To become a Muslim, declare the statement above, Chicago's Downtown Islamic Center says
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois could become the first state to officially support the Muslim community if Governor Bruce Rauner signs into law a measure that establishes a permanent advisory council made up of Muslim American leadership.
"Given all that is going on with the misinterpretation about Islam and the interests and concerns of the Muslim American community, it's almost obligatory on behalf of a governor of this state and all governors to have such a body," Kareem Irfan, a Chicago lawyer who led an earlier iteration of the council under Gov. Pat Quinn, told the Chicago Tribune. "So we're not subject to the whims of each governor, it would be good to make this a lasting institutional body."
Pat Quinn was the first to set up such a committee during his term as governor.
Quinn's Muslim American Advisory Council was the only religious group from which Quinn sought counsel – there were no Catholic, Protestant, Hindu or Jewish panels listed during the Quinn administration.
At the same time presumed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was expressing concern about the influx of Muslim refugees and the lone wolf attacks attributed to radical Islamicists, the Illinois legislature pushed forward an effort that would bestow the Muslim community official standing in state government.
The Chicago Tribune explains that the 21-member council, whose volunteer members would be appointed by the governor as well as leaders in the House and Senate, would advise the governor and General Assembly on issues affecting Muslim Americans and immigrants, including relations between Illinois and Muslim-majority countries. Through monthly meetings and two public hearings per year, members also would serve as liaisons between state agencies and communities across Illinois.
The Council appointed by Governor Quinn made several recommendations during his time as governor, but were noticeably quiet about the radical Muslim attack on Benghazi – killing Ambassador Christopher Stevens and other security personnel – and silent when an American journalist was beheaded and a Christian pastor jailed.
State Rep. Barbara Wheeler (R-Crystal Lake) has been quoted in several news sources expressing her concern with the proposal on Rauner's desk. She said moderate Muslims should more clearly denounce "Islamic radicals — whatever the Republicans are willing to say and Hillary Clinton isn't."
Among Illinois' 358 already existing advisory boards and committees, none of their titles include "religion," "faith," "church" or "synagogue" – only one that addresses anything close to religion-oriented, one honoring the "Holocaust."
Governor Rauner's signature would create the Muslim American Advisory Council as Illinois' only official religion-affiliated commission.
Other Illinois Review stories on the topic:
