CAIR-Chicago Denounces Growing Islamophobia in Southwest Suburbs, Calls for Hate Crime Investigation
The Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) today denounced the circulation of anti-Muslim flyers in Mokena, Illinois, and urged authorities to investigate the incident as a hate crime.
The anonymous flyer, left in some Mokena mailboxes this week, featured profanity, anti-Muslim sentiment, Islamophobic slurs, and offensive language. One of the flyers read: “Hope you enjoy terrorists in our neighborhood.”
The Chicago Tribune reported that candidates for the Summit Hill Elementary District 161 Board denounced the note as reprehensible rhetoric.
This incident appears to be part of a disturbing trend of Islamophobic rhetoric and misinformation in the area. A now-deleted video posted by Keith Pekau, the Mayor of Orland Park, falsely accused supporters of his political opponent, Jim Dodge, of being linked to Hamas.
“These hateful attacks—whether through anonymous flyers or misinformation campaigns—are designed to incite fear and division,” said CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab. “Such false and inflammatory rhetoric not only threatens the safety of communities but also undermines the principles of democracy and civil discourse. We call on local officials and law enforcement to take these incidents seriously and hold those responsible accountable.”
“American residents, whether White, black or Brown, or whether Christian, Muslim or Hindu, are tired of the negative attacks, hatemongering, and fearmongering by hate groups and self-serving politicians who seek to divide communities and distract from the bread-and-butter issues that actually matter to families for personal gain because they have nothing positive to contribute,” Rehab added.
Rehab noted that Islamophobic incidents are rising nationwide, with Muslim institutions and communities increasingly facing threats and discrimination.
CAIR’s mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The “A now-deleted video posted by Keith Pekau, the Mayor of Orland Park” (referenced above) that was posted on Wednesday, March 13, and removed sometime in the same evening, was created by a Political Action Committee (PAC) called “Citizens Against Insider Politics.”
According to the website “Reform for Illinois” (CLICK THIS LINK TO VIEW), it identified JD Real Estate Inc. as one of the largest financial contributors to the PAC, donating $27,500.
JD Real Estate Inc. is associated with Pete’s Fresh Market.
Pete’s Fresh Market has stores in Bridgeview and another that recently opened in Orland Park. Both the Bridgeview and Orland Park locations have large Arab and Muslim populations who have been patronizing those stores.
The Arab and Muslim communities are grateful that the attack video intended to promote fear to strengthen Pekau’s bid for Mayor in the April 1, 2025, mayoral election in Orland Park, was removed.
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