Ed Durr’s shift on Islam- POLITICO – Politico
Good Wednesday morning!
In an effort to appear balanced, I think the media overlooks or downplays the fact that anti-Islamic bigotry is accepted and sometimes encouraged in Republican base politics. How else would you describe the former president’s call for temporarily banning Muslims from even entering the country? And here in New Jersey, which according to one study has the highest concentration of Muslims in the country, a county GOP Twitter account retweeted a meme calling to “Eradicate Islam from every town, city, county and state in our homeland.”
It’s easier to hate groups of people when they’re abstract. But after Sen. Ed Durr’s anti-Islam tweet surfaced, he didn’t just apologize — he met with representatives of New Jersey’s Islamic community. And then, without being asked, he introduced a resolution calling for the state to recognize two Islamic holidays.
The resolution doesn’t go as far as a Democratic one to make the two Eid holidays official, with paid days off for state workers. But Selaedin Maksut, executive director of CAIR-NJ, said that proposal wouldn’t pass anyway. Durr’s might, he said, and would help his organization’s effort to get these holidays officially recognized in schools — especially those with a significant number of Muslim students.
I think we should call bigotry what it is. I also recognize that most people, including myself, are susceptible to it. So when a public figure turns it around, it’s nice to write about that, too.
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