(ANAHEIM, CA, 5/9/14) – The California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA) today welcomed Rep. Darrell Issa’s (R-CA) repudiation of an anti-Muslim Facebook posting by a California assemblyman and gubernatorial candidate.
SEE: Darrell Issa: ‘No place’ in GOP, governor’s race for Tim Donnelly
“There is nothing more un-American than a candidate for high public office resorting to inciting xenophobia to gain political points,” said Safaa Ibrahim, chairwoman of CAIR-California. “We thank Congressman Issa for rejecting Assemblyman Donnelly’s Islamophobia, and setting an example of positive leadership for his party to follow.”
Issa rebuked GOP gubernatorial candidate Tim Donnelly and said there is no place in public discourse “for this type of hateful and ignorant garbage.” In a prepared statement, Issa said “As far as I’m concerned, this type of stupidity disqualifies Tim Donnelly from being fit to hold any office, anywhere.”
Donnelly had 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
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.
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