ILLINOIS
Arab News

KEVIN SULLIVAN | AP
Published — Monday 16 February 2015

WASHINGTON: Allegations of sexual abuse by the longtime president of a leading Chicago-area Islamic school have roiled the region’s Muslims and raised questions about the reporting of sexual abuse in a close-knit religious community.

The allegations that Abdullah Saleem of the Institute of Islamic Education in Elgin, a Chicago suburb, sexually abused an adult female school employee surfaced in December, when a leading Muslim scholar referred to them in a blog.

Elgin police confirmed on Saturday that they are conducting a criminal investigation into allegations of sexual abuse at the school, but spokesman Cmdr. Ana Lalley said she could provide no further details.

Saleem, who has been a respected Muslim leader in Chicago for decades, has not been charged with any crime.

Mohammed Kaiseruddin, chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, the…