A Brookfield man filed two lawsuits against the Forest Preserve District of Cook County alleging that his wife was denied access to the Cermak Family Aquatic Center because she was wearing traditional Muslim dress. Mahmoud Yaqub went to the aquatic center, which has a wading area, fountains and sprinklers, with his wife and two children.

Two lawsuits were filed Wednesday on behalf of a Muslim family which was allegedly barred from entering a Cook County recreational pool last year because of their clothing.

Amina Sharif issued a statement today on behalf of CAIR-Chicago, condemning the FBI's recent raids on the homes of local anti-war activists who have dedicated their lives towards peacefully organizing for justice at home and abroad.

The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations yesterday filed a discrimination lawsuit in federal court on behalf of 49 Muslims of Somali heritage who were fired from a meat packing plant in Nebraska.

"Here in DuPage county officials seem to be more focused on the types of land that's available in residential areas and want to appease residents' concerns rather than the rights of religious institutions," said Kevin Vodak, attorney for the Chicago chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations.

“A particular concern would be women who wear the hijab because obviously their standards of modesty are probably higher than most people and so they are more concerned about the groping, they are more concerned about the invasion of privacy,” said Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Council on Islamic Relations in Chicago.

"If you wear baggy jeans and you're brought aside for secondary screening for wearing baggy clothing, you are just as much entitled as the woman in a hijab to be able to pat yourself down and then have your hands swabbed for residue. That's the current TSA policy-- it applies to any baggy clothing," said Rehab

Ahmed Rehab talks to Red Eye Radio's Marc Germain about a Muslim woman who was denied service at a convenience store because she refused to remove her hijab.

While CAIR-Chicago believes that Hizb ut-Tahrir has a right to their views that Muslim's shouldn't vote, the organization says that American Muslims must be civically engaged, from voting to running for office. Outreach Coordinator Gerald Hankerson specifically objected to the organizations point that even though Muslims have voted in the United States and around the world, it’s done them little good.

CAIR-Chicago's complaint alleges the Irshad Learning Center’s First and 14th Amendment rights were violated when county officials refused to grant a special use permit to open an Islamic worship site and school. Kevin Vodak, the attorney representing Irshad through the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said the judge hopes to issue her ruling within the next couple of weeks.

"Language is to ideas what the body is to the soul. It is the physical manifestation of thought. It is the mortar with which we shape our understanding of the world." - Ahmed Rehab

CAIR-Chicago Outreach Coordinater Gerald Hankerson discusses Muslim American involement in this election:"Even with the election cycle there is much argument and debate whether Muslims should be involved. One way or another we are living here, and our life is being impacted by whether or not we decide to offer our voice and our balance. So most definitely religion may factor into it on certain issues, such as immigration reform, such as protecting first amendment rights, because we definitely want to see that our faith is not impeded for us to be truly considered Americans,"

When the topic was brought up, yet again, that America has been attacked by Muslims, Ahmed Rehab responds: "Here's also a pattern that you need to be aware of. In almost every one of those cases it was Muslims who helped foil these terrorists plots. In the case of the "underwear bomber" it was his own father, a Muslim, who reported him. In the case of the "time square bomber" it was a Muslim who saw the smoke from the car who reported him. Even in this case Saudia Arabia was actually the country that tipped us off about this plot."

Outreach Coordinator Gerald Hankerson discusses the importance and the potential power of mobilizing young people to vote in elections. He describes some of the efforts CAIR-Chicago makes to reach young people early in life, to instill in them a sense of civic duty.

"For American Muslims, the biggest concern right now is the quality and tone of the debate," added Rehab. "Whether this debate is on our national security, or our jobs or the economy or even the place of Muslims in America, our concern is that the nature of the debate in America has become more and more divisive, cynical, frenzied, paranoid, and we are very concerned about that and we wish that they debate itself, regardless of the positions people take, to be rooted in more intellect and empirical analysis and honest debate and mutual understanding."

Christina Abraham, CAIR-Chicago Civil Rights Director, appeared as a live guest today on Fox Chicago's morning show, Good Day Chicago. Abraham spoke with hosts Anna Davlantes and Corey McPherrin regarding the controversy over political analyst Juan Williams' Islamophobic statements on Fox News.

Christina Abraham, CAIR-Chicago Civil Rights Director, appeared as a live guest today on Fox Chicago's morning show, Good Day Chicago. Abraham spoke with hosts Anna Davlantes and Corey McPherrin regarding the controversy over political analyst Juan Williams' Islamophobic statements on Fox News.

Ahmed Rehab challenges Bill O'Reilly's notion that there is a "Muslim Problem" in the world, and that mainstream Muslims are not doing enough to fight extremism.

Ahmed Rehab challenges Bill O'Reilly's notion that there is a "Muslim Problem" in the world, and that mainstream Muslims are not doing enough to fight extremism.

CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab discusses the Juan Williams/NPR controversy on CNN's The Situation with Wolf Blitzer. Rehab debates conservative pundit Cliff May, of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, on the irrationality of William's comment.