The interfaith community has come together to send a message after State Rep. John Bennett implied that CAIR-OK executive and Imam Imad Enchassi, professor of Islamic studies, were terrorists during a House interim study Oct. 25.
Community members gathered at the Oklahoma State Capitol Oct. 27 to take pictures and show that they’re in solidarity with the Muslim community.
Photo by Zoe Travers.
Adam Soltani, executive director of the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and Imam Enchassi were labeled as the top two terrorists in Oklahoma by Bennett.
After the news broke, they received an influx of support from friends and family, with people using the hashtag #NOTmyENEMY, Enchassi said.
“The interfaith community, whom we have worked with for almost 25 years, came strongly to support us,” he said. “I got cupcakes, I got chocolate, my students at Oklahoma City University brought me cake. I got thousands of letters, emails, Facebook posts. It’s been so overwhelming.”
The Respect Diversity Foundation was one of the organizations that helped organized the meet-up in front of the capitol.
“First of all, Imad Enchassi and Adam Soltani are important leaders in our community and we have worked with them on many projects,” said Joan Korenblit, executive director of the organization. “They have helped people in so many different ways.”
Soltani, executive director for CAIR-OK, said the interfaith community has continuously shown their love and support throughout years of hateful rhetoric from both elected officials and individuals. He said:
They show time and time again, in increasing ways, that love wins every time. It’s absolutely unfortunate that an elected official used his position to spread hate, bigotry, lies, racism, and our position is and has always been that we will not be silent when individuals decide to do that. We will hold our elected officials accountable and we will always stand on the side of truth and justice”
Veronica Laizure, civil rights director for CAIR-OK, said her department has already processed a record number of complaints of harassment and discrimination despite the year not being over yet.
“Obviously these are very dangerous words. These are very dangerous ideas to be spreading around at a time when Anti-Muslim harassment and violence is at an all-time high,” she said. “But we are pleased and proud to see that our interfaith allies have really shown up with the hashtag #NOTmyENEMY and with events such as this to show that they don’t agree with Representative Bennett’s claims.”
In an email, President Robert Henry wrote that Rep. Bennett knows nothing about Islam.
“The errors are too many to even go into,” he wrote. “Imad Enchassi is a highly regarded man of peace, valued by both Jewish and Christian communities state wide. He has won awards and recognition from many interfaith groups involving not just the Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, but Hinduism, Sikhism, Bahai, Bhuddism, and others.”
Korenblit said she suggests that people get to know Enchassi, Soltani and other Muslim individuals in their community. She also suggests that people attend events like The Jewish/Muslim Film Institute’s film screenings.
“There’s so many interesting, caring Muslims and so many of them work for social justice, and they do all sorts of things that serve our community,” she said.
Contributing: Staff Writer Zoe Travers.
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