CAIR praises sheriff for response to hate e-mail
Published: Feb 23, 2010 22:07 Updated: Feb 23, 2010 22:07
WASHINGTON: A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization today thanked a Florida sheriff for his “prompt and professional” response to the circulation of an anti-Islam message by members of his department using official e-mail addresses.
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said it received a complaint that two staffers of the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office forwarded an e-mail urging “patriotic Americans” to protest against US Postal Service “Eid” stamp marking the two major Islamic holidays of Eid Al-Fitr at the end of Ramadan and Eid al-Adha at the end of the pilgrimage to Makkah. The Eid stamp was first issued in 2001 and was re-issued several times as prices increased. The 44-cent version was issued last September.
The e-mail, with the subject line “DO NOT BUY THIS STAMP,” falsely claims the stamp is new and that its creation was ordered by President Obama.
Sheriff Donald F. Eslinger on Tuesday told CAIR that the anti-Islam message is not representative of his department and that the staffers in question have been reminded of the policy prohibiting such actions.
“We thank Sheriff Eslinger for his prompt and professional response and for his rejection of intolerance,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. “Our experience shows that the best way to challenge anti-Islam stereotyping is through education and outreach.”
He added that a copy of the Qur’an, Islam’s revealed text, will be sent to Sheriff Eslinger for use as a reference by department personnel.
Hooper said the gift to the sheriff’s office is part of CAIR’s “Explore the Qur’an” campaign to distribute free copies of the Qur’an to 100,000 local, state and national leaders. To date, tens of thousands of copies of the Qur’an have been sponsored and are being delivered to leaders nationwide.
Last year, CAIR sent a copy of the Qur’an to a Tennessee mayor who circulated the same e-mail. Copies of the Qur’an were also sent to the city council.
