The event was attended by hundreds of Muslims and friends and neighbors of other faith backgrounds from the surrounding churces, temples, and institutions. A number of public officials were also in attendance. This was one of the best attended iftars and most diverse to date.

A hookah lounge in Worth, Illinois, is still in business after unsubstantiated complaints against it were resolved by CAIR-Chicago. Civil Rights Director, Christina Abraham, reached a settlement last week allowing the Arab American owned lounge to remain open.

CAIR-Chicago's Executive Director Ahmed Rehab Delivered the Keynote speech today at Advocate Christ Hosptial 2nd annual Iftar. The Iftar (breaking of the fast) is hosted annually by the Association of Muslim Physicians at the hospital since last year. The event brings together Muslim physicians and surgeons with their counterparts from other faith backgrounds for a celebration of diversity and the spiritual ideals of Ramadan.

"I believe there surely is such a thing as truth, but who among us can claim a monopoly? There are those who do, and their own words testify to their intolerance."

This past week marked the end of the Muslim Youth Leadership Symposium’s (MYLS) summer program, Breakin’ Out: Implementing Proactive Change.

Reem Rahman, CAIR-Chicago Communications Coordinator, is leaving us to pursue a Masters in Management Research at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom this fall.

CAIR-Chicago Communications Coordinator, Reem Rahman, is graduating CAIR-Chicago; her last day with the organization is today, Friday, August 21st. Reem will be moving for a year to England where she will be pursuing a masters in Management Research at Oxford Univeristy.

A few weeks ago, I had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to visit the Philippines as the U.S. delegate to observe the 6th installment of a U.S. State Department sponsored youth program, PYLP.

North Shore Congressman Mark Kirk announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate on Monday, July 20. CAIR-Chicago Executive Director, Ahmed Rehab, and CAIR-Chicago interns joined the Illinois Coalition for Immigration and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) in a peaceful protest during the press conference held in Kenilworth.

CAIR-Chicago staff attorney Kevin Vodak recently reached a settlement on behalf of a Muslim client who was denied public accommodations at a restaurant in 2007.

CAIR-Chicago joined leaders of Chicago’s Muslim community recently in a meeting with the Archdiocese of Chicago and its archbishop, Francis Cardinal George. The event, “Muslim and Catholic Evening of Conversation”, marked a new chapter of interfaith dialogue and engagement between the two faith communities.

This past weekend over 20 volunteers joined CAIR-Chicago and the Council of the Advancement for Muslim Professionals (CAMP) at the Downtown Islamic Center to donate blood. The donations save patients suffering from health traumas such as major blood loss caused by car accidents. Each blood donation has the potential to save up to three lives.

This spring, CAIR-Chicago volunteers joined together to fundraise for the 2009 March for Babies walk, successfully raising $1,200 to help ensure healthy, full-term pregnancies for pregnant women.

Earlier this month, CAIR-Chicago was honored to host social justice advocate Ahmed Kathrada at the downtown office and introduce him to the organization's initiatives to build a stronger civic society and a more vibrant democracy. As a leader of the South African liberation struggle against Apartheid rule, Kathrada is an important voice in the continued work to ensure human rights worldwide. He is one of the famous Rivonia trialists who was imprisoned for 26 years for his political activism and his efforts to establish democracy in South Africa.

On June 6, 2009, the Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights hosted a forum entitled The State of Surveillance in the Surveillance State: Chicago and the Nation.

As an organization grounded upon the advocacy of civil justice, CAIR-Chicago – along with other chapters nationwide – has partnered with Interfaith Worker Justice to rally support for the The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). The act (HR. 1409/S.560) is a pending bill that was introduced for the 111th Congress by Representative George Miller (D-CA) and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) on March 10, 2009.

There are numerous people from different backgrounds in the United States who journey through life without friends and family members to care for them. And when these people die, there is no one to claim them. This is the reason that the First United Methodist Church launched interfaith memorial observances over twenty years ago—to provide an honorable goodbye for those who died alone.

Bill Moffitt was the kind of attorney every lawyer and aspiring lawyer hopes to become. Talented and dynamic, quick on his feet and sharp-tongued. But it was his character and integrity that made him an inspiration to civil rights activists across the nation. Bill Moffitt will be remembered in the civil rights community as a talented and harrowing fighter.