News India Times
April 8, 2016
18
Community
– that’s all you need to know
By Urvashi Verma
n the wake of huge
protests during
Republican presidential
frontrunner Donald
Trump’s rally in Chicago
earlier last month, more than
300 Chicago residents, including
members from 30 different inter-
faith organizations and commu-
nity groups, gathered at
Fountain Square in Evanston
March 20 to protest against
Trump's anti-Muslim rhetoric.
The primary motivation for
organizing the rally, according to
community organizer Lesley
William, was a recent incident
on the Northwestern campus
where two students were arrest-
ed for spray-painting racist and
homophobic messages and
swastikas across the faces of
Muslim students with the name
of Donald Trump.
“Clearly, even in our enlight-
ened Evanston community,
there is a need to speak out and
speak up against bigotry. Make
no mistake: the bigotry that pro-
files Muslimmen at checkpoints,
rips hijabs off Muslimwomen, or
calls for mass deportations of the
undocumented is the same big-
otry that results in young black
men dead in police custody.We
are proud to be standing with
over 30 religious and community
organization.We all stand
against Islamophobia as good
people refuse to let bigotry tri-
umph,” saidWilliam.
Alia Ammar from the Muslim
Community Center, Chicago,
warned about the resurgence of
Islamophobia, saying that repe-
titions of history must be avoid-
ed. “The resurgence of bigotry
and Islamophobia promoted
within the current presidential
race is particularly concerning to
people whose moral values
embrace common humanity
and who clearly understand that
‘never again’ applies to all people
at all times,” she said.
Rabbi Michael Davis of Jewish
Voice for Peace, who also spoke
at the rally said, “we see this as
just the beginning, a continua-
tion of a campaign … communi-
ties across Chicago land and the
U.S. will stand with Muslims and
people of other faiths and take
back the public square in the
name of living in peace."
Renner Larson, communica-
tions director for CAIR Chicago ,
said that “when Donald Trump
came to this town, we rose our
voices and chased him away, but
he still won in Illinois”, referring
to the Illinois Republican pri-
mary results.
Larson urged attendees to get
involved in the democratic
process, to campaign for candi-
dates, who inspire them, and to
form relationships with their
local officials.
Other community leaders also
spoke passionately against the
anti-bigotry. The speakers
included Jes Scheinpflug, com-
munications director at Open
communities, an economic and
social justice organization in
north suburban Chicago which
promotes inclusive communi-
ties; Saffa Zarour, Board Member
of the Council of Islamic
Organizations of Greater
Chicago; Tarek Khalil, member
of the American Muslims for
Palestine; Rev. Michael Nabors
from the Second Baptist Church,
and Tahera Ahmed, chaplain
and director of Interfaith
Engagement at Northwestern
University who gave the closing
remarks. After the rally volun-
teers canvassed the area encour-
aging small stores owners to dis-
play posters supporting refugees
and denouncing racial and reli-
gious profiling.
Community members gathered for a rally to protest Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric,
at the Fountain Square in Evanston Il March 20.
I
Interfaith Rally Against Trump’s Anti-MuslimRhetoric In Chicago
‘Open’ Mosque Day: A Celebration Of Unity In Chicago
From Chicago Bureau
T
he Islamic Center of
Naperville organized an
“Open Mosque Day”
March 13, at their center on
Ogden Avenue where they
opened doors to community
members of different faiths to
visit and build friendships in
an effort to promote harmony
and understanding.
The event attracted about
1,000 people, representing
various segments of the local
community.
Steve Chirico, Mayor of
Naperville, delivered a speech
saying that “the Open Mosque
Day is an important step in
the direction of strengthening
bonds among different com-
munities.”
He said that the event was
a rich tribute to the diversity
of Naperville. “The event,
which involved my debut visit
to a mosque, is a first-of-its-
kind experience of my life”, he
added.
Krishna Bansal, Chairman,
Indian Community Outreach,
the Office of the Naperville
Mayor, said that an event like
the ‘Open Mosque Day’
should not be a one-shot
affair.
He called for a large num-
ber of similar events on a reg-
ular basis, bringing together
people of different faiths.
Shoaib Khadri, President,
ICN, said that the event was
greatly instrumental in foster-
ing direct and open commu-
nication between individuals,
“opening opportunities for
dialogue between faith leaders
and their communities, and
dispelling misinformation on
Islam by explaining the true
teachings of the faith.” Aadil
Farid, former president of the
ICN, said that the core values
of the ICN are “tolerance, jus-
tice, peace, and progress for
all.”
The event had various
booths with specific informa-
tion about Islam. The “Meet
the Imam” booth was
extremely popular as people
asked religious director, ICN,
Imam Shaykh Rizwan Ali,
questions on Islam’s position
on terrorism, female oppres-
sion, Sharia law, interfaith
marriage, dress code, halal
practices and much more.
“The interesting delibera-
tions on these issues helped
convey an authentic message
about Islam and its followers
and the conversation really
made everyone mighty
enlightened."
Guests received designs of
henna on their hands and had
an opportunity to try on the
hijab, and even take it home
as a souvenir.
A feature that guests found
interesting was watching the
call for the afternoon prayer
and observing the subsequent
prayer in pin drop silence.
The Qu’ran recitation and
informative video clips and
regular batches of tours of the
facility were also conducted.
The booth for “Women’s
Rights” was very popular with
people asking many questions
on the status and rights of
women.
The volunteers, who man-
aged the booth articulately,
explained that some of the
rights accorded to women
1,400 years ago, according to
the teachings of Islam, were
not established in various
other civilizations until much
later.
The booth for
“Islamophobia and
Extremism” expectedly
attracted a lot of visitors. The
volunteers explained the con-
cepts of peace, justice and tol-
erance that they said are an
integral part of the teachings
of Islam, and that any act of
aggression against innocent
people was clearly forbidden
in Islam, citing evidence from
the Qur’an and the teachings
of the Prophet.
They went on to explain
that an overwhelming majori-
ty of the 1.6 billion Muslims
across the world, including
the top Islamic scholars
around the world, have
strongly condemned all forms
of terrorism and extremism.
Members of Naperville community articipating in the Muslim prayer ceremony
at the Islamic Center of Naperville “Open Mosque Day” March 13.
