Last night, the City of Santa Clara presented the American Muslim community with a proclamation recognizing August as “Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month”, as designated by the California State Assembly. Assemblymember Bill Quirk initially introduced the first “Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month” in 2016, and will be reintroducing it this year with Assemblymembers Ash Kalra and Kansen Chu as co-sponsors on August 6, 2018 with HR 118.
SEE: California House Resolution 118
“Santa Clara is enriched by the diversity of our community and we are proud to celebrate August as “Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month” in the City of Santa Clara,” said Santa Clara Mayor Lisa M. Gillmor. “As a City, we continue to stand with the Muslim community and recognize their rich history, cultural traditions, and significant contributions that have strengthened the Santa Clara community as a whole.”
“I am proud to have authored the first ever Muslim Appreciation & Awareness Month by honoring generations of American Muslims for their many social, cultural, and economic contributions to California,” Assemblymember Quirk stated. “The rhetoric surrounding this election makes the presentation of this resolution more important for me,” he said. “It is appropriate to acknowledge and promote awareness of the myriad invaluable contributions of American Muslims in California and across the country, and extend to them the respect and camaraderie every American deserves.”
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) recently released an update on anti-Muslim incidents nationwide in the second quarter of 2018 which indicated that anti-Muslim bias incidents and hate crimes are up 83 and 21 percent respectively, as compared to the first quarter of 2018.
A total of 1,006 reports of potential bias incidents cases were reported to CAIR nationally over the course of the second quarter of 2018. These included complaints involving: employment discrimination, federal law enforcement questioning, housing discrimination, immigration issues, hate crimes, school bullying, and several categories. CAIR has reported an unprecedented spike in bigotry targeting American Muslims and members of other minority groups since the election of Donald Trump as president.
SEE: 2018 Second Quarter Civil Rights Update
“In spite of anti-Muslim rhetoric from our current federal administration, it is heartwarming that our state and local governments have remained dedicated to protecting individual religious freedoms,” said Zahra Billoo, Executive Director for CAIR’s San Francisco Bay Area office (CAIR-SFBA). “Santa Clara has a large and thriving Muslim community and has upheld the fundamental principles of this nation by choosing to stand with Muslims and recognize their contributions.”