IL--Accused imam in court today; Victims respond

For immediate release: Monday, Aug. 22, 2016

Statement by Barbara Blaine of Chicago, national president member of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (312-399-4747, [email protected])

We are grateful that an abuse case against a prominent Chicago Muslim cleric may soon get resolved. But now is not the time for complacency. It’s time for every single person who may have seen, suspected or suffered crimes or misdeeds by Mohammad Abdullah Saleem – or cover ups by or at the Institute for Islamic Education – to come forward, get help, call police, expose wrongdoers and protect kids.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/elgin-courier-news/news/ct-elgin-imam-sex-abuse-case-met-20160822-story.html

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-chicago-muslim-religious-leader-faces-sexualabuse-charge-20150217-story.html   

Our hearts go out to the four extraordinarily brave women who report having been molested and assaulted by this cleric and to the 23 year old who is cooperating with law enforcement. We are grateful that some of these women are also seeking justice in the civil courts. Victims of sexual violence should use every avenue they can to warn the public about dangerous predators.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/16/us/sexual-assault-suit-against-illinois-imam-highlights-a-communitys-divisions.html?src=twr&_r=0&gwh=C87A0FDD0E1314A7A3214A1A9589D56A&gwt=pay&assetType=nyt_now 

No matter what happens in court today, the courage of these women has already protected children. We are proud of them and predict that over time, most in their own religious community will also consider them to be courageous and compassionate heroes.

We are also grateful to Cook County Judge James Karahalios who ruled that testimony from two other women who say they were also assaulted by the imam will be permitted should the case go to trial.

It takes real courage for anyone to report sexual violence. It’s even tougher when the predator is a popular religious figure. And it must be even more difficult when one has been raised in an insular atmosphere. Again, we commend these strong women whose responsible action will no doubt inspire others who are still trapped in silence, shame, confusion and self-blame to get help.

We hope police and prosecutors will continue aggressively investigating. And we hope that others – especially witnesses and whistleblowers – will step up and call law enforcement with information about Mr. Saleem.

We also commend Mr. Omer Mozaffar for addressing Mr. Saleem’s crimes on his blog.

No matter what lawmakers or church officials do or don’t do, we urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups in religious settings to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling law enforcement, get justice by calling attorneys, and be comforted by calling support groups like ours. This is how kids will be safer, adults will recover, criminals will be prosecuted, cover ups will be deterred and the truth will surface.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747[email protected])

 

 

Possible plea deal for Elgin Islamic leader accused of sex abuse

By George Houde, Chicago Tribune

 

 A possible plea deal is under consideration for the founder of an Islamic school accused of sexual abusing a former student and a former employee.

 

Mohammed Abdullah Saleem, an imam who founded the Institute of Islamic Education in Elgin, is charged with molesting a female student dozens of times between 2001 and 2003, when she was a student at the school and he was principal.

 

That allegation of aggravated criminal sexual abuse came after Saleem, 77, had already been charged with  . . . 

Read full article here

 


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