The Michigan Chapter of Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), a branch of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on the mayor of Warren, Michigan, to dismiss a city historical commission member for bigoted anti-Muslim comments, which include calling Islam a “cult.”
A recall petition was filed against Warren Mayor Lori Stone in response to her appointing Wesley Arnold as a historical commission member. Arnold has unapologetically referred to Islam as a “cult” and associates Islam with “honor killing.” After being questioned about his anti-Muslim sentiments, Arnold doubled down by saying that he does not want his Muslim neighbors to “mistreat women and kill non-believers.”
“We call on Mayor Stone to immediately remove Mr. Arnold from his appointed position due to his unapologetic anti-Muslim bigotry and his reinforcement of misinformation about the Islamic faith to the public,” said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid. “Such bigoted attitudes should not be accepted for a person holding a city appointment in Warren nor any other city in Michigan.”
Walid also mentioned that Warren has a prolific history of being unwelcoming to racial and ethnic minorities beginning with anti-Black sentiments to more recent anti-South Asian and anti-Arab bigotry.
In 2018, a Warren official resigned from another city commission after her anti-Muslim social media posts were exposed.
SEE: Warren official resigns after anti-Muslim posts (Detroit News)
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CONTACT: CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid, 248-842-1418, dwalid@cair.com; CAIR-MI Staff Attorney Amy Doukoure, 586-943-8823, adoukoure@cair.com