Crisis in the Middle East and American Public

Abdulnasser Rashid

Representative Abdelnasser Rashid (D)21st District

Years served: January 2023 - Present

Committee assignments: Approp-Health & Human Services; Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, & IT; Economic Opportunity & Equity; Energy & Environment; Housing; Trans: Regulations, Roads & Bridges; Small Business, Tech Innovation; Environmental Justice Subcommittee.

Abdelnasser Rashid’s career has been focused on fighting for working families and building a strong middle class. He has a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and a Master of Business Administration in Finance & Economics from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His legislative priorities include property tax relief, affordable housing, environmental protection and consumer protection. He is a former Deputy Chief of Staff to Cook County Clerk David Orr, former Field Director, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia for Mayor, and former Illinois Deputy State Director, Bernie Sanders for President. Rashid is the first Palestinian-American to serve in the Illinois House of Representatives. He lives in Bridgeview with his wife and three children.

Dr. Rami Nashasibi

Rami Nashashibi has served as the Executive Director of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) since its incorporation as a nonprofit in 1997. He has a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago and is a Visiting Professor of Sociology of Religion & Muslim Studies at the Chicago Theological Seminary. He has worked with several leading scholars in the area of globalization, African American studies and urban sociology and has contributed chapters to edited volumes by Manning Marabel and Saskia Sassen.

Rami has lectured across the United States, Europe, and Asia on a range of topics related to American Muslim identity, community activism and social justice issues and is a recipient of several prestigious community service and organizing honors. Rami and his work with IMAN have been featured in many national and international media outlets and in 2009, Chicago Public Radio selected him as one of the “Top Ten Chicago Global Visionaries”. In 2014, the Center for American Progress profiled Rami as one of the “14 Faith Leaders to Watch in 2014” and he was named one of the “500 Most Influential Muslims in the World” by The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center in concert with Georgetown’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding.

Rami lives with his wife and three children on Chicago’s Southwest Side.