(ANAHEIM, CA, 5/6/14) – The California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA) today called on Republican leaders to repudiate the anti-Muslim Facebook posting of a California assemblyman and gubernatorial candidate.
SEE: Donnelly ties GOP rival Kashkari to Sharia law
http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-donnelly-ties-gop-rival-kashkari-to-sharia-law-20140505-story.html
Republican gubernatorial candidate and Assembly Member Tim Donnelly posted a Facebook comment falsely accusing fellow candidate Neel Kashkari of making “the United States [submit] to the Islamic, Shariah banking code in 2008 when he ran TARP.” The Facebook post included a link to a column by notorious Islamophobe Frank Gaffney.
Gaffney has a well-documented history of anti-Muslim views and Islamophobic activities.
He is named in a CAIR Islamophobia report as a member of the “inner core” of those promoting anti-Muslim bigotry. CAIR’s report, “Legislating Fear: Islamophobia and its Impact in the United States,” notes that Gaffney has been called “one of the country’s leading anti-Muslim conspiracy theorists.”
CAIR: Legislating Fear
http://www.cair.com/islamophobia/legislating-fear-2013-report.html
Gaffney was a key promoter of the bizarre conspiracy theory that Muslims in public service are infiltrating the government on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood.
SEE: Southern Poverty Law Center’s Profile on Frank Gaffney
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/profiles/frank-gaffney-jr
Kashkari, the former assistant treasury secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department, is the son of immigrant parents.
In a statement, CAIR-CA said:
“It is a shame that an elected official uses xenophobic and anti-Muslim rhetoric to discredit a member of his own party. Mr. Donnelly not only demonized his opponent, but also alienated the entire Muslim electorate. We urge responsible leaders of the Republican Party to repudiate Mr. Donnelly’s smear campaign and to marginalize any member of their party who uses such divisive and hateful discourse.”
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.