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O’Hare Officials say they will pursue “more permanent solutions” for Muslim prayer Tent
Officials of the Chicago Department of Aviation responded to my story detailing the harassment of Muslim Uber/Lyft drivers who were given permission to install a “Prayer Tent” on an unused corner of the ride-sharing staging area near O’Hare Airport by promising to find a “more permanent solutions” for the prayer tent. But they never addressed the core issue, which is the harassment that is taking place.
By Ray Hanania
Officials of the Chicago Department of Aviation said they will “explore more permanent solutions” to address the religious needs of Uber/Lyft drivers at its staging area, where the city three years ago approved the placement of a “Prayer tent” for Muslim drivers.
The statement, published in full below, came from an email and telephone request from me asking them about reports of harassment by one inspector at the Aviation Department who has been threatening to take down and destroy their prayer tent. It was in response to my requests for comment and the publication of the initial story, Tuesday. CLICK HERE to read the first story.
No one knows what the real reason is for the threats, but you can imagine given the heightened racism that has taken place in Chicago and the suburbs against Arabs and Muslims, and also Christians like myself.
Racism is rampant and it is difficult to prove because today’s racists don’t look you in the face and call you a terrible name the way they did in the 1950s and 1960s. They are more subtle.. They’re smarter. But they can’t stop themselves.
Here is the full statement I was sent from the Chicago Department of Aviation, released late Tuesday afternoon, August 26, 2025:
STATEMENT FROM THE CHICAGO DEPARTMENT OF AVIATION (CDA)
“The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) respects First Amendment expression and is committed to providing rideshare drivers with safe and secure facilities to operate from.
“The CDA has not issued any formal request to drivers at the Johnson Street staging lot to remove the prayer tent currently located on site.
“In coordination with the Chicago Fire Department (CFD), the CDA will continue to monitor the area for safety considerations and will engage with the livery community to explore more permanent solutions for prayer facilities.”
Click here to watch a video of the Muslim Prayer tent’s construction and the inside of the tent, or use this widget below:
Why is the Prayer Tent, which is not only used by Muslims to pray each day as they wait as much as 10 hours for a driving assignment, but is also used by non-Muslims.
Muslims are a welcoming community. Sure, they have problems. But so does every religious community have problems, too. Christians. Jews. Hindus. Even the non-religious. That’s human life.
Once the Muslim drivers got permission three years ago to install the tent, they did it without asking the city taxpayers to pay for it. They did it with their own money. They did it following the city codes. The tent is safe. Impressive. And open to everyone. It doesn’t discriminate.
More than 200 drivers use the staging lot at 10400 W. Johnson Road in Des Plaines, adjacent to O’Hare Airport. About 75 of them each day are Muslim drivers. There are only seven Porta Potties (individual toilets) installed nearby by the City. The Muslim drivers, mostly Arab but also including Pakistani and others, often bring Middle Eastern food made by their wives that they share with all of the drivers, outside the tent on a table. It’s clean. They are not messy. They don’t litter.
The most important point is that the Prayer Tent doesn’t disturb any of the public services. It is located on the Northeast corner of the staging parking lot in an area along the perimeter fence. Across the parking lot on the west side is a Hallal Food truck — Hallal is a designation of food that is similar to Kosher.
While some City officials have closed their eyes to the needs of Arabs and Muslims, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) is actively looking into the issue. CAIR does so much to fight for the rights of Muslims and for Arab Christians like myself.
Most Americans honestly can’t tell the difference between Arab Muslims and Arab Christians, and I am often depicted as being Muslim, constantly being criticized, questioned, or slammed.
I know that Mayor Brandon Johnson has only recently become aware of this discrimination-driven problem, but the Chicago City Council should act, too.
If this were any other group, the people lining up to fight against the discrimination would be endless. But this has been going on without much attention of protest. And that needs to change.
The Chicago Department of Aviation doesn’t need to find a “more permanent solutions” for the Muslim prayer tent. What they need to do is stand up for Muslim and civil rights.
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Ray Hanania is an award-winning former Chicago City Hall reporter who has lived in Orland Park since 1986. He writes for many suburban Chicagoland newspapers including The Regional News, and is the Senior US Correspondent for Arab News Newspaper, the leading English Language newspaper in the Middle East. For more information on this and other topics, or to get information on subscribing to his columns and video podcasts below,
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