{"id":43313,"date":"2021-12-09T19:25:37","date_gmt":"2021-12-10T02:25:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/muslim-state-lawmaker-says-boebert-style-rhetoric-fuels-hate\/"},"modified":"2021-12-10T02:25:37","modified_gmt":"2021-12-10T02:25:37","slug":"muslim-state-lawmaker-says-boebert-style-rhetoric-fuels-hate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/muslim-state-lawmaker-says-boebert-style-rhetoric-fuels-hate\/","title":{"rendered":"Muslim state lawmaker says Boebert-style rhetoric fuels hate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"State
State Rep. Iman Jodeh speaks at a rally in support of Palestinian human rights on May 14, in Denver. (Chase Woodruff\/Colorado Newsline)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Colorado\u2019s first Muslim state lawmaker believes words \u2013 like those recently used by U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert \u2013 have consequences.<\/p>\n

\n

Newsline asked the members of Colorado\u2019s congressional delegation whether they supported Wednesday\u2019s resolution<\/a>.<\/strong>A spokesperson for Rep. <\/p>\n

Diana DeGette<\/strong>, a Denver Democrat, pointed Newsline to a guest commentary<\/a> DeGette wrote for The Denver Post<\/em>, published Wednesday. In the commentary, DeGette called Boebert\u2019s comments \u201cdeserving of universal condemnation\u201d but argued the media and public should focus on bigger issues, such as abortion rights and COVID-19.\u201cI am aware that on Wednesday at 2pm in studio A, some people did something,\u201d Boebert said in an emailed statement when asked to comment on the resolution. While Rep. <\/p>\n

Ed Perlmutter<\/strong>, a Lakewood Democrat, did not respond to a question about the resolution, his office provided the following statement on Dec. 2:\u201cI think Rep. Boebert\u2019s comments were extremely inappropriate and hurtful. Given the serious nature of her comments, I continue to call on the House Republican caucus to take action when their members express hateful and disturbing rhetoric or sentiments. Anything of the sort should not be tolerated.\u201dNewsline did not receive a response from Democratic Reps. <\/p>\n

Joe Neguse<\/strong> and <\/p>\n

Jason Crow<\/strong>, or Republican Reps. <\/p>\n

Ken Buck<\/strong> and <\/p>\n

Doug Lamborn<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201c(Boebert\u2019s) rhetoric is what continues to fuel that hate toward Muslims and gives this unspoken permission to continue that hate,\u201d said state Rep. Iman Jodeh, an Aurora Democrat who is the spokeswoman for the Colorado Muslim Society<\/a>. \u201cAs Muslims, when we hear this kind of rhetoric, we also become scared of her supporters and (have) kind of this heightened awareness of our safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jodeh said she hasn\u2019t seen or heard of any incidents of discrimination or hate toward Colorado Muslims since Boebert, a Silt Republican, repeatedly labeled Muslim U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota as a member of the \u201cjihad squad\u201d and suggested Omar could be a terrorist.<\/p>\n

But Jodeh worried such incidents could occur in the future, and called on Democratic leaders to censure, or publicly reprimand Boebert and take away her committee assignments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has become normalized in the Muslim community, where we are always at a heightened alert,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have the luxury to just dismiss or pretend like nothing\u2019s wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, U.S. House progressives introduced a resolution<\/a> to remove Boebert from the Natural Resources and Budget committees. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters she had not determined whether to hold a vote on the resolution, which was not co-sponsored by any members of Colorado\u2019s congressional delegation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t feel like talking about what the Republicans aren\u2019t doing or are doing about their members, the disgraceful, unacceptable behavior of their members,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

But Pelosi reportedly urged restraint during a caucus meeting last week, telling fellow Democrats: \u201cThere\u2019s a judgment that has to be made about how we contribute to their fundraising and their publicity,\u201d according to The Associated Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jodeh said she understood that argument, but still believed the House should vote on sanctions for Boebert.<\/p>\n

\u201cCondoning, not taking action on behavior like this, means that our nation is regressing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Formal complaint filed<\/div>\n

The resolution centers on a campaign event where Boebert, a Silt Republican, described getting into an elevator next to Omar and seeing a Capitol Police officer running toward them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018Well, she doesn\u2019t have a backpack. We should be fine,\u2019\u201d Boebert said during the speech, a video of which circulated on social media Nov. 25. The comment apparently referred to a backpack that might be worn by a terrorist carrying a bomb.<\/p>\n

Then, Boebert claimed she said, \u201cOh look, the \u2018jihad squad\u2019 decided to show up for work today.\u201d<\/p>\n

The term \u201cjihad\u201d can refer to a spiritual struggle or a military struggle to defend the religion of Islam, but it is commonly used to describe the \u201choly war\u201d sought by radical Islamic groups. Meanwhile, the word \u201csquad\u201d is widely used to describe a group of four progressive congresswomen that includes Omar along with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.<\/p>\n

Boebert had previously referred to Omar as \u201cthe jihad squad member from Minnesota\u201d during a Nov. 17 speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cFact, this buffoon looks down when she sees me at the Capitol,\u201d Omar said on Twitter in response to the video of Boebert\u2019s campaign event, calling the elevator story \u201cmade up.\u201d \u201cSad she thinks bigotry gets her clout.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boebert apologized<\/a> on Twitter to \u201canyone in the Muslim community\u201d whom she had offended, and reached out to Omar to discuss the incident. During a phone call on Nov. 29, Omar told Boebert<\/a> she wanted a direct apology, and when Boebert refused, Omar hung up on the Colorado congresswoman.<\/p>\n

Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has expressed no desire<\/a> to punish Boebert for her behavior.<\/p>\n

Wednesday\u2019s resolution from House progressives comes after two national organizations, Muslim Advocates and Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, filed a formal complaint with the House Ethics Committee over Boebert\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen elected officials attack religious minorities, they can lay the groundwork for real violence against those communities,\u201d the Nov. 30 complaint said. \u201cHer repeated invocation of the false, offensive stereotype of Muslims as anti-American and terrorist sympathizers gives her many followers a green light to direct hate and threats toward Reps. Tlaib, (Andr\u00e9) Carson (D-Indiana) and Omar \u2013 as well as all American Muslims.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anti-Islamic hate crimes spiked in 2017<\/div>\n

History Colorado<\/a> estimates that about 70,000 people, or slightly more than 1% of Coloradans, identify as Muslim. Mosques are concentrated in the Aurora and Denver area, but Boebert\u2019s Western Slope district includes at least one, the Islamic Center of Grand Junction. The mosque\u2019s sign was vandalized in 2019<\/a>, prompting a show of support from the community.<\/p>\n\n

From 2011 through 2020, a total of 51 anti-Islamic hate crimes were reported in Colorado<\/a>, more than half of which involved intimidation. About 1 in 5 involved simple assault, which the FBI defines as a physical attack that does not involve a weapon or cause serious injury.<\/p>\n

Over the past several years, there were times when mosques in Colorado increased security, Jodeh said, because of former President Donald Trump\u2019s rhetoric and policies.<\/p>\n

Trump issued an executive order in 2017 banning people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. Courts blocked the original order as well as a second version, though the Supreme Court upheld a third version of the so-called \u201cMuslim ban\u201d in 2018, which remained in place until now-President Joe Biden revoked it after taking office.<\/p>\n

The FBI, which tracks hate crime data, reported nine anti-Islamic hate crimes in Colorado in 2017. That was the highest number recorded in Colorado since 2011, when nine such crimes were also reported.<\/p>\n

In 2018 and 2019, six anti-Islamic hate crimes were reported in Colorado each year, according to the FBI. Two such crimes were recorded in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t just rhetoric, it was actually violent actions,\u201d Jodeh said of anti-Muslim hate in Colorado during the Trump administration, noting the trend had started before Trump was elected. \u201cNow that he\u2019s gone,\u201d she said, \u201cpeople like Boebert are carrying that torch and are happily (using similar rhetoric<\/a>).\u201d<\/p>\n

Those looking to support Muslims or the Muslim community should do so by \u201cdefending that person or that group of people when they\u2019re not present,\u201d Jodeh said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people can use their privilege to defend a marginalized group, that is the ultimate sign of allyship and solidarity,\u201d she said. \u201cThat person of privilege can stand up or set the record straight. It can be that person of privilege coming to a mosque, learning from a Muslim, taking the initiative to become well-informed \u2013 but it really alleviates a lot of the pressure when allies step up, and again, do it when we\u2019re not around.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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