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Morton Grove's Islamic School:
a civil rights success story
The 1989 case of an Islamic school in Morton Grove, Illinois is a civil rights success story. It is an early example of Muslims challenging discrimination and standing up effectively for their rights. The Muslim Community Center in Chicago had purchased a school building for a full-time Islamic elementary school in Morton Grove. The school had been closed for several years, when the district decided to sell it via public auction. Muslims attended this auction and bought the school, bidding over $1.8 million dollars. When a local newspaper published the news that the Muslim group had bought it, trouble started. Some of the neighbors didn't like this idea so they persuaded the mayor of Morton Grove to call a city council meeting. 'We gotta put some fear of God in the school district's mind' Over 100 people showed up. A number of attendees raised concerns about Muslims acquiring the building. "One of the comments I remember from one of the residents
was 'we gotta put some fear of God in the school district's mind'," recalls
Mohammed Kaiseruddin, who was president of the Muslim Community Center
in Chicago at the time. Apart from those who objected to Muslims getting the building, other residents at the meeting said they wanted the school building area converted into a park. Others still were concerned about traffic in the neighborhood if the school was built. But despite the objections, the school district stood firm on their decision because "we had legally acquired it and they could not back out of it," notes Kaiseruddin. Muslims launched a PR campaign in support of the project A group of Muslims, nonetheless, realized something had to be done about the opposition. "We started a little PR (public relations) campaign. We invited some of the neighbors to an open house and let them meet us. We told them what Islam was and what our beliefs were," recalls Kaiseruddin. "We told them it was our intention to keep the land open and not fence it in. Some of the neighbors then took up our cause and said 'it's very fair that you get this building' and they helped us quite a bit in continuing our PR campaign," Kaiseruddin adds. It was through the neighbors that news about the case got around to newspapers in Chicago. Three editorials, one in the Chicago Tribune and two in the Chicago Sun-Times, were written about it. All of them supported the Muslims' right to keep the school. A reversal occurs at school board election time But the issue did not end there. In the spring of 1990, school board elections were held in Morton Grove and some of the officials who had supported the Muslims in their bid for the school were ousted by opponents of the project. Following that, in November of the same year, a referendum was held, with two questions on the table. Kaiseruddin says these were designed to oppose the sale of the school to Muslims. The fight continues Instead of giving up at this point, Muslims took action. "Our PR campaign continued with the help of neighbors," says Kaiseruddin. "We had set up a phone bank." About two weeks before the referendum, Muslims set up this bank and called residents of the school district to inform them about the details of the referendum. Residents were urged to vote no on the referendum questions. Both of the questions were defeated by a two to one margin. "That really put a stop to the controversy," says Kaiseruddin. Ingredients for civil rights success With a combination of Allah's help, proper public relations, legal support and organization, Kaiseruddin says Muslims and their institutions can succeed in maintaining their civil rights in America. "Muslims should expect that there could be hurdles in their way in establishing their institutions. But if they stand firm and get their word out through proper pr and take proper legal actions ultimately they will win. This is because of two facts," notes Kaiseruddin. "One is [that] the opposition is mainly based on fear of the unknown. Either people do not know about Islam or they have misinformation about Islam that gives rise to fears in them. But once the proper information is provided majority of the people are fair minded and they will be fair ultimately. We are working to promote Islamic values and we should expect Allah's help."
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