Amidst loud nationwide criticism against anti-Muslim American rhetoric, August 2016 was designated as Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month by the California State Assembly on Monday.
“Unfortunately, the Muslim community has been, and continues to be, the target of harassment, discrimination and assaults,” California lawmaker Bill Quirk, who introduced the bill after being approached by a community activist, told NBC.
HR-59, which hopes to promote the acknowledgment of the works and culture of the Muslim community, was passed on a bi-partisan vote.
“We’ll remember this event in 25 years,” said Bassim Elkarra, executive director of CAIR Sacramento. “Despite all these challenges that are facing our community, we are forging ahead.”
The resolution points to the growing population and contributions of the Muslim community in California, and to the nation. It also mentions the growing harassment Muslim Americans have endured since September 11, 2001.
“It is therefore appropriate to acknowledge and promote awareness of the myriad invaluable contributions of Muslim Americans in California and across the country, and extend to them the respect and camaraderie every American deserves,” HR-59 reads.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump came under fire last week for comments he made on the DNC speech of family of fallen Army Capt. Humayun Khan. He accused father Khizr Khan of being controlled by the Clinton campaign and suggested that mother Ghazala Khan refused to speak because of limitations by her culture.
In light of the controversy, the AAPI Victory Fund, a Super PAC focused on mobilizing the Asian American community to vote, has condemned Trump’s comments and announced their support of Hillary Clinton.
“By criticizing the Khan family, Trump was not just attacking Muslims, but disparaging all American soldiers and veterans and the entire Asian American and Pacific Islander community,” AAPI Victory Fund said in a statement. “The repeated pattern of attacks on this family from the Republican candidate is reprehensible. The Victory Fund stands in solidarity with the Khan family.”
According to the Pew Research Center, 8 percent of 3.3 million Muslims living in the United States are of Asian descent, and 62 percent of the Muslim population live in the Asia-Pacific region.
