LI Muslim groups say Trump's retweet promotes Islamophobia

Long Island Muslims and their supporters said Friday an image retweeted by President Donald Trump promoted Islamophobia and served as a call to action to get more people registered to vote.

On Jan. 13 Trump retweeted a photoshopped image of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wearing traditional Muslim religious clothing while standing in front of an Iranian flag, the council said at a news conference. The photo was captioned “DEMOCRATS 2020.”

Members of the council, composed of Muslim leaders from Suffolk, Nassau and Queens counties, gathered at Masjid Darul Quran in Bay Shore to condemn the tweet and call for unity.

“Today we stand here united to talk and speak against our president’s irresponsible anti-Muslim tactics,” said Dr. Hafiz Ur Rehman, a pediatrician who is a trustee of Masjid Darul Quran and a member of the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission.

He was joined by Assemb. Phil Ramos (D-Brentwood), Babylon Town Board member DuWayne Gregory, Huntington Town Clerk Andrew Raia, law enforcement and others.

Rehman said a “three-point plan” was underway to address anti-Muslim sentiment including a voter-registration drive.

“That’s what’s going to make a difference at the ballot box,” Rehman said. “We must register, register, register.”

He’s already begun circulating a letter to elected officials that denounces Islamophobia. He’s hoping officials will sign it and it will then be sent to the president and Congress.

Trump has had a strained relationship with the Muslim community as president because of his administration's travel ban that was expanded Friday to cover people from 11, up from five, predominantly Muslim countries and other issues.

The offending photo came from the Twitter handle @DOwn__Under with the tweet: “The corrupted Dems trying their best to come to the Ayatollah’s rescue. #NancyPelosiFakeNews.”

Ramos said using imagery of religious clothing is demeaning.

“It’s equally insulting to have dressed up Pelosi and Mr. Schumer in the dress of a priest or in a yarmulke or in the robe of an evangelical,” Ramos said. “No religious clothing should be used to promote any kind of hateful feelings, and this should definitely not be done by a president.”

Rehman said the final point of his three-point plan may be the most important.

“Anytime anybody does a hate mongering slogan, we must not stay quiet,” he said. “We must reply appropriately with good language and ask them to come over and share bread with us with love and affection.”