Posted 10 months ago
What does the Council do?
On behalf of the Council we are delighted to share yet another Ramadan with you. It has been a challenging year for Muslims here at home and around the world; and we are grateful to Allah for our community’s strength and determination to uphold its principles of human dignity, peace and justice. Together, we advanced through difficult times, we mobilized our youth to put forth their best Muslim self in the way of service, learning and civic education; we brought together our community leaders and interfaith partners for press conferences from speaking out against Islamophobia to congratulating the Egyptian people in their fight for self determination. The Chicago Crescent has become the place to learn about the great work our community is involved in, and we embarked on advocacy trips to Springfield on behalf of issues that affect all Illinoisans from violence, health-care, public education to Islamophobia.
Together we must continue to advance. The Council can facilitate these critical initiatives, but it is all of us, working together as a community, that makes all the difference. Will you support us to continue this work?
- Youth Development Programs, through which we bring together the 15 MSA’s from Chicago’s college campuses for leadership training, dialogue and collaboration; the 80 youth counselors in our masajid for youth development and mentor training, our 900 Islamic school teachers from over 55 schools for training on curriculum development, cultivating positive school culture, the art of lesson plan delivery, infusing technology in their classrooms, and raising confident young Muslim Americans; interfaith programs, and civic education and engagement initiatives.
- Illinois Muslim Action Day, our signature program, which highlights the diversity, unity and power of the Muslim American community in Illinois. The spring season in Illinois is now known as “Muslims in Action!” Together we advocate for better education, more accessible healthcare, a cleaner environment, more effective human services and poverty alleviation. For the past four years, the Council has brought together our diverse community to Springfield to meet their legislators, learn about the legislative process and engage the issues that affect all families in Illinois.
- The Chicago Crescent, our monthly print and online publication, which is distributed to 120 locations around the State and read by our community members, coalition partners, local, state and federal officials. The Chicago Crescent is the active voice of the Muslim community, written for and by Muslims.
- Intrafaith and interfaith events, such as our three highly successful recent iftars, which brought together our own diverse communities and our friends from other faiths for mutual understanding and relationship building.
- Effective Representation - harnessing the depth of talent and wisdom within our community to best represent our concerns and interests with government agencies, media, civil rights and other advocacy groups and other faith communities.
- Zakat Chicago – local collection for local distribution.
- Unity - bringing together over 50 member organizations to help coordinate activities, share ideas, and leverage our collective resources towards the overall unity ofthe Illinois Muslim community.
The next couple of days are crucial for the Council. Please consider making a one-time generous donation or better yet, become a pillar of your community and be a monthly donor by giving $500, $100, $50, $25 a month or any other amount. Help build a stronger community and improve the lives of our children and grandchildren today.
