Notorious racist and anti-Muslim bigot Brigitte Gabriel recently shared photo with Virginia lieutenant governor and proclaimed longstanding friendship
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/27/22) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears to repudiate her alleged ties with a notorious anti-Muslim hate group leader with who has proclaimed that Arabs “have no soul” and that a practicing Muslim “cannot be a loyal citizens of the United States.”
On May 20, Brigitte Gabriel (also known as Hanah Kahwagi Tudor), leader of the anti-Islam hate group ACT for America, tweeted a photo of Sears embracing her. In her Tweet, Gabriel wrote, “With my dear friend of 20 years Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Winsome Sears. We are fortunate to have her!”
SEE: CAIR Letter to Lt. Governor Sears
https://www.cair.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CAIRLettertoLtGov.pdf
“Virginia is for lovers, not haters,” said CAIR Research and Advocacy Director Corey Saylor. “If Brigitte Gabriel was telling the truth about their relationship, Lt. Governor Sears should repudiate their ties and join Governor Youngkin in seeking to build a positive relationship with the Virginia Muslim community.”
After taking office, Governor Youngkin visited a mosque, met with Virginia Muslims and declared his commitment to working with the community.
BACKGROUNDER ON BRIGITTE GABRIEL AND ACT FOR AMERICA:
Gabriel has argued that “every practicing Muslim is a radical Muslim,” a Muslim “cannot be a loyal citizen of the United States,” and that Arabs “have no soul.”
The New York Times also stated: “[Gabriel] presents a portrait of Islam so thoroughly bent on destruction and domination that it is unrecognizable to those who study or practice the religion.”
Another expose of Gabriel’s hate group published on Politico.com quoted an Arab-American activist who said: “The idea that congressional staffers would agree to meet an organization led by a woman whose agenda is pure unadulterated hatred and whose purported life story is a laughable fiction — it’s sad.”
During a series of anti-Islam rallies nationwide in 2017, Gabriel’s chapters partnered with a number of white supremacists and anti-government militias.
SEE: Southern Poverty Law Center’s Live-Blog: ACT for America’s “March Against Sharia” Rallies
Video: Anti-Muslim Hate Group ACT for America is Allied with White Supremacists, Racists
CAIR’s documentation of the rallies links to a number of independent verifications of anti-Islam hate and white supremacists being centered at ACT events:
- At the Harrisburg, Penn. ACT rally Vanguard America, a white supremacist group, spokesperson Francisco Rivera told reporters, “I don’t believe in having Muslims in the United States.
- Peter Bokin, who coordinated the Raleigh, N.C. rally “publicly thanked Identity Evropa, a group founded last [in 2016] that openly espouses white supremacy.”
- A speaker at the ACT sanction rally in Dallas called Muslims “demonic” and “sick perverts.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center retains photo documentation of the presence of white supremacist and anti-government militias, some of which were later high-profile participants in the January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, at the 2017 rallies. In many cases these anti-government groups were invited to provide “security” for the events.
SEE: The Hate that ACT for America Wrought
Video: Hate Group ACT for America Leader Brigitte Gabriel Says Muslims Cannot Be Loyal U.S. Citizens
Video: ACT for America is a Hate Group, Plain and Simple
Video: Documentary Exposes Islamophobia of Brigitte Gabriel and ACT! for America
Video: Person at ACT! for America Table in Fla. Brags of Desecrating Quran
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com ; CAIR Research and Advocacy Director Corey Saylor, 202-384-8857, csaylor@cair.com