The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today commended Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Doug Chaffee, Vice Chair Katrina Foley, and Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento for speaking in support of the Muslim community in response to a series of Islamophobic statements made during a recent board meeting.
On April 28, more than a dozen members of the public made inflammatory, anti-Muslim remarks during the meeting in response to the board recognizing Eid al-Fitr—one of Islam’s most important religious holidays—for the first time in Orange County history. Speakers also referenced the recent introduction of Assembly Bill 2017, a CAIR California-sponsored legislation to recognize Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as official state holidays.
The comments made during the meeting included claims that recognizing Eid is part of “a greater effort toward the Islamization of our society,” as well as stating “Islam is not a religion; it’s a dangerous cult … We don’t want Orange County to turn into New York.” Several speakers also repeated false claims about the implementation of “Sharia law” in the U.S.—rhetoric heavily pushed by anti-Muslim elected officials.
In response to the anti-Muslim statements, Supervisor Sarmiento said in part:
“Recognizing observances such as Eid al-Fitr is not an endorsement of any one faith … it is a civic acknowledgement of the communities that make up Orange County and our responsibility to serve all residents … At the end of the day, what strengthens Orange County is not our homogeneity, but our ability to live alongside one another with mutual respect and understanding.”
Chairman Chaffee said in part:
“We try to honor everyone that does good service … The ‘Muslim extreme’ is not something we see in Orange County; the charity side is what I see most, and we indeed need to commend that.”
Vice Chair Foley added:
“Respectfully, we have employees that work in this county who are of the Muslim faith and we’re not voting on the item that you are addressing, so we want to keep to the agenda, please.”
In a statement, CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said:
“The Islamophobic comments made by members of the public at the recent OC Board of Supervisors meeting are a stark reminder that anti-Muslim hate is on the rise across Southern California. Rather than allow the hateful rhetoric to go unanswered, both Chairman Chaffee, Vice Chair Foley, and Supervisor Sarmiento pushed back against the bigotry and reaffirmed their commitment to inclusion and unity for all. We commend their example of moral leadership and their clear understanding of their responsibility to foster communities where hate against any group is openly rejected.”
He added that CAIR-LA recently called on the Long Beach Unified School District Board of Education to publicly condemn similar Islamophobic comments made during a school board meeting earlier this month.
According to CAIR’s most recent civil rights report, complaints of anti-Muslim bias and discrimination have continued to rise nationwide, reflecting an ongoing pattern of Islamophobia impacting communities across the country.
If you or someone you know is 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