Chicago Muslim council to celebrate 25th anniversary

The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, a federation of more than 60 Chicago-area Islamic institutions, next weekend will celebrate its 25th anniversary.

The anniversary CommUnity Dinner, "Unity in Diversity," begins at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, at Shalimar Banquets, 280 W. North Ave., Addison.

The event serves as one of the largest and most diverse Muslim events in the area and illustrates the council's culture of cooperation and commitment to diversity and unity. Special guests will include city and state officials, as well as leaders from Chicago's leading faith and civic institutions.

Keynote speaker Dalia Mogahed is the former executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, where she led the analysis of surveys of Muslim communities.

She has testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations about U.S. engagement with Muslim communities.

In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Mogahed to serve on the Faith-Based and Community Organizations in Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation Task Force, where she looked for ways to foster greater communication and cooperation among people of different religious traditions and encouraged religious leaders to be involved in foreign policy development and diplomacy.

Mogahed is director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, where she leads the organization's research and thought leadership programs on American Muslims.

The council's annual Top Muslim Achievers program also will recognize educator, community activist, and civic leader Dilara Sayeed and Ragab El-Rashidy, founder and CEO of Genix and inventor of several pharmaceutical products, for their contributions to the Muslim community, as well as to greater society.

For information, contact Aymen Abdel Halim at (312) 772-5504 (cell), (312) 506-0070 (office) or aymen@ciogc.org.