Orland Park Prayer Center (OPPC) held a town hall on February 24 with Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart to discuss the recent discrimination hotline the Sheriff’s office established in response to the rising acts of anti-Muslim hate in Cook County. Dart answered questions from the Muslim community and urged people to utilize the hotline if they are discriminated against because of their religion or ethnicity.
“Because that’s not the county, that’s not the country that we have and we’re not going to have, and we’re not going to sit back and just say, ‘That’s OK. We’re going to accept this.’ We’re not going to accept this,” Dart said.
“We feel that we are being dealt with as a security issue, and this is a very negative rhetoric for our kids to grow and be free from extremism and engage properly as committed citizens who are proudly Muslim,” said Sheikh Kifah Mustapha of OPPC.
Sheikh Kifah said he requested the meeting with Tom Dart to help reassure the Muslim community that there will be no tolerance for discrimination under the Trump administration. The Southern Poverty Law Center says that there were 1,372 reports of discrimination as of February 7. The Cook Country Sheriff’s Department hotline has received 37 calls citing discrimination since early February.
If you feel threatened or targeted because of your race, religion or ethnicity call the hotline at 773-674-4357.
Photo Credit: Zak Koeske/Daily Southtown, Chicago Tribune