Less than a week after a controversial video surfaced on Facebook, Corona City Councilman and pastor Randy Fox is facing calls for a censure after he said a council candidate “will not say no to sharia law.”
The second half of the 20-minute video, taken from his Aug. 12 sermon at New Hope Family Worship Center in Corona, shows Fox discussing the Nov. 6 City Council election. Fox, elected in 2014, is not seeking a second term.
In the video, Fox refers to a candidate who is a “member of the mosque leadership there, who will not say no to sharia law, most certainly.”
Fauzia Rizvi, a District 4 council candidate who said she’s Muslim and once had a leadership post with the Islamic Society of Corona-Norco, said she believes Fox’s comments targeted her.
Sharia, or Islamic law, influences laws in most Muslim countries, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Some critics have called sharia oppressive.
“I find it disgraceful that my opponents are using my religious background as political props instead of engaging on the issues,” Rizvi wrote in a statement.
When asked if his comments were about Rizvi, Fox this week did not answer that question.
The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and early 200 residents, who signed a petition, have called on the city council to censure, or reprimand, Fox for those comments.
Hussam Ayloush, a Corona resident and the group’s executive director, blasted Fox.
“I’m appalled and disgusted that an elected official would bring such politics of fear mongering and hate into our city,” Ayloush said Friday, Oct. 5.
“His intent was obviously to rile up potential voters using buzzwords that create fear based on people’s misperception of what sharia means,” Ayloush added.
Fox, in a written statement, said no organization should “put pressure” on the council to issue a censure for a sermon.
“City Council has no jurisdiction over the religious services of the Faith Community,” Fox wrote. “We do not have the right to call out a pastor and tell him what he can and cannot say in the pulpit.”
Fox added that pastors and churches have “the same 1st Amendment rights as anyone else.”
“It is inconceivable to me that this freedom is being challenged in Corona,” he wrote.
The next regular council meeting is set for Wednesday, Oct. 17, but it’s not clear if there are plans for a possible censure.
Vice Mayor Eugene Montanez on Friday, Oct. 5, said he “was obviously very disappointed” with Fox’s comments.
After Fox’s remarks about sharia law, he spoke about another council hopeful, apparently District 1 candidate Jacque Casillas.
“One of the people running is a director of Planned Parenthood, and we don’t need an abortion mill in Corona,” Fox said. “OK? Alright? They have one in Riverside. We don’t want that in Corona. I mean, we have a very pro-life city. It’s a spiritual battle that’s going on.”
Casillas, who describes herself as a healthcare advocate with Planned Parenthood, declined to discuss Fox’s comments, campaign spokesman Shrujal Joseph said.
During the sermon, Fox mentioned three pastors — Doug Husen, Shawn Kelly and Jeremy Mercer — are running in council districts 1, 4 and 5. He said they needed prayers and support, asked congregants to provide their names and phone numbers via email and said he would meet the pastors that evening.
The American-Islamic Relations group is considering asking the Internal Revenue Service to look into the nonprofit status of New Hope Family Worship Center, which it alleges illegally gave Fox a platform to campaign for candidates though it is a nonprofit institution.
The IRS has guidelines for churches and religious organizations that outline political actions that are prohibited.
Ron King, New Hope’s lead pastor, said he knew Fox would be talking about the three pastors.
“I believe in free speech,” he said.