Join CAIR-Chicago at the FBI Headquarters to protest recent FBI raids of the homes of peaceful, anti-war activists.

Join CAIR-Chicago at the FBI Headquarters to protest recent FBI raids of the homes of peaceful, anti-war activists.

CAIR-Chicago announced today that it is deeply concerned about the FBI’s recent raids on the homes of anti-war activists in the Midwest. CAIR-Chicago is issuing the following statement in response to the raids.

DuPage County is on the verge of passing sweeping restrictive zoning and land use ordinances which will have an adverse impact on all religious institutions. Here are some of the proposed changes and what you can do to challenge them.

DuPage County is on the verge of passing sweeping restrictive zoning and land use ordinances which will have an adverse impact on all religious institutions. Here are some of the proposed changes and what you can do to challenge them.

Mustapha is the well-known leader at one of the nation's most popular mosques and is a national figure in American Islam. So considering his civic stature, it isn't surprising Imam Mustapha was invited by FBI officials in Chicago to attend this summer's Citizens' Academy with about 25 other local notables.

CAIR-Chicago filed a discrimination complaint in federal court this week against the Illinois State Police (ISP) on behalf of Kifah Mustapha, a leading Muslim religious leader (Imam) based in Chicago. The ISP revoked his chaplaincy position citing a dubious Internet report attacking him. The report was written by Steven Emerson, an anti-Muslim blogger notorious for fighting against American Muslim civic participation. See media coverage of the lawsuitHERE.

Ahmed Rehab says the position was revoked because of a false anti-Muslim blog attacking Kifah. "There was nothing that would prevent him from fulfilling this role. Except for the fact that somebody out there wished to smear him and the ISP was either too lazy or incompetent to actually sift through the smears and figure out that they were smears. And instead decided to drop him to avoid any controversy. That's unacceptable," said Rehab.

"Constitutionally a person can only be held responsible for their own activities, their own conduct," said CAIR-Chicago Civil Rights Director Christina Abraham."And if Imam Kifah has never committed a crime - then what is he being denied for? That's an answer we never received from the Illinois State Police."

"Constitutionally a person can only be held responsible for their own activities, their own conduct," said CAIR-Chicago Civil Rights Director Christina Abraham."And if Imam Kifah has never committed a crime - then what is he being denied for? That's an answer we never received from the Illinois State Police."

In December, community and religious groups hailed Mustapha's appointment as a nod to the growing diversity among the agency's nearly 2,000 officers. Since 2002, Mustapha has been an imam and director at the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, one of the Chicago area's oldest and largest mosques. He also served as a designated chaplain with the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, helping to counsel Hurricane Katrina victims.

The lawsuit filed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations' Chicago chapter alleges discrimination based on race, religion and national origin. The suit also says Mustapha was denied his First Amendment right to freedom of association, which bars the government from imposing guilt by association. It calls for Mustapha's immediate reinstatement.

“Imam Kifah [Mustapha] is an upstanding citizen who has served this country and his community time and again,” Christina Abraham, civil rights director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Chicago, said in a release. “It is time to put an end to the fear-mongering and anti-Muslim rhetoric that has senselessly engulfed our nation,” she said.

CAIR-Chicago filed a discrimination complaint in federal court today against the Illinois State Police (ISP) on behalf of Kifah Mustapha, a leading Muslim religious leader (Imam) based in Chicago. The ISP had previously hired Imam Kifah as the first and only Muslim chaplain for its workforce after the completion of a thorough background check. Shortly after news of Imam Kifah’s hiring, the ISP revoked its decision citing a dubious Internet report attacking Imam Kifah. The report was written and distributed by Steven Emerson, an anti-Muslim blogger notorious for fighting against American Muslim civic participation.

DuPage County zoning officials are proposing amendments to the Zoning Ordinance which would ban any new religious institutions in residential areas.This proposal follows CAIR-Chicago’s lawsuit on behalf of Irshad Learning Center (ILC), which was denied a special use permit to conduct religious educational classes and worship services at a property previously owned by a private day care center.

The 18 DuPage County commissioners and office holders who were sued after they refused to support a Muslim learning center near Naperville are waiting to hear whether the complaint will have its day in court.

"Given the situation with ground zero (in New York), there's a growing trend by various right-wing organizations to vilify Islamic organizations, and I don't think we can take that away from what's happening in DuPage County," said Kevin Vodak, an attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

CAIR-Chicago’s Civil Rights Director Christina Abraham moderated an event featuring a speech by Robert D. Grant, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office, at the American Islamic College.