The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today sent a letter to the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) Board of Education expressing concern over Islamophobic and xenophobic statements made during a board meeting held earlier this month.
SEE: CAIR-LA Letter to LBUSD Board of Education Regarding Islamophobic Statements at School Board Meeting
On Wednesday, April 15, a member of the public, who identified himself as Rudy Krause, made several remarks demeaning Islam and Muslims during the meeting, including stating that “We have a massive Muslim problem in the United States … they are taking over with their political caliphate like in New York with Mamdani,” and “The biggest crime of the mind ever perpetrated in the history of the world is Islam.”
In the letter, CAIR-LA called on the school board to immediately and publicly condemn the hateful and Islamophobic remarks made during the meeting and affirm the District’s commitment to the safety and dignity of all students and community members.
In a statement, CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said:
“The silence from LBUSD’s leadership in response to hateful, Islamophobic, and xenophobic rhetoric during a school board meeting is deeply concerning. As the speaker’s remarks veered clearly off-topic and descended into hateful vitriol targeting the Muslim community, the board had both the authority and the obligation to intervene. Instead, they allowed hate speech to go unchecked.
“The LBUSD school board’s failure to halt or publicly condemn this blatant display of bigotry is damaging to every Muslim student, every immigrant family, and every community member who looks to this board for leadership. We call on LBUSD to immediately and publicly condemn this incident and take concrete steps to uphold its obligation to create a safe, inclusive educational environment for all students, regardless of their faith or background.”
If you or someone you know are the victim of a hate crime or incident, click here to contact CAIR-LA’s Civil Rights department or call (714) 776-1177 (ext. 1).
CAIR-LA is Southern California’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR-LA Communications Manager Enjy El-Kadi, (714) 851-4851 or eelkadi@cair.com; CAIR-LA Senior Communications Coordinator Madi Hameed, mmorse-hameed@cair.com