Suburban Mosaic: Leaders say Muslim Americans are gaining political clout

Dozens of newly elected Muslim American candidates gathered Saturday at Reza's Restaurant in Oak Brook to mark their historic wins to a variety of local-, county- and state-level offices.

Community leaders say it's a sign of Muslim Americans' growing political clout, how far the community has come and decades of hard work by first- and second-generation immigrants.

"Fifteen years we have been struggling in educating people (to) please run for office," said Asad Khan of Streamwood, a Poplar Creek Public Library District trustee. "You see the result today."

Vaseem Iftekhar of Hawthorn Woods, who founded the Northern Illinois American Muslim Alliance political action committee, said there was a dire need for civic and political engagement in the community.

"We feel that all politics is local and from local politics you will get emergent leaders," he said.

On April 4, nearly 50 candidates of all backgrounds who identify as Muslim ran for elected office across Illinois. In total, more than 150 Muslims have been elected or appointed statewide, according to the Muslim Civic Coalition, among the organizers of Saturday's gathering.

Illinois has the largest per capita Muslim American population in the nation, said Reema Kamran of Elmhurst, Muslim Civic Coalition executive director and co-founder.

Seeing the wave of Muslim candidates sweep offices across the state and country didn't come as a surprise to state Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid of Bridgeview, the first Palestinian American to be elected to the state legislature.

Rashid, who represents 21st House District. was elected in November along with state Rep. Nabeela Syed, a Palatine native who became the first Indian American woman and one of the first Muslims to be elected to the Illinois General Assembly. She represents the 51st state House District.

"We know just how much talent there is in our community," Rashid said Saturday. "We also have to grapple with the reality of governing."

That includes addressing issues that transcend religious or ethnic concerns, such as supporting small businesses, creating affordable housing, education policies and protecting the environment, he said.

Newly elected Elgin Area School District U-46 school board member Samreen Khan of Bartlett, who also is on the board of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago Action Network, said she hopes to create a working group of school board officials to ensure that curriculum in schools statewide is more inclusive.

Helping minority businesses

The Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce and Elgin Development Group are building a network to advance Black, Latino, and other minority small businesses and entrepreneurial leaders.

A new committee, BRIDGES, has been formed for shared learning, directed access and advocacy/marketing platforms. Its inaugural event was held May 2 at Hawthorne Hill Nature Center in Elgin.

The BRIDGES committee is led by co-chairs Rise Jones, founder and executive director of Hamilton Wings, and Mary Nappier, national operation support manager of Stanley Steemer.

"Our BRIDGES initiative of reaching out to diverse groups in our community evolved from the Elgin Area Chamber's strategic plan and the Elgin Development Group's focus on helping businesses remain strong and to grow," Jones said. "We've created this platform encouraging individuals in taking the next step to grow or start their own business."

The concept behind the BRIDGES' name envelopes its vision, mission, and core messages - building business, resourcing, incorporating, developing, growth, expanding, and strategic, strength, success. For more information about BRIDGES, call (847) 741-5660.

Girl drill power

For the second consecutive year, the West Aurora High School Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps took home the national championship gold.

The all-girls Unarmed Exhibition Drill Team beat 26 other teams to clinch the national championship title at the 2023 Air Force JROTC Open Drill Nationals Competition in March in Dayton, Ohio.

In 2022, the West Aurora Blackhawks won the Armed Division category.

The City of Aurora recently honored the Lady Blackhawks with awards of excellence, an honorary street sign and Mayor Richard Irvin issuing a special proclamation designating West Aurora Girls Unarmed Drill Team' Day.

Holocaust survivor search

The Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center's latest exhibition, "The Girl in the Diary: Searching for Rywka from the Łódz Ghetto," runs May 18 through Sept. 24.

In 1945, a diary written by a 14-year-old Jewish girl named Rywka Lipszyc was found in the ashes of a destroyed crematorium at Auschwitz-Birkenau. It documented her life in the Łódz Ghetto between October 1943 and April 1944.

Through historical artifacts and documents, interactive touch screens, documentary videos and rare photographs, the exhibit explores the story of Rywka's fight for survival in the Łódz ghetto and reconstructs what might have happened to her after her deportation to Auschwitz.

The exhibition is presented in English and Polish for the first time since its debut at the Galicia Jewish Museum in Kraków, Poland. It focuses on Rywka's memoir and efforts by historians and archivists to track down the teenage author's whereabouts after the Holocaust.

"Rywka's words speak for thousands upon thousands of people, including children, who never had the chance to record their story," chief Curator Arielle Weininger said. "While most wartime narratives of German occupation focus on the fate of men, the perspective from Rywka is the opposite. Her diary is populated by women and its structure is created by relations between them. It is filled with their pain and longing, their daily struggles and courage."

For details about the exhibition, visit https://ihm.ec/girlinthediary.

The museum, at 9603 Woods Drive, Skokie, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Monday. For more information, visit ilholocaustmuseum.org or call (847) 967-4800.

Learn your rights

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Chicago and ACLU-Illinois will host "Know Your Rights" information sessions on May 16 to explain your legal rights if stopped by police or if you need to call the police in an emergency.

The event is free and open to the public.

The "How To Navigate Police Encounters" information session will be held from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Azima Center, CAIR-Chicago, 17 N. State St., 15th Floor. Sign up at https://tinyurl.com/25rkmjbj.

Sessions include an "Exercise Your Rights!" art station where participants can create protest posters that help express their thoughts about policing in America.

AAPI voices

The City of Naperville will host its next Embrace Naperville series session, "The Power of Connection: AAPI Voices & Community," from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the 95th Street Library, 3015 Cedar Glade Drive, Naperville.

The event will include an interactive discussion featuring six panelists - Durriya Gunja, Jacob Kadolph, Melvin Kim, Dr. Tracy P. Leung, Dr. Jennifer K. Shah and Will Wong - from the Asian American and Pacific Islander community sharing their experiences in Naperville.

Geneace Williams, the city's diversity, equity and inclusion manager, leads the Embrace Naperville series. This year's focus is "Empowering our Mission Through a Year of Learning." Partners include the Naperville Public Library and Chinese American Women in Action.

Registration is required for the free event at naperville.il.us/embracenaperville.

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