The Movement Continues: Wednesday July 19th Mass March & IMAN’s Ongoing Vision of Muslim Participation

On Wednesday July 19th, IMAN’s Immigrant Rights Committee (IRC) once again mobilized to attend a mass rally in solidarity with the larger Latino and immigrant community calling for a moratorium on mass deportations until a comprehensive immigration reform bill is passed. A charter bus left from IMAN’s new Health Center and Administrative Office at 2744 W. 63rd Street on Wednesday morning, where members from the Southwest Youth Collaborative, AAAN and SWOP joined IMAN for march.

Along the way to Union Park, IMAN’s bus stopped at the Cicero Home Depot where in collaboration with the Latino Union it picked up a group of Day Laborers who were eager to attend the march. It was the third time in the last five months that IMAN attempted to make certain that a strong contingent and cross-section of the Muslim community not only attended the rally but walked with the crowd the duration of the march.

IMAN’s Latino Outreach Organizer was featured multiple times throughout the days leading up to the march on Que Beuno with the Radio DJ “El Pistolero”, who is widely acknowledged to be one of the key personalities working with grassroots organizations behind the mass turn-out of the Latino community at the last two marches. At the beginning of the march, El Pistolero brought IMAN organizers up on stage and spoke with the crowd of the important Muslim presence there that day. IMAN organizers stressed that ideas of social justice and human compassion derived from Islam were driving them to be there in solidarity with the Latinos and other immigrants calling for social justice and human compassion.

The same day an IMAN organizer and the IMAN Board President attended a coordinated day of lobbying and rallies in Washington DC to work with other key organizations like Centros Sens Fronteras, CAAELI and others to challenge legislators to act consciously and justly on this issue.

On Saturday August 5th at 10am, IMAN will be holding another Immigrant Right Committee meeting at its old office space at 3344 W. 63rd Street. If you are interested in attending or learning more about how you can get involved please call or email us at the following:

irc@imancentral.org
773.434.4626
Adalberto Madrigal
IMAN Latino Outreach Organizer