. The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) has already censored the artwork by stripping its title and death count—an alarming step toward erasing dissent and artistic expression. 

“When elected officials who stand for justice are silenced and removed from their own City Council, we must ask: whose voices are being protected, and whose are being erased?” said Hafsa Haider, Communications Coordinator for CAIR-Chicago. “This is not just about one artwork. It is about preserving the right to protest, to dissent, and to challenge systems of power through art.” 

CAIR-Chicago strongly condemns the coordinated campaign to misrepresent political criticism as hate speech. Protest art has long served as a vehicle for exposing injustice, from the Civil Rights Movement to Black Lives Matter. Attempts to conflate criticism of Israel’s policies with antisemitism are not only disingenuous but also harmful to efforts combatting real antisemitism and white supremacy. 

Censorship of this exhibit sets a dangerous precedent for Chicago’s artists, activists, and marginalized communities. CAIR-Chicago urges city leaders to stand firm in defense of free speech and restore the exhibit in full. 

CAIR-Chicago’s mission is to defend civil rights, fight bigotry, and promote tolerance.

CONTACT: Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of CAIR-Chicago, 202-870-0166, arehab@cair.com; Monia Alhelou, Operations Coordinator of CAIR-Chicago, 312-212-1520, malhelou@cair.com; Hafsa Haider, Communications Coordinator of CAIR-Chicago, 561-317-7509, hhaider@cair.com