A Democratic member of a Maryland city council claimed Muslims are on the side of “white supremacists” in regards to LGBTQ issues, video posted June 6 shows.
Democrat Kristin Mink of Montgomery County Council for District 5 slammed Muslims who joined forces with Christian groups in Montgomery County protesting a policy that prevents parents from opting their children out of lessons that include LGBTQ-themed books and learning materials, video shows.
“This issue has unfortunately … put some — not all, of course — some Muslim families on the same side of an issue as white supremacists and outright bigots,” Mink said, according to a clip from video journalist Ford Fischer. “However, the folks who have talked here today, I would not put in the same category as those folks although, you know, it’s complicated, because they’re falling on the same side of this particular issue,” she continued.
The scientific community widely agrees: LGBTQIA+ people exist & othering them causes bullying, depression, suicide.@MCPS must teach a science-backed curriculum. Where that differs from one’s religious beliefs — whether evolution or LGBTQIA acceptance — can be discussed at home. pic.twitter.com/MjYANZFTex
— Kristin Mink, Montgomery County Council (MD) (@KristinMink_) June 6, 2023
Mink made the comments as some Muslim community members testified in favor of opting out of lessons that include LGBTQ material, according to videos posted by Fischer.
One such child, identified as middle-school student Sa’ad, told the council he was trying to exercise rights granted to him in the Constitution. “I’m here to talk about my rights. My religion teaches to respect all religions and all human beings and their rights. So does my country’s law. And I want my right back to have an opt-out option,” Sa’ad said.
“Freedom of religion is a fundamental human right that protects the conscience of all people. It allows us to think, express and act upon what we deeply believe. But around the world and in the United States, this freedom is eroding,” former Montgomery County student, Yasmeen Elkoshairi, told the council.
Another former student, Ibrahim Raziuddin, advocated on behalf of his younger cousins, telling the council he does not believe first and third graders are prepared to read about and discuss issues relating to transgenderism and other LGBTQ-related topics, according to the video.
VIDEO THREAD: “Protect our children!” Today a Muslim-led coalition rallied outside the Montgomery County Maryland School Board against the removal of an “opt-out” option from human sexuality related material.
Pro-LGBT activists counter-protested, chanting “secular schools!” pic.twitter.com/48qpRDJzyM
— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) June 6, 2023
The policy update preventing parents from opting their children out of certain lessons featuring LGBTQ-themed books was reportedly met with outrage by parents within the county. A protest organized by Family Rights for Religious Freedom and Moms for Liberty brought a large number of Muslim and Christian families together to protest at the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, Tuesday night, Newsweek reported. (RELATED: Glendale Unified School Admin: Take ‘A More Aggressive Approach’ To Teaching CRT, LGBTQ Ideology)
Mink argued Muslim and Christian families have no right to opt out of LGBTQ-based curriculum, likening doing so to opting out of science classes because they teach evolution.
“That’s not an infringement on, you know, particular religious freedoms. Just as we cannot allow folks to opt out of teachings about evolution, we can allow them to teach about this,” Mink said, video shows.
Mink’s comments “shocked” Ismail Royer, the director of the Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team for the Religious Freedom Institute.
“I was shocked. I was absolutely stunned. That’s the last thing that I thought she was going to say,” Royer told Fox News Digital. “In fact, the Muslims don’t hate anyone,” Royer added, saying that while tolerant of LGBTQ individuals, Muslim families object to an agenda they feel goes against their religious beliefs.