(WASHINGTON, DC – 6/8/2023) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on two elected officials in Montgomery County, Md., to apologize for offensive and disparaging remarks they made about Muslim parents and students in the Montgomery County public school system.
Over the past several months, Muslim families have been calling for the Montgomery County Public Schools to restore its opt-out option from newly introduced curriculum and classroom discussions that some parents fear would force their children to violate their sincerely held religious beliefs.
More than 2,000 Montgomery County residents have signed a petition calling on the school system to reverse course and at least 400 hundred demonstrators attended an MCPS school board meeting yesterday.
During the school board meeting held Tuesday, Montgomery County Council member Kristin Mink testified that this issue “puts some Muslim families on the same side of an issue as white supremacists and outright bigots” but that she would not include those Muslims who she had personally spoken with before the hearing in that grouping with racists.
In a separate incident, Montgomery County school board member Lynne Harris publicly disparaged a Muslim student who testified at a prior board hearing. According to a report in Montgomery 360:
“All the speakers asking the board for an opt-out from such books were adults, except for one female Muslim student who testified to her personal discomfort with the ‘unsettling’ curriculum. The student’s name is not listed in the meeting agenda, and an MCPS spokesperson was unable to verify whether she attends public school in the county.
“Recalling the student’s testimony, board member Lynne Harris (At-large) said she felt ‘kind of sorry’ for the girl and wondered to what extent she may have been ‘parroting dogma’ learned from her parents.”
CAIR sent separate messages to both Kristin Mink and Lynne Harris explaining why their remarks were inappropriate and calling on them to apologize and meet with their Muslim constituents.
In a message to Councilmember Mink, CAIR wrote in part:
“Using a public platform at a school board hearing…to link your Muslim constituents with the same white supremacist groups who so often threaten our own existence and well-being, has caused deep offense and disrespect. To help repair some of the damage that your remarks caused, CAIR is seeking a statement from you publicly apologizing for your remarks and committing to showing respect for the views of Muslim families in Montgomery County, even if you personally disagree with them.”
In a message to MCPS Board Member Harris, CAIR wrote in part:
“The notion that religious young, religious Muslims are simply brainwashed individuals repeating ‘dogma’ they have heard from their parents, without any independent thought, is a bigoted stereotype. It is possible for school board members to express disagreement with the merits of what a student says without weaponizing Islamophobic and anti-religious stereotypes to undermine and dismiss the concerns expressed by the student.”
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, 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 Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry, 410-971-6062, zchaudry@cair.com; 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 National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com