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elleng

(130,861 posts)
Sat Oct 24, 2015, 06:30 PM Oct 2015

Thank You, Governor O'Malley, For Standing with Muslim Americans Today.

'Dearborn is a special place to me. My parents were raised there, some of my best friends lived there, and in general I spent a lot of time there as I was growing up. It is also unique in the context of our country, with a large population of Arab-American Muslims (and also many Arab-American Christians). To Fox News, this is the place where Shari'a is gaining a foothold in the United States as ISIL sleeper cells lurk in the shadows. The truth is that the closest thing Dearborn has had to a "Muslim takeover" was that fleeting moment when we had halal McDonalds.

Today, Martin O'Malley is doing something no other presidential candidate will: he visited Dearborn and spoke at the Arab American Institute's annual conference, delivering what the Detroit Free Press described as "the most detailed talk on Arab-American and Muslim issues in this year's presidential race." In his remarks, he decried the Islamophobia that has seeped into the political discourse with the help of Donald Trump and Ben Carson. He called for a more generous approach to the Syrian refugee crisis, and compared the discrimination that is faced by Arab and Muslim immigrants today to the experiences of his Irish ancestors.

Thank you, Governor O'Malley, for listening and speaking to the concerns of people who are too often overlooked in our politics. Your positive and inclusive vision for new and marginalized Americans, to give them the opportunity to build a great future for our country along with the rest of us, is an inspiration. I am sure it resonates with lots of us not only from metro Detroit but across the country. I hope other candidates will stand with you in declaring that Muslim Americans should never be saddled with second-class citizenship status.'

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/24/1438839/-Thank-You-Governor-O-Malley-For-Standing-with-Muslim-Americans-Today

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