The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today sent a letter to the Artesia, Bloomfield, and Carmenita Unified School District (ABCUSD) expressing concern over anti-Muslim and xenophobic statements made during a public board meeting held earlier this month.
SEE: CAIR-LA Letter to ABCUSD Board of Education Regarding Anti-Muslim Statements at School Board Meeting
On Tuesday, Aug. 4, a member of the public, who identified himself as Rudy Krause, made several remarks demeaning Islam and Muslims during the meeting, including stating, “You are giving the Muslims … the tools to be able to convince the public, the students, to accept their ideologies. This is an ideological war that’s going on in the United States,” and “You cannot allow the ‘Muslimification’ of the United States … I want all the women here … put your burkas on and don’t make any comments. Otherwise, you’re going to be stoned to death in the town square.”
Prior to the public comment portion of the meeting, Board Clerk and Area 1 Trustee Leticia Mendoza stated, “Adverse remarks about a person’s race, ancestry, ethnic group identification, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, mental or physical disability, or age may not be made.” Krause was the first to make public comment following those instructions and was allowed to speak for the full five minutes without any follow up condemnation from the board.
In the letter, CAIR-LA called on the school board to immediately and publicly condemn the hateful and Islamophobic remarks made during the meeting and affirm the district’s commitment to the safety and dignity of all students and community members.
In April, Krause made similar anti-Muslim statements during a Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) board meeting. CAIR-LA called on the Board of Education to address the hateful and Islamophobic remarks, prompting LBUSD to issue a statement on social media condemning anti-Muslim hate and all forms of racism and discrimination.
In a statement, CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said:
“The lack of response from the ABCUSD board following hateful anti-Muslim comments during a school board meeting sends a profoundly damaging message to not just Muslim students and their families in the district, but every community member who looks to this board for leadership. The district serves one of the most diverse student populations in California; allowing hate speech to go unchecked undermines the values of inclusion, equity, and dignity that the Board is charged to represent.
“We call on ABCUSD to immediately and publicly condemn this incident and take concrete steps to uphold its obligation to create a safe and inclusive educational environment for all students, regardless of their faith or background.”
CAIR’s latest civil rights report documented 8,683 anti-Muslim bias complaints in 2025—the highest number ever recorded by the organization since it began publishing civil rights reports in 1996.
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
