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March 9, 2006
1. Rush, Shabazz Speak at Annual CommUnity Dinner
2. Annual CommUnity Awards
3. Early Voting Permitted in Illinois Primaries
4. Early Voting Sites
1. Rush, Shabazz Speak at Annual CommUnity Dinner
(2/26) The Council of Islamic Organization of Greater Chicago held our Annual CommUnity Dinner last week, coinciding with Black History Month in appreciation of the victories of the African American community. The night celebrated the Muslim community’s pledge towards working for civil rights for all. If the measure of one’s commitment to a cause is other people’s recognition of its worth, then surely the dinner was an indication of our earnestness about Muslim civil rights. A diverse audience of Arabs, South Asians, African Americans, Bosnians, Turks and West Africans listened to the keynote speakers, Congressman Bobby Rush and Ms. Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter of slain leader Malcolm X and author of “Growing Up X.” Ms. Shabazz was as eloquent, as Congressman Bobby Rush was passionate, about unifying efforts to uphold civil liberties.
“It’s been two hundred years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the signing of the American Constitution. Why can’t we get this idea right about equality for all people?” asked Congressman Rush who represents the First Congressional District of Illinois. “That this country was founded in the pursuit of religious tolerance. After 400 years why don’t we get that right? The answer is it’s because there are some who are committed to not getting it right. If they can keep us divided they can profit like no one else can.” The audience applauded in agreement. Congressman Rush added that a willingness to fight inequality was needed. “You can’t change it by being afraid. There are more decent Americans than there are indecent Americans. We can accomplish everything if we stay united,” he urged.
Calling on Muslims to work with African Americans and support African Americans’ causes, he said, “some ethnic Americans turn their backs on African Americans and their issues.” If the African American Diaspora was to lend a hand fighting for the rights of Muslims, then the Muslim community too needed to stand up for their African American brothers and sisters, he said. “If we are united and God is on our side, who can win against us?” he asked, once again receiving applause.
Ms. Shabazz, inspired by her father’s legacy to appreciate her rich heritage and her mother’s unending perseverance, encouraged the idea of learning about one’s roots for those are the blueprints of ones identity and sense of pride. She talked of the need for African Americans, and others, to know that African Americans belong to a people who had built civilizations, universities and
libraries. They are not descendents of unaccomplished chattel. America is the nation it is today because of the efforts of those who worked the plantations and put America on the map, she said. Citing Council Chairman Mr. Abdul Malik Mujahid’s essay, “16 ways you can fight Cartoons & Islamophobia,” she agreed that “to fight racism and intolerance, we must equate racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. They all are fruits of the same tree of hate. Each and every one of us must believe beyond any shadow of a doubt that we are not second class citizens and do not subscribe to a second class religion or a second class way of life,” she added.
Ilyasah Shabazz was only two years old when her father was assassinated. After the tragedy, Dr. Betty Shabazz, determined to protect her girls from the barrage of media and press surrounding the life of her husband, gave them a comfortable home and a private school education. Astonishingly Ilyasah and her sisters knew very little about the rich heritage that her father had left them. Later, when Ilyasah was older, she became fully aware of the impact of his contribution to the world. Betty Shabazz taught her daughters to make giving back to the community just as natural as ‘drinking water’. Ms. Shabazz said she was taught that one became a lawyer or a doctor not simply to have a bigger house or higher social status, but to be in a position to help the downtrodden. Speaking of her recent pilgrimage to Mecca, she said, the experience made her feel whole and complete.
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2. Annual CommUnity Awards
(2/26) At the Annual CommUnity Dinner, the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago awarded four individuals who are at the forefront of the struggle to protect the civil liberties Americans. The Community Awards are given to those standing up for justice and fairness. “Given that KindHearts, a Muslim Charity in Toledo, Ohio, has [recently] had its assets frozen without due trial or process, these awards have become even more meaningful,” said Council Chairman Mujahid.
Executive Committee member Mr. LaDale George presented the award to Republican Senator John Millner for his leadership in the House regarding the Charity without Fear resolution. The bill was adopted by the Illinois House on May 30, 2005, in the 94th General Assembly. Senator Millner has also served as a member of the Governor’s Commission on Discrimination and Hate.
Council Vice-Chairman, Dr. Zaher Sahloul, introduced the audience to Senator Jacqueline Collins, the chief sponsor of legislation for Charity without Fear in the Illinois Senate. “People shouldn’t be penalized for practicing the tenets of their faith,” she said, receiving her award. Senator Collins, a Democrat, has a background in journalism and holds three Master’s degrees, including one from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She is the chair of the Financial Institutions Committee, the Vice-Chair of the Appropriations Committee.
Council Treasurer, Mrs. Tasneem Osmani presented the next award to Mr. Don Wycliff, the outgoing public editor of the Chicago Tribune newspaper. Mr. Wycliff said that the Tribune strives to represent as many diverse voices as possible across its pages. While much of the media has neglected causes such as Muhammad Salah’s, Mr.Wycliff did not shy away from this controversial case, writing the column “Secrecy's corrosive effect in a terrorism case” last month.
Mr. Wycliff writes,“Muhammad Salah has been on my conscience for the last 13 years. What has troubled me about the Salah case from the beginning was the secrecy of it all. He and a couple of colleagues were arrested by Israeli military authorities during a trip to the occupied territories back in 1993. They were held incommunicado from the beginning, and the U.S. government seemed strangely lackadaisical about the whole business.” Further he asserted that the Op-Ed pages of most major American newspapers tend to be biased, not always because they are pro-Israel, but rather for lack of a Palestinian perspective. The entire column can be read here.
The president of the Muslim Civil Rights Center (MCRC), Mr. Rasheed Ahmed, introduced the final award recipient, Mrs. Maryam Salah. Echoing Congressman Rush, Mr. Ahmed pointed out that it’s not any one government party that is out to water down or revoke our civil rights. Rather it is the unceasing efforts of certain individuals in both parties, and non-government organizations that stoke the fires of civil inequality.
Mrs. Salah, who holds a Master’s degree in Literature, voiced the personal ramifications and dire losses endured when unethical policies are tolerated. Her husband Muhammed Salah, a Palestinian-American, was arrested by the Israeli military in 1993 while visiting Occupied Palestine. In 1995, after secret detention, interrogation and a closed military trial, Salah was found guilty and imprisoned until late 1997 when he was returned to his home in Bridgeview. The US government then seized all of Mr. Salah’s property without trial, upon designating him a terrorist.
During the last 13 years of turmoil, Mrs. Salah held her family together. She helped develop a Chicago coalition that challenges the admissibility of confessions obtained under torture. Today, two of her sons have been accepted to Northwestern University on a full scholarship, while her husband continues to live under house arrest. Reading from her son’s college application essay, Mrs. Salah’s words moved the audience to realize how families are shattered when justice is not served, when citizens turn a blind eye to government atrocities. Mrs. Salah represents the hundreds of families that are irrevocably damaged when American citizens quietly accept questionable government policies. Her experiences are a grim reminder that the struggle for civil liberties must go on.
Chairman Mujahid later thanked those whose support was integral to the Charity without Fear resolution passing in both houses of the Illinois legislature last year. Mr. Moon Khan worked tirelessly to garner support for the resolution, as have United Power for Action & Justice (UPAJ), the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) and the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs. Senators who supported the Charity Without Fear Resolution included Senators Collins, Christine Radogno, Martin Sandoval, Carole Pankau, Adeline Jay Geo-Karis, Dave Sullivan, Kirk W. Dillard, Larry K. Bomke, Pamela Althoff, Susan Garrett, Louis Viverito, Dan Rutherford, Dan Cronin, Donne Trotter, Edward Maloney and Mattie Hunter.
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3. Early Voting Permitted in Illinois Primaries
(3/8) Illinois’ general primary elections will be held on March 21, when federal, state and county candidates will be nominated. Hoping to increase voter turnout, Illinois lawmakers passed the Early Voting Act last August. Voters may cast their ballots from February 27 through March 16, an 18-day window prior to the official election date. Early voting will be offered for all future countywide elections at several locations, many with convenient evening and weekend hours. If you need to vote early this year, you must simply show a valid government-issued photo identification at any Early Voting site, which are all 100% compliant with the Americans with Disability Act, from building access to state-of-the-art electronic voting machines, which resemble conventional ATMs. Voters will cast their ballot using a touchscreen. The actual vote will be tabulated once the polls close on March 21.
“Early Voting is an exciting proposition for voters,” said Robert Saar, Executive Director of the DuPage County Election Commission. “It makes it more convenient for them to exercise one of their basic Constitutional rights. And it’s easy – unlike Absentee Voting, there are no forms to be filled out beforehand and no excuses for voting early are needed.” Early voting has been in place in numerous states, notably Texas and Florida for quite some time, with good results. “Based on other states’ experience, we can anticipate that as many as 50% of the voters who decide to participate in future elections will do so early,” Saar said.
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4. Early Voting Sites
Suburban Cook County voters can vote at local village or township halls. To check out voting sites visit www.voterinfonet.com or call 312-603-0906. Voters should call their local village or township clerk’s office for hours and directions. The Cook County Clerk’s office is also conducting early voting at its downtown Chicago headquarters: 69 W. Washington St. Any Cook County suburban voter can vote early at the downtown location, which will also offer weekend voting.
Voters in DuPage County can contact the Election Commission at 630-407-5600 or visit its website (www.dupageelections.com) for a complete list of early voting sites and updates on the Early Voting initiative.
Residents of Kane County should visit this website for more information http://www.kanecountyelections.org/EarlyVoting/EarlyVotingLocations.asp.
Lake County residents can find information on this website http://www.co.lake.il.us/cntyclk/elections/voterservices/earlyvoting.asp
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