Mosque debates are taking place across the county, from New York City to Chicago to the surrounding suburbs. They are not all about zoning, but for the most part they are very heated.

Ahmed Rehab says “islamophobia” is sweeping America. The leader of the Council on American-Islamic Relations describes the status of America’s Relationship with its Muslim citizens.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

“Organizations that are not only Islamophobic but that insight violence, whether directly or indirectly, are a reality,” said Ahmed Rehab.

In the public sphere, leaders of the opposition groups to the Not-At-Ground-Zero-Muslim-Center can’t seem to decide on an argument. They have thrown everything and the kitchen sink at us in the way of fabricated reasons.

First, they tried the “legal” route. When it became apparent that American Muslims had a constitutionally guaranteed right to religious, cultural, and communal services in lower Manhattan just like everyone else, they invoked the “sensitivity to the 9/11 families” line. Continue Reading>>

Ahmed Rehab, CAIR-Chicago Executive Director, discusses the stabbing of a Muslim cab driver in NYC whose attacker first asked “are you Muslim?”. Rehab also talks about the danger of anti-Muslim propaganda driven by Islamophobes opposed to Park 51, the proposed Muslim community center near Ground Zero.

Ahmed Rehab talks to the O’Reilly Factor’s Laura Ingraham about Imam Feisal Rauf’s sound reputation for interfaith cooperation and religious tolerance, and refutes lies that the Imam is a “radical”.

CAIR-Chicago representatives along with other local leaders held a press conference to discuss their disappointment with recent comments by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn regarding the “Ground Zero” mosque controversy.

CHICAGO (CBS) ― The debate over whether a mosque should be built near Ground Zero in New York City is playing out here in Illinois.
Earlier this week, Gov. Pat Quinn stepped into the controversy, saying he was against the mosque being built near the site of the 9/11 terror attack.
CBS 2’s Jim Williams reports the Governor’s stand caught Muslim leaders in Chicago off guard.
It was a stance Quinn repeated Friday afternoon, when he said, “I do understand going to Pearl Harbor, and I have been there; going to Auschwitz, I’ve been there; and I’ve been to Ground Zero. And I think those are solemn places on Earth; I’ve said that this week. I do think there should be a zone of solemnity around those places.”
Continue Reading>>

CAIR-Chicago representatives and local Muslim leaders discussed their disappointment in IL Gov. Pat Quinn’s comments regarding the New York mosque controversy and their concern that a growing anti-Muslim network is spreading Islamophobia through fear mongering. They also shared examples of other mosques around the country that are facing opposition, including one in Naperville which CAIR-Chicago is currently litigating on behalf of.

Americans have a right to assemble and worship freely in this country, period. It’s not only a founding principle of this nation, but a main justification for its founding. It is why many White Christians flooded to this country in the first place.

Those opposed to American Muslims practicing their right to build a religious and cultural center on their private property near Ground Zero and in concordance with all laws and regulations reluctantly concede that they have no legal grounds to challenge it. So they argue instead that they should voluntarily forgo their right out of sensitivity for the sacredness of that site.

This is a particularly disingenuous line.

If it is about sensitivity for the sacred, then why aren’t those same people opposing the deli, bar, coffee shop, and offices, or strip club for that matter, that are open for business in that same sacred vicinity?

What is particularly indecent or insensitive about American Muslims building a house of peace, community, and worship that doesn’t apply to the New York Dolls gentlemen’s club?

Let’s be blunt: it is only indecent and insensitive if you buy into the canard that American Muslims are somehow collectively guilty for 9/11. That is the coded message at the heart of opposition to the center. It is a message we reject on its face.
Continue Reading>>

Ahmed Rehab discusses the ground zero mosque controversy and clears misconceptions about Islam and Muslims.