CAIR-Chicago Demands Apology from U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk
ACTION REQUESTED: (CHICAGO, 11/08/05) - CAIR-Chicago is seeking to meet with US Congressman Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) to demand a retraction and an apology for recent remarks in which he publicly called for discrimination against young Arab males.
Congressman Kirk's words:
"I'm OK with discrimination against young Arab males from terrorist-producing states. I'm OK with that.
"I think that when we look at the threat that's out there, young men between, say, the ages of 18 and 25 from a couple of countries, I believe a certain amount of intense scrutiny should be placed on them.
"I'm not threatened by people from China. I'm not even threatened by people from Mexico. I just know where the threat is from. It's from a unique place, and I think it's OK to recognize that."
from the Chicago Suntimes / NBC-TV (11/06):
...Yaser Tabbara, director of the Chicago Council on American-Islamic Relations, called Kirk's comments "beyond troubling" and demanded an apology.
"It's one thing for me to hear it from Joe Schmoe on the street and deal with it as an ignorant attitude, and give that person the benefit of the doubt," Tabbara said. "It's another, and 100 times more disturbing and dangerous, to hear something like that spewed out of the mouth of a public figure, a political representative who represents a constituency of Americans.
"This, to me, is a manifestation of . . . a classic, malicious, bigoted attitude"...
from the Daily Herald (11/08):
...Ahmed Rehab, a spokesman for the Chicago Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national Muslim civil rights advocacy group, said Kirk's comments are irresponsible because his suggestion has not been proven as an effective way to deal with terrorism...
ACTION REQUESTED:
CAIR-Chicago is also asking responsible members of the community to call the office of Congressman Kirk and demand that he retract his un-American remarks and issue an apology to Americans.
Phone: 202-225-4835, Fax: 202-225-0837. As always, be polite but firm.
If you have any questions or comments, please email us at communications@cairchicago.org or call as at 312-212-1520.
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