Source: Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/northwest/chi-0611140014nov14,1,6010948.story
A Chicago-area mosque hopes the creation of a new public garden next to the Adler Planetarium will help bolster the image of Muslims as a community engaged in the city's future.
Members of the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview donated about $100,000 for the development of the 1-acre garden along the lake. Bushes, trees, perennials and a bronze plaque, which depicts a 1791 astronomer's astrolabe in Iraq, have replaced the sod and barbecue grills that were there last year.
On Monday members of the mosque, including its leader, Imam Jamal Said, and his wife, Aisheh, a vice president of the mosque board, joined Mayor Richard Daley and Parks Supt. Tim Mitchell at the garden for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The project was the idea of Muslim businessman Talat Othman, who turned to the Mosque Foundation about two years ago to help fund the garden.