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Litigation Director Kevin Vodak resolves delayed passport case
Litigation Director Kevin Vodak resolved a delayed passport case, allowing an American Muslim to complete a long-awaited pilgrimage to Mecca.
CAIR-Chicago's 8th Annual Banquet: A Future Without Bigotry
Among the over 1200 attendees were Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez, MPAC spokeswoman Edina Lekovich, author Salahuddin Khan, Sheikh Kifah Mustapha, and Professor John Esposito.
CAIR-Chicago's 8th Annual Banquet: A Future Without Bigotry
Among the over 1200 attendees were Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez, MPAC spokeswoman Edina Lekovich, author Salahuddin Khan, Sheikh Kifah Mustapha, and Professor John Esposito.
Ahmed Rehab Keynotes MECCA Dinner alongside Rep. Keith Ellison
CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab delivered the keynote speech at a fundraising dinner for the Muslim Educational and Cultural Center of America on May 8th.
Sun-Times: Area Muslims express relief that bin Laden no longer alive
“The relevance of bin Laden should be overshadowed by the wave of pro-democracy movements in the Middle East,” said Yaser Tabbara, a Chicago attorney and member of the board of directors of the Council on American Islamic Relations. “Bin Laden was already marginalized, I’m someone who goes to the Middle East quite a bit and I haven’t heard his name in a very long time.”
Thank DuPage County Board Members For Voting in Favor of MECCA
The DuPage County Board voted 13-5 this week to grant a special use permit to the Muslim Education and Cultural Center of America (MECCA).
The Washington Post: Justice Department sues on behalf of Muslim teacher, triggering debate
Christina Abraham talks to The Washington Post about a local teacher who was denied leave from work to preform the Hajj. The Justice Department is suing on the teacher's behalf, accusing the district of violating her civil rights by forcing her to choose between her job and her faith.
Chicago Tribune: DuPage County approves mosque near Willowbrook
The distinctive minaret and golden dome will be absent, but MECCA — after months of controversy — won approval Tuesday to build a mosque near Willowbrook. After rejecting a call to send the matter back to the county's Zoning Board of Appeals for further study, the board signed off on the revised plan by approving a conditional-use permit 13-5.
CAIR-CHICAGO CONGRATULATES MECCA ON PERMIT APPROVAL
The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) congratulates MECCA (the Muslm Educational and Cultural Center of America) for receiving approval today from the DuPage County Board for a special use permit to build a a new mosque.
NY Times: Muslim Cultural Center Appears Near Approval
“We think there is a bias against the Muslim institutions,” said Kevin Vodak, the lawyer for CAIR-Chicago. He noted that the board rejected the Irshad proposal without explanation, which is highly unusual, and that last fall the county took up an amendment to prohibit any new religious institutions in residential areas. “Most of the new proposals are from Muslims,” Mr. Vodak said.
Call DuPage County, Support MECCA Mosque
The vote is next week! Call the DuPage County Board and show your support for MECCA as well as the other mosques seeking permits: the Islamic Center of the Western Suburbs (ICSW) and the Irshad Learning Center (ILC).
Daily Herald: Mosque requests raising questions in DuPage
For area Muslims, practicing their faith can require traveling to mosques outside their communities or gathering in residential homes to pray. Now after years of fundraising and preparation, several groups want to move ahead with plans for their own places of worship in DuPage County.
ACTION ALERT: Call DuPage County, Support MECCA Mosque
The DuPage County Development Committee (CDC) voted yesterday to recommend granting a permit to the MECCA Mosque, but the issue is not over yet. The County Board will vote on the matter next week. Call the County Board and show your support for MECCA as well as the other mosques seeking permits.
Interfaith Leaders Hold Press Conference; Support DuPage Mosque
CAIR-Chicago participated in an interfaith press conference held on behalf of the Muslim Education and Cultural Center of America (MECCA), the third mosque denied a permit in DuPage County in the past year.
Chicago Tribune: Religious leaders urge approval of DuPage mosque
"How many mosques constitute an oversaturation in unincorporated DuPage County, according to the Zoning Board of Appeals?" asked Ahmed Rehab, director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, at a news conference. "The answer would be one. One would be one too many apparently, and that's very disconcerting to us."
Medill Reports: Islamic group puts pressure on DuPage to change stand banning mosque
In tough economic times most neighborhoods would welcome development. But in suburban Willowbrook, they’re waving it off for an unusual reason: religious oversaturation.
Press Conference Tomorrow to Support DuPage County Mosques
Christian, Muslim, Jewish and civic leaders affirm religious freedom and call on the DuPage County Development Board to reconsider the Zoning Board's decision to deny a permit for MECCA, a mosque in Willowbrook.
Naperville Sun: County committee lobs mosque back to zoning board
The zoning panel voted 6-1 last month to recommend denial of the conditional use permit needed for a worship center.All seven members of the ZBA, along with 10 County Board members and former chairman Bob Schillerstrom, are named in a pending federal complaint [made by CAIR-Chicago] alleging they erred a year ago when they turned down an Islamic school and worship center.